Forget Reading This Post

Be present and focus on what matters most instead

This Christmas season I hope you will be with people you care about, doing things you enjoy, and taking time out to celebrate what matters most.

Why dwell on what didn't get done, what could have been, or what's missing? Whether you're alone, with a few people, or a brood of family or friends, stop time and notice what's right in front of you, who is around you, and why you're part of it. 

Cherish relationships that give you strength and take in the earth's beauty and the creativity that we are surrounded by every day. Even the snow that sometimes impedes our travel has incredible beauty if we're open to seeing it. 

As this year comes to a close, my family and I wish you many joyful moments to capture, if not in photos, in your heart and mind.

And express gratitude.  It is powerful.

(P.S. The photo above is of my husband, Bill, our daughter, Lena and son, Nolan, about eleven years ago)
 

What's Cookin'?

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.

gratitude + love = pure joy

---

THEIR EXPRESSION OF GRATITUDE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU COULD IMAGINE...

It was powerful and overwhelming, and it was a trip that will be forever etched in my heart.

In May 2015, I was honored to travel to the Netherlands with my father, then a 90-year-old WWII Canadian veteran. We were invited there to celebrate the 70th anniversary of their liberation, and I experienced firsthand what it is like to be immersed in the kindness and gratitude of the Dutch. They value their freedom, and they feel it is their duty to thank the people who fought for it.

In 1945, my father was witness to the horrific impact war had on the people of the Netherlands. He was there at the end of the war and also experienced the jubilation of their freedom. During his subsequent trips back, and also in 2015, seeing survivors and their families and children celebrating in the streets, brought him much joy and brought me to tears.  

It also made me realize I needed to create a body of work inspired by those emotions. 

The piece above is comprised of photographs I took on that trip in 2015.  It is intended to recognize the continuation of generations and pay tribute to those children who did not survive the war. My father was keen to shake the hand of this young girl in the crowd at a parade in the city of Apeldoorn. The cherubic image at the top left (a photo of a bronze sculpture also taken while there) represents those children who lost their lives and are viewing the exchange between soldier and survivor's family. 

The things we experience in life have so much meaning. When we take the time to preserve those moments, especially the moments that land in our soul, they can be enjoyed generation after generation.

Preserve what matters most.

---

If you receive my newsletter, you will be notified when prints of the collection inspired by this trip are available. Please share this with those who might be interested and encourage them to provide their email and be on my mailing list too. Thanks!

---

receding snow

---

Dreaming of growth and renewal

Here in the Northeast, we are shedding slush, sand, and salt knowing that beautiful things will emerge.

Fresh back from a family vacation in Tobago, my daughter Lena and I discussed the pros and cons of living in an area of the world where the climate stays pretty much the same vs our four seasons.

For me, despite the hassle of snow, the changing seasons inadvertently provides a time to evaluate what I'm working on, and gets me excited about next steps, next seasons, and renewal. It reminds me that life is ever changing and I better get my butt up and in motion if I'm going to capture and create something inspiring.  

I continually pay attention to and capture what's in front of me, from the mundane to the beautiful, and turn that into art print collections. I think of them as "my stories". Here are some things I've captured and the resulting prints:

from the Gerbera Daisy Collection: grasses, gerbera, final print

from the Butterflies Ascending Collection: grasses, carpet design watercolor, final print

What are the "stories" you love and are part of your life?  Can they be translated into artwork? (If you doubt that, please read about the By the Numbers project)

What grows and evolves can surprise us. Whether it be experiences or vegetation, growth occurs. What inspires you as winter recedes and green appears? Pay attention to that.

---

I'm on a quest to put my work out there to the world, and if you'd like to help, please forward this post onto a friend. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!