After Winter Comes Spring

There are so many lessons we can take from nature, but one of my favorite ones is this: after winter comes spring. On an annual basis, we watch everything that has grown go through a cold, awful death. Leaves are ripped from their branches by the wind, beautiful colorful flowers shrivel into brown, crunchy dust, the ground gets cold and hard and impossible to penetrate, icicles break branches off trees, heavy snow snaps what used to be strong. It’s hard. We watch for months as nature closes up shop. Growing is too much. And then every year, like magic, the world opens up again. The tiniest, tentative buds appear— not ready to fully show their colors, but they start, they try. The hard ground softens and allows itself to be open to the possibility of new growth. What was brown and gray, slowly starts to fill with color— a yellow green matures into a deep emerald. The buds turn pink and purple and yellow and red, rich hues that balance and compliment each other and fill the world with beauty. Winter is hard and cold and sometimes we think it will never end. But it does, and thanks to spring we can continue to take home this lesson year after year after year. There is HOPE. ["After Winter Comes Spring" 36x36]

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My solo show “We Carry On” is hanging now at @15th_street_gallery. Check it out anytime the gallery is open until March 11th. You can also see the whole show online at stephaniehock.com/wecarryon (link in profile). Watch stories for behind the scenes and my favorite details! ❤️💛💙