There is no wrong way

allowing the process to guide me

Mugwort Painting, work in progress, hours=22

Hello Dear Readers. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you also to all of you new subscribers! Welcome! It is such a joy to get to share with you all in this little corner of the internet, and I so appreciate you taking the time to read my words and take in my art as I share it here.

Generally speaking, I use this space to write about my art making process, plant magic and herbalism, and current learnings and musings from my day to day life. I also continuously share upcoming events and workshops at the bottom of these newsletters, so if you are interested in attending something in the future, read through to the end!

I am just coming out of a resettling/moving process that took over all of May. For those of you who have been reading here for a bit, you may know that my spouse, pup and I moved from Richmond a couple of years ago, out to rural Highland County, and now very recently to a town in between the two called Staunton. It’s a sweet little mountain town, ‘the queen city’ of the Shenandoah Valley. We are surrounded by glorious redbuds, black walnuts, hawks and hills that unravel out into mountains.

June comes with some settling in. Finding new rhythms with our day to day and also being back in easier access to so much that we didn’t have when we were so rural. For one, I am now renting a studio space in a shared art collective called Trellis, and already it’s been SO helpful for my art practice and focus. When I lived in the middle of the city, getting to do my own solitary thing in my own studio was a good counter balance to the hustle and bustle of life outside my walls. But when we moved out to Highland, I had a really hard time focusing, and finding the inspiration to spend hours at our dining room table painting was rare. With so much alone time outside of work, albeit wonderful because we were surrounded by so much peace and beauty in nature, I just started to feel a bit lonely creatively. Once we decided to move to a town, I immediately was on the search for a place where I could be around other creatives again, and Trellis worked out perfectly. There are many different kinds of artists using the space including a weaver and a puppet maker, and just having that separation from home is incredibly impactful.

I shared a work in progress recently in a note of the mugwort painting I have been slowly coaxing over the last couple of months(see image above and below). I decided to track how many hours this painting is taking me to bring it into being. A funny thing to do when mugwort herself is a plant that deals in the liminal and non-linear space of the subconscious and dreamtime. But it’s been so sweet to notice my time with her, and how much she asks me to slow down and engage.

Mugwort painting about 13 hours in!

I’ve been thinking about how our culture really emphasizes outcomes and results and goals. How we are all supposed to be getting somewhere. Some prize at the end of the game, something we are holding out for. But to me, the real gift is in being present in the unfolding. The slow and beautiful unveiling of what is right here, right now. When I teach watercolor workshops, I share a lot about how important it feels to me to just notice. The more we notice, the more we see, and the more we can choose to capture. Noticing itself is neutral and without expectation. It is honest and true. And by being with that feeling of what is present, a lot of peace can come in and help our nervous systems feel both calm and creative at the same time.

A phrase that has been with me this year, as I have had to make many decisions, has been ‘what if there is no wrong way?’ What if I just trusted where I am, and moved from that space rather than trying to pick the thing that I think would be best or right or correct in some way? What if I choose something and it doesn’t work out in the way I thought it might, and that was still the right thing to choose because I learned so much in the process? What if life is just a series of these options and everything, EVERYTHING, is here to support us in our own evolution and growth, especially when we are paying attention?

Painting offers a million different moments for choice. Every dip in the paint, every stroke of the brush placed on the paper. Every time we create, we are committing to something that we don’t yet know, but are offering our presence and attention to the journey. There is no wrong way to notice, or to make a piece of art, or to live this life. Everyone is in the ever evolving process of themselves, and like mugwort, it is not a linear path.

I hope that this what if there is no wrong way pondering can offer itself as a helpful guide when you come to a crossroads. To remind you that it is all ok, even when it isn’t ok, when we are present for our lives. When we get to be with whatever is unfolding in big and little ways, and feel the gratitude in the awareness of that.

Mugwort and I still have a few hours to share together, and I will be enjoying every moment that I can learn from the leaves on the page, the little flowers with their intricate buds, her silvery backside that shines in the moonlight, the home of her namesake, Artemisia.

Many well wishes on the month ahead to you all. May creative pleasures find you, as well as plenty of time in the sun, with the earth, and hopefully in good company of people and plants and beings that you love.

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June Happenings….

• Golden Hour Pop Up Market, Richmond, VA. Friday, June 5th, 3-7pm.

  Hosted by Honey Home at Maven Theory and Homme Essentials

  Come say hey to my wonderful friend and shop manager Sarah Miller as she hangs out with some other wonderful makers selling my prints and cards!

  

• Watercolor Workshop at Common Wealth Crush, Waynesboro, VA. Thursday, June 25th, 5-7pm.

  A lovely relaxing evening of painting seasonal blooms and produce while sipping delicious wines at Common Wealth Crush. It’s going to be such a good time, come join us! All levels of experience are welcome to my workshops.

  

• Private Watercolor Workshops, almost anywhere!

  If you are interested in hosting a private watercolor workshop, check out my workshops page here for more info on how we can make that happen! I have a very mobile set up for teaching and have so enjoyed getting to travel around Virginia and the east coast to paint with you all. Bringing the relaxation and reset of painting and creative time with the elements is my dream come true.

• New to my newsletter thank you discount!

  Thank you all for subscribing to this newsletter. As a small token of my appreciation, you can use the code SUBSTACK! to take 15% off any order in my webshop.