Foothills Folly

I’ve agreed to hang paintings in the Town Hall in March. It’s a corridor without much viewing distance. My paintings look pretty pathetic up close, but they slip into a more cohesive whole when seen at a distance. Oh well, I still hope to have some new less finicky canvases done, and just let them be whatever they will be.

I closed the frame shop for Jan/Feb so I could catch up and clean up, and  now I’m putting my energy into painting — I never have been too good at planning ahead. It’s going to come down to the last few days and I will be in a state of dump-madness.

I have been busy making use of the season’s bounty: B and B pickles, plum jam and oriental plum sauce, and two chutneys. I think I am done; the farmer’s stand closed today. Unless my grapes come in in irresistible quantities, I think I am done. I have also been filling the freezer with corn chowders and soups.

I have nothing finished and off the needles recently; I am awaiting longer cables with the knitpicks ‘Harmony’ set so that I can continue on with my homespun shawl; the scarf and top down sweater are nearing completion, and I started these leggings:

They are based on Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knitter’s Almanac, which has spawned a Yahoo group. I am going to stop them just above the knee, and not make them true ‘nether garments’, but the leggings will be just what I need this winter. I hope to switch them to a long cable and do both on one, when those new needles arrive.

I sold three paintings this past week; and that has inspired me to do more, and that has inspired me to again follow Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” (and book two and book three, in hand and unread.) She certainly helps one cut through to the basics; to find a voice, tone and pathway.

I have had a wonderful time off from the frame shop; basically I ‘cocooned’ and it was rejuvenating. Food in the pantry and freezer, wood coming for the winter’s heat, and I almost don’t want to go back to work, but $$$ calls.