I had the pleasure of taking part in an amazing community art project in May, during the quarantine.

The downtown area of Ware, MA has had some bumpy times in the last few years. After a fire displaced several Main Street businesses a few years ago, the buildings remain boarded up.

But right across the street are some bustling art businesses, ClayWorks and ArtWorks, and a community art school up the road called WorkShop13. I mentioned an idea to the Marie Lauderdale, the Executive Director of WorkShop13 – a way to bring some much needed color and interest into the boarded up area. The idea took flight! A series of reproductions of famous paintings ask and answer the question, “Where?” “Ware!” The paintings were created by local artists through Workshop13, and I was thrilled to take part by painting Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait With Grey Felt Hat,” and my daughter Rachel painted Picasso’s “Portrait of Dora Maar.” 

If you’re ever in the area, be sure to stop and stroll by this wonderful installation.

I am reminded with every passing day how very lucky I am. As the world grapples with the frightening spread of disease, I can only take in so much bad news. At some point, I need to escape into my safe place and splash paint around as I hide from the germs. Out of these lemons, I’m making lemonade.

Little House recently hosted the first of a series of monthly art journal workshops, and it was loads of fun! We discussed the basics of art journal creation, and then we focused on techniques to add color and texture to the first several pages of our blank books. We experimented with Gelli plate printing and came up with some beautiful “happy accidents” that we’ll add to our journals, creating the framework on which we’ll build our creative story telling. Stay tuned and watch these masterpieces come to life!

There are so many things that can be done with paper fabric! Over the last few weeks, I’ve had paper fabric pieces all over the studio in various stages of completion. Finished pieces – journals and bookmarks – have been dropped off at CC Lowell in Worcester and Dandelions in Barre, and new pieces are taking shape in the studio. Here is a wall hanging being pieced together. Stay tuned for updates on the progress!

UPDATE: She’s finished and ready to hang at a local gift shop!

Since the holiday rush has passed, it’s been a productive vacation. The studio is warm and cozy and there are lots of new projects percolating! I’m really excited to be experimenting with creating something called paper fabric. It’s a somewhat time consuming multi-step process, which forces me to slow down and enjoy myself – a nice change of pace from the past several weeks. Here are some of the results of this wonderful experiment – writing and art journals and bookmarks. Stay tuned for more fun with my paper fabric projects!

Little House mini paintings with easels are now for sale at The Kitchen Garden in Templeton – just in time for the Country Roads Christmas Tour, December 7 and 8. Towels, totes, ornaments and s&p shakers too!

https://templetonkitchengarden.com/

This painting was started in the spring, shortly after I visited a goat farm owned by a family friend in Petersham. These girls were huddled together on the chilly day in a small shed, and I snapped their picture for this painting. I love that they looked happy, even on a dreary day! This piece is a whopping 40″ x 30″.

Finished this panoramic painting of my girl, Sam. I LOVE long weekends, spending the extra day in the studio. Bonus: it was a rainy day – the BEST kind of studio day!

UPDATE: This piece was accepted into the inaugural Northeast Fine Arts Exhibit in Ware, on display through the end of October!