The daffodils are out, the pear and apple trees have buds, we still have the heat on; yup, it’s spring here, finally.

Winter was not a creative time for me. I felt like I was doing the bare minimum in the studio; just enough to restock at the gallery. I made a decent amount of cards, and have been sending little notes to friends and packaging them to sell at the gallery.

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I did start a new line of product — sketch books. I am pretty happy with these. They are 8 x 8 inch square and are filled with smooth Bristol Board paper, very nice for drawing. A smaller horizontal version is in the works.

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Then a friend of mine requested a piece of art to hang in her home. I said, of course, that will be fun, and immediately, the panic and procrastination set it. I started with a small canvas and for some reason, my brain said to me — it’s a canvas — you must paint it! Well, I don’t paint, I don’t really know how to paint, and it freaked me out. What was I going to do? So, I covered the canvas in paints, it was drippy and bad. Then I stenciled on top of the paint, it was, muddy and bad. I added more paint, more stencils — see where this is going?

I’m not sure what turned the switch, but I finally realized, my friend wanted a piece of art like the art I make, or she wouldn’t have asked me for something. And then the fun began. I got out the ephemera, the stamps, the old photos and it all came to together.

I created a little story for the piece, a little imaginary scrapbook page. I call it, Joe and Marla’s Beach Vacation. Because I made it for my friend, the story is personal to us and our childhood. What fun!

We are always relearning that we are here to do what we do, not to try and be someone else. It’s a constant lesson, and for me, I think it always will be.

Oh, and we got a puppy! Her name is Calliope, and she is perfect!