Beach Light

Here is a little photo journal of our time in Florida...

As you can see, much of our time was spent on the beach, one of my absolute favorite places. When my husband and I first started dating, almost 10 years ago, it was summertime so we spent a lot time on beaches. They still feel romantic, exciting and relaxing to me all at once.
Just thinking about being on the beach makes me happy.
We are clearly training our children to love it as much as we do.

What I am missing most now that we are back to late-autumn NYC is the quality of the southern light, there is something about that brightness that wakes me up in a good mood wanting to get outside! Now I'm trying to hold that inside of me.

Home again

Things have been awfully quiet here at my blog but we are back from vacation..., and eager to get back to my routines and studio time! Yeah! For me that's the best part about returning from a trip, coming back with lot's of excitement for new projects!
With the holidays fast approaching I'm refreshed and ready for the fun of this season!
I hope that you all had a great holiday, here in the states, and that you had the time to celebrate all that you are thankful for.

I'll be back soon with photos from our trip, and a couple of projects that I was working on before I left.

Oh, and free shipping on all purchases in my shop is still going on through Monday night!!

Sale!

Hello from warm and sunny Florida! We are having a wonderful time relaxing and celebrating with family here for the week.
I have been missing my blog friends, so I wanted to pop in and say Hi!, and also let you all know that I am planning a sale over at my shop.

Starting this coming weekend on "Black Friday", November 27th, through "Cyber Monday", November 30th I will be offering FREE SHIPPING on all orders placed in my shop.

I'm pretty excited about it, plus when we return home this weekend I'll be able to share all of the lovely sights from my tropical time here.
I can't wait to take all of this inspiration back into my studio!

xo

Thank Full Already

Magical Journey

Here, after a day that started out not so great (yes, definitely one of those days), I felt a flood of energy, I was uplifted by your comments, and was amazed by all that I was able to accomplish. I feel full of thanks this evening, and I am especially mindful of this right now as we approach the holiday of Thanksgiving here in the US. I love the tradition of going around the holiday table and inviting each person to share what they are thankful for.
While I have been in the studio painting recently, I have had moments where I suddenly realize that I am repeating a phrase in my mind over and over like a mantra. Each time the phrase is, "thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you...."
My heart is spilling over with thankfulness, and I believe recently this is due to trying to live in the moment as much as possible. For the last half a year I have focused so much on pulling myself into each moment, with my kids, my husband, in the studio, with my friends, going for a walk, feeling the sun on my skin.
With this has come deep thankfulness, and a mindfulness of just how brimming with joy these moments are...in sparkling, stunning, almost painful ways.

We are preparing to jet away tomorrow morning for a week of sun and beach living, with family in Florida. Some how, in the midst of packing for all of us today I was able to do a shop update with new paintings. I think that the excitement of sharing these pushed me onward! I love these three paintings together, as they are above, and when I return next week I will be offering a print of them together like that, as a triptych.
For now I am offering them as they are bellow. In the studio I have continued thinking about dreams a lot while I work.
That is what this series is about.

Taking Flight

Evening Time

Sweet Dreams

Strength and Beauty Surround You

And finally, some of you might remember this painting from a couple of months ago. I finally finished it..the affirmation series that I started with this piece has been much more of a struggle than I thought...but more on that when I return. I wanted to leave you with the title of this painting as inspiration for the week ahead.
Strength, beauty and love really are all around you! Let's give thanks for this my friends.

Those days

I'm afraid that I'm having one of those days. You know the ones, where your head feels foggy and your thoughts seem all crossed, you can't figure out which project to start first and everything just seems muddled. Perhaps it is because Carys woke up at 4:30AM? Or maybe it was those scary dreams that I had last night? Could it be because we are getting ready to travel tomorrow?

I'd say all of the above.

Days like this make me feel like I'm trapped inside a bubble, bouncing against the walls, feeling frustrated that I can't do more or be more.

It is on days like this that I need to be really gentle with myself.

The way that I feel is reminding me of the butterflies in this new drawing, flitting around. Then there is that one dripping with color, she knows what's up! She knows that even on those days there is power. She can still choose to be in the moment. She can still choose to live boldly. Yes, even on those days.

For her

Oh how I long to make everything in the world beautiful for her.
I'm working on that, but this weekend I made her a hat. Well, I actually did not make the hat itself, you see, it was just this yummy soft but plain brown hat...needing some decoration.
So I imagined it with flowers, and a couple of little leaves,
I started playing with pieces of felt, and color, and before I knew it the hat was blooming! I love it and so does she. Certainly this will brighten up even winter's darkest days ahead!

Catching our breath

This past weekend was the first in a while where we felt like we could actually catch our breath, relish the moment and enjoy feeling the luxury of a whole Saturday without any plans on the horizon. First, I went into a bit of a cleaning and organizing frenzy, but once that was over I felt myself relaxing and living in each moment.
Some of my favorites were......playing with gorgeous fabrics that my mom is making into amazing dresses for my little princess (and one pair of pants for my little prince in that folded Japanese wave print!),

...suddenly seeing the light coming through the back of a painting in the studio,

....putting a new table cloth on our kitchen table (I got it here), and loving how it refreshes our space and goes so well with my cute bird tray,

...my bare toes on a friend's rug,

....and just taking some time to look up at the sky.

Swept away

Here are a couple of glimpses of what I've been working on.
I have been swept away by some very productive hours in the studio, feeling inspired, the work is flowing and I have time to do it...such a great combination.
It all feels so satisfying.

Another exciting thing in my creative life is that my work has just started to be carried over at Fey Handmade, a fabulous online store that carries a selection of art, clothing, and jewelry curated with a soft, discerning and very feminine aesthetic. I could just surf through their website for hours! If you have not been you should visit, I'm sure you will fall in love or be inspired and swept away by something there.
Happy weekend to you!

Old friends

Do you have things around your house that are just possessions but somehow they make you feel more yourself, or remind you of who you are at your best?
These rings totally embody that for me, each of them has a story about how it came into my possession, and each serves as a reminder of a part of myself that I cherish.
Since I use my hands so much rings really work for me, I love the way I catch sight of them in little moments, like when I am in the middle of making a painting, zipping up my child's coat, or moving my hands during a conversation. Since often the stories are the best part I thought I'd share just minimal detail about each ring, and while I love how they look all piled on, I don't usually wear them all together.

Thumb~a branch from Brooklyn Prospect Park, which we live a block from and go to every day, cast in gold by a friend.
Index finger~turquoise ring that I bought from a Native American jeweler in Taos N.M. the stones had been in his family for generations, the same jeweler made the bracelet on my wrist which my mom has a match to, I never take the bracelet off, I even wore it in my wedding.
Middle finger~cocktail ring, bought on a whim in NYC, I wear it for fabulous nights out or dinner parties.
Ring finger~a silver ring that I bought in high school at a hippie store that I loved; a large disk of two types of turquoise that I bought at a craft fair right after ending a really big relationship in my 20's; a gold and labradorite beauty that my husband gave to me on our 5th Wedding anniversary which was also my little brother's wedding day (I also never take this one off).
Pinkie~both of these rings I got on a year long road trip around the US and Mexico after college which involved living in my V.W. van (oh yes), I bought the turquoise one at a market in Mexico, the pink stone is from Africa set in a silver setting by an artist in Seattle who I bought it from at a market there.

I took the picture of my bejeweled hand on a leaf from my Banana Palm tree, another old friend, who I have raised from a tiny plant. This is the time of year that I bring all of my tropical plants inside after they spent 6 months on our deck drinking the sun, now they come inside to brighten up our winter months.
I find comfort living surrounded by these old friends.

Season of light

The lantern festival for Jasper's Waldorf school was held this past Sunday evening. At dusk we gathered as a group at the base of an old tree in the park. As the sun set we helped the children light tea lights inside the lanterns that they (and we) had been making for the past couple of weeks. Then the magic happened.
The lanterns lit up their little faces and as we started to sing songs you could see that the children did believe that fairies might appear to join us at any moment.


We walked through the park, through fields and woods until we came to a spot on a hill where the "fairies" ;) had left a feast of sweet and savory treats...and some hot cider, those thoughtful fairies.

Of all of the seasonal festivals that we celebrate with our Waldorf group this is my hands down favorite. If I had my way we would gather in the park and do this 5 times a year! But I understand why it happens right now, at this special time of year. I can feel the turning inward, the focus on being together at home rather than outside, the season of harvest and preparing for winter is past, now we begin the advent season approaching the holidays...the season of light! It feels like a still point to me.

At the still point in the turning world...there the dance is.
-T.S. Eliot

Islands

I can't contain myself, I just added three paintings from my new island series to my shop and and I just had to share with you how much I love them!

I have lived on islands for the past decade or so (though not too exotic, Brooklyn is on Long Island and we all know about the island of Manhattan) and if I have my choice I love to vacation on islands. I am also partial to their thematic usage. One quote that I always remember is, "Never come to an island expecting to find something that you didn't bring"...I have no idea where I heard that or who it is by, but there is wisdom there.
These islands are pure fantasy, here is what I wrote about them in my shop:

Inspired by Asian landscapes and fairy tales this little island sings of enchantment and relaxation, golden moments and mystery. Solitude, contemplation, a quiet place to sit and think. Calming the spirit, soothing the soul. Reaffirming connection to that deep part of yourself.

I have been loving the work of painting this series!

Worlds within Worlds

Worlds within Worlds

I am the sort of person that needs a lot of time to dream, those hours at night are not enough for me, if I do not have time and space in which to wander inside my head then I am not myself. I day dream about concrete things like our next family vacation, fantasy trips, house projects and houses that I'd love to live in, where we might move, living abroad....and then not so concrete things like pattern and color, animals and insects, people that I have loved, people that I miss, times in my life that were so different than my reality now, the transient nature of everything that we experience, my mind wanders.

That is what this new painting is about. I just finished it last week and I really like the way it is touching on those places that I can't describe in words. They are there somewhere all the time, those worlds within worlds.

There are also so many places that I visit online when I need some day dream fuel, here are two that I am really into right now: My Marrakesh, and Door Ways Traveler. Loving that I feel so transported just scrolling through.

Surprises

The other evening, I was really tired and sort of stumbled into the bathroom to get ready for bed, it had been a long day. I looked at the mirror and much to my surprise saw this:

My heart melted at this amazing sweet and thoughtful note that my husband had left for me. It wasn't an anniversary or a special day, it was just because...and that made it even more touching.
That note pulled me right out of my head and smack back into my life, and it made my day.

Don't we all need more little reminders of the beauty that others see in us?

Magical autumn

Fall's color and texture are everywhere right now and I am soaking it in. Every afternoon the kids and I have been spending a couple of hours outside, in the park, which has become a magical place transformed by autumn.

The treasures that we have been collecting and bringing home are inspiring me and seeping into the studio...just look at the color of those berries!

First fire

We celebrated the coldest evening yet this fall with our first fire of the season. There is something about the glowing heat, gazing at the flames and smelling that woodsy smoky scent that leaves me feeling a little groggy. It even reminds me of how I feel gazing at the ocean, sitting and staring at something full of such raw power, it is mind numbing and soothing for all of us. With a little hot cocoa and marshmallows in the mix, we are starting to feel that we can welcome the cold weather. At least from the comfort of our own cozy living room.

Lichen

This painting was inspired by lichen, well, part of it was anyway...

My in-law's home in the south of Florida, is surrounded by nature preserves. When we visit a few times a year I always feed my hunger for all things tropical with many walks outside. These pictures where taken at a bird refuge there, with miles of wooden board-walks built over a mangrove swamp teeming with creatures. Imagine my joy when I discovered this lichen growing everywhere on the wooden walkways. Their organic form and color are just dripping with life for me...

....and I just love their place in this new, as yet untitled, painting.