Spirit Animals

Everyone has a spirit animal. They may not know they have one, but they have one. I've adopted my spirit animal to be the dragonfly.

In certain spiritual traditions or cultures, spirit animals refer to a spirit which helps guide or protect a person on a journey and whose characteristics that person shares or embodies. It is also metaphor, often humorous, for someone or something a person relates to or admires.

I grew up around the woods and water. Whether the water was a creek, pond, or river. During the summer it was always a site to see dragonflies buzzing around me and my sister or childhood friend, Annie, as we played around the water. I never realized how important this insect would be to me years later.

When I was brainstorming my business name, I knew that I wanted to include the Dragonfly within the name. I like the meaning of the dragonfly. The dragonfly, in many cultures, has magical attributes similar to that of a butterfly including metamorphosis, or change and transformation. The change that is often referred to has its source in mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life. I wanted my art to depict nature with how it changes and transforms each year between all of the natural seasons we enjoy in western Pennsylvania. To build an art piece out of nature's elements and watching it transform into a natural beauty that resides in a business or home space was exactly what I wanted to motivate me and build my brand. Whatever I ended up making, I definitely knew that I also wanted my clients to feel the energy from within it.

As I started Dragonfly Woods full speed in 2018, dragonflies have shown up in the weirdest places. For instance, one day I was eating lunch in my car in a strip mall around where my office is located, I saw a dragonfly flying around my car. It wasn't flying around the parking lot; it was flying around my car. Several times around my car. It seemed to want my attention. And may I add that I live in the city, so there was no pond, creek or lake nearby. It also happened several other times where you wouldn't think you would see a dragonfly. Also, just last night, I woke up from a deep sleep, and I remembered that I was having a dream in which I saw a dragonfly buzzing around me. Some people may say, "Meg, there's no meaning to this." I disagree.

There is meaning. I know there is. It just makes me want to continue to build Dragonfly Woods and make art pieces that are personal and provide a meaning of life to its' owners. Bringing nature into the home. The beauty of it. How it can transcend happiness and contentment into a space. I want to be a part of the beauty.