April's End

Hi all, with the arrival of spring comes an incredible busyness, which feels good and purposeful after a quiet winter. The to do lists are long this week and long range plans are in the works too, spring is always like this!


I will be adding these new note cards to my Etsy shop very soon , got some more new art in the works too.

In the midst of all the work and plans this week came the sweet discovery of a wonderful movie called The Way.  It is the story of a father who unexpectedly finds himself in Spain on a pilgrimage, traveling the route of the 'Way of St. James', or the El Camino de Santiago as it is better known. This route, in real life, has been traveled by pilgrims all over the world for over 1000 years for both religious and personal reasons.  I would love to do this month long + walk! The film is a gem, with beautiful scenery and a sincere and heartfelt story. The soundtrack has some beautiful compositions by  Tyler Bates, and others.  Check it out...

bird angels in Maine to palm trees in Florida

                                                                                                                                                       bird angels

What a week ... I feel a change in the weather ... from a spring snow that brought the birds flocking to the bird feeder, to beautiful sun-filled 60 degree days and my first views of blooming crocuses and snowdrops.

                                                                                                                             ...so many tracks in the snow

                                                                                                                                           kitchen snowflakes

I've been cooking lots of healthy foods these past weeks, still enjoying and being inspired by Heather's workshop at Whole Food Kitchen.
 It's hard to describe the change I've been experiencing as I eat more delicious, life giving foods. It's a bit like watering a plant that hasn't had a good dose of water in awhile, you see the leaves start to unfurl and come back to life, standing strong again ... that's how I'm feeling!

                                                                                                                                              salad and khichuri

                                                                                                             falafel, salad and tahini/lemon sauce

                                                                                                                                         coconut milk quinoa

                                                                                                                                 roasting nuts and seeds

                                                                                                                                                      lovely peels                 

                                                                                                                                                          fruit salad

                                                                                                  breakfast quinoa with fruit, nuts and seeds

                                                                                                                       gluten-free blueberry seed cake                                                

Well, you see that I've been keeping busy in the kitchen this week!
In other ways I've been busy as well ... enjoying the beautiful art of Angie Lewin , and always with music I love in the background. 
Last, but not least, I'm planning a little break from winter to visit my sister in Florida! This is not something I do regularly, it's kind of a big deal I'd say!
I'll be away for two whole weeks of sunshine, fresh food and good company! Looking forward to posting about my trip when I return. See you at the end of the month! Enjoy!

                                                                                                                                         from Cathy's iphone

Nest

Robin's nest, drawn in graphite and charcoal, finished in photoshop. I'm still thinking about how best to offer this image in my shop.

When I first imagined creating this blog almost a year ago now I had the idea that I would use this space as a kind of art diary, a place to share weekly drawings, preview art that I hoped to sell in my shop and maybe meet new friends along the way. It's been an incredibly good year of learning for me in many ways but how differently my little blog has turned out!  

 

What happened to the art? Well, life happened, the details of a busy life with its many daily facets.  I have learned so much in these last months about things I had never given any thought to before ... like, how to blog, how to set up an  online shop, the importance of a good photograph when selling something online, what branding is, some of the ways to promote your work, and , most importantly of all, how vital it is to set aside time each day to actually DO your art !
                                  

Well, just so you know, I'm working on it. :)

  

A Little Excited

          In April I got a message from Linda at Crochet Today magazine
               inquiring if I might be interested in having one of my cards
               featured there in the future. 
               Of course I was happy to say yes!  I sent them
               some samples of the card and then kind of put it in the 
               back of my mind.              

               A couple of days ago I received an envelope containing the Sept/Oct issue

               of Crochet Today and there on page 9 was my little card, Yarn Ball Heaven!
               Not to mention some other very nice things I wouldn't mind having.
               Thank you Crochet Today!

               

New GREEN Papers

I've been in the process of searching for a 'greener' choice in paper to use for my  notecards for several weeks now, and I think I've finally found a paper and envelopes I like. The new paper is 100% recycled/30% post-consumer/ Acid free/ Chlorine free...and the mill where the paper is made is run by electricity generated from a water powered hydroelectric dam. Pretty cool.

Knowing this makes using the paper feel so much sweeter to me. Plus, I really like the earthy look that this paper brings to my cards. They have a softer look, and if you look closely you can actually see the little fibers that make up the paper!

I'm in the process of changing all of my cards over to 'green' papers and some of them are already available at my Etsy shop.

Easter Bunny?

I have been working on this little bunny for awhile now, seems like a good time to bring him out to play...as Easter is imminent! Have a lovely weekend!

Crocus Arrival

The arrival of spring crocuses in my garden always catches me by surprise. The last time I went out to check on them they weren't up yet, so when I visited the garden again today I wasn't expecting to see them. True to form, there they were, in full bloom. I love them dearly.

Edit: If you happen to be visiting today and things appear to be changing a bit, they are, it's just me doing a little experimenting with the settings. I really do have to leave this for another time, it's a beautiful day outdoors and I don't want to miss it!

Empty Bowl

Today is April Fool's Day...and it's been snowing all day...certainly Mother Nature can't have such a ghastly sense of humor that she would dump a foot of snow on us when we all thought that spring was finally here. I suppose I can make the best of it and be content to stay by the fire and sketch.