Art, Fall, and Life!

Lately, I feel a bit like this little one:

I am finding a lot of ideas for art projects, and storing them away for winter. I've learned that part of caring for my artistic self is to spend as much time outdoors with a sketchbook now, while I can. The weather has been beautiful, if a bit warm.

Bigger projects can wait for when it is too brutally cold to set foot on a hiking trail.

I have also been experimenting with monoprinting using a Gelli plate. I don't have the results yet that I am looking for, but will be trying a few new experiments over the next few weeks.

More African violets

More flowers... this is why I need to have flowers in the house!

Sometimes, when the light hits these just so, they sparkle as though they are covered in tiny crystals.

Houseplants

Today was one of those rare days when I had a totally free schedule. No obligations, nowhere I had to be, just a free day. And it was beautiful outside!

I am slowly rebuilding a houseplant collection since our move. It just doesn't feel like home without plants all around.

I started today with three new violets. I love African violets! The flowers are gorgeous. My new plants are next to a dodecahedron made from Ekaterina Lukasheva's model, "Hypnose." Two of my favorite things: modular origami and African violets!

I spent the rest of the afternoon washing pots, shoveling potting soil, and repotting plants.

The weather is changing, and we'll soon have the windows shut tightly against the cold. I hope to have a head start on the indoor forest by then. Real plants in a home are living, growing things, and can bring joy and happiness to our lives. Taking care of them is a fun hobby, too, and we are rewarded many times over for the small effort they require. I think houseplants are vastly under appreciated.