A corner of the studio, with my easel waiting for me. In the new year I intend to paint a lot more than I did this year. What about you? Are you thinking about any new projects yet?
Sketchbook
Pages from recent workings in my sketchbook. Late afternoon, the December sun sliding down into night.
New traditions
We like our traditions, especially when holidays and special occasions are concerned. don't we? Traditions give us comfort and bind us to our families. Every Christmas, M. and I travel to South Carolina to be with my sister and parents. But this year is and has been a different sort of year, and we are unable to travel. We are sad about this glitch in the tradition, especially my mom and myself. This is the first year in my thirty-seven years that I will not be with my parents and sister. Yet I am also looking forward to creating new traditions, for M. and I.
Bear with me a moment... The other day I was looking through my old sketchbooks looking for something (didn't find it) but came across an entry that I had written in early March of 2006. Next to a brightly colored watercolor sketch of dots, dashes and orbs, I wrote that M. had been framing our house addition.
Well, this week and last in late 2011, that very same house addition has been getting the drywall installed. Yes, five years later we are nearly finished with this part (dining, living room, and two bedrooms) of our house and will soon be able to move back in. There's so much to say, about building things yourself, about the legacy of having something your husband designed and built with his own two hands, and the waiting for all sorts of things along the way. One thing I can say is that God has been teaching me patience and the ability to live with what we have. And to continue to hope.
So that digression is to say that this year, since we are so close to being done with construction, we are scrimping to buy things like paint, light fixtures, outlets, etc. That and the fact that someone (ahem) still needs two wisdom teeth pulled, is behind the reason why we aren't flying to S.C. this year. And here, while the house won't be completely finished by Christmas, there may be paint on the walls and we will have a Christmas tree in a new room, if nothing else. Since we're here, I must have a tree! This weekend we got a potted three-foot blue spruce. A lovely little Charlie Brown tree. It will be simply decorated with a strand of white lights, seven tiny gomphrena wreaths I made yesterday, pinecones, and maybe a few silver tinsel stars I made ten years ago. And around it we will celebrate, so much.
Now, I'm not sure how to end this post. Except here's to making new traditions and finding beginnings. And hope. Always hope.
And Mom, I love you.
Blue
I realize my posts recently have been mostly announcements and so forth, which probably doesn't make for the most interesting material. In part it is because life is busy and in part because I am feeling increasingly private about my personal life, and even my work, and what parts of it I share online. I mean, I'm not sure what people want to read, maybe you don't want to read what I'm really thinking or what is going on. So, if you don't mind my asking, what do you look for, or what are you interested in seeing when you visit here? And why?
Above: Two shots of blue from the most recent roll of film I've had developed, summer transitioning to autumn.
Recently I hung some of my work at the Douglas County Courthouse and I am also happy to have cards, watercolor pieces and framed pinhole work exhibiting at Wonder Fair this month. Here is a glimpse of my table.
There are a few new Christmas tags and a photo frame card in my BSP shop & Etsy location. And new posts in the Sharing the Process series at Poppytalk.
Thanks for stopping by today.
One frosted morn
One frosted morn I set out to find this red tree. We had seen it glowing one evening in the sunset while on a walk. My mission was to hopefully capture it before the leaves had all blown away, and to finish this roll of film. These are the last three shots of the roll.
To eat: Shari's salad at tend.
Recently seen: Bill Cunningham New York.
This morning the ground is really frosty. At school we will be making stone soup with the children for our family stone soup supper tonight. Soup sounds good.