The Unexpected Art Collection That Changed My Plans
If there is one thing I’ve learned about creativity, it’s that sometimes the work knows where it wants to go before you do. I had a plan in place.
I was going to spend this month creating a blackberry-inspired collection. It felt perfectly aligned with Wild Ridge Studio. Nature-inspired, a little wild, rooted in the seasons, and filled with the kind of cozy details I love bringing into my artwork.
And then creativity did what creativity does: it wandered off the trail.
I create a piece inspired by organ donation. It was simply the direction I chose for the assignment. A creative challenge. A chance to explore storytelling through symbols and artwork, and then it became something more.
I stopped thinking only about creating something beautiful and started thinking about the stories behind the artwork.
- Hope.
- Healing.
- Second chances.
The quiet connections between people who may never meet but whose stories are forever linked.
Following the Creative Pull
After creating my first organ donation-inspired piece, something unexpected happened. I won an annual membership through Summer Art School. As someone who sometimes struggles with recognition and validation, I felt seen. But nothing really prepared me for what was next in this.
I went back to my desk intending to work on the blackberry collection, and I just kept feeling pulled back toward this new idea.
More sketches appeared.
More symbols.
More stories.
I kept thinking, “What else could this become?”
And I decided to put that blackberry collection on hold because I wasn’t feeling it, and so I gave myself permission to let it go for a little while and focus on this new direction.
Creating the Hope & Healing Collection
The Hope & Healing Collection grew from that first piece into a series of designs inspired by organ donation, transplant journeys, donors, recipients, families, medical teams, and everyone touched by these stories.
Each piece explores a different symbol.
- A heart.
- A kidney.
- Lungs.
- A liver.
- Eyes.
- And themes of growth, legacy, community, and life after transplant.
My goal wasn’t to create medical illustrations but to explore humanity and the moments after. I guess this is kinda like those full-circle moments. My son had his first liver transplant in 2008 and his third in 2011. I have friends who received a new kidney, who lost someone despite the transplant, and who are still waiting on a new organ.
The Lesson Creativity Keeps Teaching Me
Sometimes we create the thing we planned, and then it taps us on the shoulder and says:
“Actually, follow me over here.”
I’ve been very cautious about being too impulsive with my ideas, allowing them to wait but this one, it almost feels like I don’t have a choice but to follow the road.
The blackberry collection will still have its moment.
But right now, I’m following this trail.
The Hope & Healing Collection has grown into something bigger than I expected, including artwork, products, and a calendar celebrating a year of hope, connection, and second chances.
I can’t wait to share where it goes next.
