I am a serious fan of procrastination. I probably shouldn’t admit that – and I certainly wouldn’t advocate procrastination as a way of life for my children or my students. But alas, procrastination has been my pattern for decades; you can ask my thesis advisor how that worked out for Read more…
I don’t know how many of you have seen the movie “Big Eyes” about the artist Margaret Keane and her Big Eyed Waif paintings. It is an amazing story of a woman who found her saving grace in painting out her feelings, often of sadness, grief and anger. While you Read more…
I’ve been doing a lot of this lately: If you’ve been reading us for awhile, you know that Laura and I trade off weeks to blog. She needed some time off, so we just posted an old blog last week, which meant this week was my turn. I’d love to Read more…
There’s an oft-quoted saying that says “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” But what happens if you paint a man a fish? My daughters attend a classical school where we talk a lot about Truth, Goodness Read more…
It’s tempting to scratch that itch, isn’t it? What’s more tempting is to keep scratching that itch over and over again, as if it’s going to make it better. In fact, it makes it worse. In my family we call that “picking” at something, which generally leads to an open Read more…
“Happy Epiphany!” “Have a joyous Epiphany!” “Wishing you a blessed Epiphany” I’m guessing you’ve neither given nor received any such greetings this holiday season. It’s entirely possible you have no idea that January 6th is Epiphany. It’s also possible that you may not even know what Epiphany is, or why Read more…
I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love a surprise gift. I have had very few gifts that have left me speechless. But for Ken and I last Friday, this one was an eye popper! This handcrafted driftwood sculpture stands about 19 inches high. Stunning, like nothing we have ever seen. Read more…
There are some paintings you just can’t part with. The painting below, “I’ll Fly Away” was really my first pastel painting. I didn’t like pastel, I thought it was messy, dusty and difficult. I persevered somewhat, but my teacher Laurie McKelvie was so passionate and so encouraging I just had to Read more…
Waiting…..it feels like we as a culture have lost patience with waiting. Our smart phones give us immediate access to anyone and anything we could want; our microwaves allow us to provide sustenance to ourselves (and our households) without the time it takes for a home cooked meal to be prepared. Read more…
Count the stitches! Are you confused yet? I’m writing about a total, absolute surprise that my husband and I received from a lovely friend. Peg Hoobler spent a year and thousands of stitches and in a way, saying, “I love you, you are special, I’ve dedicated my time and thoughts Read more…