Butterflies In October!

Taking a deep breath and enjoying a meditative moment this afternoon. The task list today is overloaded, but the joy of seeing a butterfly in the garden on such a chilly day caused me to take a needed pause and appreciate the beauty around me. October light is elusive. It illuminates differently. It captures the edges of plants a little differently and changes my perspective. I took a walk around the garden this afternoon with my camera. I can hear a different sound in the trees as the leaves dry out and fall. But the blessings of squirrels, birds, blossoms and chipmunks are still around. Just taking a moment to share these little garden shots. I was so happy to see butterflies visiting briefly.

October is Here

I can hardly believe Octobet is here already! Autumn is a very transitional season for me. I am wrapping up my teaching engagements for the season. I worked on these two letter designs for my dear friends who hosted me while I visited California.

One more workshop to teach here in Ontario next weekend before I break for the season. I will continue to take some private students through the winter months but I am doing some in depth projects as well.  I will update the blog with that info as I progress with it. I wanted to show you some shots of the studio so far. At this point, my walls are still bare. I have been loving the open space and don't want it to get too cluttered.

 The walk to my studio is about 20 feet from my back door.

Right now there is  patio rocking chair in there. When Chris comes home from work, he sits with me and has a coffee while I finish up work at my desk. The desk in the back corner is a light table that Chris made for me.  It is so good to have space to spread out.

For the past 30 years my studio space has been little more than a glorified closet. Very tight on space, but it did the job for me!I know I have written about this before. A studio is a place of study. More than just creating, it is where so many streams of thought and ideas converge. Sometimes it is a refuge of quiet. Sometimes it hosts a frenzied pace of work. Sometimes it is there for pure play and experimenting. At all times, I am so grateful to have this space. Whatever space you have, remember that it is a sacred place. What we do as artists, what we create, and how we reach people is more than just the final result on paper. The whole process is sacred, even the failures or the plateaus we reach at times. Whatever stage of the journey you are on....just keep going! See what happens when you work. Take time out to sit and breathe. Appreciate the quiet moments in between the busy ones. And do what you love to do! This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving! I am so grateful for my family, my friends and my work. Sending autumn hugs your way!