Early this month I wrote that we would be taking it easy this December–meaning no real schoolwork, no studio work. The idea was that we would focus all of our energy on Christmas crafts and other such things, enjoying ourselves as we descended into the darkest of the year.
I learned quite a few things [...]
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Ah, December has arrived–a chaos of cloud and bright cold, wind and dark, dark, dark. After the flurry of Thanksgiving activities it has been delightful to fall back into an easy routine.
And easy it is! I’ve been spending my mornings journaling, meditating, and reading Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire to the [...]
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One of the curious things about being self-employed with continuous house renovations is that there is always always always something that needs to be done. Maybe it’s work in the shop, or painting that needs to be finished, or a kitchen counter that needs to be installed. Maybe it’s something that can’t wait, [...]
Mid-afternoon and the angle of the Sun is already obtuse. We, however, are not. After some fine teamwork in Jay’s shop and a late egg salad lunch, all of us amble down the lane to the road: three dogs leashed, one girl on a bicycle, two rambunctious boys, one intern, and a [...]
In the last light of dusk, as a soft rain considered its possibilities, I walked up the hill to my studio with McKinley. Jay, our niece Emily, our intern Andy, and our neighbor L, were already up there, and had been working for most of the day installing the custom, handmade woodstove named Hot Mama into my studio. Inside everyone stood around the corner where the woodstove stood, a black pipe rising up and disappearing neatly into the wall. Emily had gathered a pile of twigs and sticks in the belly of the stove, and McKinley, reading my mind, announced that I should light the first fire.
And so I did. The sharp strike of a match brought forth the burst of flame that licked hungrily at the wood. There was no second match. The fire grew and its warmth radiated to our skin as we stood around it, admiring its beauty. Denali turned off the lamps, and the apple-shaped window of mica glowed red in the darkness.
There is no small significance to this fire. So many people have stood around me and supported my creative life. Carl Davidt made this stove for me, so inexpensively as to be considered a gift. He is a metal sculptor who has been a good friend for many years, and I can feel the love that went into this stove. Emily, Andy, and neighbor L, have put in many hours helping out around Berrytown. But my husband’s support has been unwavering and his encouragement consistent. Watching that apple glow, feeling the warmth from the fire, my own creative fire was rekindled. So many times assorted frustrations have given me an excuse to back away from my creative life. Now, with all the support and love warming up my studio, I don’t think I can do that anymore. The space swirled with possibilities and mingled with the smoke that had escaped from the door of the stove. I breathed it all in.
Yesterday Renee and I were hanging out upstairs when we heard a kabonk. It’s rather amazing how quickly our brains can decipher the meaning of a particular sound, in this case the kabonk was immediately deciphered as the sound a bird’s body makes when it decides to fly headlong into a window. This interpretation was [...]
I’ve only time for a quick post, since it’s past dinner-making time, and everyone is eager to eat some chicken pot pie from the rooster that was harvested today. Thankfully many hands can make quick work of dinner prep! But before dinner I wanted to quickly post a photo of a piece that’s nearly done.
This lovely flower is a bellwort, a Spring ephemeral that blooms both in my garden and in the moist Appalachian woods around my home. I am particularly enamored with this demure flower with its lovely twisting petals. It should be finished in a few days, along with a commission I’ve been working on!
