Fleeting Moments

Missouri River  view October 20, 2016

There is a morning glow of magical light on the river that happens just after the sun appears over the trees in the east. It's a regular occurrence, but so easy to miss, as it is fleeting....as so many magical moments are. Yesterday morning, I turned around in the midst of the mundane morning activity of clearing the table or maybe I was refilling my tea....but I looked up and there it was, that magical light, the golden glow along the water and distant shores. I reached for my phone and was out the door into the chilly morning before I knew it. 

I captured it, but of course, not really. All moments are fleeting and perhaps it's good to keep that in mind, so we can fully be there when they happen. We try desperately to hold on to time, to memory, and we take photos to capture the special ones, but no matter....it all slips through our hands. And yet, we are compelled to record, to capture and these photos serve as reminders, place cards and souvenirs of the journey. Those magical fleeting moments of glow on the river that I glimpse on many a morning remind me of what a special place I have here on the Missouri.

And in my further attempts to capture and to hold, to record the passage of time, here are a couple of drawings from my recent dailies. Hope you have a lovely weekend, full of inspiration and insight!

October 15, 2016

October 14, 2016

Notes From The Field: Change of Seasons

Now that spring is here....and seems to be planning to stick around this time, I am shifting my focus to being outside. I am still astonished each spring at just how fast the plants grow! By the time I get around to cleaning up the leaves and debris from last fall, the plants are six inches out of the ground....and by the next day, it seems they've grown another six! The evening light is beautiful, as you can see in this shot my husband took as we were getting ready to have dinner outside the other evening. The warm, golden light as the sun is going down in the west sometimes takes our breath away.

So much work to be done outside that now I feel myself pulled in many directions....in the studio or outside pulling weeds....inside reading or outside planting herbs, tomatoes and flowers. I try to pack it all in, but haven't got the balance right just yet. 

I'm just glad to be moving about in the sunshine after being cooped up all winter. It is certainly fun picking things out at the local greenhouse and having our lives filled with flowers blooming in all colors. These flats of herbs and vegetables await, so I know where I'll be at least part of the day tomorrow. Hope you are enjoying spring....warm temperatures and not too much rain!

When In Doubt, Make Art

Hello from the land my husband and I like to call coastal South Dakota. We all know South Dakota has no coastline, but it does have the big, wide Missouri River running through it and that's good enough for me! This was a view of some rather ominous looking storm clouds last week. 

Well, I have been in the studio, but I have to say, I'm feeling adrift about now. It was bound to happen....intense work every day from January through the beginning of February in order to create new work for my show....and then riding the tail winds of the energy that was left. And now....I find myself waiting for "what's next". Don't you have that feeling sometimes? As in....what's the next goal, the next big thing....is it a focused project, is a life change? How do I find it....where should I focus my energy....what am I most interested in at this point and how can I translate that into something large enough to fuel my fire?

I don't necessarily like to think that I am so goal oriented, but I think having a goal provides an extra boost of motivation. I am still in the studio making new work, as you'll see in a moment, but I recognize this restless casting about for something larger....something to satisfy the hunger. So, in the meantime, I go into the studio and I read.

Notes From The Ancestors no.19

Just finished the piece shown above yesterday and listed it in my Etsy shop. Notes From The Ancestors is an ongoing series that seems to keep me coming back for more. Drawing and hand stitching on paper...keeps my hands happy. This piece speaks to the thread that runs through my work....the reverence for memory and the layering of history. I so often wonder....what would our collective ancestors have to say to us now....as individuals and members of our various cultures. What have we learned, but also what have we failed to learn and what have we lost? 

I've also just listed these very spare, abstract collage pieces I made a couple of years ago.

Abstraction no. 1

Abstraction no.2

Abstraction no.3

Abstraction no. 4

Now that I've revisited them and decided to share them on Etsy, I may be inspired to make more!

I'm still working my way through Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow. It was written some years ago and was the book upon which the Broadway play, which I have not seen, is based. What a fabulous book....and what an insight it provides into the history of our country. The crazy political scene in which we currently find ourselves is nothing new really. It is actually astounding to think of trying to create a government from scratch....to create a union from a bunch of separate states, many of which would rather have left it that way. It's a fascinating story, so well told that I'm quite glued to the 700+ pages as if it were a novel. 

I'll keep you posted on my further investigations as to next steps in life, but in the meantime, I'd love to hear from you if you care to share your stories of discovering your next steps. I'll leave you with the view of today's overcast sky as the winter storm Selene heads our way. It's now fairly late in the afternoon and we were supposed to have several inches of snow by now....maybe it's a hoax! I can only hope....although, given that I now see the Denver airport is closed, I think we're soon in for it.

But really.....spring can't be far behind, can it?

Living on the Missouri River

I believe it's finally spring for real, not just on the calendar.  The reason I know is that Johntimothy and I actually sat outside on the deck when he got home and had a glass of wine and read our books in the warm late afternoon sunshine under a sky that couldn't have been any bluer.  Not only that, we realized we could just go ahead and eat dinner out there too...which is exactly what we did...wow, it felt like such a long time since we'd been able to do such things!  After dinner, the temperatures were beginning to drop as the sun was setting, but thought I'd get a couple of shot of the quiet river in the early spring.  There is just the barest hint of a green aura to the trees across the river, although in the sunset light, you can't tell.  Another couple of week and this view will look quite a bit different!

looking southwest across the Missouri River to Nebraska

looking down the river, a bit more south than southwest

The Missouri River is pretty gorgeous in all seasons, but it's so nice to finally be able to be outside to really enjoy it!  

Meanwhile, the river has been something of an inspiration and Violett and I are busy on a new piece, which I hope to be able to show you on Friday....we think it's a bit early to reveal it in this beginning state.  But, it's quite fun, and the stitches are flying...Violett is quite the mover and shaker!

A couple of new small pieces on handmade paper that I believe was made by my own two hands when I was at Penland some years ago.  I found quite a few sheets in various colors in a pile the other day...

Flower Blossoms

Line Work

The color is unbelievably richer once it's dipped in beeswax.  I had drawn those three sets of parallel lines in blue ink before I dipped it, not quite knowing what I'd do next.  I just played with a broken line in colored embroidery thread to create a new pattern, which I found delightful.  I've alwasy loved line and as I continue to contemplate the essence of what I do and the marks I make...I believe it always come down to line.  Some people see and think in tone and shape, but for me, the magic is in line.  I have another piece like this started...perhaps it's becoming a series.  

Night is falling, but the sliding glass doors are still open and the Canadian geese are flying by, their familiar honking echoing over the airwaves.  The big migration has already come through...these must have been the geese that were late making their reservations.

See you Friday, if not before. Have a great week!