Ambition and the thermometer always move in opposite directions. ~Mary Wilson Little, Reveries of a Paragrapher, 1897

Isn’t that the truth! Well for some of us anyway…

Hello friends!

Hope you all are well and enjoying this summer season.

Due to the intense heat and drought the birds have been flocking to our yard to find water and get a refreshing bath. Sometimes as many as 10 fledgling Bluebirds are on the birdbath at once.

The other day Sage made a delightful fig cake and we played Wingspan. We play Wingspan a lot but the fig cake was a unusual treat. If you like birds and board games Wingspan is a must have! Even if you aren’t really into either, it is a great game. 🙂

Now to the studios and work shops……

From the Art Studio

Oakleaf hydrangeas ~ a favorite plant from my garden, always has huge prolific white blooms in June. I love them, so I painted them. That sounds so easy, but in all honesty I have been struggling with this painting for over a year, and it has changed a multitude of times. I’m happy with it now, and glad to have preserved the beauty of the white flowers that have now turned a dusty brown in the blazing heat of the Oklahoma summer sun.

If anyone is interested in painting along with Trish here is a link to her video… Painting a Seagull

From the Loom Room (and the Garden)

One thing that seems to thrive in the hot, dry conditions is cotton! There’s not enough to spin with yet, but it was so fun to watch the flowers bloom, then the bolls form and burst revealing pure white (or natural brown, as the case was with some) fluffy, soft cotton.

I didn’t get as much weaving done this month as I wanted to, due to work AND giving the loom room a make over! Sage helped me prime and paint, and Dad installed new lighting, making it a much more pleasant space to weave, spin, sew, iron and all the other things we do here.

Now that the painting is done, I am back to weaving tea towels for the next Artistry opening. This batch features the German Bird’s Eye pattern.

From the Glass Studio

This summer has been the doldrums of creativity for me.

A season of survival. Sun scorched, dry, crispy. Heat often over 100 degrees (over 120 in the glass studio) and still 80-90 at night equals no reprieve. No mornings of refreshing.

A season of endurance.

A season of just doing the next thing. One step in front of the other. One task at a time. One thought at a time.

Rest is essential.

So is water.

A season to remember how important it is to rest in the Father, and drink deeply of the Living Water.

Life consists of many facets. When artwork is one of them, one finds that art is not just a happy spontaneous flowing moment. Art like so many other things becomes work. A discipline. Another “thing” to be done. Anything that produces fruit has the seasons of the “unseen”. It can feel like plodding, or waiting, or just doing the next thing. Whatever that season looks like just remember that joy and inspiration and energy will come back with the first hint of autumn in the air, or the first refreshing rain drops.

Thankfully we are promised that the seasons won’t end. Autumn WILL come. Take heart…..rest and drink water…lots of Water.

New Woodland Friends

Awww!!! I know… 🙂 A little bunny in a Maileg suitcase, and she snuggles right in. So fun to carry around and she has her own carrot, a suggestion from Grandpa.

And… SURPRISE … Sherlock Fox 🙂 🙂 🙂

From the Wood Shop

I’m calling this vase “Vein of Turquoise” for obvious reasons…

And here is frog to again remind you – remember to drink lots of water… especially the Living Water.

“As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for You, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the Living God…..” Psalms 42

Until next time.

Love from all of us at the Artistry