This week we came home from a nearly two-week trip visiting family.

When I first stepped into my studio this morning, frost glittered on the deck out the sliding doors, the light pale as the sun cleared the tops of the trees on the hill behind our house.

One day recently I looked out at my garden and thought about how I’ll be better able to connect with nature when we finally find our property in the country.

Over the last almost 14 years I’ve blogged my way through growth and development as an artist and as a person.

All week I’ve been thinking about what I want to share in my first post of 2024.

When I was first starting to learn to make art I thought that if only I could discover the perfect art supplies, I’d be able to create the beautiful, perfect art I imagined in my head.

If I were to ask you, “Are you an artist?” What would your answer be?

Would the question make you feel uncomfortable?

“In the pocket of her jacket, Aunt Edna found a small sable brush, and throughout dinner she repeatedly dipped it in her water glass and drew…. upon her absorbent napkin.”

My blogging calendar has a different post scheduled for today, but I came down with a bad head cold this week and that other post didn’t get written.

Your materials are gathered. You have time. You have a space to work. But when you sit down to create… nothing.

September is here and I’m relishing the seasonal shifts.

Piles of fabric line a shelf in my studio closet. Sewing patterns fill a drawer. I love wearing handmade clothing. I love to sew. Most of my fabric has been matched up with sewing patterns — some bought especially for specific projects — but it’s been a year or more since I’ve done any sewing.

It’s been a busy week. Our warm spring weather disappeared, replaced by dark dreary days. We even had a couple of mornings of snow. Not unusual for Wisconsin and I haven’t minded. I have lots of projects I’m working on in my studio.

Today I was supposed to be wrapping up the Get Re-Inspired Creative Retreat. I planned to share my finished papier-mache pieces and sum up the lessons I learned over the course of the month.

But as this week approached, I realized I wasn’t finished with the retreat. So I’m giving it one more week.

Sun streams in through the window and I curl up on a comfy chair in my studio, a book balanced on my lap.

Sounds nice, doesn’t it?

In reality…

When you hear the words “Creative Retreat” what do they bring to mind? Perhaps you envision a cabin in the woods, light streaming through the windows and a fire crackling in the hearth.

I love Valentine’s Day. It’s probably not cool to admit this, but I do.

Back in December Abby Glassenberg interviewed me for the Craft Industry Alliance Podcast. Our conversation aired this week.

You’ve quieted your mind and listened to the whispers. Your heart longs to learn something new, to be creative, to craft a different life.

Now what?

My heart raced and I held my breath. I felt a flutter in my stomach as I sat down with a set of watercolors, some paper and a brush to paint for the first time.