Misty Mawn

still a few more layers to go...

Enough
by Dorothy Walters

I think it is enough,
at times,
to go without knowing
where the end is,
what the beginning–
so long ago.

Perhaps you have friends
who can whisper
such things
in your ear,
hear little bits of
messages
in the laughter of children.

But mostly we just proceed ahead,
not remembering
how it all started,
where it is leading,
not sure
if we are the waiting animal
or the animal’s passing
shadow
in the grass.

keeping busy... painting, admiring,  & making journals...  

with a little dancing/running in between.  :) 

thank you for visiting!  <3 

When I said I was taking a break I guess I meant it.   April already?  mid April... and over 4 months since my last post.  eeek.  I am wondering if there is even anyone visiting anymore?  I certainly understand why, if not.  I just can't seem to get a grasp on this whole time thing... after 36 years I am still trying to figure out where it all goes and why do damn fast. 

 four months have passed.....  and I am not so sure where to begin here in this space.

So i'll try to start fresh, as fresh as I can...  with a new blog banner.  new photos that I just took.   new words, new links, a new to me poem by Billy Collins that I absolutely LOVE! a new mix of music. in a new season (kinda, even if it's mid season).

{eye see you}

 This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,

I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

 

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor’s window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

 

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

 

The love of the chestnut,
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

 

No lust, no slam of the door –
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

 

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor –
just a twinge every now and then

 

for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

 

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

 

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

 

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

 

I have fallen in love with this beautiful feather. 

a gift from Lorra Lee Rose,

one of my artfest students this year.  Her work is stunning.

spring decided to come early this year in virginia.  it has been so absolutely gorgeous. unbelievably gorgeous at times.  so much to notice.  even the dandelions feel worthy of attention.  my son and i gathered handfuls last week to make roasted dandelion root tea that we are going to savor this afternoon.  our latest favorite tea is rosebud tea, that mixed with a little Blue People Oolong....perfect!  so fresh & delicate. rose anything lures me.  the smell makes me think of my grandma. 

rose tea, rose preserves, rose turkish delight, rose oil,  rose perfume, sweet wild roses  = love 

a few thing i have been loving lately...

~  The hours my daughter and I have been reading the Hunger Games books together. They are pretty captivating and while I don't often have/make time to read fiction all that much, I so love reading with my children.  Before the Hunger Games took over our lives we read Hurt go happy, a very touching book.  And before that Roald Dahl was taking us places. The BFG still remains a favorite.

~ The exploring my family and I have been doing on our time off.  

~  Cooking in the kitchen... making wildmushroom & greens flatbread. sprouting seeds for salads.  roasting radishes. pickling beets. making kimchi {so easy and so much better than store bought versions}. 

~  Daydreaming about moving and maybe living in a treehouse like one of these on this site. 

I have been doing a little painting and hoping to do a lot more between now and June.  I will be having another show at Glass Growers Gallery this year.  It was several years ago that I had my very first show there.  

I am also hoping to get more prints made to be listed in my for now abandoned etsy shop.

I continue to fall in love with song after song...  if you'd like...check out my newest mix on 8tracks.

I am still loving instagram, posting there often,  and really hoping it doesn't change, at least not too much. 

 check out the work shared from my Open Studio students.  what a fabulous group!!!!  while at artfest this year i got to meet a group of my online students from this and past online workshops... what a feeling to finally get to meet those you grow to know online in person!  i truly cherish those moments!  thank you to all of my students, online & in person. you teach me so much!

 I have two more workshops lined up for this year.  Valley Ridge, Sacred Play, where i will be co-teaching a 3 day workshop with my dear friend, Katie Kendrick.  Katie was one of my very first online friends and i am so looking forward to sharing this experience with her and those that join us.  I think there are one or two spots left, if you are feeling spontaneous and in need of a nourishing weekend.  After that I will be headed back to Orvieto, Italy for a bound to be inspiring week in one of the most beautiful places.  Kristi and Bill make the best hosts and I cannot wait to join them again.  

As of now,  I do not have a single workshop lined up for next year.  I am making room for other things... things I am not even sure of yet, but I feel I need this space for now to see what it is that will come.   I do plan on having another online workshop come January, otherwise, maybe I will see you in Wisconsin or Italy or who knows where... :) 

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads. Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”
- Rosalia de Castro

To the New Year

With what stillness at last
you appear in the valley
your first sunlight reaching down
to touch the tips of a few
high leaves that do not stir
as though they had not noticed
and did not know you at all
then the voice of a dove calls
from far away in itself
to the hush of the morning

so this is the sound of you
here and now whether or not
anyone hears it this is
where we have come with our age

 our knowledge such as it is

and our hopes such as they are
invisible before us
untouched and still possible

 ~ W. S. Merwin

.   .   .   .   .    .    .    .   .    .    

Wishing you a very Happy 2012!

 Although I can't really get a grasp on the fact it's 2012 already, {I swear it was just the year 2000 last week} it feels good to have a fresh start, a clean slate, a new beginning of sorts...

 "We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential."  - Ellen Goodman

This year I hope to carry the feeling of being boundless in my heart, & look for potential in as much as I can, as I wade along in the brand new year! 
.   .   .   .   .    .    .    .   .    .  

Thank you to all of you that have already signed up for my OPEN STUDIO WORKSHOP! I am so grateful to have you join me for this experience. Thank you. 

There is still time to sign up if you are looking for ways to connect with your artistic/creative self. The course will be up for an entire year after the five weeks of lessons are over.  

I will be taking a break from here until spring to concentrate on my on-line course.

 Until then... take good care!

A big HUGE congratulations to......

Linda Fazzary! 

Your name was picked for the giveaway!  :) 

{I used theTrue Random Number Generator , there is no way I could ever pick out of all of your sweet comments.  thank you all so very much for commenting!}

                                                 

Registration for my upcoming online workshop is now open!!!!

I hope you are making time for yourself during this very busy time of year.  I find I have to try a little harder to keep balance during these hectic months.  

It's just lately that I have been feeling more in tune with myself.  I seem to have lost myself for awhile.  I realize just how easy that is to do in this world.  I was on autopilot and I kind of knew it, but I just didn't know how to turn it off.  Some aspects of my life were feeling a little flat.   I have been trying to get back into being more mindful, making better food choices, not letting negative thoughts linger about, and trying to stretch my mind & body more.   In some ways it is definitely more work than just being on autopilot, but so worth the effort.  I feel better, I feel more connected with others, my mind feels clearer, and I feel more able to share positive energy with those around me.  

Some of the things I have been loving lately, 

listening to talks like this, this tea,  listening to these books on cd with my family, painting gifts for Christmas presents, losing most every game I play with my children, walking in the woods, this cake,  yoga, and preparing for my upcoming workshop! 

What have you been loving/doing for yourself lately? 

Finally... I will be offering another online workshop this January... what better way to start off a brand new year?!  :) 

Go Here  for  all the details.

I do hope you will join me!  I can't believe it's been almost a whole year since my last online workshop.  I truly enjoyed the last one so, so very much.  It was an amazing experience for me, and I learned so much...even as the instructor.  :)

I am so excited about my upcoming workshop, OPEN STUDIO,  &  I plan on pouring my whole self into it,  hoping it will be a wonderful, artistic learning experience for all those that take part.  

  I am giving away one free spot in the class.  All you have to do to enter is leave a comment here with your email address.

 I will announce the lucky one on the day registration opens (December 5th). 

~

Other very exciting news?  My book was listed on Amazon as one of the Best Books of 2011!  Wow!!!  I can't even put into words how happy this makes me!!!   Check it out!!! 

it's autumn now and my favorite tree has lost all of its  leaves...

When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness,
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

~Mary Oliver 

it's the time of year when i feel the most melancholy. a time of ebbing and tucking away until spring.  i miss summer so much already, but i do love the autumn and all it brings. without autumn and winter perhaps i wouldn't love summer as much as i do.  i couldn't image living without each of the four seasons, they all have something i love and look forward to about them. 

i finally feel like i am getting into some sort of  a groove in my studio since taking the summer off and teaching several workshops. the piece above is still a work in progess. it's a larger piece for me and will take some time to finish, i'll post another image once it's finished. 

i love this photo of my mom & boy who just turned 8!  they both celebated their birthday's together last weekend. aren't the sweet?! 

 ...and what perfect time to insert my favorite joke:  

what did zero say to eight?  

nice belt. 

:) 

art & soul, portland was wonderful...  i loved seeing some of my dearest friends again & i loved all of my students, and feel so grateful to each and every single one!  here is a small sample of some of their work.  such a fabulous variety that came from my mixed media sampler class! 

other news around here...

I'll be the guest on the Artistically Speaking blog radio show!    To be honest, I am such an introvert that this kind of thing really scares me, but for some reason, unbeknownst to me now, I said yes.  So with fear and all into it I go, closing my eyes and hoping i soar!  Hope you'll come by and listen!  ;) 

I have finally updated my Etsy shop, adding a few originals and a few...get this...prints!  wahoo!  I plan on having more and more prints now that I am getting the hang of it.  I love these prints and the paper they are printed on.  

I am preparing for my next online workshop.  I was really, really hoping to be able to pull one off before the holidays, but alas, life would just not allow for it... so it will start at the very beginning of next year.  the perfect thing to start off a brand new year!  I cannot wait & hope you will join me.  I will be sure to post all the details here soon!  

Tomorrow I am taking part in another race, this time a 5K...and as a zombie. this should be interesting...