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...