Lightness

Lightness

I've been working with an interior designer lately, she found me after feeling a real response to my work after seeing it featured on the cover of our church's Advent season bulletin back in the winter. Its interesting the way connections are made. She has started directing clients to my website, where they look for pieces that will go with their decor that the designer is working on. Recently, one of her clients purchased this painting, Lightness. Its a large piece that I did a few years ago, actually right before I became pregnant for the first time.

I was feeling light and joyful, but also hesitant and a little afraid of what the journey towards parenthood would hold.

As I am in another place of uncertainty, with our move looming, right now I see lots of things that I still relate to in this piece.

Overall there is a positive, buoyant energy that really speaks to me!

This one is new to my shop, I've just made prints available right here.

Additionally, with our big show around the corner, only one week away, I have been having lots of inquiries from people wanting to buy my originals. I have just updated my website, and in the painting gallery section there you will find all of my pieces that are available. If you are interested in a particular piece please let me know as soon as possible, so that I can set it aside for you before our big show. I sell originals by request as a custom listing in my Etsy shop.

xo

Spring break

For the past ten days we have all been on Spring Break, with no school, and weather that was not the most inspiring we had great fun exploring together. Coney Island and the NY Aquarium are always a fun trip for us, and stepping of the boardwalk onto the beach adds to the fun, although there is no taking off the shoes on that beach as sadly, there is always so much broken glass. The true grit of city living.

Now we are back into a regular schedule, I'm getting a little bit of studio time again, how I do love my routine. We move three weeks from tomorrow so the packing pace is picking up a little bit, so far we have all of the boxes stacked in the guest room so we don't have to look at them everyday! So I am able to continue on with a big dose of denial as we go about our daily activities.

I am really looking forward to this weekend as on Saturday Frank and I will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of our first date at the Cherry Blossom Festival at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and we will celebrate the Maypole Festival with our Waldorf Playgroup of Sunday!! I'm loving the many joys of spring!

Easter Egg Bread

One of my favorite things about Easter in my home growing up was the special, and super yummy, egg bread that my mother made and we devoured on Easter morning. Our Easter bread is one of those traditions that I love to continue with my own children. It is a great recipe to make with little ones, and it makes me so happy to see them enjoying the Easter bread as I have. I thought I'd pass the recipe on to you, maybe it will be become a part of your tradition!
First things first, we color our uncooked eggs, they cook when the bread is baking in the oven,

Easter Egg Bread
12 eggs in shell, uncooked
Easter egg coloring
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
Grated peel of 2 lemons
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees F)
2 eggs at room temperature
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour (about)
1 egg beaten
tiny colored candies

~Wash 12 uncooked eggs, tint the shells with egg coloring and set aside.
~Scald the milk;add sugar, salt, shortening, and lemon peel. Cool to lukewarm.
~Sprinkle yeast on warm water; stir to dissolve. Add to milk mixture with the 2 eggs, slightly beaten, and 2 1/2 cup flour. Beat until smooth.
~Stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to form a dough that is easy to handle. Turn onto lightly floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 8 minutes (this is the kids favorite part and for us can go on for 15 minutes or so). Place in a lightly greased bowl; turn over to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm dry place free from drafts until doubled, about 1 hour.
~Punch down (the kids other favorite part); cover and let rise again until almost doubled, about 30 minutes.
~Divide dough into 12 equal parts. Form each part into a ring around a tinted egg.
~Cover; let rise until doubled.
~Brush evenly with beaten egg. Sprinkle with tiny decorating candies.
~Bake in a 375 degree F oven for 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Notes: Easter Egg Bread can be baked the day before. Refrigerate. At serving time reheat at 350 degrees for 8 minutes.

They are so scrumptious,

they don't last long around our house!

Happy Easter!

Sanctuary

Sanctuary

I just finished this new painting, I'm getting a lot of new work finished up for our show on May 7th. If you are in NYC we'd love for you to come, here is all of the info...

Brooklyn Waterfront

A little silliness

Recently we've enjoyed getting back into doing our family mural projects, where we lay a big paper down on the floor and just go at it all together with pencils, markers and paints. Often now Jasper will be the director, telling us the story of the drawing while we are making it, and telling us who should draw what and where. We are all liking this structure, as with his direction the pieces become like a dialogue and a family story.

This is one of our favorite ways to play as a family, and these sessions can definitely get a little silly,

Here is a recent finished drawing, that the kids immediately wanted hung up on their bedroom wall. The story of this drawing became about our family (see there are the 4 of us) wandering on a path through the woods where we saw lots of animals and then finished our journey at our new house in Charleston....see it there at the end of the path? 

I love the poetry in that story, and how doing these family drawings really helps our family bond and talk about things that are going on in an indirect way, helping all of us to feel safe, secure and together.

House Visit: the Enos

I've got a treat for you today, a peak into a true "New York" home! One thing that I am endlessly fascinated with is the way people live in their spaces, and especially in New York City there are so many different and interesting ways to make a living space into a home.
My dear friend Kristin Brenneman Eno has created one of the most vibrant exciting living spaces that I know, in an old warehouse in the Red Hook area of Brooklyn, where she lives with her husband and their beautiful young daughter. New York City is full of these old warehouses that have been renovated into live/work spaces, retaining the old detailing of the warehouse, like huge stairwells....

and endless hallways with exposed brick,

Inside their apartment Kristin and her family have made a creative oasis. On most days all three of them are at home together, as both she and her husband work from home, so they have seamlessly set up many smaller areas for focused work and play within what is basically the one large room of their home.

In the large open elevated loft space her husband Sean works, 

The kitchen and entry are tucked away right beneath his office, 

Their daughter's bedroom, and their bathroom are the only spaces that are separate from the open apartment, and both of those spaces are full of creative hand-made detailing,

I love the walls in the bathroom which Kristin painted in varying shades of coral, with spores that look like they are growing towards the light,

 Their main living area is drenched in sunshine,

There, tucked behind a bookcase is Kristin's magical work area, where she makes her art...paintings, drawings, jewelry and fabric creations, and runs her children's film company.

Next to her own desk is a tiny table for her daughter to work right beside her, so precious!

This space is filled with treasures!

I just love poking around the spaces where other artists create. What an honor that there is one of my wood mounted prints, right there beside the milkweed pod, 

I hope that you enjoyed this peek into a very NYC home!