A Grateful Maker

These days are mostly filled with bunnies...

some stress circles but luckily mostly sweetness surrounds us.

Some sadness floats about still...
like seeing Jaks have bad days or having to move on to enjoy summer days without Frenwyck.
 

 

But mostly we steep sweetly in happiness, espeacially when we get to watch

Emmett & Korra-Soleil bounce around the yard together for their first summer as besties,
or as we see soul-buddies Teela and Yuuji chum around like they are tied at the hip (like their folks).

 

 

Where we were slow to get outside, now we seem to spend more time outside than in.

These days seem to be embracing slow delicious (currently bug free!) evenings spent outside as well.

We've now gotten everything out there set up and it's proving to be insanely heavenly.

 

 

In between normal stuff like getting groceries, running errands, paying bills, picking up rabbit meds...

there's still plenty of time to sit and enjoy and take in delicious beautiful food and snacks together.

 

 

I am feeling so grateful for the routine of my life right now...

because even artists with the most wildly successful art careers often crave nothing more

than days in their studio where they can create just whatever they want,

where they are not having to bend to the demands of clients and commissions...

 

 

and right now, during these days, I am blissfully able to create exactly

what I am called to create (when pain doesn't derail my creativity that is).

I have well over 20 images coming up that I am just buzzing about...

 

 

it's an amazing feeling to want to jump out of bed in the mornings and get straight to your studio.

The pull to my studios is very strong right now

but I have to say that I am happy to have all this other abundant beauty balancing me out.

Ahhhh.

 

What are you loving about your routine/days right now?

Things I Need & Growth Underway

I've been realizing with much quicker clarity these days

that I mostly just need simple things.
Such as days where I care and dote on animals...at present time that's 8 sweet rabbits.
I need, no matter what we're doing, as much time as possible with my beautiful bearded hon bun.
I need days and nights full of time for making joyful and whimsical things.
I need calmness and time to take care of myself and my head pain.
I need time to make our sweet sanctuary of a home cozier day by day.
I need abundant beauty which encompasses a whole whack of lovely things such as beautiful music
tinkling through the house, inspirational books that make my heart tingle, time by & on the water,
slow mornings with good coffee, healthful vegetarian fare to eat, time with my folks, etc....
because all these things are as necessary as air to my lungs.
 

 

 Now more than every I am acutely aware that I get to live things all things

pretty much every single day...if I go about my days smartly...

sure some days are more successful in time well spent than others but hey,
there's always going to be a learning curve!

 

This new picture I have underway is about growth

especially growth from the pain we all suffer...

growth from all the sore, bruised and raw heartache that we all go through in some form or another.

and whiles I work on it and relive that raw pain of not just loosing a soul bunny

but from other crap going on in life...

I am reminded of my big simple priorities....

and I am reminded that I grow to love all that simple good stuff more so because of the bad times.

I feel lucky....

I feel like I am growing into a continually more peaceful place in my life...

and ya know what else? I really can't wait to show you the finished piece.

Snippets of Sketching

I've been thinking about how artists work with different ailments

& for me when migraines hit, sketching is the perfect thing for me to do.

I can do it curled up in bed, stretched out on the couch or in short snippets at the living room table...

 

 

Or whiles I keep sweet company with the buns on the floor...this recent batch is all about bunnies,

I am so excited about them (I am literally toting them around the house with me!)

but am completely stuck on what medium to tackle them in!  I am sure you'll see them soon though.

Sometimes You Just Gotta

Schedules are I think, more often than not, a necessity for full-time artists...
especially those of us who have our studios in our homes
where we face a thousand distractions throughout the day!
Strict routines are key to getting everything done, or at least a fair amount done.
 

As much as I may want to, I have a really hard time keeping up with routines and schedules.
I am in fact envious of those who can invent their own schedules and keep to them,
for my headaches and migraines are typically the scheduler of my days.
But if I am having a good pain-free streak
I do often find myself snapping into a routine very easily & quickly
and I get SOOOO much done...but for me, that can sometimes be depressing too,
depressing because I realize how much further ahead I'd be if I could stick to a schedule!

But head pain aside...
even on the best of days where your feeling like a million bucks and like you could tackle anything,

Sometimes you gotta throw the studio schedules to the wind
and just let the day take you where it wants to go...

 

 

Maybe it's time to transfer some lovely local honey from your big honey pot to your smaller one...

 

 

Than maybe the day will find you sitting on the floor

to let your little furry buddies climb all over you as laughter bubbles up from your tummy...

 

 

Than perhaps because you skipped breakfast your tummy starts to growl on top of the bubbling,

so you take just 30 or 40 minutes to take in a healthy snack...

 

 

Than maybe for creative clarity, you find yourself cleaning up your workspaces...

 

 

...and letting your buddies help you out with some organizational ideas...

 

 

Than just maybe the day encourages you to snuggle that every so helpful bun for a short spell...

 

 

Than opps well my oh my look at that it's way past lunch time
and your starving so it's time for a late lunch with a book before heading into the studio
at least for an hour or two before the sun starts to go down!
And before you know it, the blue hour arrives...
it's time to start dinner...it's time to settle into the evening.
You reminiscence on the day you just had
and you do a mental check on what you've accomplished
and you realize with a happy heart that it's okay that you diverted from your plan...
it's more than okay because you enjoyed the day, you went with the flow.

Because as much as you want to have studio days full of accomplishments

you did accomplish something by filling your well.
And you filled your creative well by making your day as sweet and as good as possible
by dipping your ever so winter-dry toes into the lovely wet softening flow
of just letting things just be exactly how they wanted to be every moment of the day...
and how often do we do that!  Not often enough if you pay attention to how stressed everyone is...

So I am a firm believer, oh yes I am, I believe that sometimes you just gotta let go
and enjoy a day that meanders along slowly around unknown corners...
you just have to enjoy a day that slowly milks the sweetness out of every hour
as you embrace the beauty and simplicity of letting each task lead gently unto the next.

Ahhhhhh.....yes...sometimes you just gotta.

Glitter Bug 9

Glitter Bug 9 is one of my new favorites...

These bugs of mine aren't real of course, just my re-imagining inspired by the real thing.

 

 

Once again this beauty is a teeny tiny 3 x 3 inch one of a kind...

interested in having the lovely little original for your very own? just email me if you are.

Studio Sunsets

I love the part of the day where I am all snuggly cozy at my coloured pencil desk,

which overlooks our front yard and the quiet court that we live on.

The sun starts to go down & I look forward to our evening routine beginning...
 

 

...I bask in the last delicious minutes with my colours for the day...

I bask in the beauty of that setting sun & hopefully also in a studio day well spent....

ahhhhhh....little things...as always.

Basking In Butterflies

I'll have about 12 new 'Glitter Bugs' released into the world soon...

Here's a small sampling of some of them as I finished them up in their coloured pencil phase...

 

Those who 'Keep In Touch' with my studio news always get first dibs on original work

so if your possibly interested in one of them, it would be the perfect time to sign up.