In Decision

I was in decision—replete with indecision—almost constantly as I painted this postcard, surprised by many choices I made, puzzled more than once by what to do next, making one decision, and another, and yet one more, not knowing when I might feel the little ping of completion, wondering if I'd miss the little ping altogether and barrel along to a place of no return.

What evolved could not have been more unexpected.

Yet I was there every step of the way.

The Decisions Only You Can Make
4x6" postcard; acrylic, pastel, and collage on drawing paper,
mounted on card stock
abstract
2019

Triggers

• text messages that won't send
• stores that don't carry what I'm looking for
• stores that are listed online but which turn out to be permanently closed when I call
• insects landing in the paint I apply to the bulkhead doors which are decidedly awkward to paint
• bills from at&t that are confusing, difficult to decipher, and contain errors

Every Trigger Is a Healing Opportunity
4x6" postcard; acrylic, ink, pastel, and collage on drawing paper,
mounted on card stock
abstract
2019

detail

p.s. scanned (and therefore flat v. curled) image below

Maker

The maker in me is lively of late.

Yay!

An Anecdote Crafted Out of Nothing
4x6" postcard; acrylic, ink, pastel, and collage on drawing paper,
mounted on card stock
abstract
2019

Living True

Back to creating my series of Lake Champlain found-composition postcards again today.

Rock that Arrived on the Tide of a Glacier
4x6" postcard; acrylic, ink, pastel, and collage on drawing paper,
mounted on card stock
abstract landscape
2019

Parentheses

I know, I know, you thought I was on a roll with a series of postcards from that 18x24" start done last summer at Lake Champlain.

So did I.

But.

While cleaning my studio, I bumped into an October 2016 mono-stripes exercise I did for a Jane Davies online course while on vacation in West Virginia, and you know how one thing

mono-stripes exercise 2016

leads to another.

I Was Putting Papers Away When the Telephone Rang
4x5" postcard; acrylic, pastels, and collage on card stock
abstract
2019

  

Portal

Another postcard—second one developed from a section of a larger start painted a year ago June in a cottage on Lake Champlain.

I am slack-jawed in wonder yet again by the mystery of creating a whole world in a plot of real estate that measures no more than four by six inches. I pick up brush, or pencil, or pastel, or collage, and find myself somewhere else entirely, in an expansive realm without boundaries.

Small Acts of Kindness Bond You Over a Lifetime
4x6" postcard; acrylic, ink, oil pastel, and collage on drawing paper, mounted on card stock
abstract landscape
2019

Hiding in Plain Sight

Pulled out an 18x24" start from my June 2018 Lake Champlain vacation—with brisk lakeshore breezes still embedded in it.

Headed for my paper trimmer.

Cut out a 4x6" patch.

Played around with the found composition.

Postcard!

Can you locate the unimproved 24 square inches of real estate in the original larger piece?

18x24" start
June 2018

Forgiveness Could Be Child's Play If You Knew the Ropes
4x6"; acrylic, ink, oil pastel, and collage on drawing paper
abstract postcard
2019