holiday blitz
Can it really be December already? It just doesn’t feel cold enough. With my copies of A Warmer World sitting on my desk, the mild weather feels eerily unnatural. Also tacked up nearby is a vintage postcard of ladies in swimsuits, which got me thinking about annual events like the Polar Plunge, when hearty types dash into the bay for charity. I’m not one of them, but I was inspired to create this for my holiday card this year, an Ice Harbor Holiday where people embrace the season’s chill with frisky good cheer. I’ll be addressing and mailing them this weekend, the...
Read Moregratitude
Here’s a little thank you to my family, friends, and followers! I must’ve worked at Hallmark in a past life; I am so fond of making cards. If you haven’t already gotten one of these in the mail, send your snail mail address. I am grateful for all blessings, big and small, especially the folks in my various circles of life. May each of you have happy and safe travels today. Any journey whose destination is the welcome arms of loved ones is worth it. We normally travel on this day, but with no Nana destination, we are staying put. A relief given today’s weather, but...
Read Morefiber & fashion
I think I started drawing girls in clothes in junior high. I thought I’d be a fashion designer right up until touring the apparel design department at RISD and noticing the sewing machines. Sewing? Me? I don’t think so. I didn’t have fond times in home ec. And yet, the fervor of Project Runway caused me to buy fabric, thinking I would retrofit an old coat, um, about two years ago. Finally opted to show this battered sketch to Susan Hanley, proprietress of the renowned Peaks Island Fiber Arts Camp. Repurposing is all the rage, so why not update a dolman-sleeved coat bought...
Read Moresacred and profane
Should anyone think island living is without it’s adventures, here are recent happenings on Peaks that have shined with mystery and magic. This lovely installation by Alicia Eggert was part of the recent Sacred & Profane event, an annual art celebration within the tunnels of Battery Steele on Peaks Island, around the harvest full moon. The Peaks Island Land Preserve graciously allows the property to be taken over by pagan howlings that echo into the depths, which were about 4 inches deep with fresh rain. The above neon piece flickered, with the word “on” going off...
Read Moreon the drawing trail
I drew this still life while waiting for Judy LaBrasca to join me last week at the Portland Museum of Art. Drawing is the best thing I know to create patience and awareness. It occupies and lightens the mood, anytime, anywhere. We sat in the newly renovated cafe and caught up. Judy was my first mentor at Maine College of Art when I began teaching there several years ago. She shared some of the sketchbooks she’s made for her Narrative Sketchbook class in Continuing Studies. Lovely! A couple of days later, I joined with another MECA colleague, Mary Anne Lloyd, who shared a batch of...
Read Moresong of myself
I never take birthdays for granted, mine or anyone else’s. As Mel Robbins said recently on Ted, the odds of our birth is a 1 in 400 trillion chance of fate. Now that I have passed safely into middle age, I seem to have more blessings than I can count. I’ll start with the above, a handmade birthday card from my beloved, who so graphically captured my love of dots and red and ME. I also got this original portrait from the inimitable Kathy Mahoney, who I miss terribly since she moved from New England. I have quite a collection of portraits that capture certain pages of my life in...
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