I cut handfuls of dead flowers from my garden this week. Their shapes are interesting. Petals twisted. Leaves furled as if frozen in motion.

Last month I wrote about how creating a tea towel calendar has become a yearly tradition for me*, but it’s not the only tradition for my art.

This is the 9th year I’ve created a desk calendar with my seasonal watercolor paintings.

A few times over the summer I mentioned working on a big commission. I even shared a sneak peek of one of the paintings.

Today I want to share the full story.

I’m never certain if I’ll have flowers blooming in my garden in October or not.

Designing a tea towel calendar each year has become a tradition for me. This is the 6th year I’ve created one.

This week I finished filling up my 16th sketchbook.

Right now zinnias, dahlias, cosmos and marigolds color my garden and feed the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

It’s hard to believe this is the last week of my month of gratitude. August has flown by.

I think back to childhood Augusts with school looming and days of freedom dwindling. Back-to-school was both exciting and welcome but also tinged with sadness for the ending of summer.

Today I’m pinching myself because my first embroidery kits and digital pattern are here!

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a full-time, self-employed artist? Although I frequently share what I’m working on here on my blog, I don’t think it gives a comprehensive picture of what it’s like to run an art business. Are you curious?

For me, springtime in the garden always means violas and pansies. They’re some of the first things to show up at garden centers and one of the first things to bloom in my garden.

Sometimes the universe nudges you forward when you’re not quite ready. This happened a few weeks ago when I checked Spoonflower’s list of upcoming design challenges and saw one featuring embroidery.

I recently purchased Sarah Greenman’s Oracle Deck and this is the first card I pulled: “Prioritize Your Big Work.”

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.

On February 16 before I did anything else in my studio, I sat down and worked on a page in my sketchbook. Since then I’ve started every workday with sketchbook play and have only missed one non-work day because of a migraine.

Back in November I vowed to fall in love with winter. And I did, for a while.

The shop was a jumble of art, jewelry and funky secondhand furniture. Although the town’s population was tiny, it was crowded with people attending the local art festival. I browsed, more curious about what was for sale than because I wanted to purchase anything.

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

I’ve been wanting to show you around my studio but instead of giving a full tour, today I’m sharing one corner where I’ve collected art from other artists.