the days are getting longer. spring is teasing me with her coming. i know that here in the PNW, she's still a bit far off. we've got more rain and cold to get through, but the light is returning and that's enough for me.
so, i plan vegetable gardens, i clean out my closet, i begin new art projects, i start to plod through the pile of mending, i make soups with what is left of the tomatoes i preserved from last year, i see the garlic i planted last fall peeking out of the soil.
crocuses bloom in the neighbor's front garden and it makes me wonder if i still have time to get my daffodil bulbs in the ground.
my cousin and i are buying tickets for summer concerts already . . . i am dreaming of family camping trips and flying back east for visits in the spring and summer . . . i am ready for a change.
my husband has been biking to work all winter, but i am a fairweather biker. i prefer the bus on the cold, windy, raining mornings . . . but i am beginning to dream of evening bike rides down to mississippi ave to drink beer on patios and see shows in the small venues. and it's on it's way.
this is going to be good.
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in preparation for this creative spring that's just around the corner, i've been reading some new books. i'll put them in my mixed media sidebar - but here they are as well:
The Timber Press Guide to Vegetable Gardening in the Pacific Northwest
i am excited about this book because it offers tips and advice for growing food in the exact region that i live in, as well as month-by-month guides to what to plant when. living in the PNW means i really can have a year-round harvest if i know how to do it. this book is pure gold.
this book give examples and simple instructions for all kinds of at-home printing techniques. i have been more and more interested in the printmaking art form and i needed a little more knowledge in my brain about how to do this business. this book seemed to have the best approach for my learning style. since i've renewed my simple line of Hudson Tshirts (awesome shirts with my dog's face on them), i've needed a few more tools in my toolbox in this category. super exciting!
Cut Up This Book
papercutting is, by far, one of the most magical, awe-inspiring art forms. it's dreamy how someone can take a flat piece of paper and make it come alive! this book gives a simple history of papercutting, offers some awesome examples of contemporary paper artists and gives a few projects that one could do at home. i am hoping with this bit of a push i could set myself on a journey to mastering this magic for myself. i was lucky to get to see a cut paper exhibit at the MOMA in NYC a few years ago - it was breath-taking. stoked.
what have you been doing in this long winter months? how are you preparing for spring?
xo,
tj
