What, me watercolor?

Curves & intersections

I've discovered a meditative experience in slowly drawing intersecting curving lines without lifting the pen, then painting the openings with watercolors. No planning, no stress. I just swirl lines and then paint with my kid's box of watercolors. I've used one of these as a tiny journal by writing (in tiny letters) in the openings. It takes about 15 minutes to do one of these, if I dawdle, and when I am finished I have a little abstract painting and more peace than when I started. Give it a try, it's very calming.
It just occurred to me that the seed for this process was planted at a retreat I attended last fall in Austin, TX at Turtle Crow Studio. Jane LaFazio and Pamela Underwood are wonderful teachers, and one of our exercises was a continuous line drawing of a rock cairn near the studio. Thanks, Jane & Pamela!

A kinder, gentler way of drying clothes

I have become my Grandma.

It's the launch of a greener method of getting our clothes dry, and it's great exercise for me. Behold, the clothesline! The sheets smelled wonderful, they dried quickly, and best of all, no gas dryer was killed in this process. The only alarming thing that happened was that I viewed this photo of myself and decided that not only was hanging clothes to dry like my grandmothers, I look like my grandmothers. While that's to be expected, I don't think of myself that way. In my mind, I feel about 25, and while I realize that I don't look 25, this photo was a rude reality check. Oddly, I don't feel different after seeing the photo, evidence of aging to the contrary.

I plan to put wood chips under the clothesline and plant some lovely flowers around the area, which is just outside my studio and only a few steps from the laundry room.

I have to go now because I found a tick crawling on my leg and I am just about to freak out. I guess hanging clothes out to dry could be considered high risk behavior fitting for a twentysomething.