big news

i can't believe i haven't said anything about 

this here yet... 

but here we go: 

in september i am off Orvieto 

for a week of painting with Misty Mawn!!! 

there we go i said it :) 

i'm all booked and ready

 and it's as if it is only becoming real as the time gets closer! 

the week is called:

Wandering With Passion: Icon Painting - Creating Art From Soul

Learn to draw with confidence and paint what you feel and see.

we will paint, cook, wander, eat, meet and immerse ourselves in art. 

here are some of the ladies i know are coming:

 Jeanne-Marie, Robin , Camilla, 

and our hosts Kristin and Bill.

we've connected via social media 

 and i'm so looking forward to meeting them 

and all the others in real life soon!

beyond excited!!! 

my story... our story

via 

walking

afternoon light bliss on our walk

such beauty called for a Diptic collage of course! 

spoilt

this year i decided to gift myself a special 

little something for my birthday...

so a few days ago a little parcel arrived all the way from Australia

and i am now the proud owner of 

a Bridget Farmer etching!!! 

i love, love, love my goat!

and of course i couldn't just get one thing... 

how gorgeous is that box... and the earrings! 

happy ;) 

a little guidance

i made 3 new batches of my "Muse Cards".

i believe we all have a muse or a little genius whispering in our ear

and guiding us along the way. 

and i believe that he/she guides us in all our creative endeavors

(especially since listening to E. Gilbert Ted Talk)

every time i walk in my studio i light a candle,  

calling on my muse for that session 

and i pull one of these little cards to set the focus 

for the day.

these sets will make their way out into the world as little gifts! 

roots

i'm doing this next month, 

30 day journal project with Lisa Sonora Beam

i had done her January version and it was brilliant!

enter it's free, it's a fabulous project and great food for thought. 

morning visitors

i'm completely on the back foot 

with blogging this week.

i might even be on the back foot with everything, 

and that's ok. 

i'm giving myself permission to just be, to feel;

and i love this poem by Rumi: 

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.
Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.


-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
    translation by Coleman Barks

on my easel

oils in progress:

a small abstract on cardboard

i had painted pears on the canvas below and just didn't like them. 

 Roz suggested i screen-print one of my designs onto it which i did.

and then started adding colors.

and kept working at it

let's see where it takes me

and my tube, still very much in progress 

simple pleasures

this wool

accent aigu

these flowers

this painting 

by Michele Mikesell

via

...

today we are saying our final goodbyes to a beautiful friend.

my heart aches for her little family.

life seems so fragile, so precious, so cruel, so unpredictable... 

Rest in Peace Dear KJ. 

around here

arting,

art journaling,

walking, 

learning,

grateful.

along the way

roadside market

the chicken came home with us ;)

roadside mini market

some days...

some days are too beautiful to stay in the studio...

some days making marks and layering paint for backgrounds can be SO satisfying...