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-