New Year Greetings

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Warm greetings on this first day of the year! For me, this is a day of reflection and hopeful anticipation of a more positive year ahead. We all have resolutions in one way or another and dreams for the future, some yet unacknowledged, still buried deep inside us only half formed and not yet ready to be given a voice. Rather than resolutions, though, I like to think of my hopes for the year as a continuation....as part of the ongoing efforts to balance love and life, work and play. Often we are eager in the new year to set things straight and we make resolutions that drop away one by one, so instead I am acknowledging here on day 1 that I will falter, there will be bad days and many aggravations, but these are all part of working through a mindful life and the efforts to maintain an overall balance. My husband and I share these sentiments and both want to find balance in our lives....maintaining a steadiness that sustains us in good times and bad. We want to balance our days of work with time to be in the studio, read, practice yoga, enjoy healthy food (and drink!) and cultivate positive relationships. I found a great book, Meditations from the Mat,  designed for yoga practitioners. It provides thoughtful daily meditations and reflections to help guide you through day-to-day life. We read the first entry at breakfast....all about balance....a perfect start to the year!!

I do hope to be more focused in the studio and get back to the relationships and friendships I've made online over the last few years. I've let many things get in the way of regular posts here and making new work for my Etsy shops. I have definitely been making new work, but the recent pieces have been posted on my website and not at MissouriBendStudio. But, in the spirit of getting back in balance, here are a couple quiet meditation drawings which are about to be listed on Etsy. 

Stillness no.1

Stillness no.2

These little drawings are made with pencil and a few touches of red earth acrylic ink on Japanese paper that was then dipped in beeswax. Tiny random stitches float across the bottom third on each one....these are quiet drawings, about stillness amid the turmoil of our days.

Hope you are enjoying a fine start to the year....I'll leave you with a chilly view of the icy Missouri River taken late this afternoon, the first day of 2014! Enjoy....