Inspiration From a Bend in the Road

By Karen Saunders

How many times have you found yourself at a bend in the road? Sometimes, unable to see what lurks around the curve, uneasiness keeps us

from going ‘round. We hug the turn and inch our way along. Then there are the times when our spirit is bold (or desperate!) and we careen around the turn.

To me, a bend in the road symbolizes a change in direction. Unless you haven’t actually been alive very long, you have encountered many bends. That brings me to the inspiration for this blog, At the Bend in the Road. My entrepreneurial project, Karen Saunders Art, is now located at my own little homestead, Bend in the Road Studios, in Southern Indiana. For the first time in my life, I live out in the peaceful countryside. A place so far removed that no plumber wanted to come help me with my overflowing water heater in the increasingly muddy cellar, even for the super special emergency pay they would receive for coming on the weekend! But that is a story for another post… back to my inspiration.

Bend in the Road Studio is located, you guessed it, on a literal bend in the road. In fact, my husband and I effectively OWN this bend in the road, with property on both sides. I see both of the aforementioned kinds of drivers navigating the turn. Having my own killer bend reminds me of the bends in life that have brought me here.

One was the relationship choice early in life that bent me completely away from art. Years later, I careened around another that brought me back, but not before experiencing some bruising of my heart and soul. Births, jobs, deaths, triumphs, defeats, all bends along the way. All bending to this place in space and time.

I love this from Nicolas Sparks’ novel, A Bend in the Road (click to read his inspiration for the book, you may cry) - “Where does a story truly begin? In life, there are seldom clear-cut beginnings, those moments when we can, in looking back, say that everything started. Yet there are moments when fate intersects with our daily lives, setting in motion a sequence of events whose outcome we could never have foreseen.”

Sunset view from @BendintheRoadStudio.

I am excited for whatever this bend has in store for me and Karen Saunders Art! Follow me to hear updates about my always bending adventures and see my art and farmhouse projects unfold. I would love to hear where the bends in your road have taken you, too. Leave your comments below- thoughts about my first blog, bends in the road, or just say hi!

Best,

Karen