A new perspective (plus, painting progress!)
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better” Ralph Waldo Emerson
As Isaac spends more time awake during the day, I’ve had to get more creative about when / how I can get work done.
Even if you haven’t gone through this very stage we’re in right now, the experience translates: the sweetest, most tender moments of life matched with moments of complete exhaustion. I haven’t found my new normal yet (he’s only 3 months – I know I need to be patient with myself!), but we’ll get there. Thank you for taking the journey with me.
Here we are practicing in a wrap so I can work standing up while he sleeps:
Simple joys and painting progress
“Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon” A. A. Milne
As happens every once in a while, I’ve been feeling nostalgic for Winnie the Pooh lately. Then the other day I came across the quote above. Nobody can be uncheered with a balloon.
Don’t you love how the best simple wisdom lives in children’s stories? Some things and experiences are just plain fun, no matter how small.
As Isaac becomes more aware of his surroundings, I’ve been looking at the world through his eyes. I think I’d forgotten how to experience the world like this in the midst of all the hustle, to appreciate sunlight flickering over the wall or the quiet hum of a fan, to be entranced by a bright color or the texture of a soft blanket.
I love how the world is so available to us in this way and babies have the beautifully unique experience of witnessing so much for the first time.
Let’s be cheered by a balloon today (or something equally small and fun)! Allow yourself that simple joy. Here I am enjoying mine:
Monthly stickers progress and life around here lately
“The moments of happiness we enjoy take us by surprise. It is not that we seize them, but that they seize us” Ashley Montagu
Surprise happiness.
Have you ever realized, while in the midst of an experience, that you can tangibly feel your happiness? That you just know you’re in the middle of making a lasting memory? It’s like the laughter and smiles and conversations create an afterglow like the sun’s warmth against your skin.
As life has felt so overwhelming this summer, I’ve held onto the moments that feel this pure in love and joy.
Working on a new project (I’ve started painting again)!
Today, let’s consider this:
I’ve always loved that we move through so many different phases in life, exploration quietly meeting discovery as the glimmer of ideas take shape and we shift focus to help them grow.
As I finished up my animal painting series and took a maternity break, I started to wonder what my next new project would be. I also didn’t know when I’d have time to start painting again.
During the past 8 weeks though I’ve recognized that I’m happiest when I can fit in creative time, even if it’s only in little bursts. I’ve also seen how important it is to honor that happiness, as creating even a little time for my passions makes me a better mom, friend, sibling, etc.
Realization is the first step towards change, right?
I tuned in, ready to search for a new project, and last week one popped into my head with such clarity that I got started that same day.
2106 is a year that answers, and I’m so grateful for that.
I'd like to read more, please»Faith and focus (plus, the complete animal art series!)
“All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust” J. M. Barrie
I’ve been thinking over the past two weeks about the intersection between faith and focus and how each plays a pivotal role in our journeys.
A few weeks ago I met my baby for the first time as he entered the world unexpectedly early. He came 3.5 weeks sooner than anticipated, which threw all of our best plans to be organized and ready for his arrival right out the window.
Suddenly we found ourselves in unknown territory. We found ourselves with a beautiful little guy who was born a few weeks premature and in need of extra support and love.
We’ve spent the past two weeks shuffling from one doctor’s visit to the next and we’ve trooped to the hospital twice (once for an overnight). We conquered jaundice, he’s finally gaining weight, and he’s definitely acting more like a full-term baby now (YAY!). I’ve focused all of my energy on helping him grow and yet sometimes it’s still hard to believe that he’s really here and really ours.
Needless to say, the launch into motherhood has been equally rewarding and emotionally raw. And here lies my meeting point of focus and faith.
I'd like to read more, please»When small actions add up (plus, a birthday giveaway and new paintings!)
“We can always choose to perceive things differently. We can focus on what’s wrong in our lives, or we can focus on what’s right” Marianne Williamson
Today is my 33rd birthday.
I began my creative journey not long before I turned 30. Turning 30 didn’t scare me, but I was determined to enter a new decade feeling excited about the direction of my life. Having zero clues about where to begin, I started simply dreaming about what I’d like to offer the world.
I didn’t open my art shop / website to the public until late June after my 31st birthday – that’s how long it took me to discover my path, research the steps, and paint a first collection. I remember that year of discovery felt endless as I so badly wanted to begin my new life, but what I couldn’t see at the time were the wheels I’d already set in motion.
I couldn’t see that the late nights of slowly learning how to paint, the lunch breaks at my 9-5 job spent researching shipping restrictions and packaging, the daily to-dos that always seemed to multiply – all of it proved that my new life had already begun.
I'd like to read more, please»
Celebrating bravery in all forms (plus, two finished paintings!)
“You have to be brave with your life so that others can be brave with theirs” Katherine Center
As my pregnancy progresses into the final stretch (7 weeks to go!), I’ve found myself preparing to transform into whatever new version of myself I’ll become.
Of course so much of this transformation will happen once the baby is here and we’re in the midst of the learning // the growing into parents // the ebb and flow of joy vs. overwhelm. I can’t fully prepare for that ahead of time, so I’m doing what I can.
At my recent baby shower
My gift is my song (plus, new lion art!)
“My gift is my song and this one’s for you” (Elton John)
I’ve had a number of conversations recently with people about how we discover our gifts.
By gifts I don’t mean only career talents, though of course those are included. Some of us are also great listeners and wisdom sharers. Others, fantastic cooks. Some of us are great at simply lifting people’s spirits with infectious energy and a positive attitude.
Have you thought lately about your own gifts? We all have them, and I love, love, LOVE the discovery process. When I was first exploring the fact that I wanted to paint again, I reached out to my closest friends and family and asked them to help me think about what I was good at.
The responses were illuminating and touching. The best part about the exercise was that my crew really did see me, sometimes better than I was willing to see myself.
I want to challenge you today to reach out to someone you trust and just ask: what am I good at? What do you love about me? What would you thank me for?
The answer may surprise you // make your day brighter // help you feel totally loved on your path.
My gift is my song.
And what’s better than that?
I'd like to read more, please»Big news (plus, painting progress and a thank you discount)
“‘Sometimes,’ said Pooh, ‘the smallest things take up the most room in your heart'” A. A. Milne
This has been such a year of change.
As I’m sure is true for many of us, change for me can be simultaneously wonderful, unpredictable, difficult, and needed. I’ve done my best over the past several months to navigate a huge upcoming change in my life. Here’s the image my husband Eric and I shared recently from our family Easter egg hunt:
The chance to shine (plus, fox and whale art)
“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong” (Joseph Chilton Pearce)
We must lose our fear of being wrong.
I love the underlying flexibility here: the freedom is ours to take creative detours, to keep experimenting and finding the necessary inspiration to try again when a project doesn’t turn out how we thought.
There’s no wrong, honestly. There’s only exploration.
Are you ever so fearful about making a mistake that you can’t even begin?
I’ve SO been there. One early memory always sticks with me from elementary school, where we were doing a creative group project in class. We had to do video interviews of our classmates as well as take footage of the campus.
Being that this was the 90’s, we had a big and bulky video camera that was passed around from student to student until we’d each had a turn.
I didn’t want my turn to come, as my fear of incorrectly managing the camera in front of other people outweighed any other emotion or rational thought. The fear stopped me from paying attention to the instructions on how to use the camera, stopped me from brainstorming how I could make my contribution special.
The result of my turn was a shaky, inaudible mess.
