Kristin Morland

Last night a friend and I visited a mutual friend of ours, sequin artist Kristin Morland. Her home and studio are part of the Lawrence ArtWalk and I always make a point of attending her reception each year. Her work is stunning and some of her new pieces incorporate her sketchbook drawings so they are a kind of diptych with sequins on one side and drawings on the other. So beautiful.

My husband and I have one of her cake pieces in our kitchen and I have one of her fried eggs hanging in my studio by the window. M. {my husband} and his company also helped build their new beautiful house addition which you can see a glimpse of in the lower photo.

If you're in the Lawrence area stop by her place today, it's open until 6pm.

H

Process | arrangements + painting

There's something about the process of making arrangements from paper and tiny bits that I like.  It's a kind of brain exercise to move separate objects about and figure out how they can go together, to make a new story.  Sometimes when I am in a transition, I will make an arrangement. I know  taking a photograph is an important part of the process too, to see the grouping as a whole on the screen. I believe it helps me make compositional decisions in a different work in progress. This particular arrangement {above} incorporates elements that I either used directly {the blue shapes and white pinhole paper on the left} to make a painting or inspired some part of one.  I like this arrangement large so I made a desktop calendar out of it, just for fun.

Another form of "brain release" for me is to paint, with the only objective being TO PAINT. Not for anyone or anything, or with an end destination in mind, but simply to paint. So last night, {while M. was in a meeting, and even though it was dinner time and I was hungry} I took an hour or two to be quiet in my studio. I added watercolor into a lithography print series I am working on and I made an art card {seen below}.  I feel like time is going by so fast, that I am only able to scrape at the edges of all that I want to do. That is the idea behind the sky scraper painting. Do you ever feel that way?

So this weekend I hope to make a nest for myself in the studio and try to catch some ideas that may get away from me otherwise. I also hope to visit a few artists' studios, as part of the Lawrence ArtWalk this weekend.  What are you up to?

H

Q u i e t

Yesterday after teaching, then after having my teeth cleaned and before getting a haircut, and later getting a raging migraine that would send me to bed at 7pm, I s a t, q u i e t l y and wrote in my jotter:

sitting
savoring a cup of green tea
the sky greys
yellow leaf cartwheels across the concrete.
Inside by the shop window
no sound from the cars passing by outside
or the construction across the street.
I simply relish a few moments to sit
and sip
to read and write
and sneak a few chocolate peanuts.

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I really enjoyed reading Tara's home tour.

Don't miss Martha's stunning U N collection, launching today at 1 pm cst! There's so much beauty there. So much.

Also today, Rachel and I offer a sneak peek of our inspiration for the next collection at the Cup & Saucer blog.

Tomorrow, a little arrangement from me, selected from the box of ephemera I found in storage.
H

Gathering Autumn

I am in a gathering state as of late, not unlike a squirrel tucking and patting acorns into the ground for later. I have bouquets of sunflowers, zinnias, and chinese lanterns about, tiny dishes of acorns, stacks of books from the library, magazines, and a box of treasures I unearthed from storage yesterday. I was happy to find a few items in that box that I had been missing and wondering their whereabouts! A peek at those bits tomorrow. I'm also enjoying a little bowl of chocolate covered peanuts at the moment and my other favorite snack are yogurt covered pretzels! I need to ration those babies.

I have also been baking baguettes and biscuits, keeping the cool kitchen warm. Our evenings and early morning have been so chilly, I'm sure it is a sign that this Autumn will be swathed in a spectrum of color! I want to thank Julia for a sweet post about our Cup & Saucer bread bags, a sold-out item from our first collection. We are in the midst of making the second collection...

New in my Etsy shop are just a few sets of my Gathering Autumn postcards. I hope you may like them.

Tonight we're having leftover homemade lasagna and salad greens from the garden.

Have a good evening,
H

Autumn Color Week | red

Jen posted a closer view of my Inspired piece for October {seen above}.  I am happy with how it turned out. :)

Go see Martha's new U N Uniform Natural line and website, it's a m a z i n g!  I am a little ga-ga over the bag!  Her shop opens Oct. 8.

Feast your eyes on all the Autumn Color from the week over here.

Do you have any weekend plans? I hope to see some art tonight at First Friday in downtown K.C. Hooray for Friday!