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!!!  

New Night Swimmers and some thoughts on us...

Night Swimmer No. 4 & 5

So, how are you today? I've been thinking about you a lot lately.  Over the past few weeks I've had a number of back and forth emails and extended communications with some of you.  One from over seas, one from the Golden State (which holds a special place in my heart) and one from the east coast which touched me very deeply and prompted me to write this post.  When I first discovered encaustics, I painted for almost two years before I showed my work to anyone and never even considered putting it out into the world.  I was painting for me, you know, as a way to let the inside out, as a way to make sense of the joy, sorrow and confusion that came with finding my way, as a way to see myself, outside of myself...if that makes any sense.  But then, one day,  a friend was visiting and he suggested that I might want to do something with the massive amount of work I was creating and so I looked to Etsy.  I didn't have much experience on my computer, or with my camera but I figured I didn't have anything to lose.  Little did I know how much I had to gain.  Putting my work out to people this way is not as raw and personal as say, someone singing a song on stage with an acoustic guitar, but it is putting my self, my thoughts, my struggles out there and it was a very difficult thing to get past the feelings of insecurity.  I'm also a bit of a perfectionist (ahem) and so accepting and embracing the fluid and imperfect nature of working with wax also took a bit of stumbling through thoughts of 'is this good enough?'.   But much to my repeated surprise and delight so many of you have understood and embraced my work.  Over these past seven years of painting and selling my work I have come to realize how universal many of our truths are and how many of us share the same questions.  I am so very grateful to all of you who have supported my efforts on this blog, on etsy, at Nahcotta, in Taproot and the Sommerset Studio publications.  I still paint for me, and I paint my own truths, but I do so knowing that I am not alone and that I owe all of you a big group hug.

new work-

rooted in dreams::playing catch up

full circle

spring fling

Happy Friday peeps...what a crazy week it's been.  There has been lots of packing and painting and a fair share of illness is working it's way through this house.  But now it's Friday and everyone that made it out this morning is home, the new paintings are done, the packing is done (for tonight anyways) and now it's time to put together a bit of dinner that upset tummys and sore throats can handle. Maybe we can rally for a game or maybe it will be a movie night.  Whatever it is, I am just so, so happy that no one has to wake up early and that no one has anywhere to be tomorrow but here.

Day and night...

mile high rainbow cake

(ok, it was only 10" high but it almost didn't fit on the plates!)

Yesterday Sage turned nine.  He spent his birthday with a few friends at an amazing leather mask making studio in the city.  The couple that owns and operates the studio were open and generous with their time, talents and materials and each of the boys walked away with a really amazing and unique piece of wearable art.  If you ever find yourself in need of a mask definitely check out Jeff and Colleen's work at the 'Inside Out Art Studio'.  After all of the excitement of the day everyone was quietly playing with new things or working on homework or reading the paper and I was able to get a little painting in.  I started two pieces very similar in color and feel and I'm looking forward to seeing where they take me this afternoon.  I've also started laying out some bits and pieces for a few more mermaid paintings.  The first three mermaids have all found their way closer to the sea and one even journeyed across it as she made her way out into the big wide world.

Happy Monday.

Works in progress...

The wheels are in motion, the balls are in the air and the train has left the station.  Any way you put it, things are happening in these parts.  I started packing over the weekend, figuring if I can manage a box or two per day it won't seem like such an overwhelming task.  I have just over three weeks to pack everything up and knowing I have a good start allows me the breathing room to do other things (like paint and cook).  In fact, as I write this post that pot of onions (shown above) is entering it's 2nd hour of cooking down to become French Onion Soup for dinner tonight and the smell is soooo amazing.  The recipe is pretty simple and much less greasy than the version you find in most restaurants.  It will be a special treat alongside a simple salad on this snowy day.  In addition walking from room to room, making mental lists and chopping onions I also spent some time in the studio working on a new encaustic piece.  That is exactly where I want to be the rest of the week and I hope to share a few more creative works in progress soon.  What are you working on these days?

State of Grace

State of Grace

4.25"x4.5"

Hiding in plain site, that's kind of what I've been doing.  I've been here but not really been here. I've been in the studio way too little but when I'm in there it's been good.  There have been many ups and downs over the past 6 months but now things are moving forward.  I am happy (and sad) to say that we have sold our gorgeous old house by the lake and will be moving out at the end of March.  We sold our home by owner to a private buyer and the process has been very open and personal which make handing over the keys a tiny bit easier.   We are planning a move back to Ann Arbor, Michigan which is where we lived before we lived here.  We have friends and family in the area and are still searching for a new old home with a little bit of land on which to plant ourselves.  Trying to secure a short term rental here that allows dogs took many, many calls and emails but I'm so happy (and relieved) to say that we just signed a lease that will give us a place to call home until the end of the school year.  Now that things are set in motion and many loose ends have been wrapped up I plan to spend the next two weeks painting before I have to start packing. So, I'll be back soon, sharing new work and more on what comes next, but for now I'm enjoying a brief state of grace where all is calm before the storm.