happy unofficial summertime

A happy cat munching on grass; happy people noshing on good food & congregating at a vintage one-room schoolhouse; the aforementioned schoolhouse having been moved by a team of horses from one side of a field to another in the early 1900s, now nestled next to a stream & home to a dear friend; happy children playing in a pond in the schoolhouse's shadow; happy hour with chickens & their human compatriots at our friends' well-appointed home & gardens, right here in our little town. Vinho verde & sardines. A good weekend, indeed.

happy weekend

Just went bowling for the first time in years - pretty darn fun & funny. Hope to put the finishing touches on my studio this weekend, & looking forward to an afternoon get-together with friends in a beautiful part of Vermont, as well as an evening of drinks & noshing with pals & their free-range chickens (more on that later). Our vegetable garden is in & thriving, despite strong winds & threats of hail, & our little brown bat has apparently set up camp in our attic. Perhaps we will even get a hike in, weather permitting. Life is good.

And you...?

be here now

My kind of room: books in every nook & cranny, places to sit & many things to see. I love the blue of the sofas & how they seem to peacefully float in the space.

from here

art history

I've been cleaning out my studio, poor space has been sorely neglected; while going through some stuff, I came across a portfolio of old academic drawings from years ago: quick gesture drawings, sumi studies, anatomical sketches, rather melodramatic still-lifes, musculature & skeletal studies superimposed on favorite pieces of art (in this case, a Goya) & conté drawings from a museum class where we drew from their collection of Rodin sculptures; I unearthed hundreds of drawings, many of which I'd completely forgotten about.

Pretty funny to see yourself through the lens of your youthful art.

Now, do I keep them all...?

marginalia

early birthday gift to self.

click on image to view larger version. it's worth it.

happy weekend

This weekend we get our tomato plants, which always feels like a large step in the direction of summertime. Looking forward to the Farmer's Market, & hopefully finding some ramps & fiddleheads. Perhaps we'll don our rain gear & get a hike in, as well. We're on seven straight days of rain that is creating a steamy & jungly immediate world, & it appears it's not letting up any time soon...

dressage

 These fetching pieces from Filly would beautifully take a gal from the cool spring we're experiencing right through our humid summers. I love the timelessness of the designs, & the fabric choices made by designer Emily Christensen, a graduate of the California College of the Arts clothing design program: fine cotton voiles, hemp/cotton jersey blends, linen & leathered cotton twills that have lovely sheens & textures in rich, earthy hues. What really impressed me were the incredible details in her work: pleats, folds, seams & stitching that stand out against the deceptive simplicity of her designs & the solid colors she chooses, elevating each piece to a work of art.

In her artistic statement, Christensen talks about how it struck her that function was unexpectedly beautiful; this discovery while performing everyday activities like gardening & biking led her back to school, where she received the necessary training to design the clothing she sells today. Brava.

thanks, sweets

I have some people I'd like to thank for kind deeds, so what better way to show appreciation than with a couple of different filled chocolates? Grazie!

through the looking glass

Everywhere I look, things are coming up bright & green. I love rainy spring days, & the beautiful smudgy light that falls upon the riot of color outside. Good day to sip tea & gaze through windows.

spring showers

This past weekend we hosted a picnic/barbecue for a couple of dear friends who are expecting a little guy in early June. The weather threatened rain all day, but magically held out until just after the affair wrapped up in the late afternoon/early evening. Thank you, mother nature!

It was wonderful relaxing & chatting with the lovely folks who came to celebrate the joy, & to see our yard so alive with growing things & happy people.

happy weekend

your mission: spontaneous joyous celebration. no self-consciousness or holds barred. do it, people. happy weekend!


thanks, jhs

a shed of one's own

A gardening shed would be nice, but a writing or painting shed is more up my alley. I've seen Thoreau's in person, & have read much about Woolf's, both eliciting a longing for a little hut, a secluded space separate from home, a place to get away & get to work. Like these forts for grownups & gypsy wagons, a small base that is off-limits to others is not just the stuff of children, but creative people as well. Perhaps that childlike need is part of the secret of creativity.

I love that Shaw named his shed "London", so that when he was working & directed his staff to tell inquirers that he was in London, they wouldn't be lying.

George Bernard Shaw's London

Roald Dahl's Gipsy House

Virginia Woolf's writing shed

Dylan Thomas' writing hut

Henry David Thoreau's writing cabin

via here