Hello Friends! We put together a short video of what we saw at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville North Carolina a few weeks back. The artist, Dale Chihuly, researched the grounds and developed multiple glass installations throughout the gardens, inside, and outside the Biltmore mansion. If you can go see the work, it is well… Read More
Dear Laura and Friends, Our annual tradition of choosing One Little Word goes back to 2011! We didn’t write about the word that particular year, but we did the following year which can be found HERE. For those of you who are new, the One Little Word project is like a new year’s resolution. You… Read More
Dear Laura, When I received your new piece of art for The Collective I had to squint:) Those colors are certainly energetic and loud. It’s like a party on paper! I know how much the warmth and color of summer inspire you so it’s good to see you go all out. Flipping through all the… Read More
Dear Laura, After receiving your newest piece of the collective in the mail (scroll down to see the damage of the package received in the mail- yikes!), I took a walk in my garden seeking what is blue. Of course, I found the blueberries. We have been picking them the last few weeks and adding… Read More
More work is accumulating in the correspondence project we have developed called “The Collective”. Currently, we have about 20 pieces completed. Each piece is in conversation with all the other pieces in the collection. See the collection in its entirety HERE. Enjoy!
Dear Friends, Laura and I make the commitment to talk on the phone weekly. We catch up on one another’s lives, studio practice, and our work together. A few times a year we review what we are doing well and what we are ready to change. This past year we have been writing posts about… Read More
Notes by Laura: I was inspired by the color in Tina’s last drawing of the birds. This zinnia was one of the last flowers in my garden and I wanted to carry over the essence of it with this loose, contour line drawing. Tina had added some old sheet music to the Collective box so I stamped in some… Read More
Dear Friends, We have discussed Part One & Part Two of the book Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Today we will be discussing Part Three: In the Spirit of Mindfulness. Similar to our last book club post, this will be one of our longer letters. If you are reading the book too, please feel free to… Read More
Dear Laura, I have the honor to exhibit my artwork at Redux Contemporary Art Center in the Conolly Gallery this month through November 19th. Above is the outside of the facility dedicated to the lovely Clementa C. Pinckney, who died in the shootings at Mother Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston. Our city still hasn’t fully… Read More
Dear Friends, Laura and I have said “I just don’t have time to create art” many times while attending to our various life commitments, whether it has been personal (marriage, raising children) or professional (working outside our studio or tending to art business matters). Is this really true though? Yes, things happen and sometimes we temporarily have to step… Read More
Dear Laura, I would like to start this letter by giving credit to Ali Edwards for the “One Little Word” tradition (for those that are new to our letters). Last year my word was BREATH. I actually did maintain a practice all year of five slow breaths daily to be more present and calm in the… Read More
Dear Laura, I found this video and it reminded me of why I am teaching. I know it is a bit dramatic, however this vulnerability is what drives a lot of our decisions. We can’t expose that vulnerability if we are always being criticised or redirected to someone else’s agenda (i.e. modern education and standardization). I… Read More
Dear Friends, You may have noticed that our blog has been a bit quiet lately. However, our conversations through email and over the phone have been very loud and boisterous. Laura has been going back to school for business. Yep, these days having a business sense and know-how is a must to thrive as an… 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, This drawing will become the fourth in a series of assemblage mixed media works I started last summer, two of which are on exhibition at the Foundry Art Centre starting February 20. Here is more information and images of the work below (one of which belongs to you – thanks for getting it to the show!). I am… 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 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, 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
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
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 Friends, Laura and I went to Bluff Point State Park today to hike and sketch. We stopped along her favorite part of the rocky shore and chatted lightly for awhile. I headed off to sketch this unusual plant with spikey seedpods, while Laura headed over to draw wildflowers. I usually don’t show this… 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, A friend of mine pointed me to this TED talk and it inspired me so much that I wanted to share it with you and our readers. In my early twenties I was obsessed with learning more than the ‘single story’ which I was taught growing up through college. Moving to Boston and… 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
Hello Sweet T, How are you? I wanted to share our intentions from our last “wish ceremony.” It was so late when we wrote them on your last night in CT and I remember us being so silly and tired from all our adventures. It is always fun thinking about our wishes and then lighting them on fire and watching… Read More
Hello Sweet T, How are you? I cannot tell you how much it lit me up that you were just in Connecticut filling my home with your goofiness and bright spirit. Our time together is so precious and jam packed, isn’t it? I can’t believe everything we managed to get done in such a short… Read More
Dear Friends, We made a short video for you to document and share what we discovered from exploring the idea of beauty in our work. It was exciting to see how it culminated in our exhibition “Two Artists Shifting Perspectives on Beauty” this month at Studio M in Mystic, CT. The show will be up… Read More
Hello Sweet T~ I think the daffodils are blooming just for you! Do you know how EXCITED I am that you are going to be here TOMORROW?!?!? Yippee!!! It has been way too long since we have seen each other. As I was organizing my thoughts for our Artist Talk on Friday this quote… Read More
