If the path be beautiful (life here lately)

“If the path be beautiful, let us not ask where it leads” Anatole France 

 

 

There’s a rose bush that recently bloomed through the fence from our neighbor’s yard.

 

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Hello Spring (plus: a SALE!)

“In the spring, at the end of the day, you should smell like dirt” Margaret Atwood 

 

Hello Spring!

Spring is my favorite season.. there’s something so magical about color returning to the landscape, to flowers blooming, to warmth and hope, to new life everywhere you look.

In honor of Spring, I’m having a 3 day sale that runs from today through Friday.

 

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Bears and self-care

“It is a serious thing just to be alive on this fresh morning in this broken world” Mary Oliver 

 

Oh friends, these past few weeks have been such a challenge. We’ve had two big family emergencies, I had a health scare, and Eric’s school schedule sped up incredibly before one of his final presentations this week. I’ve been completely overwhelmed but trying to keep life as normal as possible for our little guy.

And yet: we’ve now entered Spring, warmer weather is getting closer each day, and I’ve made a new and solid commitment to take care of myself (something I really haven’t done since becoming a mom). I’ve tried to keep art close especially through all the recent struggle, but instead of painting in my studio it’s looked a lot more like collaborating with Isaac while he colors:

 

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Happy holidays from me to you!

“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been” Rainer Maria Rilke

 

Hello holidays, hello new year, and hello friends. I hope you’ve had a wonderful season so far.

If the holidays are hard for you, I’m sending you my love. If the holidays are joyful, I’m sending you my love. If you’re like me, and the holidays are a mixed bag of good and hard, I’m sending you my love.

 

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We go to the woods (life around here lately)

“I felt my lungs inflate with the onrush of scenery – air, mountains, trees, people. I thought, ‘this is what it is to be happy'” Sylvia Plath

 

I grew up going into the woods nearly every day.

I’ve always been in love with trees. I love the hushed air and the changing leaves. I love feeling so small yet so connected. Being so immersed in the natural world as a kid influenced everything, from how I find happiness to what I like to paint. I might not get out into the woods as regularly these days, but there’s still so much texture, color, and shape to be discovered out there in our daily lives:

 

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Gratitude first (plus: a brief writing hiatus)

“Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond” Rumi 

 

Be grateful for whoever comes. 

I’ve had this quote in my mind for a while now as a reminder to re-frame any challenging experiences, but it’s also helped me to see how much good there is all around us.

There really are so many little daily love moments that can get lost in the shuffle of trying to make it through the day.

Here’s one of my recent favorites where Isaac reorganizes some of my supplies.

 

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Magic, perspective, and Isaac’s 11 month photo shoot!

“Children see magic because they look for it” Christopher Moore 

 

I’m so glad you’re here. Here’s what’s going on in my world today:

I love the idea that the world is full of everyday magic, and that there’s endless combinations of color, art, natural wonder, and experience to discover if you’re receptive to seeking it out.

I had to go into the city last week for an appointment and on the walk back to the car, we decided to stop by a festival in a nearby park.

There is inspiration everywhere.

 

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Growth and color and an (almost!) finished new painting

“We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down” Kurt Vonnegut 

 

I’ve been thinking this week about what it takes to keep growing, whether as an artist or a parent or a friend or an individual. It’s the hard, daily work of trying new things, making mistakes, celebrating life and small successes, and getting up each new day with the determination to try again.

As spring continues to bloom, I’ve been so thrilled by the color and shape and growth right outside my door. Love, love, love.

 

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Milestones, bunnies, and the power of art

“I have come to understand that what I am saving by making art is my own vital life.” Toby MacLennan

 

My sister posted a quote recently that I just love:

 

I’ve often wondered why I felt compelled to make art.  And one day quite by surprise this sentence came to me with the strength of a command: You are saving things from being lost!  Over the years I have come to understand that by making art I am certain I am saving my childhood capacity to play from being systematically destroyed.  I am certain that by making art I am honorably retrieving from the dumpsters of our society, my awareness of the life of deer and the smell of black dirt just plowed up from a farmer’s field in Iowa.  I know that by making art I am preserving my ability to lay down on the ground and stare at a blade of grass until I am filled with wonder.  I know I am preserving my capacity to stray out from under the shadow of an idea and look at my hands as if they were just being born.  In fact, over the years I have come to understand that what I am saving by making art is my own vital life.

 

There are so many reasons why art is so important to me and to so many of us. Awareness, play, wonder, connection. Art calls on the pieces of ourselves that are less tangible, that are harder to define, but that are oh so necessary as part of a life well lived.

Let’s start our morning with some happy color. Not only do I adore these flowers, but this is one my favorite colors to paint with. Nature has the most beautiful palette to choose from!

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Shine like the whole universe is yours (plus: painting progress!)

“Shine like the whole universe is yours” Rumi 

 

 

Hello, magnificent world.

Thank you for showing me as always that there’s beauty everywhere and that fresh air and sunshine are healing for the soul.

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