"we have real warriors in our midst"

You may have already seen this quote this year, but I wanted to share it in case you hadn't because it captures something I have felt for a long time. I didn't know how to put it into words, but I felt it again this morning as I awkwardly said "Happy Mother's Day" to a friend who has been dating a man for years. He has a young daughter, and although my friend isn't technically a "mother" she makes food, deals with tantrums, and tucks the little one into bed at night. After I spoke the words I instantly regretted them, it just felt awkward. But I was getting showered with love and a sleep-in~ why should I feel strange about honoring her too?
For the women in my life who have no birth children of their own but have played a mothering role in my life... or my dear friend who had a miscarriage this year... or friends who would ache to become a mom and are not able to yet for one reason or another... I cherish you:

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you

To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you

To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you

To those who experienced loss this year through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you

To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.

To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you

To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you

To those who have disappointment, heart ache, and distance with your children – we sit with you

To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you

To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience

To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst

To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you

And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst. We remember you.

source

Happy Mother's Day ♥

Big Love Fest

After I put the kids to bed tonight I ate store-bought rotisserie chicken, salted caramel gelato and wine for dinner.
Yep. and I ate it sitting on the counter...
We vended at the Big Love Festival today (a wonderful big festival in the heart of downtown that features 100% local music, food, and businesses) and Alex stayed later to break down the booth.  The kids stayed with friends all day and I drove home at 7pm just in time to put them to bed.

My new mounted prints & little necklaces debuted today (I will have to show you them both later this week!) and they were a big success. It always feels good when something you have been putting a lot of energy into works out. Overall the day was lovely. It made me proud to live in such a wonderful, wonderful place. A place with such amazing businesses and culture.
A big thank you to everyone who came out and supported us today!

little past

detail of a self portrait 2001 :: mica, map, ink, photography

Another little artwork I found at my friend Caren's last weekend. All those years of not documenting what I created~ and now they show up on friend's walls, unexpected surprises. 

house updates

 I don't know if you have ever noticed the flapping white house-wrap and exposed plywood on the bottom half of our house... but I am happy to report that after 5 years it is finally going to be plastered (!!!) Dave came up to help Alex wrap the house in one more layer of wrap, one layer of black paper (also for protection), and a layer of lathe (basically chain-mail that gets stapled to the wall so the plaster has something to cling to).  Next step is picking out what color plaster we want, and two days of plastering.

Alex also built his first rock retaining wall. See it up there to the left of our house? It's so pretty.


{ the kids love to climb up on the shoe shelf and watch the action }

first show of the season

Alex and I left the kids with my mom, Becca, and Dave this past weekend to participate in the Durham NC Spring Market. It was the first time we have had a childless overnight together since Lili was born! That part felt really fun but also very strange. We stayed with good friends and it was nice to get a deeper glimpse into their lives.

The market itself was just okay. The air conditioning in the our area was inadequate, and the room was very stuffy. Customers were walking into the room, saying "Oh my god, it is hot in here" and turning right around. Traffic was slow and sales were on the slow side too... No matter what though, I always love connecting with other artists living a similar lifestyle, and Durham has a thriving arts scene which was fun to witness. 

The kids barely mentioned our names the whole weekend they were having so much fun!

the book is out!!! and a giveaway!

I am excited to announce that Gwen Diehn's new compilation book is officially out!!!
I feel incredibly honored to have 19 features in the book including an artist highlight. I really love how she complied the information from her previous two books (The Decorated Page, and The Decorated Journal) so seamlessly. You can Find the book here on Amazon.

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If you want to try your luck at winning a free copy (and also an original handmade journal made from a butter box by Gwen herself) ----------------------> Go to the Lark Crafts website and leave a comment by May 3rd.

At the very least I recommend you stop by a bookstore and browse the wealth of information in this book and get inspired!

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wood-fired cob oven

Ali and her hand-built cob wood-fired oven...

Though it technically wasn't an  Earth Day party, it seemed fitting that we were invited to celebrate our friends' new wood-fired oven this weekend since most of this oven is made from earthy materials: clay, sand, straw, and water. This type of building is named cob, and you can even build houses out of it! Here is wiki's definition of cob:
"Cob, cobb or clom (in Wales) is a building material consisting of clay, sand, straw, water, and earth, similar to adobe. Cob is fireproof, resistant to seismic activity,^[2] and inexpensive. It can be used to create artistic, sculptural forms and has been revived in recent years by the natural building and sustainabilitymovements."


It may be inexpensive, but it is labor intensive. A finished cob project (even one of this size) is cause for a celebration... and even more so if it makes pizza! 

All the guests brought toppings to put on the pizza. Among all the wonderful items: fresh spinach, lamb and pepperoni from two friends' farms, tomato sauce and pesto from last years harvest...

Our friends cute home. It has a living roof. 

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 Happy Earth Day! (and thank you to my friends for allowing me to share their beautiful home!)

dogwood

Life has been full, and I have been wearing my mom hat a lot more the last couple weeks...

Not much time in the studio has = not much art getting done. I did start this sketch of a dogwood blossom, but now the dogwood petals are starting to drop and I am not sure I will finish it while they are still blooming.  So is life. 

something pretty to rest your eyes on.

This is one of my favorite trees in our area. It always makes me smile when I go by it. It looked especially beautiful on this night at sunset.  Can you see the small bit of a rainbow in the right hand corner of this photo? So pretty...

layers :: process

special wonders

barred owl

This month has been a good one for wonderful happenstances.

We:
*found 6 of the elusive morel mushrooms (we ate them sauteed with butter)
*found a vertebrae resting in some moss (maybe from a deer?)
*saw a large barred owl in the daylight. Alex actually felt it's eyes on him and searched the trees to find it.  (Alex and I saw it swoop right over our heads and land in a nearby tree, but Lili saw it swoop down and land on her head and befriend her. So "owl" came home with us on top of her head and has been making invisible friend real appearances in our house ever since.)
*saw two kestrels (colorful birds of prey) being frisky in the middle of road together and as we drove up they disengaged and flew off.
*found half of a quartz arrowhead in our front yard

I don't know about you, but I wish I saw my friends more. We have an amazing neighborhood of kindred spirits, and even though they live a stones throw away, we don't see enough of them. Which is why today was extra lovely. Catching up from the winter hibernation with all of them. Watching the herd of little ones on the trampoline and searching for eggs.
Good food and no to-do list... lovely. 

wool garland

During Seo's nap I set Lil up with a project outside. When I saw the idea for it HERE I knew it would be perfect for stash-busting my tub of felted wool (aka thrifted wool sweaters I shrunk in the dryer for projects).

DIY KIDS WOOL GARLAND:
(wool, scissors, blunt needle, embroidery thread)
1. Cut one inch size squares and triangles out of the wool. 
2. Thread a blunt needle with embroidery thread and tie a knot at the end. 
3. Show your little one how to put the needle through the center of a piece of wool. 

So easy & she had so much fun.

visual journal

visual page from my art journal

I like to demonstrate how being artistic in a personal journal can be about the journey more than creating a perfect artwork. In art there is no right and wrong, and this is even more true for visual journals.
I am a firm believer in the connection of mind and body, and journaling consistently helps me along my path to health and wholeness because it serves as a safe place to figure out how I am feeling deep down.  Often disjointed and rambling, or full of doodles, my journals are messy and vibrant.

And my soapbox--------> Art journaling is for everyone, not just the artists. 

earl scruggs

As many of you might know we lost one of the world's most talented banjo players this past week. Here is a wonderful video I found for you of Earl Scruggs and the festival banjo players at Camp Springs Bluegrass festival in 1971.

I have such a weakness for good banjo pickin'...