Wow, the last time I wrote a blog post, snow was piled high on the ground. Today we are treated to the splendors of early summer (even if it is still jacket weather most days): iris and lupin near the house, warm sun, lady slipper and moccasin flower in the woods, knuckles of beans pushing the soil aside and joining the garden community, and...drum role here... garlic plants a foot high. Time to celebrate. Gifts come our way aplenty.
My painting life took a bit of a detour in March when my husband and I started a journey into the medical world in Boston to figure out what was going on with him. With the caring evaluative work of medical staff at Lahey Clinic, Tufts Medical Center, and Brigham and Womans Hospital, all in Boston, his condition was diagnosed and treatment started. Although we spent the better part of March, April and May in Boston, we now are back at home with treatment happening locally followed by monthly trips to Boston to the specialists. My door to drawing, painting and rejoicing in the creative spirit has re-opened, for which I am grateful.
Small pen and ink sketches, some with watercolor, have drawn me in. I turn to this medium because of its quiet, centering focus. I carry an 8x8 watercolor sketch book with me, stop along the way in our Boston adventure and around home, and enjoy the time to retreat into a space of quiet. The process of creating little paintings in a small book, back-to-back pages, with indelible pen marks is amazingly freeing. Because of the permanence of the marks, there is no wrong mark. Each stroke of the pen builds the painting with its own voice. The voices come together into a unified whole only when one has faith that it will work, one is wholly present in the process, and one expects awesome joy. Isn't that a metaphor for life! There is no room for self doubt; only room to learn and grow. There is no failure; only opportunity to see possibilities. There is no chaos; only times to be patient, to see more deeply, to hold the breath of Spirit rising.
So glad to be back in my studio and the great out doors.
