December 2

A month has passed (somehow) so I suppose a little list is a way to catch up:

• We had a pleasant thanksgiving visiting M.'s family and hope you had a nice holiday too. Each year I make a dessert to take and this time I made a Sweet Potato Spice Cake with Hazelnuts and Candied Ginger. I wasn't sure if I would like the spiciness, so I took out the cloves, and chopped the ginger really finely. The only other change made was substituting regular cream cheese for vegan in the frosting. I was pleased with the results.
• Of course it wouldn't be autumn to me without making my favorite pumpkin muffins. The leftover pumpkin puree got stirred into a waffle batter for Sunday brunch. I added a touch of cinnamon and freshly grated nutmeg. Saturday night I made a sweet potato and lentil chili in the slow cooker. Yum. 
• Last week I was thrilled to visit with Rachel and Alicia. It was like old times. We caught up on goings on and then had burgers and truffle fries at The Burger Stand. I had the Romesco lentil burger.
• We went to see 12 Years a Slave at Liberty Hall over the weekend. It's a movie that will stick with you.  
• Yesterday I got crafty (for the first time in a long while on a just for fun project) and made small ornaments from my letterpress proofs. I'm working on constructing a kind of Christmas tree and I'll show you when it's finished. 
• Holly's post on How to Regain Creativity is worth a read.
• If you like block printed floral patterns you will be inspired by Katharine Watson's paper and fabric goods. I think her work is just beautiful. 
• Miel has unique cards and books in their shop. I was honored to have a piece included in the 1110 series, 1110/5 the postcards issue. You can learn more about them through Shari's interview or their website.
• It's a party at habit blog this month and I'm more than happy to be among the guests. Stop in from time to time and see a glimpse of the beautiful every day from a great community of ladies. 
• As we enter this final month of 2013 I am looking ahead to the new year. I'm deciding between two different avenues to explore in my work and they both require a leap. It's an internal tug of war at this point partly because I like working in such varied media. I just need to decide what I think will work best and then do it! 

November 4

A free association list of thoughts and goings on lately: 

• We enjoyed a delicious dinner with friends Friday night at a favorite restaurant. (smoked trout crostini; oysters; apple & pecan salad; roasted shiitake ravioli; chocolate rum mousse) 
• We've been taking many walks; the color this year is blazing.  The maples are crazy spectacular. Yesterday, a hawk swooped full-winged right above us. It missed it's target prey, a chattering squirrel. I think we deterred it. 
• Autumn is my favorite. 
• We're engrossed in watching a series called The Killing. The story is more interesting than the title suggests.
• My nightly ritual includes a cup of hot red chai tea with agave and cream. 
• Today I started writing in my actual journal again. I'm trying a daily thankful list and hope I can keep it going. 
• Last week I turned a year older and I like my new number.
• Arcade Fire's new album is in heavy rotation.
• The city is hanging the holiday lights downtown today. I was standing in a shop and could hear the tinkling sound of the strands brushing the concrete before being wrapped around a tree.
• I love wearing layers; scarves, sweaters, and blazers. Again, autumn is my favorite.
• Soon I want to self-publish a small booklet of my drawings and am in the initial stages. Any interest out there for such a thing? 

Autumn photoshoots

In the past few weeks I have had the pleasure and privilege of photographing friends and their families. It really has been incredibly fun! I truly love photographing people. When I look through the viewfinder I want to quietly see folks being themselves and if I can catch those moments, well, I just love that. And when I see the images it's like I'm drawing or painting them in my mind, if that makes sense. People are beautiful!

If you would like to see a few more images, I added some to the freelance section on my photography page.

Today at arts-based preschool

The preschool children really got into the easel paintings this morning. Many of them worked for a long time and completely painted the paper, leaving little white showing. At one point during the morning I looked at their paintings all lined up at the wall hanging to dry, and thought, "I need to get a picture", but then I imagine I got distracted. Funny how that happens in a class of twenty 3, 4, and 5 year olds. If we hadn't had such a busy morning I would have been painting at an easel right alongside them.

I also really dug the color combos, with yellow, red, fluorescent pink, blue, black, glitter red, and iridescent gold. I think I need to get some fluorescent paint!

A page from my sketchbook in September

Autumn is here. School is underway. This year I am teaching two full days a week and working in the studio on odd days. The weeks are full. In the studio, I have returned to painting on canvas. Currently, I'm working on a canvas that is 2 x 3 feet, which is larger than my norm. At first I felt like I had forgotten how to paint! Not the best feeling. But it's progressing. I'm going to finish the painting before I really evaluate it. It's hard to make and criticize the piece at the same time, I could never get anything done that way.

On most studio days, I begin by doing something in my sketchbook. It is a warm up and gets messages flowing through the brain wires, so-to-speak. And at the end of some teaching days I also will dash something in my sketchbook, as a filter of the day, or simply to be able to make something. I'm hoping to fill this book by the end of the year and I think I'll be able to. In the back of my mind I've been toying with an idea for a project, something to do with my sketchbook. The idea intrigues me, as it's something I've never done before. After I do a test, I'll share it with you.

I found a draft for a post that I never published, from a few weeks ago. I had forgotten about it, obviously.- "A couple nights ago I declared aloud that I need a new dream. A new goal. But, I don't know exactly what it is. There are threads I can see, but don't know yet how to tie them together. Does that make sense? Or, maybe (also) I need to give my current goals more time."

As I think about that now, rather than having a new goal, I think I may simply be finding a way back to my original goal(s). This month I've been trying to tune out rif-raf to prevent distractions and discouragement, and focus on working. Through working I find those goals. It's kind of like the idea 'if the hands are working the ideas will come', sort of thing.

And if anyone is curious, yep, we still have Tommy cat. He's the downstairs studio cat. We still don't know if we will keep him. We're just taking care of him. Tomorrow, he goes to the vet for a check-up. That may inherently solidify the relationship.