from my inbox

Sure, mean old time and exhaustion, 

laze and drive, 

ebb and flow;

These wage war against love.

But what weapons we possess! 

Sass and serve,

Talk and touch,

Wrestle strong

toward love,

We together scrape away

Thirteen layers 

And marry. 

-B. James

(for 10 years I've been wooed by his beautiful words and he still knows just how to make his lady feel loved on a regular old Thursday.)

Sea Kettle Studios: first festival

Well, I survived my first fair. :) It was a beeeautiful day and I was set up next to my friend, so even though it was pretty slow people-wise, we had a grand time sitting in the warm sun, talking, painting and quilting. And the men had our babies so I guess it was practically vacation!

It was nice to start out with a low key event, since I knew I'd still have some tweaking to do in terms of my set up.  I found out the hard way that my beautiful display branch needs some serious reenforcement. Yup, one big gust of wind and the whole thing toppled..and more than once. Other than that, it was a fun day and I'm looking forward to the next two art festivals in June! 

(and four new paintings in the shop..

Get 'em while they're hot!)

www.seakettlestudios.etsy.com

The Restoration Project

Last week our creative arts ministry at church had the opportunity to help brainstorm, plan and support a collaborative project hosted by the Intervarsity group at a nearby art college. "The Restoration Project" was inspired by Isaiah 35 - "water streams forth in the wilderness.." Students came together to explore the concept of restoration by creating a mixed media collage using trash/recycled materials, by discussing what in life needs restoration and being introduced to the Restorer of all things.

Art Room Diaries: Like Michelangelo

(Yesterday students in my Sacred Art workshop studied Michelangelo and his paintings on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. As I read the story of Noah from the Old Testament, they painted their interpretation of the story on the "ceiling" of their tables, lying on their backs. Despite some achy arms, much fun was had by all and we had a new appreciation of the four long years Michelangelo spent painting his ceiling!)

who can?

Grace and love, like mighty rivers,

Poured incessant from above,

Heaven's peace and perfect justice

kissed a guilty world in love..

Who His love cannot remember?

Who can cease to sing His praise?

-W. Reese/M.Redman

Thankful for, 

- heaven's peace and perfect justice
- final project excitement
- beautiful illuminated manuscripts by my workshop kids
- "The Restoration Project" with Intervarsity at Monserrat, many student artists working together to explore restoration.
- a first fair under my belt, spending the day with a friend painting and quilting in the sun
- an accidental Sunday afternoon nap
- an afternoon at the park celebrating Clover's birthday
- a church where grace reigns
- Levi's frequent requests to pray and his first attempts at praying himself "Thank you, Jesus. a-MEN!"
- a Kentucky Derby party with good friends; big hats, suspenders, mint juleps, a short and sweet sports event that even the Jameses can enjoy
- getting a picture text of Levi holding an "I love Angie Miller" sign at the American Idol concert in Beverly
- Friday morning with Jen and Hannah, Levi and Hannah in the wagon
- head massages
- pink tulips
- piles of art books
- Levi cheerful nightly ritual of calling after us from his crib, "Goodbye! I love you! I'll miss you! Goodbye! Goodbye! See you later! Goodbyyyye!"
- my happy little side-kick..

on the streets

these days, an almost daily occurence on the streets of sun-dappled historic Salem..

the state of the garden

During April vacation we swept, tidied, raked and did a bit of weeding in our wee Sea Kettle garden. A flat of pansies and alyssum now fill window boxes and porch pots and of course the forsythia is in full and glorious bloom.

  

Many of last year's plantings are coming back up, which is always a nice surprise and isn't always been the case. During our first couple of years I kept giving in to those tempting sun loving plants (lupinescoughcough), hoping that they just would ignore the fact that our entire garden is shaded by a large maple tree.  Unfortunately they weren't fooled in the least and all died in quick succession; fortunately, I smartened up and started buying appropriate plants! (By the way, I blame the lupine obsession on my favorite childhood book "Miss Ruphius"..just trying to make the world a more beautiful place!)

Also, Brian's been wanting to add a border of some sort to our small fire pit/charcoal grill. He noticed a pile of bricks that have been sitting in our neighbor's driveway for years, so he asked the guy if he was interested in selling a few. He was happy to oblige and a couple hours later, we had ourselves a beautiful brick border. We're looking forward to many warm summer nights around the fire and of course, oodles of s'mores.

We have a few more things on our garden to-do list, not the least of which is whitewashing the fence that surrounds our patio. It's a big move, but we're hoping it works out the way we're imagining!

How does YOUR garden grow?