July, 2022
I think this series – which I’ve called “All My Dreams Flew Out the Window – in the best possible way” – will run to about ten pieces.
The piece of the left is inspired by a beautiful cherry tree that bloomed in the spring in the side yard of our home in Atlanta. It cost us an absolute fortune in arborist fees to keep it healthy, but it was worth it every time we saw the display, and since we’ve left I’ve often thought that I hope it is still going strong.
The second piece represents another place I spent a lot of time – looking out the window of an airplane, though usually from an aisle seat. This is what I saw one night as we approached Chicago from the south, just before the whole skyline comes into view – kind of jewel-like, really.
July, 2022
More on our road trip later, but July included a stop in Montreal and yes, there are museums and churches, etc. but my favorite things aren’t necessarily the most typical. Well, maybe this first one – the Botanical Gardens were spectacular. Without any planning on our part, we had fantastic weather and it seemed like absolutely everything was in bloom all at the same time. What a treasure so close to the center city.
On our way out of town, though, I had my favorite experience. I had heard of St. Armands paper, and I thought I was somewhere nearby. Their website is kind of basic, and tells you right off they are primarily a factory, but invites you to stop by. My boyfriend/husband is always game for a trip to an industrial park in a potentially sketchy neighborhood, though this one has a great looking walking/running/biking path right across the street. The dooway is a little hidden, but the neighbors kindly sent us in the right direction. It is a fantastic, below ground space with presses and vats and luscious paper everywhere. The husband and wife team that run the place have their hands full, and confided that it’s tought to find help (isn’t that the story everywhere) so it’s hard to keep up with demand and they have to turn down some expansion. (If you’re reading this, and know someone passionate and dedicated, send them along, because we can’t afford to lose artisan knowledge like this). I could have been easily overwhelmed so I just made selections quickly, including mostly handmade sheets and pads, but also some machine made sheets from repurposed firemen’s uniforms – love that!
July, 2022
It is inevitable that you’ll get interrupted, so then what do you do? Maybe the interruption is self-inflicted, a phone call you just can’t ignore, or maybe it is someone walking in the room. Do I give up for the day, or start from where I am, or start over at the beginning, whatever I consider the beginning to be? I usually decide based on how far along in my sit. If I’m sitting for 25 minutes, and something happens around minute 18, I usually just call it done. On the other hand, if I’m only five minutes in, I’ll try pretty hard to just restart. I don’t have any magic formula to keep people from interrupting you – you can negotiate with the adults you live with and hope they understand, but if you’re trying to do it with kids in the house, no guarantees. The good news is that one of the attitudes you try to cultivate with meditation will help you here – when the inevitable inevitably happens, you don’t have to react to it, you can just say “of course” and get back to business as soon as you can.
June, 2022
Summer finally came, in kind of a bi-polar way. Some glorious days, some sweltering days, but all were welcome.
We started to take advantage of the Morton Arboretum in suburban Chicago last year, and continue to visit it for beautiful morning walks through hundreds of acres. What is the difference between a walk and a hike, anyway?
It’s become our custom to follow those trips with a garden lunch at Piccolo Sogno, which I highly recommend as the closest thing out slow Italian afternoons on the Amalfi Coast.
June also included a trip down to Atlanta and a reunion with Chery Baird, my amazing art teacher, for a three day collage workshop. Even better, I was joined by my bestie Deb Lehman. I’d been stocking up collage fodder to start a new series called All My Dream Flew Out the Window – in the best possible way. Each piece is based on a beautiful view out of windows around the world and across time –
– the collage posted here is the view from a bathroom window – yes, a bathroom window- at a restaurant called Torre Normanna in Maiori on the Amalfi Coast, a spectacular place.
June, 2022
Another in my series of view from windows I’ve known. This one is a loose interpretation of the view from my bedroom window in Grosse Pointe Michigan. It was a small room with a view at the roof of the house next door and and an alley beyond. The house was a busy one, but since I was the only girl, I had my own room and spent a fair amount of time there. Just as I was planning this one, I learned that a lovely woman I knew as a child had passed away. She was always very kind to me and always used to tell me that I didn’t have to try to chase my future or happiness, I could just look out my window and I would see it coming to find me. I think it was a way to reassure a kind of socially timid girl, but I did turn away from the window, leave the room, and chase my future, and it’s turning out great.
