Wedding Lace Rocks.

For our wedding, I decided I wanted to paint a lace rock for everyone who attended.

People thought I was down right nuts. They encouraged me to take on something easier.

But, I like a good challenge, and I've been told I like doing things the hard way...

so here's what they looked like in the end!

Over 120 stones, one for each of the people we love, and who came to cheer on our love.

Each one a little bit different from the next.

And yet also somewhat alike.

Here is what Lace Rocks mean to me:

The stone itself is weighty, like the commitment of marriage.

It isn't something to take lightly, 

and with its weight come solidity and groundedness.

These stones are circular, but not perfectly, 

like a good marriage there are a few lumps and bumps.

And the lace paintings are delicate, and must be made with care,

like the vows we made on that day and will keep for each other.

And in the end, the play of weight and delicacy,

light and dark, simpleness and complexity,

are just like we are, and how all of our lives are, a balance.

So happy to have made them, and so happy to be married to my favorite human,

who is both wonderfully simple and deeply complex.

Up, Down and All Around.

Hello Creative Friends.

It's been quite a month here on life's roller coaster.

Philip and I tied the knot on July 19th, best day EVER.

So wonderful to be encircled by our closest family and friends as we said our self written vows.

Philip turned over to me the next morning and said, "I miss our wedding ceremony."

I agreed whole heartedly. It was magic.

And then, just a week later, tragedy struck.

Our 17 year old cat became really really sick. He had been battling kidney disease,

and the struggle became too big. We made the gut wrenching decision to end his suffering.

This was by far the hardest decision either of us has ever made.

I had told Kinder (our cat) when he got diagnosed with kidney disease to tell me when it was time,

and he did, in a very quiet way. As a family of two humans who work from home, the loss of our little furry co-worker is giant. But we will slowly sew back up this hole in our hearts, together.

These two back to back events show me the ability of our heart to expand and contract, 

and then re-expand. As well as the depth of our capability to feel, love, and heal, which is immense.

All of this also reminds me of our tremendous ability to create, and that LIFE IS SHORT,

so we'd better sit down to the drawing board and get something down on paper.

So today I am getting these words down on paper, and when I finish I will work up a little drawing in my sketchbook, which has been set aside for weeks now during all these turns in the road.

I urge you all to do the same. Take a pause, get out the pencil or pen, and make your mark.

If you'd like some inspiration, or a new creative adventure, check out the classes tab up top.

August's class schedule has just been released, I'd love to see you in class soon.

Wishing for you all tremendous love.

(Kinder in his super-relaxed happy place.)

Building a Year.

Today is the anniversary of moving into my home,

 and I am busy pondering the amazing lives we can create in a short period of time. 

For me, this has been a year of building. 

I have nested and turned my house into my home, 

a place I feel reflects me. It contains all of my favorite things,

memories of ones I love, objects of beauty, tools that are useful,

and animals of a fur and feather variety that provide daily entertainment.

I have built a business, one where I work for myself.

My deepest joy arrives during teaching, helping others uncover and

discover creativity and creation. And my studio continues

to be a place of personal growth, where Art has space unfurl.

I have grown a garden, abundant, wild, crazy, unkept and also tame.

I have watched seeds turn into plants, flowers, fruit.

I have eaten with wild abundance raspberries, apricots, and tomatoes.

Watching the cycle of life, growth, death and decay fills me with a calm joy.

And lastly I have found and cultivated a deep love.

Thank you Philip for a year of deep laughter, growth, and sweetness.

You are the kindest human I know and I feel so lucky 

to share this life with you.

Gratitude.

In these sweet days of spring, there is so much to be thankful for in this little life.

I believe in synchronicity. I believe in kindness. I believe in silliness. I believe in life.

A short list of things I am grateful for: Home, both physical and psychological.

Music, company for all of life's feeling and adventures. Words, wonderful magical

letters that hold hands and form strings of delight. Hope, a lightness and buoyancy

to return to more often than not. Laughter, please do not let me ever live without it.

Ones to love, thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm better for having felt it.

Thank you universe, you've been awfully good to this girl as of late.