A give away to ring in the New Year...

Three Kinds of Luck

3" x 7.5" 

Time again for my annual New Year's give away! All you have to do to be entered to win this original encaustic/mixed media painting is leave a comment between now and 12 noon tomorrow with a hope, dream or wish for the new year*. I'll have more on my thoughts for the coming year tomorrow but wanted to send out three kinds of luck and so much thanks to all who have stopped in here and shared in the goings on of 2013 : ) 

*(I will use the names in a hat method to select a winner just after noon tomorrow)

Nourishment-

Another (very) early morning in the kitchen.

gifted: local coffee & a new pot

trying: pickled tomatoes

making: old favorites

&

a staple

xx-

b

Cheers...

Hoping your day was full of merry and bright.

This morning...

I'm not sure which made people happier this morning, the fact that it was the last day of school before break or that they woke to the smell of sugar cookies baking. It's been a day full of getting it done and now it is time for some good old fashion fun.  Happy weekend to you!

Slow art...

This is the third oil painting I have in the works and while I would love to finish them up, they are all asking for more time.  I am still feeling very attached to all three pieces which is how I know they are not quite ready to be completed.  As I work through a painting, I usually reach a point where it starts to come together and begins to make sense to me. It is important for me to allow a piece to fully form and find a voice during this time so that it can stand on it's own.  In a way it is like the painting is growing up and becoming an independent piece that is a part of me yet completely it's own thing in the end.  By the time I work through what a painting wants to say I almost always feel ready to let it go and these guys, well, they are just not there yet, so I am trying to be patient with myself and to embrace a bit of slow art.  

That moon is so gorgeous and more snow is expected. Hello winter.

Two if by sea...

I can't seem to make a single 'Night Swimmer'.  They always appear in two's and three's and play off one another in color, size and shape.  I Hope to finish these two up later this evening but thought I would share an image of them quietly waiting for layers of wax and a bit of shimmer.  Winter has set in here and we are gearing up for a weekend of Peter Pan and visits from family and friends who will be attending.   Bon Iver friends!

around here...

a special project

a tiny tree that needed a home

paper snowflakes 

(and real ones too!)

roasted brussel sprouts

talking block no. 6

yummy chicken marbella

talking block no. 7

a big tree decorated with memories

Warm wishes on this chilly, snowy Monday.

ps:  FREE SHIPPING THRU 12/17!!!

in it....

(peace and joy in the works)

With the holiday season in full swing and celebrations near and far I am feeling so in it right now (a line from Garden State I think).  An unexpected storm put our Thanksgiving trip to Maryland in question until the last possible minute, but we ended up packing at 6am last Wednesday and hitting the road by seven.  The storm was more rain than snow and after an unexpectedly easy drive we enjoyed a lovely meal and some much needed quality time with family and friends we don't see often enough.  Now that we are home there are new classes starting for the big kids (trimesters), tech rehearsals for the two boys every night and baking and volunteering for a Holiday Bazaar.  This means cooking and eating early each night so that everyone has the brain power and energy to get their jobs done.  This morning I found a window of time to get into the studio and start a few 'talking blocks' and the two words I chose speak volumes about how things feel right now.  Here, in it, there is peace and joy.  There is also messiness, business and dailiness, but mostly there is peace and joy.  I hope the same is true for you. xx-

it's the little things that bring the big things together ...

The shelves are up on the wall and the bowls and mugs are loving their new home.  I am so happy with how the whole project is wrapping up that I had to stop in to share and to wish you a happy weekend!

progress (or the evolution of order)

Party Girl (blithe spirit) :: Hemmed In No. 1::  Party Girl (created to be seen and heard)

Floral No. 2 :: Floral No. 1 ::  color happiness

Well hello there.  Things here are moving along nicely but there is an endless amount of work as we near the finish line in the kitchen remodel.  I installed counter to ceiling subway tile last week (sooo much tile!!!) and have spent this week grouting one section at a time.  All of the adhesive, grout and water is hard on the hands and I am slathering on lotion every chance I get (gloves would have been a good idea).  I managed to get a few encaustic pieces completed for a small open house I participated in last weekend. 'A Show of Hands' was filled with lots of creative energy and inspiration.  A few paintings found new homes and a few (pictured above) will be in my shop soon. The last photo shows my wall-o-tile and includes the fabulously-full-of-raggedy color-happiness garland i brought home from 'A Show of Hands'.  It was love at first site as it is the perfect splash of color to my new mostly white kitchen.  So I'm am here working hard and thinking about this space often but giving myself over to the nose-to-the-grindstone-thing so we can finish up and have things in order before the holiday season begins. Time to hang the open shelving on my wall-o-tile....see you back here soon : )

Needle in a haystack...

All these needles but only four size 2 double points to be found.  Luckily my Mom has an equally abundant stash of needles and is going to loan me a 5th size two so I can cast on a pair of socks this afternoon.  I currently have two hats near completion and an infinity scarf in the works but I saw a dear friend (and knitting guru) at a school assembly last night working on a pair of socks and was inspired. Early this morning I pulled out a few skeins of the sock yarn I've kept during my 10 year sock knitting hiatus and wanted to cast on before discovering the missing needle.  I'm heading to my Mom's to drop Sage for a sleep over there with his cousin and will cast on before we take the two big kids to see the musical at the high school this evening (pre-show and intermission knitting works for me).  I'm not sure if it's the chill in the air, the autumn leaves blowing around the yard or the need for a fire each night that has me really excited about knitting socks but I'm going to go with it and hopefully end up with at least one (if not two) new pair of wool socks : )

The meaning of words...

I've experienced a little lull in the studio over the past few weeks.  A combination of meeting deadlines, the daily grind and home improvement stuff had kind of sapped my creative spark. I struggled with this mental roadblock for a bit but then decided  to stretch myself and work in new ways while giving my full attention to things in my daily life.  The results were organic and soul stirring.  I created a very special gift for a dear friend and found the thread that always leads me down the path to new work.  That path is scattered with bits and pieces of text and color and words.  I found words I had set aside long ago and a few new ones too and I created dresses for these ladies, gathered party hats and crowns,  and will soon give them wings and golden hearts. The words themselves caught my eye but it is only in giving them to the girls that they take on meaning.  

Warm wishes for a week of unexpected inspiration...

Taking time....

This was a week of taking things in and putting things down in new ways.  The week brought unexpected conversations, long mornings, new friendships and stolen moments.  As I head into a quietly open and unplanned weekend I just wanted to take a minute to check in here, say hello and to wish you a lovely weekend of lingering on whatever it is that brings you joy.  

good food and good intentions...

beets and caramelized onions with feta

Last week started out on an optimistic note but the reality of soccer and cross country overlapping with Peter Pan rehearsals, continued upheaval in the kitchen  and a 17th Birthday celebration led to a week with little painting to speak of or show.  While enjoying every bit of the sports wrap ups, photo shoots and birthday fun I did start to feel a little down about not getting into the studio and tried to putter around a bit on Sunday before pumpkin carving but my head just wasn't in it.  So with limited counter space and appliances I decided to turn to the recipe box for creative inspiration and tried this new recipe (now a favorite) to dress up simple roast beets.  I must admit that with my studio time and my kitchen time both being limited I'm a bit lost these days.  I really appreciated reading this post by Amanda this morning as I try to embrace the busyness of now, knowing that the time and inspiration for new work will come along with big pots of soup in a not-under-construction-kitchen sometime before the snowflakes begin to fly.  So with fall sports officially over, the excitement of Peter Pan taking over the house and Halloween Costumes to finish up I wish you a lovely, busy week full of joy.

Dream Catcher

Dream Catcher

4.75" x 9.5"

Party Girl

(Baby, it's cold outside)

3.5" x 5"

Happy Friday to you!  I'm just getting things together for a weekend trip to Evanston to visit with old friends & neighbors but wanted to share two pieces I completed this past week.  The photos here are a bit darker than the real thing but encaustic work and flash photography don't play well together and sunlight is hard to come by before 8am.  The party girl shown started off as a swimmer but ended up with a party hat and winter coat.  I love this little lady because she is a great example of a piece becoming what it wants to be rather than what i plan for it to be.  Dream Catcher on the other hand is a window into many conversations I've been having with friends about ideas, plan Bs and dreams being carried away out into the universe to fly beautifully and unexpectedly or float away as memories.  Anyways, enough rambling here, I need choose some knitting for the road and pack up the car. See you next week...

bundles and beauties...

thyme bundles::amazing little beauties*

Greetings from Monday.  This weekend felt long and lovely and it was packed with all kinds of autumn goodness.  The boys received their parts in Peter Pan.  Theo was cast as both J.M. Barrie (the narrator) and Mr. Darling and much to our delight and surprise Sage will be playing Michael and flying!  There was a soccer game and a farm sleepover (Sage), a guitar recital that involved playing and singing (Theo) and lots of homework and a big project to complete (Phoebe).  C and I spent lots of time clearing the garden and planning for it's expansion next spring, made time to see a movie together (loved it) and had my parents over for Sunday dinner.  I'm still trying to figure out how that all fit into just one weekend without feeling busy but it did but today I am embracing the quiet of my house.  The next few days will be split between the garden and the studio and that is sounding pretty perfect right now.  I hope all is well in your neck of the woods and am wondering what you have planned for this gorgeous week?

*found these thornberry apples in a local shop from this michigan orchard...soooo yummy!

Unspoken Truths Lost In The Night

new work::up close

I haven't been sleeping much lately.  The change in seasons has brought to mind the old house, our old friends and all that we have experienced as a family and as five individuals over the past decade.  At night when it's hard to turn my brain off the dream ponies march slowly through my thoughts reminding me of all that has been said and done, opportunities taken and lived to the fullest and those that slipped by and then I go on to wondering/worrying about the here and now and the days, months and years to come. I know, the whole shine on thing, yeah, yeah, yeah...but I need to work through this stuff and the days are too busy to give enough space to this big picture kind of thinking.  I  love this time of the year as we look back at the brightness of summer and prepare for the darkness brought by winter.  It is a good time to take stock of things, to sort through, and muddle around in the grey days of autumn while occasionally looking up to find blue skies, crisp autumn air and unexpected moments of clarity. I have always appreciated the idea of seeing the beauty in both sides of things but  I am perfectly content to live in the in-between because it seems that is where all the really-good-magical-and-transformative-stuff happens.  So I'm not sleeping much lately but I'm kind of ok with it for now and I've started knitting again to slow down my days just a bit as I find my way to winter.  What about you...are you a summer, autumn, winter of spring type?

Shine On...

Party Girl (Shine On)

When I came across this phrase in the paper last week something clicked.  I thought to myself, yes, that is what I need to do, to shine on.  Over the past few months I've thought and talked a lot about moving on and moving forward and about muddling through the days in spite of the many stumbling blocks.  But when I saw this phrase I realized that just dealing with things and moving on is not what I want to be doing at all...I want to shine on.  I want to embrace and appreciate all that I experience and send all of that goodness back out into the world.  These two little words have taken on a much larger meaning than the the sum of their parts and I am so happy to have been gathering the day they appeared. 

Warm wishes for an amazing and lovely autumn week-

Built To Last

Built To Last

7"w x 8"h

Sometimes it takes all the tools in the toolbox...

Little by little and lots by lots...

painting in progress :: kitchen in progress

Is it my imagination or do the colors in the painting look like the colors in my still-a-work-in-progress-but-now-i-have-countertops kitchen?  I ended up choosing honed carrara marble for many reasons and I totally love, love, love it (and yes, my type A self is already getting over the fact that the counter will looked used and loved).  Next, I will tile the walls with sheets of 2"x4" white subway tile (still trying to decide between white or pale grey grout, thoughts?), C needs to install the range hood and someone other than us needs to move a large drain pipe that is currently hanging down from the ceiling and do some drywall repair.  Now that the space is back to a usable state I don't mind that it with be at least another 4 or 8 or 12 weeks until it's done.  The fact that a nasty head cold/sore throat/sneezy coughy thing has worked it's way through our house and finally made it to me might have something to do with me embracing a slow down too.  But this is my favorite time of the year and Michigan is so gorgeous right now and it really feels like home.  We are making time to visit cider mills and explore the Huron River, we are picking the last of the pole beans (and a few straggling tomatoes) and family game night is back and has taken over the sun room.  

Over the past 3 months we have settled in little by little and lots by lots and even though I have jobs to finish up my mind has turned to next year's project which is to expand the garden and plant a small orchard.  I'm reading this book right now and as usual, am getting ahead of myself. 

 Warm wishes for a lovely autumn weekend.

All Kinds of Love

All Kinds of Love (loveisloveislove)

5.5" x 8"

Love comes in all shapes, sizes and colors. 

 This little piece celebrates the idea that love is a good thing.

 Period.

 love is love is love.

Happy Friday.

Full House

Full House

2.75" x 3"

A tiny piece that says a lot.  

xx

New work

Midnight Swim*

The things that keep people together and keep people close are wide and varied.  These two share a love of quiet adventure and both believe a midnight swim is a magical thing.  "Midnight Swim" is a 9.25"x6.75" diptych made up of two equal salvaged wood blocks.  Just wanted to share this piece before the weekend got away from me.  It's been a busy week but I found quite a bit of time to work and I have just  listed this piece and a few smaller paintings in my etsy shop.  And if you haven't checked out ETA 14 yet,  I have to say you are missing out on all kinds of tiny goodness! You can check the show out on line here (or in person if you are lucky enough to be anywhere near Portsmouth, NH). 

*(the black in this painiting is slightly darker/deeper than it appears here...black wax is really tricky to photograph)

I meant to share this sweet little guy a week ago...

Sage and his new bunny Benji

Benji joined our family just over a week ago and while he is just about the cutest thing on the planet I have been too busy to share with another out of town visitor, a custom order and a super fun end of the summer stay cation.  So on this gorgeous first day of school here is a little something to make you smile.  Benji is a 10 week old Wooly Jersey bunny who will only grow to a wee three lbs.  He is sweet and curious and Sage is doing an excellent job looking after his new friend.  He is living inside part time and outside part time in a temporary cage while we plan and then build a bunny hutch. In other news, the kids all made it through the 1st day at new schools and we are just about to sit down for chicken pot pie and some stories from the day. I'm planning on lots of studio time this week and will be back to share some new work soon.  Hope your week is off to a sweet and lovely start.

And they're off-

Enormous Tiny Art 14

The Bathers::What Remains::Stories We Tell

Wild At Heart::You Are Not Alone::What Hope Looks Like

Summer garden goodness-

{Summer in a bottle}

Yum.

New work & wishes for a lovely weekend!

Bathers No. 1::In Season::Single Minded 

Lots of new work to share.  These three are for the shop, some shipped off to Nahcotta, more to share on Monday.  We also visited The Chelsea Fair last night for the figure 8 derby, rides and farm animals and something special I will share here on Monday.  Happy weekend people : )

kitchen update...

1.  stella showing you the new kitchen floor

2.  the almost complete island

(the spice shelves were a last minute addition...thank you c!)

3.  the new stove finally out of the studio and in the kitchen 

(and after an unexpected electrical job is in working order)

left to do:

countertops templated but won't be installed until mid-september

tiling the backsplash from the countertops to the sofit

hanging floating shelves to hold glasses, cups and coffee and tea stuff

kick plates under cabinets

raising the drain pipe hanging from the ceiling and repairing the ceiling and sofit*

*will hire someone for this job  : )

putting in pot lights

3rd coat of white dove on the walls and ceiling

just wanted to share a bit of what is done and a bit of what is left to do. finishing up new work for ETA 14 and the shop which i will share here soon : )

Summer food & fun...

Boy are we in it now.  

The end of summer has brought:

 much loved house guests 

a gorgeous morning picking blueberries

a picnic and swim with friends

a visit from one of my oldest friends and her little one

a trip to a new to us lake/beach

a crazy amount of zucchini from the garden

two batches of these fritters to deal with the crazy amount of zucchini

the 1st of MANY tomatoes ripening on the vine

a small and totally charmed music festival

quite a few games of Clue 

lots of time in the studio getting ready for ETA 14

a shift in the energy of this place from house to home

here's hoping you are in it too and loving it : )

now that's what i'm talking about...

A late night followed by a quiet early morning in the studio and the very best summer has to offer spread out in front of me today.  Hope the same is true for you on this pretty friday.

workin'

My studio may have our new stove taking up space and pink sponge painted walls but I am so, so happy to have a space to call my working home.  The look needs a little tweaking but it is a really good space with lots of light and I love it.  Eventually the walls will be painted a creamy white and the floor will change from yucky brown to either creamy white or ebony.  I am hoping we will be moving the 200lb monster stove out of there this weekend so I can spread out and settle in a bit more but that is still up in the air.  Progress is being made in the kitchen but as you know with any diy project it always seems to be one step forward and two steps back.  The entire contents of my pantry are on the dining room table for the 3rd time since moving in (long story short we have to rebuild the pantry shelving and we ran out of flooring so things are running a bit behind and we are living/cooking/snacking off the table.  But enough about all that because these mid 70's temps have me doing a happy dance every day.    I've heard people saying they feel like they missed summer but I am in h-e-a-v-e-n.  In fact I'm heading out to weed in the garden before dinner so I'll wish you a lovely evening and see you back here soon : )

things that have gotten too big around here...

1.  the kapla block tower sage built (lasted a day and a half and fell when no one was near it)

2.  the nyt stack (which i am definitely planning to go through for images and text soon)

3.  the messes i seem to need to make on a daily basis as i get things where they need to be (sorry c!)

4.  the zucchini i missed the other day (perfect for a double batch of chocolate chip zucchini muffins : )

more soon...

growing, painting and putting down roots-

my how time flies when you are in diy mode.  just to make an excuse for not being in the studio catch up a bit i'll fill you in on what i've been up to over the past two weeks.  i've painted two bedrooms (one the palest, airiest blue and the other the darkest navy black), refinished our old kitchen table which my mom generously gifted back to us, raised the garden fence from 4 ft to 7 ft high to keep out the deer, purchased a rug that matches my two sweet dogs, started the not-so-fun-but-the-price-is-right project of painting the oak kitchen cabinets the same black as the bedroom (benjamin moore aura matte paint in 'soot'...love.love.love.) and started to harvest the 1st bit of produce from our new garden.  there are peas, beans, chard, kale, arugula and lots of tomatoes filling the one bed we managed to clear and i planted two types of winter squash in the other bed which i am weeding bit by bit.  the heat is almost unbearable and so i have been trying to get out there a little in the morning but even at 8am the humidity is oppressive.  we are trying to do a lot with a little and so we are working like crazy but the kitchen will be our stopping point. all work and no play is no fun so we have also managed to do some exploring in our new/old town, do some stargazing in our backyard, visited evanston, enjoyed the beach and brought friends back to michigan to stay with us.  it's turning out to be a productive and busy summer and i am just way too tired to mess with capitals letters.  more soon...

new work!

Happily ever, ever, ever...

11.75" x 12"

Magical Thinking (or how dreams take flight)

13" x 11.5"

I am so, so happy to finally have new work to share here.  I can't even describe how good it felt to be back in the studio listening to music and painting into the wee hours late last week.  I am sharing my new studio space with a few moving boxes and a new stove awaiting it's place in the kitchen (more on that project later) but have enough room to work.  I love the color and energy in the top painting and the blue sky in the 2nd piece looks very much like the big blue michigan sky that I'm falling in love with all over again.  There are transformations and magical things going on around here and there is also lots of sorting things out and hard work.  Wishing you a lovely, lazy beauty filled sumer week : )

nesting...

::sun room before and after::

Greeting from Michigan!  We have been here about a week and a half and have been crazy busy nesting, unpacking and settling in.  C had to travel both weeks and so we worked very hard on the weekends doing two person jobs like ripping up (pink) carpet, laying hardwood flooring, taking down a mantle and (pink) tile work and beginning to tame a wild and over grown garden.   While he is away I have been busying myself with painting walls, prepping the fireplace surround for new tiles and weeding, weeding, weeding.  I am really happy with the way the sun room was transformed and we have been enjoying all of our meals there this past week. I haven't painted the windows yet and I have to say the natural wood is growing on me (maybe I'm just tired of painting?) The wood  mimics the color of the sisal rug in the room and the white oak flooring in the adjacent family room.  I think I will leave them for now but paint them white eventually...what do you think?  There will be more rooms to share as we continue to reinvent each space over time.  But getting the 1st two rooms (almost) done has quelled my nesting instinct and is helping this new house feel like our home.  I have been doing some encaustic work the past couple of nights and while my new studio is bigger and brighter, it is oh so much messier than my old space!  I'm trying to let go of my need for order go so that creating art and creating a home can happily coexist this summer....wish me luck : )

moving day...

It's been awhile, right?  Moving day is tomorrow and the days leading up to it have been full of activity and emotion.  I am doing my best to manage it all but it's a lot.  I can see that now that I'm in it.  From a distance it didn't seem like it would be so much, but it's a lot.  Packing is almost complete and friends have offered us dinner.  So tonight we finish up here, say some more goodbyes and then tomorrow we get up early and start a new chapter.  Going back to Michigan brings us full circle and I've been giving that whole notion lots of thought.  I'm looking forward to settling into my new studio and getting back to work.  There are shows to prepare for, commissioned work to complete and new ideas to work out.  I'm looking forward to getting back to this space, back to cooking and back to many, many things that have been on hold these past few months.  I hope your summer is off to a bright and shiny start and I'll see you here soon : )

hitting the reset button-

(new work on old wood)

A shift has occurred in my head (and in my heart) and I was finally able to get back to work this week. The real, creative and healing work of putting together colors and images, playing with familiar themes and solving visual puzzles which open doors. I was here a few weeks ago talking about experimenting with the 'hot box' but that was a creative disaster which left me feeling frustrated and uninspired.  In hindsight I can see that trying to figure out something new just compounded my feeling of being displaced, lost and in limbo.  But a trip to my parents house, a few pieces of very old barn wood and the fact that we close on our new home in Michigan in just two short weeks helped trigger the reset button this week and I got back to cutting, gluing and painting with r& f pigment sticks and oil bars.  Once I have a few pieces together I will find a way to hook together some extensions cords and do all of my hot wax work out the back door in the stairwell. 

 And yes, I did say our new house in Michigan!  We did not end up going with the farmhouse I mentioned a few posts back for a variety of reasons and we were getting worried about having to move into a 2nd rental while we continued to search in this market with very low inventory.  But then, things changed in the blink of an eye and we found a really good, solid house with just the right amount of space inside (including a 1st floor studio), a wood burning fireplace, and a fenced garden on one acre in Ann Arbor.  It is by far the newest home we have ever lived in and it will take a bit of work to make it seem like our own after being in hundred year old houses for almost two decades but we both knew as soon as we walked in that it was the right house. We close on the house Memorial Day weekend but we will not officially move until mid-June when the kiddos finish up the school year.  The good news is that my studio space will be up and running on day one so that amid the unpacking, the tearing out of carpet and the painting I will have a space to breathe work.  So excited.

big love...

Chuck was invited to a very small gathering/fundraiser with Jeff Tweedy last night and I (half jokingly) asked him to give Jeff a hug for me.  Much to my surprise (and delight) he did just that and texted me this photo from the event.  In the many times I've seen Tweedy play with Wilco and on his own he has come across as such a down to earth, normal guy with a poetic soul and I can't think of anything better than this image of big love.  Chuck had the opportunity to talk with him a bit and heard him play a few tunes but I think the hug was the best part.

  Have a beautiful weekend people : )

subterranean homesick blues...

::temporary workspace::

Greetings from the garden apartment that we are temporarily calling home.  As you may or may not know 'garden' is a nicer way to say 'basement' and I must admit it has been a big adjustment for me moving from the gorgeous old victorian to this tiny underground abode (can you see my x's on the calendar???).  But after two full weeks here I am finding my rhythm with the dogs, the noise, the lack of fresh air and limited light, one drawer kitchen and having to do 5 peeps worth of laundry at the laundrymat AND I decided it's time to stop complaining and start painting. We have one table which serves as the dining, homework, computer, folding and everything table and so I can't really work on that but today I borrowed the small folding table (shown above) from my old neighbor and dear friend with the goal of getting to back to painting.  The lack of ventilation is a concern so I decided I would take our time here in the apartment to work with the hot box C built for me last year.  It works at a much lower temperature than my skillets and with the window open and a fan blowing I think it will be OK.  I have been wanting to experiment with creating monoprints on the hotbox and this seems like a golden opportunity.  Today I'm off to plant tomato seeds with 60 2nd graders but tomorrow I will set up shop and get started.  And speaking of shops...I am offering 10% off and free shipping thru April 30th in my Etsy shop : )  

hi & bye & happy friday...

Night Vision 

Well, the time has come to say goodbye for a few weeks while we wrap things up here at the house.  We close on April 1st but we are heading off on another house hunting trip in Michigan and will move half of our things into storage there. When we return, we will move the things we need to live into the small apartment that will be our home for the next three months. It will be an adventure to be sure and I'm not 100% certain what comes next but I am know that we are making the right decisions and have to trust that things will work out as they should (still waiting for news on the old farmhouse...).   I had forgotten that the movers had to come and crate my marble table tops before the actual move and so last night I had to pack up my studio a few days earlier than I had planned.  The photo above is my quiet studio last night and a new painting titled 'Night Vision'.  I love the way the butterflies move against the velvety black background and the image of beauty in the darkness. Once we are settled into our temporary home I am hoping to set up a make shift studio table so I can work while the kids are in school.  I expect to be back here sharing new work (and hopefully some news on a new home) by the middle of April.  Thanks for reading...

Things aren't always black and white...

Things Aren't Always Black And White

4.5"x6.75"

Hello, hello.  The title of this painting is art imitating life...which seems to be the theme around here these days.  We took our little guy on a quick trip to Michigan to check out a house we hope will be our next home.  It was a long couple of hours driving there in the snow, lots of looking and talking, a great dinner with my parents and an early-morning-white-knuckle-drive-back in the snow.  The fact that the house is not technically for sale right now and a few other factors make our offer on the place a maybe at best.  I don't want to say more and jinx anything but we are hoping for a counter offer by the end of the week and are keeping our fingers crossed.  If you want to cross your fingers too or send a little good juju this way I would really appreciate it!!!