lesson one

see it over here too

i'm so happy that i decided last week, at the very last minute, to sign up for mati and lisa's "get your paint on" class! i recently realized that it had been far too long since i just painted for me, for fun, without worrying about the buyer, the gallery the show deadline etc. i declared that february would be MY time to spend in the studio just painting, enjoying the process and getting back to a place of relaxation and inspiration. no more stress or deadlines, a little break, just for me, to refill, to play, to just be... just for the month. i thought that this class was the perfect way to kick start my month and force me to follow through. i'm happy to report that so far, it's working!

today's painting was based on the quilts of gee's bend. i used this book for reference, as i've had it on my studio shelf for a couple of years, meaning to make a painting like this, but never finding the chance. finally, today was the day. it was refreshing to work in a new-to-me way... i studied the quilts in the book, sketched and mapped out my ideas before i began and then spent a couple of hours painting in the studio early this morning while ada napped. fueled by coffee and bright winter sunlight, i felt renewed and inspired. i needed that for sure.

this is the first assignment of the 5-week class. i'll be sure to share with you my other projects.

after spending the better part of this last year writing about how to paint and teaching techniques, it certainly is a welcome change to be a student instead! i love learning, exploring new ideas and challenging myself. it feels good for sure.

a poem for today

snow day

by billy collins

Today we woke up to a revolution of snow,
its white flag waving over everything,
the landscape vanished,
not a single mouse to punctuate the blankness,
and beyond these windows

the government buildings smothered,
schools and libraries buried, the post office lost
under the noiseless drift,
the paths of trains softly blocked,
the world fallen under this falling.

In a while, I will put on some boots
and step out like someone walking in water,
and the dog will porpoise through the drifts,
and I will shake a laden branch
sending a cold shower down on us both.

But for now I am a willing prisoner in this house,
a sympathizer with the anarchic cause of snow.
I will make a pot of tea
and listen to the plastic radio on the counter,
as glad as anyone to hear the news

that the Kiddie Corner School is closed,
the Ding-Dong School, closed.
the All Aboard Children’s School, closed,
the Hi-Ho Nursery School, closed,
along with—some will be delighted to hear—

the Toadstool School, the Little School,
Little Sparrows Nursery School,
Little Stars Pre-School, Peas-and-Carrots Day School
the Tom Thumb Child Center, all closed,
and—clap your hands—the Peanuts Play School.

So this is where the children hide all day,
These are the nests where they letter and draw,
where they put on their bright miniature jackets,
all darting and climbing and sliding,
all but the few girls whispering by the fence.

And now I am listening hard
in the grandiose silence of the snow,
trying to hear what those three girls are plotting,
what riot is afoot,
which small queen is about to be brought down.

from sailing around the room: new and selected poems