Meet my friend and agent, Alicia Dauber

Meet my friend, Alicia Dauber, of Licensing Liaison.

I'm couldn't be happier to announce that she's now going to be representing me as my agent.

Three cheers and a coffee toast!!!

Autumn is almost gone,

but a few traces remain...

Coppery leaves in the woods, where the wind has not chased them away yet.

Muted, rich colors remain here and there as autumn gives way to winter.

And closer to home, the barns and the animals are readying for winter, too.

Goodbye, autumn.

Winter is just around the bend.

Abundance

Look what happened here this week!

I was blessed to bake a huge, huge batch of pies to benefit the local women's shelter. The ladies helped roll out crusts and peel the apples and mix up the pumpkin custard...

My neighbor Steve grows organic produce...

He donated heirloom apples for the pies. I wanted to pay him but Steve insisted with a smile.

The ladies and I baked for two days straight in a commercial kitchen...

And we got to watch a crowd of people enjoy lots of yummy pie!

For me, this is the essence of Thanksgiving,

savoring the sweetness of sharing and counting our blessings.

God has been so good to us.

Shopping (for the not-such-a-shopper)

I am not much for shopping, usually preferring to make something myself.

But I confess to adoring Anthropologie.

When Jane & I ventured out, it was a special treat.

And the displays were eye candy in every square inch. 

Look at the ingenious pots for little trees! 

("I could do this!" you are thinking?)

Simple white acrylic paint and terra cotta pots.

Trees you could easily reproduce... and the silvery beads, so festive.

I'm just longing to make a swag like this one. 

Felt scraps await in the guest room closet, embroidery thread in the studio...

Even the dish towels inspire. Did you notice the wooden spoons turned into displays?

Then next door to Ravenna Gardens.

Jane could not resist the plants.

I am now hunting for more rose hips... 

I may have to run by Becky's garden down the road with my garden snips.

Then Jane & I spotted garden icons and drooled over the art we'll create with them.

Sometimes a little shopping trip is very inspiring...

Even for us non-shoppers.

The blessing of the ordinary

How is it that ordinary life is so full of everyday miracles?

In one twenty minute walk I walk right past so much.

It's ordinary life. Or is it?

Colors, autumn breezes...

...delicious things to gather and eat,

delightful things to ponder...

... the amazing variety of life on planet Earth...

... the drama of light and dark.

If you stop to admire the fleeting beauty of an everyday sunset, it takes your breath away.

Thanksgiving is such a wonderful opportunity to stop, to reflect,

to breathe deeply and say those two little words:

Thank you.

Vibrant!

In autumn,

every leaf

is a flower.

-Albert Camus

 

I pause to savor the joys of leaves, light and friendship over a steaming cup.

From inspiration to art...

What inspires me?

Life.

My work springs directly from what my eyes have seen recently.

Leaves have been on my mind...

And I've been remembering the fishing and hiking we did in Alaska last summer.

So you will not be surprised to see peeks at the Great Outdoors collection I'm working on recently.

 

This one features the leaves of oak, aspen, maple, even the blueberry leaves in our back yard.

And birchbark puts in an appearance, along with a vintage fishing creel.

I'm addicted to FW's black acrylic ink. My paint seems to last forever but the ink vanishes in no time.

Will I have to do a farm and garden series next?

A little bird told me that my calligraphy will be on iPad covers very soon.

Oh, what fun.

Time to pull out the ink again.