I’ve been doing a little playing with my camera and image editing settings. Whatdya think? (I like ‘em! Click on each one to see it bigger — ’specially the kitty!)

love and hugs and giggling and friends and art tears and and fun and craft and joy and water and trees.

It is so hard to put into words the magic (yes, I said magic! Alchemy? Sparkles? Joy?!) of Squam Lake and the Squam Art Workshops. So until I can put it into words, even though this was my second time there and I should be able to synthesize it into words now but I can’t, you can see my photos on my flickr here. This session was similar but also so different, so special in its own way. Some of the same people, many new faces and quite a few folks who I felt like I already knew. I kept having the “don’t I know you from somewhere?” conversation, and it went both ways; we both felt familar, but there was no way we had met before. Ahh, the bliss of kindred spirits.

I also want to say a huge thanks to everyone who came out to the Squam Art Fair and loved on my crafty goodness and took home some goodies. I am so thrilled that a handfull of my birdies will be living in loving new homes and my art will be gracing the walls of some really rockin’ creative souls’ homes. You all blow me away.

And the teachers, the Teachers!

Lizzy House (top) and Marisa Haedike (above), you are so amazing beyond words. Thank you for imparting your knowledge to us in such a kind, thoughtful, joyful, eloquent way. You are both such fantastic artists and it was a joy to meet you. I am a better person for knowing you. And I hope to be a better artist, armed with some super tips and techniques that you brought to us in your classes. These women are both forces of nature to be reckoned with, but bring such compassion to their interactions and relationships, and every piece they create has such meaning and feeling behind it. I can only hope to expand on what I learned from each of you.

We also had the honor of being joined by the fantastic Ms. Jonatha Brooke again this session, who continued the tradition of serenading us by the bonfire on the first night, and brought tears to our eyes once again with her songs of trust and pixie dust throughout the weekend. Lovely seeing you again, dear soul!

I am so thrilled to have been mentioned on the Fiber Farm blog and the sweet “loving it” section of SouleMama, Amanda Blake Soule’s blog as a result of being at the Squam Art Fair. Fiber Farm was part of the Art Fair on Saturday, and Amanda was part of the books and authors forum on Friday night at Squam, and I had the pleasure of meeting her at the book signing. What an amazing and lovely woman; I so plan on using her creative-family-raising ideas someday with my own family. She is such an inspiration!

ok, I guess I did have some words to describe it. And I’ll bring you more later, but for now be sure to enjoy my photos. Here are some of the work I created, too (top two from “Create a Painting in a Day” with Marisa Haedike, and bottom is the result of both “Pattern Design” and “Block Printing Fabric” with Lizzy House):

I’m not broken, not torn, just pulled a muscle/tendon — a bad sprain and I’m actually up on my feet now and walking without a cane or crutches like I was for over a week. Amazing how a body can heal, eh? Thank you, body, you’re fantastic. I’m still gimping around like a peg-leg with an ace bandage and a bulky air cast on my ankle, but I’m doing ok. Phew.

I’m really hoping I’m about a jillion times better by this time next week, though, because that will be the first night of SQUAM Art Workshops!! Yippee! I’m so excited for this opportunity to check in with myself and my art, as well as connect with all those lovely like-minded individuals who have chosen to take this opportunity to live the arty dream for a few short days of art and trees and lake and fun. Living in the woods is fantastic, and visiting someone else’s woods and lake is sometimes even better. I’ll also be sharing my cabin and taking one workshop with my dear friend Sarah G., who will be meeting me there from Burlington, VT. How perfect?

No news on the DC trip. I am contemplating changing our trip to a later date, since I’m not so sure how well I’ll be able to walk around the city all day. My ankle tends to get all kinds of swollen and painful when I stand on it too long. But the good news is that I CAN stand on it, without excruciating pain.

The last weeks have also been jam-packed with crafty goodness, wherein I did my first outdoor craft fair at Sowa Open Market, (with amazing help from my friends and my wonderful husband!!) and my second at Pittsfield Third Thursday (with amazing help from the other BerkshireMade members!), and then a fun one in North Adams at the NoAMA Mill, where I was really able to get to know the members of BerkshireMade much better. What a great group of folks, who make amazing work. Have you seen the new website that I redesigned for BerkshireMade? You can click around and see all of their super shops. Buy local, buy handmade! See pics of these events on my flickr, here.

OH! Also, I just got myself a new lens for my camera! A 50mm portrait lens for my Nikon D40, great for low-light, but with a finicky manual focus that is super fun to take macro shots with. Most of those BerkshireMade pics were taken with it — some nice up close shots of the jewelry and art and bags and people. Here are a few of the pups, because, well, they are cute.

Top: Mickey, my mom’s Australian Shepherd, enjoys a chewy treat. Bottom: Our sweet (and somewhat alarmed?) HappyDog.

I’m part of the newest Poppytalk Handmade marketplace, “Affordable Art”! Looking for some artwork but you can’t even fathom paying gallery prices? There is some Ah-mazing work over there, just right for your ol’ walls. Some of my favorite artists this month include The Cellophanes, Matte Stephens, Walking to Jericho and Sharon Montrose (her work below).

Did I mention  that I think Art makes a wonderful gift? Well, yeah, I do.

…that brown doggie gets me every time. My mom’s Australian Shepherd, Mickey — HappyDog’s favorite friend comes to visit a lot these days, since I’m home so much… they are such a good pair!

What an amazing thing to come home to, after an over-the-top inspiring and soulful weekend, I came home to see that my studio was featured on the Poppytalk Blog on Saturday! Thank you Jan and Earl for allowing me to show my studio and discuss a little bit of my process and work — what an honor to be featured on your wonderful blog.

I also wanted to say a big “Hello!” to anyone who might be visiting my blog here after seeing that feature on Poppytalk — I’m happy to have you, and hope you enjoy this peek at my life, work and the little farm!

I’m smiling big today, so if you see a dork walking around downtown Lee looking all sparkly and happy, that’s probably me. So stop and say hello, won’t you? :>

Starting tomorrow, I’m going to be away for a few days, at an even that promises to be wonderful and amazing, the Squam Art Workshops! I am totally excited! (bet you couldn’t guess that?) It starts tomorrow with an opening ceremony featuring Guest Speaker Grace Bonney of design*sponge and a bonfire with live music from Jonatha Brooke. wowzers. what a way to kick it off, eh?!

I’ll be driving up with Kari, and we’ll be sure to stop and take lots of photos along the way. The weather looks like it will cooperate, with temps from the mid 60s to low 70s and a little bit of sun all week! I will surly have lots to report when I get back on Sunday, plus hopefully some great photos and artwork, so stay tuned.

There is going to be what promises to be an amazing art fair up there on Friday night (that anyone and everyone is invited to) in the neighboring town of Sandwich, NH. If you’re in the neighborhood, stop on by! I think it’s going to be really fun.

I’ve been reading the blogs of some of the instructors and participants of the workshops for the past week or so, trying to get to know some of the people I’ll be spending the next few days with. I’ve collected a few quotes, and I hope they don’t mind if I post them here… I think they’re just right to describe what this week will be:

“This is a time to let go and let it flow. I am looking forward to opening myself up to mother nature with long walks, meditation, bonfires, sweet melodies, breathing deeply, connecting with old friends and meeting some damn cool soulful peeps.” –from Denise Lynnette Andrade bohemiangirldesigns

“I will be going to something like girl camp, complete with art classes and bonfires and music and lots of laughter. It is going to be the life-shifting, creative-sparking kind of fun… my favorite kind.”  –from Andrea Scher of superherodesigns

and this photo of Squam Lake is from Christine Mason Miller, of Sparkletopia.

can’t wait!

I have a couple of new photos for sale in my etsy shop. Hope you likey.

I think they’d make a nice series, maybe in a kitchen . They are listed as 5×7 prints, but I’d be happy to print them larger, even poster size for you. Veggies, veggies everywhere!Ok, I’m finally off to plant my beet, bean, and pea seeds. Better late than never, right?

“Imogen Cunningham is renowned as one of the greatest American women photographers. In 1901, having sent away $15 for her first camera, she commenced what would become the longest photographic career in the history of the medium.
Cunningham soon turned her attention to the native plant forms in her back garden. The results were staggering—an amazing body of work comprised of bold, contemporary forms. These works are characterized by a visual precision that is not scientific, but which presents the lines and textures of her subjects articulated by natural light and their own gestures. Her refreshing yet formal and sensitive floral images from the 1920s ultimately became her most acclaimed work.
Cunningham also had an intuitive command of portraiture, but her real artistic legacy was secured though her inclusion in the Group f/64 show in San Francisco in 1932. With a small group of photographers which included Edward Weston and Ansel Adams, she pioneered the renewal of photography on the West Coast.”