Moments of Grace

 I'm starting my morning with a view of a frosty lawn strewn with leaves. My rose bush is tucked in for the winter and I the last blooms of the pansies and the marigolds are giving me one last smile. Squirrels are bouncing around the yard picking up the peanuts I put out for them a few minutes ago. The birdbath is lightly frozen this morning but looks quite charming with an array of pine needles on it. My garden has been a comfort and a joy for me as I glance up from my studio window. It has accompanied me for every coffee break and every pause I take from my work. I read there, often eat there and always appreciate the moments it gives me, weeds and all. It is hard to tuck it away for the winter but I know it will be reborn.

October swirled past us so quickly but also brought such heartache to the world. It is so hard to work in the calm and quiet of my peaceful life when I know that there is so much pain in the world. Sending this world a collective hug and an ongoing prayer for peace. When I think of such heartache, it challenges my purpose at my little studio desk.In these moments, I need to search harder for grace. I try not to take things for granted as I cherish the quiet around me. When I put pen to paper, it is with a greater sense of thankfulness with each stroke of the pen. The work with our hands can become a meditation no matter what is happening around us. There is a sense of comfort in the familiar sound of the ink and pen on the paper. There is a glimmer of joy when metallic ink leaves a gossamer trail on the page that you hope someone else will enjoy. When an envelope is dropped into the mail box and sent off on its way, there is a spark of joy that you hope resounds with the recipient. We can still do small things and cherish the moments. There is still such grace and beauty to be found around us.

I worked on beautiful wreath designs for my Ardington Flourishing Club students. We have our November and December sessions coming up with some special surprises in store,  My November class will be White Christmas through The Gentle Penman. We will have an easy start to the class but I will build up the strokes to produce more involved flourishes for session two. Many students created holiday card designs in previous editions of this festive flourishing class. Whether you want to refresh your skills, pause for a little while to create beauty or have a sparkling time with metallic inks and Festive ideas, we will cover all of this in White Christmas. 

Looking ahead to January will bring The Alphabet Garden 2024 Edition  to Ardington school online. This is my most popular versal design class where we create a delicate and garden inspired illuminated letter together.

And January will also launch a new class for The Gentle Penman called Faded Love Letters. The Valentine theme is behind the class, but I will be digging into Victorian Sheet Music, Branching Rustic Letters and muted palette as we look at some hidden treasures of letter design you may not have discovered.

There is always so much to discover and I am forever grateful for the opportunity to share with you. I am still finalizing my 2024 teaching schedule but I will be hosting some Zoom School sessions for any of my students who want to work along with me as we dig deeper into techniques and work on completing designs together. More information will be coming soon. I hope this will fill a gap with something I see happening with continued online classes. I want students to gather confidence to bring designs to fruition rather than accumulate notes and good intentions with the courses they take. There are lots of study opportunities to look forward to and to keep me busy at my desk. My hope for you dear friends is that you find grace in the moments that make up your life. Find peace with the work of your hands. Encourage someone around you with a surprise note or letter in the mail. Flourish where you are dear friends. Sending graceful thoughts, hope and peace to you all.