I’ve been working on a pile of preliminaries for a poetry book about animals and their habitats, the kind of assignment that has me making keener observations of my own habitat. My dog gets me outside even on those icy days, always with my wee camera in a parka pocket. The ice here looked like brush marks.
And this one looked like an ice head, crowned by moss.
This barn felt like a Bauhaus exercise in 2D design.
And look, a figure drawing in the woods.
Some findings are a bit mysterious, like offerings to animal spirits.
And others are downright inflated signs of the season.
All these sights feed my creative urges once I’m back in the studio. No wonder deer, who have been showing up in the yard at night, are making an appearance in this year’s holiday card.
This fawn is curled up in a couple of illustrations, including the card.
With Christmas and Chanukah only days away, I am finally ready to walk this path of winter, psychically and physically.
It is time, too, to string the lights, embrace the darkest nights, and send prayers out to the universe for all the angels to hear.
Happy Solstice!
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