Definitely nothing in my kitchen!

Much to the disappointment of my family.

I am making a "recipe" I have never really made before. Some of the ingredients I have used and know very well, others not often if at all. Some are like those little-known spices you have to reach way back in the cupboard to get and realize how much you've wanted to use but never had the right recipe.

The ingredients I'm using are not spices, or culinary in nature. Instead, here's the list:

cradled wooden panels
photographs of a memorable experience
encaustic wax, heated on an electric griddle
encaustic paints & pigment sticks
archival print paper
hake brushes
blowtorch & heat gun
strong arms and good eyesight

No, I'm not in my kitchen. I'm in my studio creating a body of artwork called the Gratitude Collection, based on a memorable trip to the Netherlands in 2015 with my father - a WWII Canadian Veteran who helped liberate that country. I'm working through trial and error and, well, a few science experiments.

The element of using encaustic, or fusing hot wax, is new to me, and after a fantastic workshop with artist Dietlind Vander Schaaf, I knew instantly that the beautiful texture and ethereal quality of the wax were what these images needed to come to life.

I'm accepting the challenges and the unknowns because I think it is important, and I'm hell-bent to get this work into the world. The people of the Netherlands need to know how powerful their gratitude is and what it can accomplish in the world.

This recipe will take patience, resilience, maybe an assistant or two (AKA children), and a supportive network of family and friends. I am blessed.

So, while my husband makes his cranberry relish (it's Pepto pink but we love it!) for our US Thanksgiving meal, I'll continue feverishly working in my studio.

I invite you to watch this video of the first piece in the making:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e_Vmwb6anY

Be grateful. It is powerful.

What are you THANKFUL for?

When you are a Canadian living in the US with a husband and children, you get to celebrate Thanksgiving twice. I love having two turkey dinners, and I love recognizing the things we're thankful for and saying them out loud.

In this season of Thanksgiving, what do you feel blessed to have in your life?

Some of the things that made it onto our big page of gratitude - hung on the wall and written on through the day, not in any order - included: healthy parents, a husband who helps out with everything, beer, the goodness in people, laughter, chocolate, time, love.

I also wrote "creativity" on that paper. I cherish it like I cherish my children and relationships. For many years as I focused on raising a family, I barely did any artwork. I'm so grateful to be using these inherent skills again and to have my life back in balance.

The article above is something that I came across from my past (should I write 1987 out loud?), working as an artist in southern Ontario. I was thankful for the media coverage at the time, and while I don't paint on fabric now and the designs have evolved, seeing this made me realize how far I have come and how far I have yet to go.

Thanks for coming along.

What you are grateful for is what matters most.

with gratitude,