Yarn.  Just yarn – glowing there.  We’ve been scurrying around for all of August finishing up three great new collections for C.R. Gibson which are going to come out next January.  In the meantime, these spheres continue to luminesce by the batteries of their own potential.

We haven’t posted a Something Lovely in a while, but it’s not because we haven’t been surrounded by loveliness!  Part of it is due to a particularly tight deadline and many hours in front of the lovely computer, but part of it is due to just not having the camera handy at just the loveliest moment.  But day before yesterday, after zipping to the last UPS drop-off with a package full of art, we decided we needed to go for a walk, and this is the backdrop that surrounded us.  Now that’s pretty lovely in a grand sort of way.
We hope you are enjoying some wonderful summer evenings, too.

The season for tapping birch sap is very short, but we were in Lithuania when it happened.

I don’t think I had ever seen the sap of a tree before – not in its watery-state, at least.  In California, we have eucalyptus trees that ooze crystals of red amber and make the sidewalk sticky, so I suppose I imagined that all trees have a thick-bodied circulatory system – that maple trees are filled with syrup – but apparently this is not the case!

Birch sap, I have learned, tastes (to me) like a very green version of those new flavored-water energy drinks with no calories that come in hi-tech bottles.  Here is some real information about it.  So, even if you are a city slicker like I am, if you happen to have a birch tree in your back yard, it might be a fun project for early spring…

Here is my husband inspecting the sap bucket, and a quick watercolor of the glass mason jar after it had been filled.  Happy memories.

Have a great week!

I am about to start making some mock-ups for Surtex, but I couldn’t help but first post a few photo-odes to unused craft supplies.  I’ve done this before – what can I say?  Is it that blank paper and organized bundles of string are beautiful per se, or is it the unbounded potential of these unused materials that is so enticing?

I found this purple aquatint test strip in an old hard-to-open drawer under a film of copper filings and rosin dust.  Thought it was beautiful.  Took it home.

Yesterday, when I stumbled into Starbucks and ordered my fancy coffee, out it came in the annual Christmas cup.  Yea!  That means Christmas is around the corner.  We LOVE Christmas around here!
However, we won’t talk about anything Christmas here in blogville until after Thanksgiving … no clever ornament ideas, no favorite Christmas recipes, no holiday decoratiing ideas, no Christmas give-aways,  no Christmas tradition sharing, fa la-la la-la la … oops, sorry ‘bout that–I slipped into a Christmas carol just thinking about it.
We will wait to go Christmas-crazy until the“official first day of the Christmas season,” which, we believe begins the minute Santa says his last “Ho Ho Ho, Meeerry Christmas,” at the end of the  Macy’s Day Parade.  I think we may have decided on that particular moment of officialness from watching Miracle on 34th Street too many times.

And, I just want you to know, that although I succumbed to enjoying my morning latte in a Christmas cup, I showed great restraint by not allowing myself to order the early-bird Egg Nog Latte they were offering at the same time.  You just have to draw the line somewhere!

Yesterday was a good mail day.  I could tell ten yards from the box that it was going to be good; there was one of those craft paper covered bubble wrap envelopes, bent to indicate that it was being squished by the presence of something else yet undiscovered below the mailbox rim.  Yes, I have received both the used copy of The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady, which I ordered after reading this, and my Art on Paper magazine.  And no bills.  And no credit card solicitations.

Before-bed book browsing promises to be good this week.

Ellen started our Something Lovely category a few weeks ago, and ever since then, I have been continually spotting something lovelies, but finding myself without my camera nearby. Last week, however, I was working in the studio with Julianna, who was home for Fall Break, when she said, “Mom, look, look at that BLUE bird. He is really blue.” I turned around from my work, “It’s a blue jay!” (Coincidentally, I call Jules “J-Bird” all the time.) I was so excited, “Oh, oh … I have my camera, be very quiet.” I started to tip-toe a little closer to the window. I have tried this a million times, when I see a pretty bird from the studio, but usually, by the time I get my camera and make my way stealthily over to the window, my little feathered friend looks over his shoulder, sees me, and bolts. But, this time, I got it. I couldn’t believe it. Even on a very foggy day. Good work J-Bird!

Here are some studio cousins from our Little Forest collection. You will notice that these little guys have yellow tummies while the local bird model does not. I was just using a little artist’s license so that the forest friends would show up against the light background of a baby’s crib bumper. I hope a lot of precious babies enjoyed waking up to these something lovelies.

Your bluebird reminded me of this photo from a walk around the block:

Though a hose is undoubtedly much easier to capture than a blue jay, I felt like they both had a similar appeal.

p.s.

“Ellen started our Something Lovely category a few weeks ago, and ever since then, I have been continually spotting something lovelies…”

When I read this, it reminded me of listening to a passage from The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, where the narrator mentions that her pastor refers to this phenomenon as grace.

I suppose every place has its share of secret views – and by secret, I mean, not a place that’s known for it’s view – not a lookout. It’s the momentary surprise of the world spread out before you as you are driving along an otherwise normal street, or walking through a not-particularly-astonishing neighborhood. This is that view for me:

Every Saturday, as I am driving back from the Arlington Park public tennis courts, about a fifth of the way down Moeser Lane, this view from San Francisco to Sausalito opens up for about 5 seconds (though, I can make it longer if there are no cars behind me) and I am suddenly at peace.  There’s a place like this in Austin too – I think it’s on Bee Cave.

If you know of any secret street panoramas – or better, have one on camera – we’d love to add your contribution to this post. Just email us at share@cathyhecknurseryart.com.