in case anyone wants to have a new desktop image … this is my gift to you!

Oh dear, I really have become a sporatic blogger, haven’t I?

Yes, months of busyness and then of a sudden slowdown. Being in yet another stretch of change … or between where I am and where I might end up. 
This is the life of a creative being. And then there’s summer! Or as I have referred to it in the past,
Chaos Season. 

Summer, since I have been a self-employed person (a long time!), has always been a time of uncertainty for me. Schedules evaporate for everyone as they shuffle off on holidays. Meanwhile, I am still working, which I love, but there is so much less work to be had in the summer months. 

This year I switched my outlook completely. I decided to embrace the slowdown of work, to let me mind empty and rest. To make mental room for something new. 

I was meant to be part of a fabulous show this past weekend, and I had to step out of it a few weeks back. I had nothing. No new work to show, no stamina to be in the presence of people for three days. I was done. 

This showed me where I was really at. The only answer was to stop thinking I was meant to produce anything, and instead just putter and muse. 

Well, I have to say, the change has served me well. And although I still don’t know what the change is for my work and art, I do know that I have opened myself up to something, and that feels GOOD!

A new mandala, from an old mandala. 

The base of this mandala has been in the studio for months. It was all gold lines on a black background.
A Flower of Life design. 
The design appealed to me, since part of the challenge was to get it as perfect as possible …
which looks easy, but isn’t as simple as all that. 

The other day, I had this idea about the layers of life. The generational and the ancestral, and friendships of all kinds. 

I was thinking about those who are in my life and those who have left this life. 

Then I picked up the canvas and just started to explore how to represent that in layers. 

This is what I eneded up with … and I must say, it’s not like anything I have done before, and I love it. 

THE LATEST FROM THE STUDIO … Get Ready to Write!

I have been dancing around the idea of printed note cards for a very long time, but nothing seemed just right … until now.

Another of those “quiet moment” brainwaves …. to combine mandala designs with words in a different way.

I have created 6 so far, each with a different mandala and words. They are blank inside.

After the design came the printing, and a choice of stock to put them on. I was inspired to use a premium stock with a “felt” finish …. which is smooth to the touch, soft and quite luxurious! The stock took the whole concept of the cards up several notches.

The cards are 5.25″ square and come with the envelope.

The stock is 30% recycled content and is made using 100% windpower! I love that.

They are now vailable through my shop in a set of 6,
and will be avaiable shortly in Nanaimo and Bowser, BC as single cards.

GO TO SHOP

More than halfway through the year and all I can say is, there have been some really signigicant highs and lows. 
My ability to adapt to them seems to be pretty good right now, and for that I am so very, very thankful. 

house of appleton continues on in a quieter way right now … see my earlier notes on summer 😉
However, it will roar back in the fall, I am sure. 

It has also been my great pleasure to do book design work for my friend and fellow publisher, Diana Hayes at Raven Chapbooks, Salt Spring Island, BC  www.ravenchapbooks.ca 
Diana and I share a reverence for book publishing, so when we work together it feels so lovely and seamless, as though we have been doing it for YEARS! I love that and cherish the connection we have. 

There are other things that are bubbling up on my creative/art side … but much too soon to share. I am still in the experimental/development stage with it all. 

So, for August, as I continue to embrace this “forced” slow down/quiet time, I am going to tend to things that I don’t get to when life/work get busy. One of those things will be to upgrade my computer (scary) and get all things electronic and paper organzied. Hmmmm a month won’t be long enough, but it will be a really good start!

Wishing you joy in all ways possible.