a week in color {№14}

autumn is in full freaking swing in virginia loves.  i just had to sketchbook it.  (page one)

(page two)

apple and cheese would be on my if-i-could-only-eat-ten-things-for-the-rest-of-my-life list.

our midcentury california pottery collection is growing.  this girl is a bit worn, but she is gorgeous and a really good size for casseroles-for-two.  because there will be casseroles.  i'm declaring this the year of the casserole in the soul kitchen.

on a walk with luca early tuesday morning.

loving the little handwritten notes and quotes on these apple bags.

not quite boot weather.

working in warrenton, virginia this week.  i always snap a photo of the red truck at red truck bakery. not shown:  straight-out-of-the-oven apple handpies.

on the way to warrenton, i drove a bit of skyline drive through shenandoah national park.

as i continued north, i got closer to autumn.

roadside diner owned by a greek family.  the vegetarian moussaka is incredible.

peace flags in beautiful little sperryville, virginia.

this incredible morning sky.

taking another wonderful weekend workshop with cyndi lee.  we are so lucky to have her here!

as the farm market season slows down, the sweet farmers at sandyfoot farm never stop with the amazing organic produce.  this weekend, it was all about the immunity:  baby ginger and turmeric.

it's no wonder why october is my favorite month.

some days are not my favorite color

some days are rust.

on rusty days you just can't conjure the positive spin.

on rusty days the people you count on to be present and loving are exhausted by you.

on rusty days the people you count on to be present and loving are just not.  they are having their own rusty day.

on rusty days words sting stingier than usual.

on rusty days words seep into your bloodstream and sting every time they circulate through your heart.

on rusty days you want to blog about grace and forgiveness but you can't seem to pull them out of the air.

and your heart is too busy filtering the stingy words to help out.

some rusty days it's just about the planets.

some rusty days it's more about choices.

on rusty days it helps to have a wire fox terrier who is pretty much the kindest human on earth.

who sits with you in all the rusty emotions.

and reminds you of turquoise.

sunday grace

grace this week is all about the wonder and beauty of spring.  she arrives suddenly but softly with color and light just at the moment hope is beginning to wane and we start to believe that life is just plain harsh.

she allows us to see with new eyes.  to touch and feel our world.  to experience our own rebirth that mirrors the thousand tiny births taking place each second around us.

for me, reconnecting with a familiar life:  the first farm market of the season.  there were easter egg radishes and pea tendrils.  children laughed and played.  organic farmers smiled even while telling tales of their hardest winter ever.  the air smelled of kettle corn and pear blossoms.

grace, grace, grace.

hello march

march, i love that (just like october and of course january) you feel like beginning to me.

march, i love that ideas and plans and dreams simmer with electric energy just beneath my surface.  just like the fruits of the plum tree are growing and expanding but not yet visible as either bud or bloom.

march, i love you.  let's do this.

gratitude {№9}

• lunchtime walks in bright sunshine.
• eating sushi under a blindingly yellow canopy of ginkgo trees.
• sketching a leaf.
• guessing at the proper name and only missing the spelling by a few letters.
• lunch.
• a job from which to break for lunch.

travel sketchbook

next month prof. parks and i are going to manhattan.  his days will be occupied with theatre work, so i will mainly be a solitary tourist (which is kind of my introverted preference).  i love having all the time in the world to explore and observe the (2nd) most beautiful city in the world (i am, at heart, a west coast girl, so san francisco takes first place with me).

i'm creating a travel journal and sketchbook to take along and capture memories and to keep me present within my surroundings.  i was inspired by:

(clockwise from top left)

1. painted pages by sketchbook queen sarah ahearn.  sarah was the first to introduce me to the concept of capturing ordinary and beautiful moments with sketches, color and words.  her book is like taking class with her, which i also highly recommend.
2. how to be an explorer of the world by keri smith.  i just love this book and its reminders to look at things differently.
3. side walks, a journal for exploring your city  and i was here, a travel journal for the curious minded by kate pocrass.  both of these books have amazing prompts and ideas for noticing and remembering the little quirks of your day in the city.

i started out planning to use a regular sketchbook but then i found a vintage book about new york city that was falling apart.  i couldn't wait to repurpose its amazing covers for my sketchbook.

i carefully cut free the interior pages (which will be saved for future art projects) and separated the front and back covers.  i repapered the insides of both covers, repaired the frayed edges and corners, and collaged over worn areas.  the book is bound with metal rings for easy access.  this is the inside of the front:

i especially love the vintage street scene on the back cover:

i added a pocket to the inside back cover for collecting little mementos of my days.  it's the receipt envelope from a recent anthropologie purchase decorated with some washi tape:

a variety of pages fill the sketchbook.  there are lined pages for journaling, printed pages for gluing in found ephemera and photos and watercolor paper for sketching and painting. i added a few printed prompts as well to capture overheard conversations and list all things teal (or yellow or green or rainbow...) spied on any given day.

a head start:

my hope for this project is that it helps me stay present in the everyday moments of each day in the city.  and i'll have a uniquely meaningful souvenir of my journey.