Mountain Sky by Maria Kamara

In our house over the past year, we have slowly been getting things up on our walls. It’s been fun finding little treasures here & there and really taking our time with our home and the art pieces that we put on our walls. For me, art is the thing that constantly holds me up from wrapping up a design of a room. Furniture needs to be functional and decorative, lighting should also be functional and decorative, but art is purely decorative and insanely personal and because of that there is pressure to really love it.

When I was in the process of designing our guest bedroom makeover, I once again was held up with completing the design of the room because I was struggling to find a piece of artwork for the space.  I searched all over the web and compiled a whole list of potential pieces but none of them made me love them enough to pull the trigger. I posted an image on Instagram talking about how I was in search of artwork, and it was only a couple of days later that I was contacted by the insanely talented artist, Maria Kamara, who offered to do a piece for the space. After looking at her gorgeous portfolio, I quickly accepted her offer, but little did I know at that point how much impact her piece of artwork would have on me.

Meet Mountain Sky, everyone! Isn’t she a beauty?! When Maria began the piece, she first started by wanting to know what colors I wanted used in the artwork. If you have been following my blog for awhile or follow me on Instagram, then you probably know by now that I love (more like have a slight obsession) with the color blue and therefore I wanted mainly blues used in the painting. The color blue is so calming to me and I thought it would go perfect with the already existing color scheme in the room. Since she was painting an abstract piece for me, I thought it was important that she also knew a little background information about the room so that the piece could be even more personal for my husband and I. If you recall, I did a board and batten wall for our guest bedroom, so while I was working on it, I posted an image of the wall on Instagram as well as shared intimate words about what the space meant to me. Instead of emailing her my thoughts, I directed her to that Instagram post so she could read the post herself. You can see the original post, here, but to sum it up it talked about how although this space is currently a guest bedroom it's intended to one day be a nursery. I continued to talk about how the room means so much to me because all I've ever wanted to be is a mom, but the room also terrifies me because the uncertainties that come along with us having a child because I have narcolepsy with cataplexy and before and during the pregnancy I have to go off of all my medicines which means I will be sleeping the majority of the day for about 12 months.  I don't let this scare me away from motherhood, though, and instead, I put it in the hands of God because his plan is much larger than ours. 

After sharing the background information of this space with her, it was a really amazing because we both felt that we had been put in each other's lives for a special purpose and that her deciding to do a piece for me wasn't just coincidental. I felt like God was letting me know that he was listening to my prayers by putting Maria in my life to give me guidance and comfort. On the other hand, Maria felt like God wanted her to do this painting for me. I've been told many times that God puts people into your life for a reason, but this was one of the few times that it seemed clear why. 

When I went to pick up the art piece a couple of weeks ago at Maria’s house, I was beyond excited! I hadn’t seen any sneak peaks of the art piece so I was so eager to see it, but I was more excited to meet Maria.  She lives only 30 minutes from my house near lake Michigan so the drive to her place was  beauteous to say the least. When I finally got to her house and met her and saw the painting, I was completely taken back. Not only was I taken back by the pure beauty and thoughtfulness behind the painting, but honestly she is one of the most kind, loving and genuine people that I have ever met in my life. I  had the pleasure of also meeting her 4 children and they were just as sweet and kind-hearted as Maria. 

After looking at and appreciating the painting for several minutes she began explaining the journey of painting Mountain Sky, as well as she gave me a letter to better articulate her thoughts and the meaning behind the piece.  As the title of the painting suggests,  the formation of mountains is what she envisioned when she began the painting. Through the guidance of God and a scripture verse, her vision for for the painting was this: 

 "In life you'll climb a very specific and difficult mountain but one with incredible eternal purpose. You'll climb it with your beloved and God will provide all your needs. Your desire to reach the top of this mountain is right and blessed by the Lord. I'm certain that knowing you are thinking of a baby led my line of thought. It's exciting time and also a time ripe with concerns.  As you prepare for this mountain climb hold this verse near and trust that you can accomplish the work presented and that it is truly of God. Your journey up to the peak will be so worth the view of your Mountain Sky." 

So powerful and beautiful, right? When I read these words it hit so close to home and I was so thankful for the comfort and encouragement that I found in both this letter and piece of artwork as well as I felt so lucky that someone would of put so much thought and time into a piece for me.

After I read the letter and I exchanged tears and hugs of gratitude, I stayed for a little longer as she showed me around her house including, some of her amazing DIY projects that her family did including an amazing $15 island countertop (so impressive, right?) and also where she home schools her four kids.  Needless to say these moments were really special to me as I realized that the whole experience and meaning behind the painting was summed up by meeting and spending these moments with Maria.  The art itself has it's own beautiful and inspiring meaning,  but it gave the painting more meaning seeing  Maria  being such a kind,  loving, motherly figure. It gave me hope and made me excited for when I can one day be in that role as well. Not often do I come across people that have this large of an impact on me, so I was beyond thankful of this experience  as I left that day and have continued the same feelings since.

 What originally started as a journey on finding a piece of art to wrap up this bedroom makeover turned out to be a journey that,  as cliche as it sounds, changed my perspective on life.  I originally only looked at art as being  purely decorative, but now that Mountain Sky has been in our house for a couple weeks,  I now realize that isn't always case because this painting means so much more to me than just being simply wall decor . Everyday when I come look at this painting, it serves as a constant source of inspiration and comfort as well as  a reminder that as I prepare for this mountain climb journey that God is always near and that everything will  be okay.

Maria is truly a one of a kind person and I'm so thankful that she was put into my life. Go check her out on her  website,  where you can contact her, shop her paintings, as well as view her portfolio. She also has an Etsy shop of smaller prints that would be beautiful in any space. 

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