Where does the time go? Midsummer art notes

Well! I had fully intended to post updates on my creative happenings in March, then no, it would be April for sure … certainly before the solstice!

Now suddenly it is July. In my haste to get and spend, I risk missing nature’s steady march through the seasons.

What have I been up to? Frankly, for the last several months I’ve been spending most of my limited free time gardening: having acquired a little workman’s cottage in Kingston, New York with only the barest beginnings of a garden, it has been hard work but also a joy to exercise the creative urge in cooperation (we hope) with nature. My goal here is to get native perennials started and create a natural, organic, chemical-free haven for my non-human neighbors.

It’s been slow going, but things do seem to be coming together. Perhaps I will post further details about the garden in the near future.

I’m much inspired this week to begin reading Thich Nhat Hanh’s book you are here (2001/English translation 2009):

“The first miracle of mindfulness is our true presence—being here, present, and totally alive. Then, if you are really here, something else will also be here: the presence of the other. You are here and the other is here. What is the other? It could be your heart; your eyes; your body; or your in-breath. The other is the sunset, the song of the birds. Or it could be your lover, your partner, your son, your daughter, or your friend.”

Among the many others I am seeking to be present for are the hummingbirds visiting the feeder I put up. Now I must be responsible! There are beaks to feed!

All this is inspiring new artistic activities.

In January and February, before the garden chores really took off, I took a couple of short classes at Kingston’s Neighborhood Print Studio! Great fun, and also challenging: the woodcut typography class was inspiring and difficult, as I had not really done any kind of art involving typography before.

I’m continuing with the watercolor practice, and I think some new oil paintings are on the horizon.

While engaged in the meditative calm of painting the garden fence, I’m also wondering what sort of mural trouble I could get into this year or next?

I’m slowly refreshing my website and other online presences. Instagram, for better or worse, remains the most current source of updates on my comings and goings. I also use Threads frequently. I would be happy to have you follow me there!

But being present, bearing witness, to the beauty all around us, is of first importance. Let’s all take Thich Nhat Hanh’s wise words to heart:

“Being truly here is very important—being here for yourself, and for the one you love. How can you love if you are not here?”