Misty Mawn:

i just spent the last few hours wandering online, looking, searching, craving, & hoping for more photos, words, faces, captured moments, remnants, anything from time spent at squam by my fellow squamies. as i go through these motions i feel bliss from the inside out from my time spent with so many inspiring people. i have fallen madly in love with squam all over again. this was my first time back since the very first squam years ago. it was so, so, so, so good to be back.

i learned a lot while in the woods of new hampshire, about myself, about others, about life. when driving away i truly felt like i had been transformed in some great way. i am still trying to get a grasp on how or what it means... it will come, i just need to let it ferment a little longer, while my heart & head are both swirling with feelings of renewal.

there are blog posts coming in from others out there... i hope you will check them out.

i love what Bridget wrote under the beautiful group photo she posted: "And here’s the most interesting part of this picture: I knew none of these ladies before Wednesday."

That's pretty much how it works. One minute you are arriving, finding yourself in the woods, far from the securities & comforts of your everyday life... you set your belongings down, say hi, take a deep breath and think, 'where am i and why...?' then something happens without effort, you settle in, you let go, and your heart opens wide. wider. before you can even get a good grasp on anything that is happening you find yourself heading back down the same dirt trail that brought you into all of this. but your arms, heart,and head are so full... filled love, new friendships, awesome art, great potential, beautiful collected memories, and so much that is left unspoken... where words just can't convey what you feel.

here are my beautiful, - uber-talented housemates {Alix, Diana, & Susy} & me.

with susy

me & my roomie, Susy, i just adore her to pieces!

...and then just like that, here you are, back home, sitting in front of a screen, surrounded by all the treasured comforts you were torn to leave, wondering where you were, trying to remember every little detail, wanting so much to get back to that place, like a really amazing dream that keeps pulling you in. how long can you keep it fresh...

i hope a really long time.

there are many out there that gracefully tattooed a piece of my heart while at squam... to all of you, i lift my glass and say thank you... you know who you are.

{and to those that i spent the night with on the magical miss pixie's 40th birthday... well, i will treasure that night forever}.

i made you all a post squam mix here.

and would you look at all the amazing work my students created. {i taught an icon class this year.} holy wow! please double click it to get a good look! i love how each and every icon is different. each is so beautiful! thank you to all of my students for being there and sharing this time with me.

thank you elizabeth. thank you so much!

home again, but packing up for my next adventure. where there will be new friends to meet, old friends to share new memories with, and more stories to gather and bring back home with me before i am ready.

when i return i will tell you about my upcoming online course, prints for sale, and more. the latest issue of Somerset Studio has an article I wrote about my last online class experience, paired with more beautiful artwork from some of the students. i do hope you'll check it out!

until next time...

take care & be well.

Holding on to love

last time i wrote school had just ended and summer was officially here. deep heavnly sigh. take me back to that day, i want to do it all over again!

and now summer is packing up all her belongings, while fall stands by the doorway, tapping her foot impatiently. i love the changing of the seasons, but i hate to see summer go, it breaks my heart every single time she leaves. what a grand summer this was...

there was very little time spent in my studio this summer, as i wanted it to be. and yet it was a full summer, which made it fly by even faster... with soccer camp, my bff from high school's wedding, a visit back home to Pennsylvania, visits from dear friends, art camp, lots of cooking/baking, hours of playing, and running... lots and lots of running.

what there wasn't much of was being online and i must say, i really needed that this summer. of course i still checked in here and there, but a lot less than ever before.

back to this running thing, when i say running, i mean the kind of running where you sweat, pant, and maybe even swear a little under your breath while doing it. not the running from this to that kind of running, although i guess we did that, too.

i find it rather amusing that i am writing this - i took up running over the summer. never. ever. ever. would i have guessed that this would be something i would or could do in my whole life. when my friends would ask me to run with them i would always smirk and adamantly say... "i am not a runner"! and now... now what can i say? i give myself full permission to just go with it, permission to change my mind, permission to be whatever it is i want to be, and for now... crazy as it sounds, i am a runner - of sorts. ;)

how important i am finding it to be that we MUST give ourselves permission to change course or accept new ways to thinking/doing when they present themselves. it wasn't like i planned this anyhow, my daughter and a few of her friends all signed up together for the women's 4 miler race. so i signed up, too.. wanting to be there with her. i figured i could walk it, if not run a little, ha. training started in May and so, i joined in. four months later i am very proud to say i ran the whole 4 miles in 35 minutes! not bad for someone that is not a runner?! ;)

forever more, when i hear this song, i will always think of the nights spent at the track, lapping around and around and around and around... trying to get somewhere.

race day love! <3

as i reflect back on this summer i think it was pretty monumental in a lot of ways...

my daughter turned ten.

a whole decade already. i cannot even get a grasp on this idea that my children are growing up as quickly as they are.

we celebrated our 15 year wedding anniversary...

my boy learned how to ride his bike... faster than i can run! :)

we spent a long weekend in one of my favorite places... nyc.

we hiked a few trails...

our little ruby girl is growing, growing, growing...

soon to be a cat - not a kitten.

my girl went to her very first concert. American Idol... where she got to meet almost the entire group of performers, including Casey, her favorite. he even patted her on the head, which caused her to burst into happy tears... oh to be young and star-struck.