A NOTE ON ENCHANTMENT I am enchanted as much by the setting sun over a rocky horizon as climbing the ancient and mystical Tor of Glastonbury. It’s how I felt at my hilltop wedding so many years ago and watching the blood moon eclipse just last week. Enchantment is a Hudson River School painting, a Tolkien novel, a seaside dinner with loved ones. “It’s expansive, it feels like …
Enchanting the Everyday: On Hideyholes and Wonder Rituals
This is a story for the closet explorer, the tentative adventurer, the lost child. …………………………………………………………………. I wasn’t born a nature sprite. As a child I was happiest spinning tales in worlds of my own creation, belly on wherever floor I had access to, storybooks and encyclopedias on one side, blank paper for my bottomless imagination on the other. My town didn’t have a mall, …
The 4 Paths of Enchantment: Walking the Labyrinth
Not too long ago when I unveiled a short little film of my morning ritual I asked an important question at the heart of how I’ve chosen to live and create: “What does it take to live a truly enchanting life?” It was a question I posed to the universe even though deep inside, I must have already known the answer. And …
A Morning Ritual
This post is part of the Rituals 2015 Event. Since we’ve moved away from being a culture and civilization entirely dependent on the rhythms of the seasons, we no longer plan our lives around it, save for the inevitable circadian cycles of night and day and even that, we’ve build artificial constructs around. Maybe it’s freedom, but mostly it’s a …
Entering the Depths: On Exploring and Creative Inspiration
(I was invited by the lovely and talented Emiko from Draw Anything LA to submit a piece as part of the World Wide Blog Tour begun by Adrian where I answer a few questions about my vision and work as an artist. Thank you Emiko for thinking of me! For this week’s artists that I’ve chosen to carry on the …
The Timelessness of Enchantment
Two weekends ago we celebrated my niece’ 5th birthday in a beautiful cabin overlooking the breathtaking pacific ocean in Big Sur, whales splashing away in the distance. The setting was the epitome of enchantment itself for us adults, though not yet perceivable by the younger ones. My niece and nephew both live an old-fashioned childhood, thanks to determined parents, practically …
Enchantment of the Tangible Kind
This is how my day normally unfolds: I tiptoe lightly to my studio just as dawn is breaking, leaving behind the soft snores of my sleeping better half. Some days I go for a run but many days I reach guiltily for my phone, like a child stealing a cookie before dinner time, taking a peek into my inbox and …
The Holiday Peddler: Coming to a town near you!
Not really but that’s how it feels toting around my hand-crafted Julian easel filled to the brim with my hand-painted hand-made paper holiday goodies! It reminds me of the much-anticipated gypsy peddler in period films and novels- a wooden thingamajig on wheels that sells everything from ribbons and laces to the latest quirky mechanical device! I spent Sunday with my …
The Camellias are back!
I love it when it’s blooming season for our Japanese camellia trees, these are from our smaller tree…..look at all those delicate veins on the petals and lovely yellow centers. They are currently sitting on my painting table against a wall of inks in a gorgeous ceramic tea cup I bought from a talented pottery artist at the Melrose Flea …
Vampires, Farmhouses and Enchanted Forests
As lucky as we are to have beautiful 70-degree sunshine most of the year here in Southern California, every now and then a yearn for the romantic dreariness of Northern California calls to us. We took a road trip up to the Big Basin Redwoods for a 6-mile hike through its enchanted forest, stopped by Santa Cruz for some rainy, …