and I’m taking the whole day off… from painting that is…
the easel chair is empty…
The daffodils are in bloom…
Finnegan, Pat and I have taken the first walk in the park of the season…
and there is a stack of wood in the driveway that wants to become new garden beds…
and the promise of sushi when the sun begins to set…
a fine day to turn 52.
Spring is here and the studio is hopping…
Week three and I finally got a decent nights’ sleep and the long slow climb out of pneumonia is trending upward…
Creeping out of that fog it feels like the world has spun into high gear and I am a bit dazed. After the long cold months of dreaming my way through the winter… every corner of the studio has a new project calling…in some cases screaming…at me.
The new printer has arrived and we are preparing to launch the sale of prints published in our own studio and sold exclusively on our website next week. Emails back and forth with Ross, the webmaster…and testing of the new machine…and producing an announcement to be mailed out have the office hopping…
Outside the next phase of construction is underway in the studio garden… we’re going greener with some new raised beds in which to plant veggies to replenish our weakened immune systems…
Back inside the easel has this year’s mega panel endeavor waiting patiently for my energy level to return to normal. The panel is ambitious and I can’t wait to tackle the intense detail…so far it’s been weeks of building up the ground work interrupted by weeks of crawling back to bed…today for the first time I feel that tide turning.
And then last week my share of the Jupiter Moon Farm fall shearing arrived… this time I ordered raw fleece rather than the processed yarn. It is glorious and I won’t have to wait now until the May Sheep and Wool Festival to sit and spin my cares away. I am going to try and use this as a great big carrot to lead me back to the easel and only after a good days work of painting…allow myself to sit at the spinning wheel and let the healing fibers fly.
Through it all, right at my side, has been my little apprentice…
Finnegan is the healthiest of the bunch around here. She has both of her legs back under her now and is rehabbing nicely. She is more than ready to run with the big dogs again but it will be 6 more weeks or so of restricted exercise before she can really let loose. While I was writing this blog she decided that box of fleece left on the floor in the bathroom should be rearranged… the trail leads through the kitchen, down the hall, and right to my easel chair…
I get the message…back to work !
Stay tuned for updates on all these projects and more… H
The call came in at 3:30am from the hard working vet that Finn was out of surgery and doing well. I had caved in at midnight so it was early this morning that I got the message. Now my flu ravaged body may still be weary but my spirits are high. By this time next week all members of my little family should be off of antibiotics and we can say good riddance to displaysed elbows and rattling pneumonic lungs and maybe even to … snow ???
I’ve got to pass along our thanks to all of you who have been checking in and offering help and that all important compassionate ear of support… you will never know how those words and gestures of kindness reach in and lift us up.
One person who has done some heavy lifting in that department is our friend Saren. She has talked me down off of many a ledge especially with dear Finnegan’s trials. I was checking in with her early this morning and felt like a corner has been turned. The sun is shining, there is a definite warming in the air, and when I took the time to look I found the first signs of spring in the studio yard…
Can I get a witness ???
Through the darkest days of this long hard winter I’ve been taking myself to one of the happiest and most anticipated events of my year…the Sheep and Wool Festival !
The warm sunny first weekend in May when the Howard County Fairgrounds fill up with color and fiber and everything sheep. The crowd is full of my kind of people…old back to nature hippies who dress in sensible clothes and parade their knitted and woven creations and scour through the straw strewn farm shed stall to replenish their supplies of yarn and fleece and needles and sheep dip, etc.
There are many happy memories there for us and I’m so excitedly looking forward to making that trip this year…we may go both days !
My spinning wheel waits behind the snow shovel…
And I’ve got one great big panel up on the easel that needs to be finished before then…
But by golly I can feel it getting closer…I am dreaming now of coming home with a nice bag of fleece in the truck and oiling up the old wheel and sitting on the warm sunny porch with Finnegan stealing bits of wool and running down the walkway with it flying up over her shoulders in triumph…
A fine morning in the middle of May with friends old and new coming for brunch and to meet little Finn. Tender greens from the garden, a quiche in the oven with market asparagus and home grown herbs, a pitcher of log cabin mint tea, the light and sparkle of Miss Gail’s charming witty reparte, a pot of forget-me-nots from Ronnie’s farmette, gentle reminders to Finnegan that she may not join us at the table, and rounds and rounds of adrenaline releasing laughter… wonderful.
Quite a contrast from the way Finnegan and I began our morning the day before…
This is a bed of Burdock …
…the giant leaves in amongst the weeds and grasses… it is a show stopping vegetation and has tiny purple flowers in mid-summer that resemble thistles…which are pretty when they bloom and a bit of a nuisance when they dry and become these…
Brrrrrrrrrrrssss !
Was never a problem with our big dog Gully as she had learned not to bother the flower beds…but…everything is brand new to our little Finn and when I saw her emerge from underneath those giant green leaves …well there was hardly any puppy showing for all the burrs. No, I did not stop to take a photo of that. The poor dear was not at all happy about the removal process. But while we were struggling and wrestling with the comb and the teeth I made a promise to her that I would not let one more burr find it’s way onto her tender torso.
Soooooooooo…
we decided on a fence… and with money scarce and our supply of twigs and sticks a plenty…we began to gather some woody bits…
This morning we walked down the lane and added more soldiers to the pile but the rains and wind from a passing storm drove us inside…we figure on needing a lot more sticks so hopefully the storm will cooperate and drop a few dozen… meanwhile it’s easel time…
tune in later for more on the fence project…
ta for now,
H and Finn
A breakfast party !
With two of our favorite girlfriends… Amy and Sue. We go waaaaaaay back and finally found a slot in all of our busy schedules to reconnect….they brought the bagels and we brought the puppy kisses.
These women have the most powerfully positive and peaceful energy and Finnegan was instantly in tune and in love…
Amy even gave Finn her first lesson in the Art of Wi …
But all this excitement was tiring out the wee one…
and it was time for a flip flop nap for Finnegan…
Angels walking among us ….
thanks gals…
love ya, H
Time for a quick post between puppy naps and twins at play…
to document the arrival of Finnegan Loretta Neill…
She is a trooper and greeted every visitor and neighbor with confidence and a happily wagging tail.
The sounds of gentle puppy snoring have returned to the studio at last. Gully my love, you can rest easy now…ya done great.
More to come soon … but most of the painting done in the studio this week has been with sidewalk chalk !
25 March 2009
A sure sign of spring is the dying of easter eggs… and these bunnys are working overtime to get ready…
THE NIGHT CREW
New painting now at the Granary Gallery !
And for the young at heart… click on this link to print out your own page to color !
20 March 09
Spent the morning framing and packing up a new painting which will be headed up to the Granary Gallery as soon as Herself gets back from her yoga class. So before I head back to the easel here are a few pics of the first weeks’ work on the big panel….
A swath of sky, then in for some long distance work and detailing, then over to the shack full of shingles… I have become quite familiar with the weathered cedar shingle and learned that there are no short cuts. Wet-in-wet seems to work well for the first layers. Then I come back in and crisp up the edges and add texture. Then go back and glaze it all down as a summer rain storm might…and back over that to bounce in some highlights where the appropriate sunlight…or shadow…would glance off the surfaces.
The first week then…
And now…
back to the brushes.
Happy First Day of Spring !
19 March 09
So dark this morning…but the clouds are sprinkling the newly planted potatoes and all is right with the world….at least with the garden.
Yesterday I took a detour from the big painting and played outside. Following Richard’s directions we planted our potatoes under a bed of straw and leaves. Herself did all of the heavy lifting and we took our time…but it was wonderfully healing to be out working in the gardens again…and if the sunshine and spring rains don’t make these babies grow…the healthy dose of love and laughter we shared planting them certainly will !
Tomorrow an update on what’s on the easel.
Today…. a rainy day to paint.
HN
10 March 09
It’s a grey morning and, as Russell used to say…they’ve been wanting rain for days now.
As I lumbered over to the studio this morning a flash of bright green caught my eye…
‘Neath the layer of winter wind blown leaves and frost heaved clamshells…
…the life affirming growth of the first baby chives.
This always catches me off guard…and is a delicious tonic which jump starts my soul…and my taste buds…
So what signs of spring are growing in your gardens my friends ?
Yours in compost,
HN