Tag: artist (page 2 of 6)

HELLO, September

Hello, September. You seem to have carried forward the cooler mornings that were August’s “goodbye”. The light is ever so subtly changing and evening is drawing in just a touch sooner than a few weeks ago. But the sweet potato vines are still spilling over our planters with their vibrant green and deep purple leaves and the ocean is still warm and there are still signs that summer is present. 

You bring with you today the return to a fresh school year, one I don’t think we are altogether ready for, but onwards and upwards we shall go. This summer has not quite been the summer we planned as life continued to happen, but we rolled with it all and still managed a few hikes, breakfasts on the beach, early morning swims, sitting with friends chatting while the wind whipped at our hair and lots of ice cream. 

We’re ready for that seasonal shift that you will most certainly bring, even though we will be teased with cooler than warmer days before you make the final push into a more autumnal feeling. We’re ready to still reap the last of the farmer’s market harvest of fresh corn and heirloom tomatoes before we move fully into embracing squashes.

We’re ready for those early days of school where we still might be able to slip away not too long after the bell rings to go for a quick afternoon dip and a lazy stroll home. We’re ready for our first taste of warm apple cider while a cooler evening breeze blows in. We’re not ready to wish away the summer as we like each season to have it’s due, but we are ready to see what you hold for us as we stand on the cusp of Autumn.

{Waterfall Valley by Charles Wysocki}

HELLO, August

Hello, August. We’re ready for those lazy, hazy days of summer to come into full effect. Now that school has wound down for the year and almost all the school related jobs have been ticked off the list, we’re ready to just be, to take the days as they come. 

We’re ready for early morning swims, when the world is still quiet and hopefully we’ll spot a seal or two paddling by. We’re ready to watch old episodes of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”, while feasting on PB&J sandwiches and salty potato chips for lunch. 

We’re ready for long walks that end with an ice cream cone and we’re ready for quiet nights on the beach stargazing and listening to music while the waves roll in. 

We’re ready to be and live within the moment, to cherish the time together and to relish in this month, before our pace has to pick back up again in September. 

{Poolside, Janet Hill Studio | Found HERE}

I Give My Little Stars to Children

Via This is Colossal : Maria Prymachenko (1908 – 1997) was a self-taught folk artist known for her renderings of life in the Ukrainian countryside. Her gouache and watercolor works are vibrant and imaginative, depicting symmetrical red poppies tucked in a small vase or fantastical bull-like animals sprouting two-headed snakes. Expressive and consistently advocating for peace, Prymachenko’s paintings are widely known throughout Ukraine and internationally: she received a gold medal at the Paris World Fair in 1937, when Pablo Picasso is said to have dubbed her “an artistic miracle.”

{I Give My Little Stars to Children | gouache and fluorescent paint on paper | 1983}

HELLO, March

Hello, March. You’ve arrived on a gust of wind and came so much quicker than I thought you would. You have kept the coolness and rain that February had shrouded around her. But you seem to have brought the beginning of spring with you. There are blush pink blossoms budding on the trees and yellow daffodils with golden egg yolk hued centres, whose lush green arms dance in the breeze and crocuses the colour of violets that have sprouted up at the base of the woodlands, creating a path all of their own.

You bring with you Mardi Gras and the start of the Lenten season. We are ready for this time of reflection as our hearts our heavy with the world. We all seem to be in a continual cycle of treading water and then taking a deep breath before the next wave crashes over us again. 

We are ready for the first tastes of spring that will slowly start arriving at the green grocers as your month progresses. We are ready to dance in the kitchen while cooking dinner and the sun filters into our windows just a little longer than the day before and the day before that. 

We are ready to wear the green for St. Patrick’s Day and feast on my Nana’s Irish soda bread. And we are ready to continue to appreciate the little things, to live in the moment and to find peace in the stillness.

Welcome, March, bring us all good things. 

{Daffodils from the “Floral Calendar of Japan” series by Kawarazaki Shodo | Found via Fuji Arts}

HELLO, February

Hello, February. I’m not sure how you arrived so quickly? January has kept us busy beyond measure, so I somehow wasn’t expecting you quite yet, but we’re happy that you are here! And on this first day of your reign, you have ushered in with you the Lunar New Year. The Year of the Tiger. May it be a year that brings good fortune and luck to us all. 

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that you continue to bring chilly days and maybe, just maybe a snowy day. We’re ready for hot chocolates with marshmallows and whipped cream on slow Saturday afternoons while we watch old movies. We’re ready for more chances to catch our breath while lingering at the table when dinner is over listening to music. 

We’re ready for the celebration of L-O-V-E that you herald in this month and all the red, white and pink that colours our world with a rosy hue. We’re ready for pancakes for dinner on frosty nights and copious amounts of tea and the chance to be still and read. We’re ready to continue relishing in the season of winter when all is quiet at night and we can hear the foxes crying out under the stars. 

We’re ready for all that you have to offer. Welcome! 

{Lore Pemberton, The Quilter’s Cottage, Found HERE | Pinned HERE}

Happy New Year’s Eve

Here we stand on the cusp of a New Year. So much has happened in these past 365 days and also so little. To say goodbye to one year and to greet the next is at times a bittersweet process. But we stand ready and waiting for what this next year has in store.

May this coming year hold beauty for us all. Wishing you love and light as we kiss this past year goodbye and open our arms in greeting to the new one about to dawn.

{Detail from 1956 Cadillac advertisement. Art by Jon Whitcomb Found HERE}

The In-Between

I cherish the pace of these in-between days. I treasure this time between Christmas and New Years. The time to be, when days seem to stretch out in front of you. These are precious days indeed, that do not come often. 

We have enjoyed each other’s company, gone for long strolls, read, cobbled together sandwiches from leftovers, watched a plethora of old movies, listened to Christmas music, basked in the glow of the Christmas lights and have just generally been happy to be. 

The days are moving a bit too quickly for me now, I’m nowhere near ready for our Christmas break to come to end. But, I’m taking pleasure from being in the moment and drinking in all it has to offer. 

These days, these in-between days, hold so much and so little. These days, these heady days, hold so much magic in their offering.

{Image by Fritz Baumgarten // Pinned HERE}

Winter Solstice

❄️ Happy Winter Solstice! ❄️

We were greeted by the sunrise over the water this morning and the sun has stayed out as the day has progressed, which has been a first for us in a little while. The air is crisp and clean. Our walk was full of woodland creatures and there is a magic in the air.

Happy Yule!

{Interior illustration from The Shortest Day, by Susan Cooper, illustration by Carson Ellis // Image taken from an article on the NPR HERE // Carson Ellis website HERE}