Chapter One, Page One

 

 Happy 2025 Dear Friends. January has officially begun and I wish all of you a year of peace, joy and health. I am at my studio desk looking out the window to a wet and rainy morning. My squirrels are well fed and there are house finches at the bird feeders.The grass is soggy and patchy and I can still see some red berries on the holly bush. It's a beautiful day. I think of the days, weeks, months and years as pages in a book. We turn the page and a new day begins. Each day is fresh and invites us to greet it. The beginning is always today. I am not good at setting or keeping resolutions. I find that my best days come with a sense of routine and weaving in daily rituals that I cherish. These special routines start way in advance of January if I am to have a good chance of keeping them.  I have found morning and evening routines that work really well for me. They give me a good start to the day and a gentle finish, so I hope to keep them going. Studio hours will be busy, but as long as I can get some quiet in the mornings and evenings, all will be well. 

I will be back teaching online with a very robust schedule starting later this month. I have added my teaching schedule to my website. You can find the pdf of the courses here. It is still not completely finalized so some of the subjects may change. There are lots of new classes coming up as well as some of my favourites that are back by popular request. I always refine the content of each class. Instructors evolve and grow. My vision for each class changes over time as I explore new techniques. It keeps things fresh and alive even though the themes are familiar.  Up first in January is Gossamer and Gold for the Gentle Penman.  You can also find other upcoming course registrations including a new year of Ardington Flourishing Club  here.

There is something so challenging in painting a butterfly and putting it in a delicate setting. I look forward to sharing what I have learned. So much has been gleaned from studies of Medieval Manuscripts. Every time I study the manuscripts I feel as if I am searching for clues the illuminator left along the way. The sensitivity that can be found in the manuscripts is really astounding. The images below were from a search on the Getty Museum website. Each manuscript can be so enticing as you study the techniques.

I often wonder what the illuminators were thinking as they painted the pages. We see glimmers of their process but we have to fill in a lot of the blanks on our own.  It seems that with so much study, my list of questions just continues to grow. But what a blessing to be able to search online and see such a wondrous array of manuscripts to spark inspiration. I am so excited to share this class. Along with a delicate colour palette we will also be designing a modified version of an acanthus setting. This style of setting should be accessible to all skill levels. I hope the students will create a project they will be proud to frame or turn into a card design.

As each new year begins, there is a word or an idea that I like to keep in mind. The word once again for this year is Peace. I hope you find peace in your life, in your community, with your friends and family and with the work of your hands. Sending hugs all around for the New Year ahead. May you Flourish.

Nostalgic Noel

Where did the time go? December is here with frost and chilly weather. We have had bits of snow here and there but nothing too much. The days have been very grey which makes the sunny moments so special here in Canada. I already miss my morning reading time with the squirrels and chickadees on the porch of my studio. It is just a bit too cold now.
But if a warm day peeks through the frost, I will be back out there! I usually get my Christmas cards in the mail on December 1st each year but there is a  strike at Canada Post which will delay things this year. But cards are addressed and waiting to be posted.

Which each card that I write, I think about the recipient and all that I appreciate about them. It is always such a joy to prepare the card and get it ready to post.

I am so sorry they will be delayed in getting out this year. As I think back on the year I appreciate all of the interactions I have had with my friends and students. I feel that my students teach me so much along the way. They share their hopes, their ideas, their challenges and their successes with me and I am so blessed to journey with you. There is one more Flourishing Club for 2024 which will be Nostalgic Noel.

I wanted this December Flourishing Club to be so special as we work on an antique rocking horse design. Festive Flourishes are always my favourites and I am looking forward to the session. There are spaces available if you want to try out the Flourishing Club experience. It will be fast paced to work on this design and it is definitely a challenge but you will have access to the recording and can take your time with this festive project. I will have a bit of a December break before jumping back in to classes for January. I will be updating my Faded Love Letters class for Ardington which will be ready for February. There is something about December that makes me nostalgic and quiet. It seems the perfect time to explore these beautiful letters.

 I am working on Gossamer and Gold for January and will share images next month. My website will be updated shortly with my teaching schedule for 2025. I wanted to thank you all for attending my courses, reading the blog and keeping in touch with me through notes and emails. Your friendships mean so much to me. Thank you for bringing me so much joy this year.
I look forward to new journeys with you next year. As this month progresses, I hope you find time to relax, visit family and friends and do the things that you love. May you find Hope, Peace and Joy in this beautiful season dear friends. You are such a blessing to me!

A Gathering Time

 This past month I have enjoyed stealing as much time as possible to soak in the last of the warm weather. Even if the mornings were cooler, I would bundle up in a jacket and blanket and read with my cup of coffee on the studio deck.

Squirrels, bluejays, crows, chipmunks and nuthatches were my constant companions.As I look out the studio window the grass is covered with dried leaves and my garden is approaching the dormant season. There are a few valiant marigolds and African daisies  still brightening the ground.

 For the third. year, my Acanthus plant has survived but still struggles to bloom with so many rabbits around.

It has been a beautiful October but November is now here so abruptly bringing its expected changes. I am hard at work on my last few classes online before I take a holiday break. This time of the year overwhelms me with ideas and inspiration. There is something about the Festive Season that brings out such a sense of wonder and expectation. I am busy addressing Christmas cards ahead of the rush and listening to old movies in the background. If you have not watched Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck, or It Happened on Fifth Avenue with Charlie Ruggles, I can highly recommend them. I love the older movies.

I wrapped up The Vintage Page at Ardington School of Crafts last week and have been so encouraged with the response of the students. This was a 6 week class with time to absorb the nuances of the Italian Hand and work toward a final project. It was so rewarding to watch the students find their own rhythm and inspiration with such a forgiving script. I will be teaching Italian Hand in 2025 with an introductory class through the Colleagues of Calligraphy online as well as an Academy long term study through The Pointed Pen Collective. But as I finished up teaching the Vintage Page for Ardington, I reflected on just how unique everyone's approach is to this remarkable hand. I have always resisted a 'one size fits all' approach to teaching script. The pointed pen hands that I study are a reflection of handwriting and will reflect the nuances that each individual brings to the page. The writing is a snapshot of what the writer is experiencing at a particular moment in time.  The writing will change and evolve over time. It is a living and fluid script. We can never expect it to perform like a typographic font.  I hope that makes sense. It is an absolute joy to watch each student grow and progress. Their work helps me go on and prepare new ideas for future classes. I feel like I am perpetually in a mode of giving out and gathering in. It is a blessing for sure.

This month's class is Song of Winter for Ardignton. It reflects the rhythm and warmth of the season and combines familiar watercolour techniques with the added twist of coloured pencil. It is for students who want to add to their skill set with the idea of continued practice and moving toward creating final artwork. I have chosen a Long Tailed Tit and a Bluebird as our subjects but I am sure other birds will come into the mix. The setting is a simplified acanthus wreath with a touch of gold.  I wanted the class to reflect the glow of November. 

I am filled with ideas for the upcoming year. My students have helped me to grow and have continually presented with me new ideas and I look forward to the upcoming season with a grateful heart. As creatives together, never underestimate the power of art and its ability to generate peace. A kind word, carefully written and posted can bring so much hope and joy. Use your gifts and talents and reach out beyond your desk to see how we can brighten the day for someone else.  Thank you for sharing this space with me. Bundle up  and enjoy the season. Pamper yourselves and stay cosy! Sending warm November hugs all around.  

October Morning

 After years and years of dreading the approach of winter, I am finally able to welcome October! I know that each season of the year has a beauty and rhythm of its own waiting to be experienced. I have learned how to adjust to the different colours in my garden and appreciating each last petal of an ever fading garden. So far, the leaves on my garden trees are still green but they will begin their spectacular show very soon and I will love the colours of the season. My daily walks now have that familiar crunch of dried leaves underfoot and I have to be careful of falling walnut husks on my walk to the post office. There is a certain autumn charm in the air. 

As I sit at my desk and write this post, I can hear the loud song of the Carolina Wrens in the garden. This Spring and Summer have been beautiful seasons of research for me. I am deeply immersed in preparation for the courses of 2025 and 2026. I am still reading through Linda Lear's biography of Beatrix Potter and I confess that Potter is becoming a bit of hero to me.

She was so much more than a book illustrator. She was a force to contend with and knew her own mind. She could trust her instincts and fight for the stories that she believed she should write and illustrate. She had a generosity and an intense desire  to do useful work. She worked so hard. I have been astounded by her work ethic. I am nearing the end of the inspiring book and will move on to her Journal and Letters next. Yes, a collaborative class with Martin Beck at Ardington School is in the works for Beatrix Potter in 2025! But as I am doing this current research, the Potter readings are inspiring my own drawings and paintings.

I have already introduced some of this inspiration in my 2024 Flights of Fancy Master class and the animal drawings will continue to be explored in this month's Miniature Merry Makers class at The Gentle Penmanand November's Song of Winter class through Ardington School. 

There is so much work to do to prepare for these classes but I echo the sentiments of Potter as I enjoy this "useful work". Over these past years of developing courses and teaching so many students, what propels me forward is watching their results on the paper. I can see my own work and skills continue to evolve but I get so much joy seeing how each student will interpret the assignments. We all have our unique skills, passions and capacity to learn. We also have different time schedules to allocate to learning, studying writing, painting and drawing. It is so important to know your own mind and respond to the things that you want to pursue. This is a big world and there are thousands and thousands of things that you can find to fill your days. The practice of putting ink to paper, or meticulously painting a miniature animal with thousands of tiny brush strokes can be perceived as boring to many people. But you are here, in this moment, reading this blog post and finding time in your routine to pursue what you love. I firmly believe that the desire and passion to write, draw, gild or paint are in you along with the ability to develop the skills for your craft. Yes, there is hard work involved but pay attention to the joy that comes from that hard work. I hope you all find beauty this month in the season that is unfolding around you. Listen to the sounds of the season, watch the colours change and pause to observe. This is the only October we will have in 2024. Sending love to you all and thank you for your kindness, your support and your incredible words of encouragement that you send.

Rushing Wind of September

 This morning I heard the familiar song of September. The far view of my garden swing is a poplar tree that sounds like waves of the ocean when the wind hits the leaves. I know it is September because the leaves are already starting their dance and the sounds of the trees in the wind is so refreshing. I love this sound but I know the sound announces a change of pace and a change of season.  I feel as if I have indulged in an incredible luxury this summer. I took a pause in my teaching schedule to indulge in some study and personal pursuits. There was still work to do and to accomplish, but I was able to work at a slower pace. During this summer season I have been busily preparing courses notes and artwork for the fall and classes that will reach into 2026. I am so excited about upcoming study days, long term students, and new courses as well as teaching opportunities for some of my favourite classes. But the time of slowing down allowed me to work on skills and ideas that I am passionate about for my own growth whether or not they are ever turned into a future course. I have started a perpetual journal of the seasons where I can draw specimens from the garden at the same time each year. 

Getting back into a regular practice of drawing is something that I find so refreshing. I don't believe I will ever share the rough botanical  images in the journal, I just want to see what emerges on the page for my own eyes as I take note of the ever changing seasons. I want to truly know and notice the details that surround me. 

 Many hours have been spent in deep study and research. This might not sound like fun or an indulgent luxury, but I followed each interesting footnote of wonderful books and learned so much along the way. I have always had an aversion to making notes in my books, but I know that annotation can help so much with recall.  As I finished two William Morris biographies this summer, I began to annotate my books with small page flags. I found this process so engaging and really helpful for me to interact with the book.

The down side is that the process takes time. The annotations lead to research after the reading sessions and sometimes that can lead to the dangerous practice of ordering more books! It becomes a dangerous cycle when my bookshelves are already full. But I am finding inspiration and solace in this practice. The work of William Morris, and the embroideries of Jane and May Morris have become very powerful images for me now that I know so much more about their stories. I have a Beatrix Potter class coming up next year and I am doing my research for the class now. Knowing that Potter struggled with insecurities in her own skills and seeing her passion to learn on her own has been eye opening. I am making little discoveries about her artwork and the influences that formed her personal style. The slow luxury of reading and studying has made this summer more beautiful for me. I try to take two breaks a day to read with a cup of coffee or tea on the garden swing or in my favourite chair outside to absorb this wonderful season.

I feel grateful for this summer. But the rushing wind of September is here and I know that my regular pace of teaching and intense studio work returns quickly. I will be sharing many new discoveries in my upcoming classes and the November Study Day. My summer bookshelf inventory helped me to appreciate a beautiful book on my shelf and I worked on creating beautiful Flowering Rinceau designs.

I was amazed at how simple they are to create and how incredibly beautiful they are when they are completed.

These will show up in other forms in future classes but if you are interested in my approach to how I take a Study Day, I will share my methods with a very few group of students. Registration info is on my website if you would like to join this special day. It is very hard for me to describe the growth that can happen by taking Study Days, but I look forward to them like taking a mini retreat or spa day for myself. One of the wise phrases I came across in the work of William Morris was that he took a " generous view of education." Both Morris and Potter had an incredible ability to teach themselves the skills they wanted through experiments, trial and error. Jane Morris was constantly working on her embroidery as well. She wanted to create the visions of beauty that were in her head and run her hand over the work that she had just created. I can totally relate to this. There is something so satisfying and almost mesmerizing about watching your work emerge and grow. As September shares its unique warmth and glow, I wish you all the best with whatever your hands choose to do. Make the most of the time you have. Do what you love and love what you do. In the words of Wordsworth...." what we have loved, others will love, and we will teach them how." Have a beautiful September dear friends. Thank you for reading and for your kind words and friendship. 

The Music of August

 It seems to me that we are always making adjustments to the seasonal rhythms. I am so in tune with the colours of the garden, the blooms of the flowers and the music of the birds. Evenings now have the hum of the cicada and now I hear the crickets as part of the night music. The first sounds of the mornings are the baby blue jays waiting for me to set out the peanuts for them. If I am quiet in the studio and the window is open, I can hear the starlings splashing in the bird bath. The Carolina Wrens and the Baltimore Orioles sing their daily tunes and brighten each day for me. Such welcome music in the garden.  August is always a reminder to appreciate the glow and the warmth of each day. Seasons and Chapters pass quickly and I want to constantly sharpen my awareness and deepen my gratitude. August invites us to notice the details and the changes. We have not had any inklings of cool air, but I notice changes in the leaves already. I know that some of these petals that fall in the garden will not be replaced with new blooms.  This is the first year a Dahlia has bloomed in the garden and the Strawberry and Cream Hydrangeas will slowly start to  transition to pink. I love these special flowers and each passing moment of joy they bring. Notice each day my dear friends.

 July was busy.  I just completed teaching Blooms and Breezes online and launched the final edition of Flights of Fancy to an eager group of students.

Their work so far is nothing short of amazing and I feel incredibly blessed to journey with them. Watching skills unfold, whether it is through coloured pencil or through gilding is like watching a new magical world emerge. My biggest wish is that the students get the most out of the experience of these classes. It is not the attending, the taking of notes or the mode of practice that is the most valuable. It is the unpacking of information after the class and seeing what sparks interest in you. We are so uniquely special and all wired differently. Whatever ignites for you in a class is a major clue on what you should pursue. This means you will shed some things that encumber you in order to embrace what you are most passionate about. What students do after the classes always brings me so much joy to see.  As I put the autumn and winter course notes together, I am aware that my courses are getting more in-depth and advanced. I think that is because so many of my students are repeat course takers and I feel as if I need to offer new territories for them. But I have also been revisiting some classic work and finding ways to improve on the course or adjust to my changing appreciation of a technique. I will be teaching a course called Miniature Merry Makers for the Gentle Penman in October. I had the best time working with a traditional illumination palette.

Using bright jewel tones along with a festive animal had an appealing charm for me.

We will be using a special colour blocking technique to paint the rich foliate settings. I have spent hours looking through my Illumination books and have enjoyed the vibrant colours of traditional illumination. Working in vibrant reds, blues and greens has been such a wonderful exploration for me. I have lots of sketches of animals in foliate settings ready for painting and will enjoy the slow process of painting the miniatures. The cute squirrels in my garden have been willing models for some of my study pages. You can keep your design simple with a little bird or choose a mouse, squirrel, rabbit or anything you want to try. 

September will bring the The Vintage Page for Ardington. This is a very special study opportunity for a  small group of students who want to dig deeper into their practice of Italian Hand along with some Vintage adornments. I have been digging deep into my love of Florentine ornament which  will accompany our Italian Hand beautifully.

As I was working on the course notes, I found two of the first Florentine border designs I ever created. I still love these borders and it is so good to go back and revisit early work to see how my process has changed over the years. These early borders were done in 2011 using Staedler Aqaurelle Watercolour pencil. Even though these designs are in an archival portfolio, all my designs that used the Staedtler Aquarelle have faded. I no longer work with this brand of watercolour pencils but they did have a lovely colour range. 

Whatever occupies your time and your hands this month, I hope you appreciate each passing day. Write a little, play a little, draw a little, paint a little, and be patient with yourself every step of the way.. Give yourself all the time that you need to practice and explore the things you love. I know that life struggles, anxieties and the troublesome things constantly get in our way.  But that makes the joyful delights hidden in each day all the more special. Sending hugs all around dear friends. Hope there are some wonderful joys waiting for. you in August. Embrace the music of the day.

Sweet Ron

Yesterday we said our goodbyes to our sweet cat Ron. He was named after Ron Weasley in Harry Potter as  I was reading the books when we adopted him. He was a rescue kitten and came to us with some special needs. He had asthma all his 14 years of life but we were able to treat it and keep it under control until these past few weeks. We lost Oscar 5 months ago on February 12th and Ron departed on July 13th. The pain is stifling and the grief is so real. 

But as we go through this period of grief and loss, I am still beyond grateful that we had the chance to love this sweet cat. He was so unique and incredibly timid until these past few months. He seemed to thrive as the only cat in the home once Oscar passed away and we adored pampering him. He showed us all his best traits before he left us.

He did daily property inspections. He would check all the grapevines to see if there was a mouse lurking underneath. He was watching and waiting constantly.

He was the definition of a companion. He was so quiet but his eyes were soulful and insightful. As Chris and I went about our daily tasks we could see him watching over us. He didn't interfere with our tasks but wanted to be right beside us. Bath time is especially difficult as I miss his comforting presence. I would  run the bath, lay a towel on the floor for him and he would come and rest on it to supervise bath time. These quiet moments and memories are so incredibly powerful. 

Ron was our dear little ginger and he was profound in his gentle and quiet way. I have not had the heart to pick up the pen or catch up on my work this weekend but I was working on a Scarlet Pimpernel flower in coloured pencils over the past week or so. It seemed as if I wanted to work with oranges and deep tones. This is not my light handed approach to coloured pencil. I tried to intensify the colours on the paper as I working through my emotions knowing that we would not have Ron much longer. Despite the pain, he was worth every tear. Sending extra hugs all around for anyone going through pain right now. If you a beloved cat or pet in the house, today they need an extra hug or treat! Cherish your precious time! Sending hugs all around my dear friends.