This wasn’t something I set out to make. It just kept showing up Some pieces come together loudly. This one didn’t.
Rooted formed slowly, without a clear plan. It started with a small break — nothing dramatic — just a line that stayed. Over time, that line opened into a space. The gold followed it, not to hide the break, but to recognize it.
At the center is a maple leaf. It was not placed there as a symbol. Instead, it was revealed, like it was already part of the piece and simply needed to be uncovered. It sits within the split itself. It isn’t perfect or untouched — it’s carried, shaped by what surrounds it.
This piece stands for home for me: Canada. Not in a bold or literal way, but as a feeling. Steady. Weathered. Resilient. A place shaped by time, pressure, and patience — able to hold contrast without falling apart.
The black background is intentional. It slows things down. It gives the piece weight. Against it, the gold is used carefully. Nothing is there just to decorate. Every mark has a reason.
Rooted is part of the Echos of Gold series — work that looks at what’s left after something breaks. What stays. What strengthens. What learns to grow in a different way. In this piece, growth doesn’t reach upward. It settles in.
Being rooted doesn’t mean staying still. It means staying connected, even as things shift around you.
Echos of Gold by S.Walton 
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