The messy stage...

...of the photo transfer process.  It feels raw and pieced together - going to let it sit for a while to wait to see what might come next.

Today's work

I continue to work to blend the images as I piece together parts of the photo transfers...

And here's a new collage inspired by a photo of a sunset at Huntley Meadows...

Huntley Meadows

Photos from an evening walk with Chad today at Huntley Meadows.  There was still a thin coating of ice over much of the wetland.  Walking back, we saw two beavers swimming and popping up through the thin ice - the first time I have seen them, fascinating to watch.

Photo transfer

My latest photo transfer on a collage from several weeks ago - next step is more collage but going to sit with this a while first.  Really liking the lines of the bare trees - enjoying those in our environment again too as we head toward the first day of winter.

Reflection

Today was a full day - Chad and the kids worked at the tree sale and I was back and forth checking in at home and walking dogs. 

In the afternoon I took a couple hours to go see a ceramics show and take a quick walk at Huntley Meadows.  I love the sky and colors of the reeds in this, one of my favorite spots.

Commitment...

I've been thinking today about my commitment to this idea of practicing everyday.  Some days it is more of struggle and I feel like I stretch the definition of making to find something that fits.  Other times it feels like this commitment hangs over my head as more of a burden than a joy.  Mostly, it is about return and accepting what is.  In reality there are many kinds of making and the kinds that I aspire to practice don't always fit into my day.  These are times to be present to other ways to create - creating space to be with family, food for nurturance and celebration.  At the same time it is good to return to an artistic practice in the more traditional sense.  And it is worth celebrating that return. Small steps help - to begin with getting out materials and just experimenting helps.  

The reality is that the making does feed me.  I'm thankful for the way the commitment to daily making keeps me coming back to practice.  

Here is today's watercolor practice...

And a felted version of a labyrinth ball...

Watercolor practice...

Clay and collage

I spent an hour on the porch this morning working with clay - it was just warm enough with a jacket to enjoy the fall light this morning.

This evening I began my first collage in a long time...

...inspired by this photo of Huntley Meadows this week.

Nurturance...

The making that most fed my soul today was making dinner.  The last of our summer garden tomatoes were the center of this improvised sauce over spaghetti squash.

Walking with a friend in Huntley Meadows park also nurtures me - particularly with this light through the trees.  I am thankful for this landscape and for the gentle, generous, thoughtful people I meet when I spend time in the park.

Huntley Meadows

Here is the photo transfer on my collage from Huntley Meadows last Thursday...will add some more layers of collage next. 

And some views from today's walk - I'm loving the light through the trees in the afternoons.

This is a tree in our backyard.  Last spring it was the subject of "backyard sapling" a piece exhibited at Huntley Meadows this summer - thinking I will try a fall version soon...

More making in the kitchen...

My making today was cookies - some baked and others frozen for a sweet treat on another day.  We so enjoyed the frozen cookie dough from my son's orchestra that it seemed like a good idea to freeze some of our own.  

And I enjoyed a long leisurely walk with the dogs at Huntley Meadows - enjoying beginning to see the colors of fall...

Return to a Familiar Landscape

Walking at Huntley Meadows today it was lovely to return to a familiar landscape and notice how colors move toward fall.  Below is a photo and the collage it inspired...transfer coming next...

Completion...

I'm muddling through a lingering headache today but found a focus in adding finishing touches to these two collages...one more to complete and then on to framing...

I returned to my weekly practice of walking at Huntley Meadows this morning. Fun to notice how much the landscape is already beginning to change toward fall.

Cooking...

Today most of my making was cooking...baking bread and cookies as well as trying a new recipe for dinner.  My son liked it enough he wanted a picture...

There's something satisfying about working in the kitchen - things have places and routines for prep, baking and clean-up are pretty well set.  Hoping to bring some of this same intentionality to setting up space for my art making this fall.  

I also got back to my practice of weekly walks at Huntley Meadows - loving the colors there today...

Spider web collage...

New layers complete this collage...

It's inspired by these spider webs at Huntley Meadows that seem to appear and disappear depending on the angle of the light.  They look like CDs suspended in the trees...

Photo credit for this image goes to Anna Waters.

Transfer...

This is a small collage and a small transfer experiment - just 4 inches square.

I may add some more collage tomorrow.

Today I also made time for a delightful lunch conversation about art and sacred space.  And I spent the evening reading the new Harry Potter book - a full day.  Tomorrow packing begins in earnest.

An experiment...

Trying a small photo transfer of an image of a web - will have to wait til tomorrow to see how they fit together...

...also spent some time today priming panels for beach collages next week.

Today's collage practice...

New layers on this landscape from Huntley Meadows.  Also a fun trip to DC for new papers and hardboard stop get ready for art at the beach this weekend.

New layers...

Tonight I returned to a couple collages I made a few weeks ago, adding new layers...

Finishing work...

Most of my making today was the finishing steps.  I spent a couple hours on the computer creating note cards from my flower collages.

This evening I worked on sanding and gluing several frames.

This work is often more tedious than creating art but it is the part that helps the work get out into the world.  The time to frame things - whether a physical wooden frame or a high resolution scan for a card - is an important part of the process and the practice.  It is what allows me to signal completion and open creations up to new experiences through sharing.