Nothing is impossible (new sketches, note cards, and more)

“Nothing is impossible, the word itself says I’m possible!” Audrey Hepburn

Print available in the shop

I’ve been thinking about possible vs. impossible lately.

How what feels impossible at first becomes possible over a series of days, weeks, months, years.

And how each new step can feel like the same pattern: impossible to possible, then back again as we’re stretched to new levels.

Here’s to our journeys feeling possible, even on the hard days. We can do this.

An awake heart (plus, sketches, in-progress art, and more)

“An awake heart is like a sky that pours light” – Hafiz 

I’ve been thinking about this quote for the past few days. Do you ever have words that simply stick with you no matter what you do? That come back to your mind when you’re making the bed or cooking or driving? Lately these have been my words and the visual I see when I close my eyes.

An awake heart. A sky pouring light.

Last week was super intense. Eric and I worked every night until after midnight, determined to make progress with the big projects I have this summer (getting my art into shops, prepping my booth for Greenfest in September). We’re excited with our progress but had very little balance and so this week I’m trying to move more slowly, rest, and infuse my time with joy.

I hung out for hours over the weekend with friends, then with family, talking, catching up, eating together. Hello, awake heart. I also met up with a friend at Morris Arboretum for an early morning sketching session. I feel so thankful to have the arboretum so close by – the grounds are gorgeous and so removed from the busy noise of the street. We saw birds, a groundhog, a chipmunk, and a baby bunny and I got even more excited about my recent exploration into drawing animals.

I live my life in widening circles (new prints and sketches)

“I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world” Rainer Maria Rilke

I love this concept of living in widening circles — that we learn new things constantly and are always folding that learning into our understanding of the world. I view my life and business as two widening circles that intersect and complement each other. Each week I learn more about my skills, fears, dreams, and expanding well of courage. Each week I also learn more about what balance looks and feels like on a daily basis.

Think about the circle of your life this past year. How has it widened to include new experiences, ideas, talents, and wisdom? I just love looking back to see how we’ve grown.

Now friends, here’s a peak at what’s been going on lately:

Sketches! I spend only a few minutes on each sketch so that I don’t get stuck in perfectionism. I’ve laughed a LOT while attempting to draw certain animals, but that’s part of the fun, right? The goal is to keep loose and not take myself too seriously.

My first year in business: a review

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts” Winston S. Churchill

Friends, it’s a big week!

I opened my shop and had my first sale in June 2014, so I’m now celebrating my official first year in business.

In the spirit of celebration, I want to share my biggest joys and lessons from this year.

It’s been a wild ride so far and I’m feeling thankful for the journey. As I take a look back over the year, I also thought it would be fun to have a little visual reminder of the range of paintings I’ve done from June 2014 – June 2015. I kind of love that only part of each painting is visible here (see the rest throughout the post).

2015 planning and new directions

“With each passing moment, a soul sets off to find itself” Rumi

Happy new year, friends! I hope you were able to find a few relaxing moments in the midst of the holidays, and that you have entered January feeling refreshed.

I love the stillness of winter. I love the energy so many of us bring to ourselves, thinking about 2015 planning and deciding how we want to treat ourselves this next year.

A recent walk I took in the woods near our house

I want to live this year with balance and intention, planning out my time strategically and cutting out the chaos that can accompany new years resolutions when they don’t quite fit. I’ve been guilty of this for many years, letting resolutions dwindle away when life got busy, but this was before I truly fell in love with planning.

An update on City Sprouts (plus, new art!)

“Where there is love there is life” – Mahatma Gandhi

I’m taking a moment to be excited about the events of the past few days. 

To celebrate the courage it takes to try new things and be vulnerable with our ideas. To shine a light on the beauty that can make an ordinary day a little more magical.

The weather is changing rapidly here and we saw snow for the first time recently. My cats and I spent a little while the other night leaning against the warm radiator and watching the snow fall outside the window.

The first few snows of the season are amazing. The world slows, quiets, and slips into a dreamy, muted state. Watching the snow is meditative for me, and creates a reason to pause and simply see. There are few times in life when it’s that easy to see the earth so completely transformed.

And goodness knows, I love transformations!

I also have some new art up in my Etsy shop, which has been a long time coming and has given me another reason to pause and think about how far I’ve come over the past few months.