The Harvest

Last night, while my family harvested grapes, our across the street neighbor came by. She told us how happy she was to see this "Norman Rockwell" scene going on and then she said something that was interesting. She said, "these grapes represent your family to me." The more I thought about it, the more appropriate and sweet her observation seemed.
My dad was in charge of the garden and as kids we helped him. He planted, nurtured and loved those grape vines. We also helped my mom who canned the grape juice every year following the first freeze. There is nothing that is more autumn to me than the smell steaming grapes. Now we, their kids, along with our families were in the garden, carrying on, together, reaping the harvest. The grape juice reminds me of Sunday dinners. It's sweet and rich and tastes even better because we bottled it ourselves.
And that, to me, is how symbols are created. Now when I want to represent my family in an artwork, those vines might be just the thing. Through the years those vines have become strong, intertwined and heavy with fruit. Perfect.