Same as It Ever Was

faded

Spring comes late around here.

Last week it was 50 degrees and drizzling.

I was starting to regret my decision to put my parka away for the season as I sat on the damp bleachers of the misty Little League field.

The next game I went to I had short sleeves, sandals and was worrying about getting a sunburn.

My favorite part of the late Spring is the green.

Sometimes you don't know how much you miss something until it comes back.

The color of the new leaves and grass are so bright it hurts my eyes.

This weekend my tired, grey little town was full of people and traffic and cookouts and noise.

It happens every year.

It is still a surprise, just when you think it will never come it does.

Makes me realize that the same old can be new again.

And so can I.

Wide Awake

sight

It is all real.

It is all a dream.

Mrs. Rice and the Brats of NIHM

kernel

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week.

This always makes me think of the teachers who made a difference in my life.

One teacher came to mind this week when I was showing my daughter, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.H.M." at the library. 

My daughter asked if I had read it. I had not.

My fifth grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Rice read it to me and our class.

I wasn't that big a fan of the fifth grade. 

Art class with the beautiful Ms. Fisher and Mrs. Rice reading aloud made it bearable.

I had a second thought about Mrs. Rice this week when I was thinking about "kernels" in the woods.

I remember pig nuts (hickory nuts) were fun to open when the outer husk got dry enough. 

I also remember going out and collecting about a hundred acorns an crushing them on a rock in an attempt to make acorn pancakes just like the boy in, "My Side of the Mountain", which Mrs. Rice also read to us.

I barely got a tablespoon's worth of acorn flour, so I never made the pancakes.

I did get a love of books and an appreciation of teachers.

To all my teacher friends,

Remember that you are making a difference, if fact the little things you do could make all the difference in the world.

Grace

hitched

Sometimes the right thing to do is to not try to figure what the right thing to do is.

Keep on moving forward.

With Grace.

Summer is Coming

We really only have two seasons on Cape Cod. 

Winter is almost over and soon it will be Summer.

This means I will have less time in the studio. My office job hours will increase and the kids will be out of school.

I love Summer, but in order to make the most of it I need to spend the "Spring" getting as much done in the studio as possible.

I have been
working on my website,

tweaking my portfolio, 

working on some book dummies,

reading, 

researching,

sketching.

I have also been doing these other creative things:

Here is a mailbox that I painted for the local Habitat for Humanity fundraiser auction. 

I did another poster for an Off-Broadway play.

The play is written by Amy Witting, directed by Bricken Sparacino. 

My brother Michael  (aka the father of awesome) is acting in it.

Teacher Appreciation Week is here.

Go to my website to download this free coloring card and show the love.

Speaking of Love!

My daughter, who can and does run creative circles around me made this cupcake for her fourth-grade science project to demonstrate the Earth's layers.

Mmmm, magma.