Laura and Tina creating art together and why we think collaboration is the bomb!
“He who plants a tree Plants a hope.” ~Lucy Larcom Dear Tina, I chose this beautiful magnolia flower for ReVision 120. It’s easy to see from my last Vision how long and harsh my Connecticut winter was this past year. It affected a lot of plants in my garden but the most heartbreaking of all were… Read More
Dear Tina, How are you? My garden is in full bloom right now and I am in heaven. It is a far cry from when I posted my snowy Vision for you. When I first wrote you about ReVision 119 I was invested in another 21 day meditation challenge. This is the fourth one I have done… Read More
Dear Laura, Spring has finally arrived here, but while I was creating this piece for you it was cold and cloudy. This helped me feel your Vision inspiration. I wanted this piece to be a quiet one. I was inspired by your snow drift photographs that I mentioned in my earlier post about the process… Read More
Dear Laura, I am enjoying your pictures of snow. I do miss the sculptural quality to how it falls on tree branches, land, and even cars. It is like a layer of material that conceals the details of an object and reveals the larger shapes in their organic forms. The common smooth edges and rounded… Read More
Dear Laura, I know you would love this flower blooming in my garden right now. It is a camellia. We planted this for our son since his birthday falls in January and it blooms around that time. A blooming beauty when the rest of the garden is quiet. However- our daffodils are also peeking up… Read More
Dear Tina, I had to go back and revisit your Vision 118 as I had been away from it so long. It is interesting to read what you wrote: “The metaphor of seeds and future growth reminds me of how you are always so optimistic and hopeful for things to come. You often help me see that… Read More
Dear Laura, Several weeks back I began my ReVision by using printmaking as my answer to your Vision. However, once I printed it I didn’t like it. It seemed too simple for the ideas I was thinking about. In this photo above you can see my drawings underneath the printing plate, which is how I started… Read More
Dear Laura, I hope this finds you well. I have been thinking about you a lot as you spend time with your family. I got busy in my studio yesterday after being inspired by the Louie Swartzberg video about pollination. Honey bees are something that is a point of conversation often in my house. My… Read More
Dear Laura, Getting back into my garden after the summer heat has subsided, I am finding that it has transformed into autumn already. The plants and trees are releasing their seeds for next year despite their green showing. These plants pictured above are the black eyed susans, zebra grass, and laropia (which has beautiful purple flowers… Read More
Hello Sweet T How are you? I finished ReVision 117 and decided to go with the smaller paintings. I felt like I needed more time with the other paintings I shared in my last letter. Our work opens up new ideas for me and it often takes time to process them. The weather has been amazingly… Read More
Dear Laura, I titled this piece “Time Well Spent” not only for the watch molds that are sewn on the bottom, but also to mark my understanding that I make time for what I value. The transition to my new teaching position has been enlightening and challenging for my studio art practice.… Read More
Hello Sweet T, How are you? Thank you for reminding me of Parker Palmer in your last letter. I think we could talk for days about his essay, “We Teach Who We Are”. I had never read it and still need to digest the last two sections. There is a lot to think about. This introspection of… Read More
Dear Laura, I am feeling good that I am sticking to my studio schedule while being pulled in so many directions with my new teaching job. I am really thrilled to have the opportunity to share what I know and the skills I have aquired over the years with the young women at Ashley Hall.… Read More
Dear Tina, I loved seeing your ReVision 116. You cracked me up with your “homage to the moth”. Poor little guy…I like the way you incorporated the patterns from his wings in you’re drawing. I think this new format of going bigger is working out great! We will be able to stretch ourselves in ways… Read More
Dear Laura, After spending the afternoon outside your studio last week, I became fascinated by the shapes of the Queen Ann’s Lace. This particular one is just about to unfurl into it’s lacey umbrella like shape. It is one of the most intricate flowers I have seen. The petals are so tiny. I remember this… Read More
Dear Tina, How are you? Yes, Brett & I had a wonderful little get away for our anniversary. We stayed in Portsmouth, NH where we haven’t been in many years. Even got a little nostalgic and spent a day at Hampton Beach where we met. I was only 14 years old when we first met, so young… Read More
Dear Laura and Friends, In my last post I posed the question about our Vision/ReVision project changing it’s format to follow a line of inspiration I have been following. I wondered if you felt the same way and after our phone conversation we have whole-heartedly agreed that it is time to bust out of the small… Read More
Dear Laura, My friend Donna gave me this moth and it is inspiring my response to your Vision. Isn’t she beautiful? Notice the furry texture on her back. I have a question for you. We have previously decided that our ReVision’s are ready to go bigger at around the 12″x12″ size, rather than our mail… Read More
Dear Laura, Ahhh, summer. This is my favorite time of year in the garden and at the local farmer’s markets. A good friend of mine grew these tomatoes. He researches and tends to them in a way that I admire. Many of these are heirloom tomatoes such as the Cherokee Purple (the large one in the… Read More
Dear Laura, Starting this piece of art in your garden in Connecticut and completing in my studio in South Carolina was a great experience. I wish we could visit one another like this- spending a few hours together and then off to our studios. However, maybe the distance is what makes this collaboration work… Read More
Dear Laura, I am back in the studio and making new work. I find that there are productive, happy times in the studio and then other times when I just can’t make any art because I am decompressing, digesting, and unwinding from a busy life. So far this year I have had a full… Read More
Dear Laura, This morning I walked out my front door and was greeted by the beautiful aroma of jasmine. I know that if you were here you would love this flower. Notice how the bud unfolds in a spiral pattern and how each petal is actually curved into a tube shape. Jasmine is simply the best… Read More
Dear Tina, I was in awe of the ice sculpture in your Vision. It made me think of an old song by the Byrds, Turn! Turn! Turn! “To every thing there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven…” Ecclesiates 3:1-8 We don’t have any leaves on our trees just… Read More
Hello T, How are you? I have been dreaming of warmer weather and put this little collection together. I found the black and white picture of the sailboat at a vintage show and love how nostalgic it is. I imagine sailing is a lot of work but gratifying. I think I would love the peacefulness… Read More
Dear Laura, You are right that this Vision photo you gave me is my color palette. While you may not be enjoying the cold up there, I do admire the beauty the snow brings. I miss the quiet of a snowfall. Somehow those flakes soften the sound that always brought me right to the present time. I… Read More
Hello Sweet T~ I worked from home today sitting in front of the fireplace, cozy and warm. We have been greeted with a very pretty but heavy and wet snow all day today. I snuck out with my camera wrapped in a scarf and snapped this picture of the little birch tree I planted a… Read More
Dear Laura, Your Vision had me stumped for awhile. What got me thinking was this idea of risk and your description of how your cats simply jump where many of us stop, think, weigh our options, think, and then maybe jump. I was originally thinking I would create something about my experiences in roller… Read More
Dear Laura, Last week I went for a walk and the air was so thick with fog that everything was dripping wet. I thought it was fascinating how the drips collected at the end of these pine needles and caught a glimmer of the sunlight. It was a beautiful walk. Can’t wait to see what… Read More
Dear Tina, It is hard to believe I started this ReVision way back in the Fall. I remember clearly my inspiration for this piece. I was out for a walk at the Bluff thinking about your boys running on the beach without a care in the world (& without electronics). Those easygoing days seem like yesterday,… Read More
Hello Sweet T, How are you? All set for Christmas? I spent most of yesterday and last night getting my shopping done. I was WAY behind this year! After the Open Studio I got busy catching up on holiday stuff at home and fulfilling orders for my shop. I just sold TWO original paintings as… Read More
