Rebecca Sower

that kind of day

I woke with energy and motivation to go into my studio and make journals to put in my shop.

But that changed when I went down to the kitchen, windows open and that spring breeze blowing in.  I knew it would be a baking, fresh-air chores day.

(I'm just learning Instagram...bear with me...these photos look a little weird don't they?)

That sky-blue sky with those puffy white clouds.  Breathe deep deep deep and savor all that fresh air...

 

just the remedy for that teenage-boy-smell that sometimes accompanies the clothes on that young man that I love so much...

and with windows open and fresh lilacs catching the breeze, I don my apron and start baking...

stacks of waffles to put in the freezer (there is no end to how many waffles a 14-year-old boy can eat in one sitting)...

almond butter cookies that will be gone within 20 minutes of the kids getting home from school...

and fresh bread for dinner and maybe even some for tomorrow too...

What do you like to do with your fresh-air spring days?

winter whites

It is always this time of year, just after the holidays, where I feel the first little longing for Spring.  I know I'm way early on this, but it happens just the same.  My fingers itch to dig in the soil, my lungs dream of breathing deeply of the warm, fresh air.

So when I wake up to more of this...

...I really have to sit myself down and have a long talk about not wishing away what is.  So today I will cherish the whiteness, the cooling calm of what is outside my door.

I will layer on yet another sweater to ward off the drafts in this old farmhouse, and I will find comfort and nourishment in what's around.

I will imagine myself in July, in the middle of the heat and humidity and mosquitos, where I will be dreaming of an icy wind to blow down on me.

I will close my eyes and say a prayer of gratitude for my roof and four walls and all that their contents represent in my world.

I will fix myself a cup of hot tea and start making plans for my summer's garden.

I will take a deep breath and a long look around me, at what's here now.  I will drink it all in and 'be glad of life'.

And when the chilly air tempts me to turn cold and cranky, I'll remind myself of these old familiar words...

 "In the depth of winter I finally learned that

there was in me an invincible summer."

{ albert camus }

dawn's early light

Of all the things I most love to do, a solitary (well, except for the dogs) walk at dawn tops my list.  And this morning as I was heading out, I realized I haven't shared my morning walks with you.  So today, will you join me?

chasing summer

Summer has felt like a butterfly fluttering by, and I the child laughing and running and never quite catching it.  But those are the best kind of summers.  A lot of time spent with my family, and a lot of that time right here at home humble home.

So while cobwebs have been forming in my studio, and dust bunnies are collecting under my furniture, and weeds are growing in my flower beds, and the sounds of television are not even heard, I have been...

...on a 9-day mission trip to Montana, desolately beautiful Montana...

 

...playing lots of marathon Monopoly sessions (only one single game have i won so far. one.)...

...swimming under the hot sun and evening stars...

 

...making frequent trips into town to visit here and sometimes here...

...and then camping out in the kitchen, canning for the pantry...

 

...making homemade pizzas and guacamole...

 

...baking pies and pound cakes (still getting around to that homemade bread)...

 

(obviously trying to make up for all those years of being a lame cook and lazy baker)

...I have also been catching up on some reading...

...nursing an injured stray kitten back to health.  meet henry...

 

...tending to our vegetable patch...

...canoeing the Red River and hiking the Big South Fork...

Well, I don't deserve a summer this good, but it's been just that.  Really, really good.

How are you chasing summer?  Post it on your blog and let me know...would love to know what your summer looks like so far.

broom therapy

 

Had an early-morning broom session this morning.  I'm always up with the dawn, so many things to take care of.  Went down to the barns to check my 'silly girls' (what we call our 23 plump egg-laying beauties) and saw my old faithful broom standing in the corner.

 

What is it about the swish of the broom? with each stroke sweeping out the cobwebs that have collected in my soul.  The fresh air clearing up my cluttered thoughts and unscrambling the chaos in my head.  Watch the sun stretch across the land..."good morning, merry sunshine".

 

The landscape has started greening itself more now.  Within weeks it will be full, rich green everywhere I turn.  But this sombre morning feels good right now, somehow it fits for this day...which I am now ready to begin. 

it's a good day when...

it begins with a steaming cup of this...

...and out your front door you catch a scent of these...

...and the sun is coming through your bathroom window like this...

...and a song like this keeps playing in your head.

yeah, a good day (raise your hand if you love spring).

a day to disconnect

When my children were younger, we would mark one day every other week on our summer calendar as 'unplugged day'.  They weren't allowed to use anything that plugs in, anything.  They whined at first but quickly looked forward to those days (I called them our real days) because those were the days when they did stuff.

Lately I have found that all things 'plugged in' bring big distractions to my creative process, my focus.  All it takes is for the phone to ring or my email notification signal to sound and, whether I respond or not, I'm already distracted.  I need to prove to myself that I can, for at least one day, step away and disconnect.  One day.

What to do with a day of no blog-surfing, no television, no phone calls?  Some ideas . . .

• Imagine an art gallery called and asked you to bring a piece by to exhibit; that should push and stretch your creativity.  What you will end up with is a piece that at the very least you'll be proud to hang in your home.
• Finish some or all of the kits you've purchased, those you had to have but they sit unopened/unfinished on your shelf.
• Create a piece or a few that you will send in for publication consideration to a magazine.  I promise you will never be in a magazine if you don't submit something.
• Make cards.  Make cards for birthdays, celebrations, occasions, everything.  Pile up a big pile and then you will have cards on hand.  I've done this before and let me tell you, it's worth it!
• Journal.  Write, write, write.  Pull out a box of photos and write something for as many as you can.  Get lost in the process of it.
• Pull out all those magazines where you've marked projects you'd really like to make for gifts or for yourself, your home.  Get started.
• Make it a technique day.  All of us have techniques that we'd like to try or perfect (that dang soldering still gives me fits).  Use this day to practice to perfection one technique or to learn several new ones.
• Play and make art all day with your kids.
• Take your camera out and snap photos all day.  Try out all the settings, learn new techniques, practice being amazing behind the lens.

Notice the trend in all the above?  At the end of the day, you have something to show for your day.  Blog-surfing is fun and inspiring, but at the end of the day do you ever think that maybe-just-maybe you could've done something a little more substantial with your time?

So, think this over.  If you plan to join me one day this week (any day that works for you), drop me a comment and let me know.  Then post on your blog and challenge your readers to do the same if you'd like. 

Some thoughts:  Don't place too-high expectations on yourself; relax and roll with it, no pressure.  If your workspace is completely trashed (like mine), try to straighten up the night before so you won't have to spend half a day cleaning up.  Music is something you may want to make an exception for; if you're highly inspired by music as you create, play it.  If you're a working girl, you may want to set aside two evenings instead of one full day.  I plan to completely unplug the computer and the phone...just running over now and then to check emails is still a big distraction; remember, the idea is to focus and immerse in the creative process.

Next Monday, let's all come back together and post photos of what we did with our unplugged day on our blogs.  That'll be fun, don't you think?

Ready, set, let's do this! :)

daily duties and daily bread

I'm letting Robert Louis Stevenson write my post today (how kind of him) :)

"The best things in life are nearest:  breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you.  Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life's plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life."

I put several floral collages in my etsy shoppe.  I think there are a couple left.

Hope your day is full of rewards.

pick one

of these to do today and savor the raw beauty and simplicity of the process...

{*} watch the sunrise or the sunset...really watch it happen

{*} find a 4-leaf clover

{*} walk barefoot in the grass and focus on how good it feels

{*} eat a popsicle

{*} chase a butterfly as it flutters by

{*} lie on your back in the grass and watch the stars

{*} wade in an icy cold creek

{*} twirl around in a swirly skirt

{*} make a clover chain necklace and wear it

{*} climb up into the branches of an old tree

{*} skip to the mailbox and don't worry about who's watching

No, don't call the kids to do these things with you.  It's time to get out there and go solo.  I'll be here waiting for you to report back to me!  :)

snapshot of a day

One of my favorite days of the holiday season was spent with 5 fun teens and 1 favorite 9-year-old.  A group from our church went to Nashville to feed the homeless, then to McCabe's pub to eat.  Then to kill time before the ice-skating rink opened, I took the kids (and my new camera) downtown.  So here's Madeline in a western wear store and Elvis disguised as Luke. 

On another note...I'm working on a studio redo.  Many have requested that I put photos of my studio on my blog and it's so yucky now that I'm a little embarrassed to do that.  I've been so busy actually using it for it's intended purpose that I have neglected to maintain it as a place that inspires me.  Will try to get right on that, but you know how life goes.  Stay tuned...because when I clean and regroup I love to give things away!

Hope all of you are having a non-stressed holiday season.  Happy 2007!