Bloom Where You’re Planted

Sandy Van Winkle

Interview by L. Valena

June 7, 2022

Can you start by describing the prompt that you responded to?

I responded to an image of a sea turtle, kind of multicolored. A lot of turquoise and blue. A very nice picture.

What was your first reaction to that?

Well, I was thinking about turtles, and longevity, and which direction I could take. Then it occurred to me that on one of our hikes, we came upon a desert tortoise. I started thinking about how each of these creatures appear so similar and yet are so different. One couldn't survive in the other's habitat, and they're completely oblivious to each other. The sea turtle swims and glides along, and is perfectly happy living his life. And the desert tortoise plods along on the dusty trail -- it's a completely different lifestyle. He's happy where he's at, and manages to thrive where he is.

So I got to thinking, they're each content in their own environment, so they kind of bloomed where they were planted. Sometimes on hikes, you'll see a plant growing out of the side of a sheer cliff. You wonder, what soil are they even growing in? And yet, there they are flowering and looking perfectly healthy. Things make the best of where they are, and live their life where they're at, and are perfectly content with where they were planted. That got me going on the little flowers on the dusty path, that's just within eyeshot of a verdant garden with all kinds of plants. These little purple ones are perfectly happy to grow up on a dusty trail against a rock. So that was my train of thought.

Cool! Is that something you see a lot on your hikes?

No, not so much. There are flowers that grow on cliffs -- you see a lot of that sort of thing. Little purple flowers like this? You see them along the path here and there. They don't get a lot of water, and yet they manage to bloom and come back each year. I can't say I see a lot of them, but you don't see a lot of verdant gardens either.

This seems to be speaking to something deeper for you, this idea of blooming where you're planted. Can you say more about how that has manifested for you personally?

I think everybody goes through that, through the decisions they make in their life. Where they find themselves. Unfortunate circumstances happen, but you keep moving forward and picking yourself up, living your life the best you can with what you have to work with.

Over the years you have misfortunes, disappointments, and that sort of thing, but you don't dwell on them. You move on, and thrive with what you have. Everybody's journey is different. Everybody's got things that are good, and things that are bad. In some ways, we're all kind of in the same situation. It's kind of encouraging to think of it that way -- "this is where I find myself, so how can I move forward and make the best of it?"

I think you're aware that I lost my husband in November. He had been sick for a long time. Even when you know it's coming, and prepare yourself for it, ultimately you have to make adjustments in your life when the thing finally happens. You suddenly find yourself in this situation. There's never been a time in my life when I've been alone so much. But, you have to find a way. I've got a lot of time on my hands now. With painting, and beading, I find other ways to do something useful with my time. You can't dwell on the past, so you just pick up from where you are and move forward from there. That's the situation that I'm in. I'm looking for ways to bloom where I've been transplanted.

I think that's a really interesting aspect of this idea of blooming where you're planted, because so many of us do move. Not everyone can choose where they live, but many of us do.

Everybody goes through change. You start a different job, or get laid off, or whatever happens. There's that period of struggle, and things aren't going to be the same. Your situation is different from everyone else's, you just have to look at where you are, and how you can continue to thrive. Finding serenity, and finding your way wherever you happen to be.

Isn't it amazing how many lives we live, within this one life?

Yes, and you don't even think about it! Things start happening, and it's so automatic to adjust to things, that you don't stop and look back at the path you've been on.

How does this piece relate to the rest of your work?

In a lot of ways, I guess everything I've painted could be looked at as a 'bloom where you're planted' type situation. I'm an avid watercolorist. I do landscapes. I have one of a Malibu sunset, and one of an Arizona sunrise. There is a dramatic difference from one place to another.

You've done this a few times now. Do you have any new advice for other artists participating in this project?

I don't know what I could offer for advice, because so many people have such creative things that would never occur to me. I feel like my art is so tame compared to some of the other really imaginative things I've seen. But, I would say to just use it as a means of self-expression. Just bloom where you're planted.

Call Number: Y79PP | Y80VA.kaJo

Sandy Van Winkle: I am a retired fire department data analyst, map maker and grant writer. My creative interests lie in watercolor and writing, but I am also an avid reader and reviewer of new fiction, particularly debut authors. My greatest creative achievement has been raising two outstanding young men who make me proud every day.