--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature…" description: "\"“Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's storms into nourishment for the soil, fecundity, and beauty. This is what I must now learn to do..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg" --- # Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's… ![“Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's storms into nourishment for the soil, fecundity, and beauty. This is what I must now learn to do with the stormy weather I've been passing through: turn it into beauty, turn it into art, so new life can germinate and bloom. One example of a…” quote by Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg) > ““Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's storms into nourishment for the soil, fecundity, and beauty. This is what I must now learn to do with the stormy weather I've been passing through: turn it into beauty, turn it into art, so new life can germinate and bloom. One example of a creative artist who does this is my friend Jane Yolen, who wrote her exquisite book of poems The Radiation Sonnets while her husband was undergoing treatment for the cancer that would eventually claim his life. This is what all artists must do: take whatever life gives us and "alchemize" it into our art (either directly and autobiographically, as in Jane's book, or indirectly; whatever approach works best), turning darkness into light, spinning straw into gold, transforming pain and hardship into what J.R.R. Tolkien called 'a miraculous grace.”” [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Transforming hardship into creative output, turning painful experiences into beauty and art. **In simple terms:** Turn pain into beautiful art. Key Takeaway Channel adversity into creation. Themes resilience creativity transformation Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - grief counseling - writing retreats - therapy sessions Key Concepts Alchemical metaphor artistic catharsis Questions to Reflect On - How do you honor pain without exploiting it? - What practices help you convert struggle into art? A Different Perspective Not all pain can be easily transformed; risk of romanticizing suffering. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alchemize Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alchemize-art-2745714/) [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Life Artists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-artists-2745711/) [New life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-life/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Storms Nourishment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/storms-nourishment-2745712/) [Stormy weather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stormy-weather/) [Turning Winter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turning-winter-2745713/) [Yolen Wrote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/yolen-wrote-2745715/) ## Related quotes > [Art stands in opposition to all the bad things that happen in life, which is where physicians stand. That's what doctors do-affirm life. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-avery/art-stands-in-opposition-to-all-the-bad-things-that-happen-in-life/) [Eric Avery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-avery/) > [I know artists whose medium is life itself, and who express the inexpressible without brush, pencil, chisel or guitar. They neither paint nor dance.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-franck/i-know-artists-whose-medium-is-life-itself-and-who-express-the/) [Frederick Franck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-franck/) > [“If we are as free as we like to believe, then it makes sense that we are free to choose who we want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristian-mihai/if-we-are-as-free-as-we-like-to-believe-then-it-makes-sense-that-we/) [Cristian Mihai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristian-mihai/) > [If nothing will finally survive of life besides what artists report of it, we have no right to report what we know to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-lurie/if-nothing-will-finally-survive-of-life-besides-what-artists-report/) [Alison Lurie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-lurie/) > [I think we're very much in a mystery here in this life and that artists try to pierce the mystery with their art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-gauthier/i-think-we-re-very-much-in-a-mystery-here-in-this-life-and-that/) [Mary Gauthier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-gauthier/) > [“They cross the Channel at midnight. There are twelve and they are named for songs: Stardust and Stormy Weather and In the Mood and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-doerr/they-cross-the-channel-at-midnight-there-are-twelve-and-they-are/) [Anthony Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-doerr/) > [Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/take-long-walks-in-stormy-weather-or-through-deep-snows-in-the-fields/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [There is a portent of stormy weather ahead to which we had better give heed...No one knows when emergencies will strike...Set your houses in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-b-hinckley/there-is-a-portent-of-stormy-weather-ahead-to-which-we-had-better/) [Gordon B. Hinckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-b-hinckley/) > [“Buddha-nature may be compared with the sun, and individual mind with the sky. Then an Enlightened mind is like the sky in fair weather,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kaiten-nukariya/buddha-nature-may-be-compared-with-the-sun-and-individual-mind-with/) [Kaiten Nukariya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kaiten-nukariya/) > [“Gregori was as still as a statue, his face a blank mask, his silver eyes as empty as death, yet Shea gave him a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-feehan/gregori-was-as-still-as-a-statue-his-face-a-blank-mask-his-silver/) [Christine Feehan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-feehan/) > [Faith is not a delicate flower which would wither away under the slightest stormy weather.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/faith-is-not-a-delicate-flower-which-would-wither-away-under-the/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“For how would you like to be shut up for a whole month at a time, and possibly more in stormy weather, upon a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-how-would-you-like-to-be-shut-up-for-a-whole-month-at-a-time-and/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) > [Together forever straight the stormy weather whatever happens I never gonna leave you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-medats/together-forever-straight-the-stormy-weather-whatever-happens-i-never/) [Kenny Medats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-medats/) > [Raindrops falling from heaven could never take away my misery but since we are not together I pray for stormy weather to hide my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/appus/raindrops-falling-from-heaven-could-never-take-away-my-misery-but/) [Appus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/appus/) > [Under this window in stormy weather I marry this man and woman together; Let none but Him who rules the thunder Put this man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/under-this-window-in-stormy-weather-i-marry-this-man-and-woman/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) ## More by Terri Windling > [“I've been very influenced by folklore, fairy tales, and folk ballads, so I love all the classic works based on these things -- like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-ve-been-very-influenced-by-folklore-fairy-tales-and-folk-ballads-so/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Don’t be afraid to be weird, don’t be afraid to be different, don’t worry too much about what other people think. Whatever it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/don-t-be-afraid-to-be-weird-don-t-be-afraid-to-be-different-don-t/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“In England in the 19th century, advances in printing methods, combined with the rise of a prosperous middle class, engendered a booming new industry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/in-england-in-the-19th-century-advances-in-printing-methods-combined/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [What I find interesting about folklore is the dialogue it gives us with storytellers from centuries past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/what-i-find-interesting-about-folklore-is-the-dialogue-it-gives-us/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Lately, because computer technology has made self-publishing an easier and less expensive venture, I'm getting a lot of review copies of amateur books by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/lately-because-computer-technology-has-made-self-publishing-an-easier/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I am awfully greedy; I want everything from life," said Simone de Beauvoir. "I want to be a woman and to be a man,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-am-awfully-greedy-i-want-everything-from-life-said-simone-de/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I wish I could have known Barbara Bodichon -- and her whole vibrant circle of smart, fearless women friends. I'd like to gather them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-wish-i-could-have-known-barbara-bodichon-and-her-whole-vibrant/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Twelve years ago I left Boston and New York, and moved east and west at the same time. East, to a little village in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/twelve-years-ago-i-left-boston-and-new-york-and-moved-east-and-west/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“I lived in New York City back in the 1980s, which is when the Bordertown series was created. New York was a different place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/i-lived-in-new-york-city-back-in-the-1980s-which-is-when-the/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Border crossing' is a recurrent theme in all aspects of my work -- editing, writing, and painting. I'm interested in the various ways artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/border-crossing-is-a-recurrent-theme-in-all-aspects-of-my-work/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [A good novel editor is invisible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/a-good-novel-editor-is-invisible/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [My book collection is primarily in America, since that's where I've lived most of my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/my-book-collection-is-primarily-in-america-since-that-s-where-i-ve/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Trickster foxes appear in old stories gathered from countries and cultures all over the world -- including Aesop's Fables from ancient Greece, the "Reynard"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/trickster-foxes-appear-in-old-stories-gathered-from-countries-and/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Creators of literary fairy tales from the 17th-century onward include writers whose works are still widely read today: Charles Perrault (17th-century France), Hans Christian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/creators-of-literary-fairy-tales-from-the-17th-century-onward-include/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) > [“Oh, don't get me started! I love fantasy, I read it for pleasure, even after all these years. Pat McKillip, Ursula Le Guin and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/oh-don-t-get-me-started-i-love-fantasy-i-read-it-for-pleasure-even/) [Terri Windling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) [Explore all 80 Terri Windling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's storms into nourishment for the soil, fecundity, and beauty. This is what I must now learn to do with the stormy weather I've been passing through: turn it into beauty, turn it into art, so new life can germinate and bloom. One example of a creative artist who does this is my friend Jane Yolen, who wrote her exquisite book of poems The Radiation Sonnets while her husband was undergoing treatment for the cancer that would eventually claim his life. This is what all artists must do: take whatever life gives us and \"alchemize\" it into our art (either directly and autobiographically, as in Jane's book, or indirectly; whatever approach works best), turning darkness into light, spinning straw into gold, transforming pain and hardship into what J.R.R. Tolkien called 'a miraculous grace.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terri Windling" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turning-winter-s-storms-into/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turning-winter-s-storms-into/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/829/terri-windling-8504_art_snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turn_1081197.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature turning winter's storms into nourishment for the soil, fecundity, and…” — Terri Windling", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Terri Windling", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terri-windling/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Snow-melt in the stream: Mama Nature...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turning-winter-s-storms-into/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terri-windling/snow-melt-in-the-stream-mama-nature-turning-winter-s-storms-into/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```