Saturday, January 31, 2015

Winter Pleasures

Sunday's Thought for tomorrow, February 1, perfectly sums up how I feel about this month. After the crazy busy holiday season, it's  nice to savor a little quietude. It seems to me that February's weather practically forces us to slow down and indulge ourselves with simple pleasures as we wait out the rest of the winter. Here in the Deep South, we can look forward to early varieties of jonquils popping up toward the end of this month. Just thinking about them lifts my spirits even as the forecast is calling for the possibility of snow.

But reading good books, enjoying a glass of wine or cup of herbal tea and dreaming of gardening (the simple pleasures I enjoy) must necessarily take place in the evening. During the day, I've been working hard to finish several mirrors I'll be delivering this coming week to 2Rules, the gallery in Marietta carrying some of my jewelry and now, some of my functional art pieces.

The mirrors have taken longer to complete than I anticipated. Despite my best efforts to keep the designs relatively simple, each evolved into more complexity than I had planned. All are made with my own original art papers, which I paint, stamp, and hand embellish, then cut into "tiles" and collage onto the mirror frames. After letting the adhesive dry thoroughly I treat the whole thing to multiple coats of clear UV sealer and varnish, and add the hanging hardware. Once the varnish cures they're (finally) ready to go.

After working all day in the studio, I'm happy to turn to my books and daydreams in the evening. (I lack hyacinths and violets, so the picture of sunflowers on my living room wall will have to suffice.) It's a pretty good formula for satisfaction: working at something I love by day, chilling out at night. Do we really need anything more? Life is good!

Text ©2015 Lynn Edwards




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