peony petals finished

peony petals, copyright Teresa Mallen, coloured pencil on Stonehenge paper, 8" x 8"

I haven't thought up a name for this one yet but here is my latest peony petals piece, pretty much finished. I will no doubt tweak it here and there before signing my name and scanning it for posting to my website. The contrast isn't as good as it should be in the photo above but once I started fiddling with that then the colours went crazy - you know how it goes, suffice to say it looks brighter in person.

The eleventh day into a new year...I am a gal who loves a fresh start and a new year seems to be the perfect time to wipe the slate clean. Our journals and day planners are bare and I relish the opportunity to embrace a new beginning. 

I must confess that 2011 was a bumpier ride than I would have liked. There were unexpected challenges and loss. Quite honestly I am very ready to see the back end of that year and to welcome a new one.

I have been thinking much in past months about goals and such and the other night I curled up in front of a fire, with my journal and a glass of wine and I got myself sorted. I planned, prioritized, dreamed and dared to visualize a very bright future. As I type, 2012 offers 355 new days, neatly parceled into weeks, months and seasons. Such a delicious chunk of time, of life filled with lush possibilities and gifts I can't even imagine. I am ready. Very ready.

I am not sure what my next new piece shall be but I have some ideas. I hope to get some time later today to sift through my reference photos. In the meantime, I have some volunteer work to attend to. I am on the executive of a group that puts together a twice a year Studio Tour. Today we shall go over last years finances, plan the next tour, jury in new artists, etc. It is always enjoyable to get together with fellow artists and I am looking forward to brainstorming ways to leverage this tour to new heights of success.

Have you planned out your new year yet? Remember to dream big!

Samhain and new beginnings...

Good ol' Jack is glowing in the dining room as I type...

Today has been a great day. It started off when I had some very early trick or treaters - oh no wait, they were my students for my cp basics class. :-) As this is my last course before my break, things are definitely ending on a high note. The ladies are absolutely fabulous and lots of fun and I know I shall miss our time together when we no longer meet for class.

It is very elemental here today, with strong gusty winds, a wee shower here and there and leaves flying everywhere. Late in the afternoon I grabbed my camera and headed out to take some pictures. Here is our young chestnut tree. It has such an orderly canopy of branches.

Here is a chestnut on that tree.

A bowl of chestnuts and acorns...


A spectacular rainbow against a gorgeous dark sky...


And finally me and my 'best friend with the fur'. Hey, notice the white porch rails, the green table and bench, floor and yellow/cream walls? All painted by me last month! A wonderful change from the dark and dreary brown we had before. Brown, brown and more brown. Gone!

Samhain is one of the origins of Halloween. Samhain is an Irish word meaning summer's end. October 31 - November 1 was a time of celebrating the harvest, an acknowledgement of the dark time ahead and a time of remembering the deceased. Many scholars believe that this time also marked the beginning of the Celtic new year.

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I love any opportunity to declare a fresh start and to grab a new beginning. Samhain is no exception! A new year, well, why not? Tomorrow, I shall see November 1 as the start of two months of celebrating my renewed commitment to studio time. I shall make fresh goals and I shall tackle them with new energy and enthusiasm. Of course in two months I can assess my progress, make new plans and start off again with another new year celebration.

Perhaps your goals could use a bit of renewed fire under them. Why not celebrate this ancient Gaelic custom of a new year at summer's end? Oh and just a note for all you feral gals (and guys), the moon is full this October 31st night...perfect for a jaunt out with the wolves and a bit of howling don't you think?