Last month I attended the annual conference of the Furniture Society, the national organization for artists who make furniture. This year’s conference was held in Victoria, Canada, and was infused with the art and culture of First Nations, the Native Americans who first settled the area we now call British Columbia.

Our keynote speaker was Robert Davidson, one of Canada’s most respected artists of Haida descent. Davidson is a master carver of totem poles and masks. He told a moving story of carving his first mask, with the help of his grandfather and brother, and how the long process connected him back to his community and traditions, and started him on the journey of life.

I was particularly touched by this artist’s view of the world, and thought I would share with you some of his words and thoughts:

“If we look at the world in the form of a circle, let us look at what is on the inside as experience, culture, and knowledge: let us look at this as the past. What is outside the circle is yet to be experienced. But in order to expand the circle, we must know what is inside the circle. It has been the art that has brought us back to our roots.”

I am a serial redecorator, fed, in part, by my addiction to home magazines. My favorite thing to do on a Sunday morning is to pour myself a big cup of coffee and climb back into bed with a stack of the month’s shelter magazines. These stolen moments of time feel so luxurious, and the glossy pages provide ideas and creative inspiration.

These ideas play themselves out on a regular basis, often starting with the acquisition of a new piece. For instance, I recently purchased a terrific lamp, which led to new paint in my living room (I always wanted an orange room) and rearrangement of all the paintings in the house. Suddenly, my world feels fresh and different.

My home is an evolving landscape of my changing tastes and interests and a many-colored reflection of my life. Today, I pause to appreciate all that I have accomplished, trusting that tomorrow will bring new ideas for improvement.

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