The New Normal

The New Normal

12.75" x 7"

This is pretty much what it feels like these days.  Sometimes things get turned around but togetherness, color and beauty are constant companions. They are the glue that hold everything together around here.  There are other things too, like music, laughter & good food but I am going to have to say that togetherness, color and beauty are my trinity...they are the carrots, celery and onion in my pot.  What about you, what are your go to ingredients for making the tough days bearable and making the bright days shine a bit brighter?

Tiny new works...

The Polaroid

Emotional Block No. 21

(treasure box)

Emotional Block No. 20

(free thought)

So, it turns out that creating a large body of work takes a lot more time than I had originally anticipated.  Creating work in a group is easy peasy and I love to work that way.  For each group of 4 or 5 paintings, I usually love 2-4 of them and scrap 1-3.  Over the past week things seemed to be humming along nicely with lots of time to paint, ideas coming together and translating well onto the blocks.  But then, all of a sudden, I realized that I needed to really finish these pieces in order to count them as inventory.  Yikes.  Normally I paint sides, sign date and title and attach sawtooth hangers one at a time as things sell (not a great method but it suits my need to procrastinate).  The idea of having 32 painting to finish was really overwhelming.  Having to paint the sides of 32 blocks, sign, date and title them all and attach the sawtooth hangers took the entire week...but I did it!  I officially have a stash started for the One Of A Kind Fair.  I'm sharing a few new pieces here and adding them to my Etsy shop but most of the new work will be part of a slow growing army of paintings.  Wishing you all a super lovely weekend full of whatever you need to fill yourself up :)

All In Good Time...

new work & works in progress

Gotta love the rainbow wheel.  A bright spinning circle of color to distract you from the fact that you are waiting, and waiting and waiting.  This week has been a very full one and I am so glad that Friday has finally arrived.  I am wrapping up a big week in the studio and hope to have 30 small pieces completed for the 'One of a kind Fair' by Sunday.  I still have a long way to go in building up my inventory but as the new work says...all in good time.  And on this gorgeous Friday morning I send you wishes for a lovely autumn weekend :)

Finding beauty and quiet in the middle of it all...

American Beauty

7"x 6.5"x 2"

Hey there. There is so much going on here that I don't even know where to begin...so I won't.  Today I'll just say that in the middle of it all I am finding beauty and quiet in my surroundings and am so grateful for the gift of open space and breathing room.  There is so much grace and beauty in the many old barns I pass by daily. These antique structures are full of stories and the sight of them nurtures something deep inside of me.  The soothing quiet in the river and woods which flank the short ride to and from school each day fill me up and renew my energy.  So amidst all the driving, cooking, painting and meeting deadlines there is room for pause....and that is a gift. 

 Where do you find breathing room in your day?

Night Swimmers No. 18 & 19

Night Swimmer No.18

Night Swimmer No.19

Just a quick hello before heading into the studio to kick off a creative marathon.  The table is stacked with fully sanded block waiting to be primed and stack of colorful bits of newsprint gathered over the summer.  I am starting my December show stock up with a set of Emotional Blocks.  It's been quite awhile since I've added to that series and I love cutting out the tiny figures and creating their stories.  My plan is to create a large set of original blocks and to put a few in my shop later this week and set the rest  aside as inventory for The One Of A Kind Fair.  I have 12 weeks to pull things together for that show...starting now :)

trying to decide if this post should be titled 'good news' or 'be careful what you wish for'...

Good Morning!  I am up early to help my Mom with day two of her annual furniture sale.  Yesterday was in the mid-90's so we were all insanely sweaty and busy as at least 60-70% of her work sold.  It was so great to see so many super sturdy, beautifully refurbished pieces of antique furniture find new life.  Today it will be in the mid-70's and the kids will be there too so it should be a really fun day :)

As I mentioned the other day, I have two pieces of news to share that I am really excited about.  The first is that late last week I was notified by email that my large piece 'Home And Garden' was selected to be a part of the Encaustic Art Institute's 4th annual Juried show.  It takes place at the Encaustic Art Institute in Cerrillos, NM and runs from October 4th to November 4th.  I won't be able to make it to the opening reception but am super excited to be a part of this show.  If you are in NM and get to see the show I would love to hear about it.  A good friend here in Ann Arbor also made it into the show so I am doubly happy about this show!

My second bit of news is that I have been chosen to be a part of the Etsy Emerging Artists Pavillion at the 2014 One Of A Kind Fair.  This show takes place at The Merchandise Mart in Chicago December 4th, 5th. 6th and 7th.  I am super surprised, super excited and more than a bit freaked out about this show.  It involves four long days of selling at an event that had over 65,000 visitors last year.  I have never participated in anything close to this size but my studio is organized, I have a good supply of wood and a notebook full of idea so I'm ready to hit the ground running on Monday and create a pretty massive body of work over the next 12 weeks.  My plan is to create a small group of Party Girls, Night Swimmers or All Kinds of Luck blocks each week as a starting point and to create 2-4 additional original pieces.  This show will test me in many ways but I am so excited about meeting some of the great people behind the scenes at Etsy and so excited to spend 5 great days in Chicago with the company and support of my friends there.  If you are anywhere in the area please put this show on your calendar and plan to stop by my teeny, tiny, booth and say hello!  Ok, now I really need to get it together and head out to my parent's house but I will leave you with a quote I came across earlier in the week...

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. How do you know this is the experience you need? Because this is the experience you are having at the moment.”

- Eckhart Tolle

This Was When Her Real Story Began

This Was When Her Real Story Began

I had every intention of working on this piece and sharing it yesterday morning but the day took a turn, and another turn and then a few more (let's just say nothing went quite as planned but all ended well enough).  This morning, in the back to school quiet,  I spent some time in the studio and finished the piece up quickly.  I really like the image and the title and the idea that roads and paths are revealed to us while we sleep and dream.  I actually closed my eyes for 15 minutes before picking up the kids today (something I never ever do) and I woke to the ding of an email with some news.  Some good and exciting news that I will share tomorrow once I am able to wrap my head around it ;-)