Through the Darkness

::Winter's breath blows cold and swift,
while we sit together,
waiting patiently for the sun's return,
the earth's rebirth,
through the darkness::

I'm sneaking up on the 200th sale in my shop, only two sales to go, I'll send a special surprise "something" to the person who is the 200th sale!

I've just added this wintry painting, Through the Darkness, to my shop for the first time, right here. Sending you wishes for a warm wonderful weekend!

xo

Snow, snow, snow

In all of my years here in New York I don't remember a winter like the one that we are having right now. The snow is pummeling us, again and again with weekly snowfalls, sometimes more often. Yesterday, the snow began again, that's our house half way down the block with the turquoise cornice,

Then this morning we opened our shutters to a winter wonderland, again,

It was a day to build blanket forts and stay in pajamas longer than usual,

 

I love the quiet after a huge snowfall, the snow absorbes the sound, and the whole world feels soft and powdery. After a huge snowfall the streets in New York become like sidewalks and there is a feeling of comradery as everyone is digging themselves out and taking a day off to sled and play.

Frank spent a good part of the afternoon building a snow fort in our backyard, staying out there building long after Jasper got cold and retreated inside,

From the looks of things we'll have this sweet fort around to add to and play with for a while, I don't think that the snow will be going away anytime soon!

Finally, here is a short time lapse video that I enjoyed of one of the blizzards that we've had here in NYC this January,

Time Lapse NYC Snow Blizzard from K Taro Hashimura on Vimeo.

Scenes from our snow bound weekend

Sending you lot's of warm wishes, and some tea and hot cocoa by the fire.

Happy New Year!

Hello friends, its good to be back. The post Christmas relaxing really got the best of me, it was delicious to have some unplugged time and recharge in Florida...the beach really is one of my absolute favorite places.

Then, we heard news of the crazy blizzard that hit NYC while we were away. All flights were canceled, and even three days after the snow fall our flight back was the first to leave from the Florida airport that day. We returned to 22 inches of snow, and 4 foot drifts on our deck and backyard,

Our street wasn't even plowed when we returned, for a city like New York it did seem like the snow got the best of it this time! On top of that our cat was missing, since the start of the storm. He is an indoor/outdoor guy, and our friend who was feeding him while we were away could not find him. So I spent time looking for him, walking thigh high in snow through our neighbor's backyards, climbing over fences, finally finding him huddled under the deck of one of our neighbor's houses. He was missing for 5 days, and we felt so grateful when he reappeared!

With all of that drama, and lots of snow play thrown in we have been enjoying days of building snow forts, sledding and snuggling indoors. We started our year very quietly, with a party of 4 at home, we baked a "New Years" cake with the kids.  Frank and I shared some wine reflecting on all that 2010 held for us and looking ahead with excitement to 2011. The year ahead will be a big one for our family, we've got some exciting news to share soon. At the beginning of each new year I also always feel excitement for the art that I will create in the year to come, I already have a few pieces in progress, and new ideas to explore.

Happy New Year!

P.S. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about my friend Kristin's Spirit Ship project in my last post. I wanted to let you know that she was able to raise the $5000 needed by January 2nd to fund the project to finish the film!!!

Right now...

I am loving,

The thrill of opening our shutters to a light coating of snow yesterday morning!

Seriously, if it is going to be this cold I feel like we might as well have snow to make it beautiful, and I do think that the city is rarely as beautiful and quiet as after a snow fall.

I am loving my boy's newly toothless grin!

and also loving working on more felt projects, this past weekend I created another rainbow garland. First I wet felted a bunch of little white balls that I put bands of bright color around. Then I cut out flower shapes from felt that I had in my craft cabinet, in a rainbow of colors. I then laid them all out in a row, in the order that I wanted to string them...

and here is the finished garland, it is about 4 feet long, and I hung it in the arch way between our kitchen and living room, where Carys likes to touch it each time she walks by.

I am also loving working on a few top secret handmade Christmas gifts, that I'll share here when they are closer to being finished! Suddenly Christmas feels so soon!

Winter Spiral

The winter spiral for Carys's Waldorf playgroup was the other night, this is a festival celebrating carrying our inner light through the dark winter months ahead, and it is very beautiful. As we entered the room in silence the head teacher sat playing a small harp next to the spiral of winter greens, with a single candle at the center.

The children sat expectantly and as the ceremony began each of them got up one by one and walked the spiral to light their candle from the central candle, and then place their lit candle somewhere along the spiral,

With each candle the light grew and grew,

Until the spiral glowed brilliantly.

Then we all got our coats on and left in silence (well, as much silence as you can have in a dimly lit room filled with young children) and a feeling of reverence.

Her mittens

Before things warm up too much here, there are a couple of left over things from the winter that I wanted to share with you. This is a post about warm woolly mittens in the sweetest pinky-peach color, knit by my mother's mother when I was a little girl. She knit them for my oldest cousin Mondy (whose name is still sown inside these on a little tag), and then when they grew too small for her, these mittens were passed down to me. This holds true to my grandmother's family tradition where nothing was wasted and everything was reused.

All through this winter Carys has worn the mittens, and each and every time that she puts them on I think of my Grandmother. I think how amazing it is that something that she touched, knit together with her own hands, is now keeping my little girl's hands warm. My grandmother died the summer that I turned 16, and I don't have many things left in my possession that she touched. She was the kind of mother and grandmother who showed her love through making things for people. In most of my memories of her she is either at her sewing machine or working in her kitchen. I think that she would feel so proud that her great-granddaughter wore these mittens all winter...especially because truly nothing was waisted, not even a bit.

To see a flower

Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
~Georgia O'Keefe

These photos are of our Amaryllis bulb that is in glorious full bloom on our kitchen table right now, making our winter days so much brighter! Frank, my amazing husband, is working on a painting of this flower that he posted about here on his new blog!

After the snow

Our blizzard was wild and beautiful yesterday.

A snow fort was built, with high walls all around, and a deep corner where my boy nestled and carved his secret snow walls.

Then back inside where wet clothes dried by the fire.

While stories were spun, of far away secret forts buried in deep snow, as we watched the flames dance.

Deep Ocean

Deep Ocean

::The heart is deeper than any ocean, wider than any sea::

Today its a snow day here in NYC, the flakes are coming down thick and the city has pretty much called everything off...people are walking down the middle of the streets, pulling kids on sleds, and everyone is in a jubilant mood.
I think that we'll spend this afternoon building a snow fort in our backyard, then coming inside to get cozy.
I'm leaving you with another new painting, Deep Ocean...a piece about probing the layers and depths within our own hearts.
Its over in the shop now.
Happy Snow Day!

Sunlight

At this time of year, in the afternoons, the low sun shines into our house at a mysterious angle, almost as if it is searching us out. Transforming the mundane into the magical,

the everyday into the brilliant,

and giving us all halos.