I (heart) Moths!

I HEART moths and I'm feeling the need to go to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum this very moment to take in their amazing collection of moths and other curiosities that are on display.  If you haven't been there, it's a definite must if you are visiting our nation's capital.  It will feed your inner naturalist soul and make you want to run back home as soon as possible to create some kind of nature-inspired art!  Promise.

Lately, I have been taking a break from birdies in my paintings and find myself dabbling into the world of moths.  I think there is something magical about them - and their wings are like painted tapestries.  So delicate and fragile - such a gift whenever I find one flitting about or resting on the trunk of a tree.

Here is my first moth-inspired work:

This particular painting is available as a print at my Etsy shop.  You can click on the Etsy button to the top right of the screen or go to: www.etsy.com/shop/WildHeartHistories

Thanks for stopping by and letting me share my joy with you.

My Creative Nook

When I think of my so called "creative space" I have to laugh.  If you call a room that is about 100 square feet that I share with my hubby a studio- I'm all for it.  

It is a small little cozy corner of our home, but it's MY little creative corner.  

I suppose it's more like a special space where I store all of my treasures: ephemera, hundreds of sheets of scrapbooking paper (even though I don't scrapbook, I love collage and I'm a paper hoarder, there's really no two ways about it), hundreds of ink pens in all colors of the rainbow and all shapes and sizes, my laptop, scanner, archival printer, my Canon Rebel 3Ti, craft and art books, a picture of my dear Grandma Winnie...

You get the idea.  :)

Here are some of my treasures that hang out on my desk:

Who says they can never have enough Sharpies?

Watercolor pencils, old school Crayola markers, & my ribbon collection.

Porcelain ornaments I'm working on, a blue jay feather, my go-to Pantone Colors books, and FLOW one of my many magazines.  If you've never checked out a FLOW magazine, YOU MUST CHECK IT OUT! It's an amazing resource for inspiration and creativity.

My trusty cork board where I keep some tools handy and some keepsakes too.  The photo on the top left is of my Grandma Winnie and below is a lovely note a family wrote to me when I was their son's third grade teacher.  It is the most wonderful letter I have ever received from a family and I'll treasure it always.

My brushes and fabric paint, an old jar I decorated and kept for small odds and ends.  

A collection of old photos and ephemera along with an old necklace I've had for ages, broke, and haven't gotten around to fixing. 

Two of my favorite photographs are at the front.  The sweet lady gazing back to me in her cute sun bonnet and polka dot dress.  I wish I could know who she was and what she was doing that day.  There is not writing on the back leaving even her name a mystery.  The other photo was taken in Germany and is of a small boy posing in his small skis and cute head-to-toe snow suit.  I think to myself it must have been a magical time in his life and wonder about who he was too.

So there you have it.  My small, sweet desk top and a few odds and ends. Home sweet home.  Where you can find me most evenings. :)

Apple Picking

After spending the past few days being sick with a fever, I was ready to get out and stretch my legs.  Today was my annual trip to the apple orchards to pick the fresh harvest of apples ready for pies, crumbles, apple butter, apple bread, and a sweet treat to look forward to in my lunches. 

This year Steve and I decided to go to Hollin Farms in Delaplane, Virginia.  It’s about an hour’s drive West of D.C. and a great place to go for a change of scenery from the usual hubbub of the city.

When you get out into farm country around here, there are a few things that stand out immediately.  Unlike California’s yellow-gold fields, the fields here are a rich green.  We get a lot of rain even during the Summer months and the sunshine is plentiful making for very happy foliage, happy cows, happy bugs, happy everything!  There’s even been the occasional beaver and brown bear off the side of the road to catch you by surprise.

Hollin Farms sits up on a hill and you have to hike a bit to get to the fruit and veggie picking, but it’s well worth it because when you get to the top, you have spectacular views of the valley and holler below.  In fact, the last time I was here with my friend Heather, we sat at the edge of the hill and ate a picnic lunch admiring what lay before us after we had finished gathering zucchini, potatoes, and raspberries.  It was another perfect day like today.

For picking, there were a large assortment of apples to choose from: Jonagold, Daybreak Fuji, Golden Delicious, Empire, and Idareds.  We even picked some asian pears- which I never knew grew here in these parts of the U.S.  Fresh eggs from the hen house, squash, broccoli rabe, turnips, sweet potatoes, and pumpkins (rows and rows of beautifully ripe orange globes) were plentiful too.

Within an hour of arriving, our wagon and bags were full.  We were ready to hit the road and get back home to begin making some of our Fall favorites.  

Now I can't wait for pumpkin picking in October up in Maryland and will be sure to share that adventure in the next few weeks.  

A Queen Among Faeries

In California, in a small town called Alameda, in an old Victorian house on Alameda Avenue, there lives my dear Grammy and Grampy. Their house is a comforting place to be and all are welcome who come knocking at their door.  I've never met people as dearly loved as they are by so many.  But besides the special people who fill this home with love, there are other things just as precious and sweet if you take a closer look.

From the ghost, Charlie, who lives in the attic (don't worry, he's the original owner of the house and he likes to clang around a bit in the attic), to the old flowery wallpaper that peeks through a closet upstairs reminding you of the house's century-old history, there are endless reasons to be drawn to this special place.  

Surrounding the house are beautiful maples, an abundant little apple tree, a sweet bird bath, amaryllis, orchids, and my favorite - jasmine. There also is a small village of faeries that reside there too.  

If you know Grammy, you wouldn't be surprised by this.  She's just as magical I think.  And we all know magic draws magic after all - don't you think? She's often found to be sitting with the faeries in her backyard, enjoying their company, introducing them to new faerie friends, and bringing them flowers, river stones, pete moss, and love.  They peek at you from underneath a berry patch, or sit atop a toad stool watching the moths and bumblebees stagger by.  Others can't be bothered, too caught up in their own beauty and taking in their reflection at the pond.

The village has grown steadily over the years and now boasts tree houses, swings, a grotto, and lake.  How clever these little faeries are to establish themselves amongst such beauty and kind neighbors!

This makes me think of how we all possess our own sort of magic, a personal legend if you will.  Grammy's faerie magic extends beyond her home - it lives in each of her children and grand children and all of the people who are lucky enough to know her. 

She always greets with a smile and light heart.  Her judgements are few yet just.  Her personal legend has been to bring joy and acceptance, to give love without expectation.  Perhaps that's why her faerie friends choose to make their home with her.  She is certainly the queen among them.

Who would have thought so much magic could exist in one sweet little garden, hidden behind an old Victorian home, along a neighborhood street of a seaside town

Quiet Walks, Spaces, & Places...

Nearly everyday I love to go on a quiet walk with my friendly thoughts free to wander.  I walk through my sweet little neighborhood "Lyon's Village" in Northern Arlington.  The houses here are mostly from the 1920's and 30's and their owners are new families mixed with a few retired folk who dilly dally about their yards, or sit on their porches with sun-tea in their hands. 

I love the gardens I come across when I walk - especially at this time of year.  They are usually filled with the last hums of cicadas who mourn the last days of summer while the crickets and grasshoppers come out to play their fiddles in celebration of the coming Fall.  Even the small lightbulbs strung across fences and backyards give off a low buzz and make me feel like little stars hung themselves to be a little closer to us to join in on the festive block parties and Fourth of July celebrations of summer.

I'm also reminded of being back home in California this past Summer- spending time in my family's back yard for very similar fanfare and my heart can't help but ache.  

Despite that bittersweet sadness I feel being so far from home, there are so many things to love about living on the East Coast.  There is the Fall change of color, the smell of ripened apples ready for picking, the feeling of soft and cool earth under my finger nails as I push my hands deep in the soil to pluck out potatoes for harvesting.  The pumpkins are a deeper orange here, and while the West Coast does experience some color changing, there is nothing that can compete with the technicolor spectacular from the door steps of Mount Vernon and out along the Potomac River.

My husband and I go apple picking soon so I will be sure to share the many joys of the day with you.

Until then, here are some photos I took over the past few months during my visit home this Summer to California and during my evening strolls in Arlington.  Be well. :)

New Printable!

Here's a new printable I'd like to share with you! I hope you like it and find something creative with to do with it! I have one friend who recently told me that she is creating a "red quilt" and is using the free printable birds as the basis for her embroidery in each fabric block.  I can't wait to see it and share pictures with you!  In the meantime - enjoy! 

Utterly In Love With Art Nouveau

I love, love, LOVE everything Art Nouveau and in a recent jaunt to the local library I decided to indulge in a few books completely dedicated to this amazing time in art history.  What is it about the fluid movements of the flowers and vines, the way the gauzy dresses drape those gorgeous feminine figures, and the dripping framework filled with intricate lines?

When I lived in San Francisco, there was an art gallery near the wharf, and they were displaying an original Alfonse Mucha print that was the talk of the town.  For weeks, I'd grab a coffee and sip it while I stared through the window at it.  Soon I began to shmooz with the owner while we drooled over Mucha's greatness.  OK- I admit I had him take a picture of me next to the print.  Dorky I know- but I get really giddy when I'm next to a work of art that an admired artist of mine created, touched, worked on, and who knows... maybe sneezed on?  Perhaps I'm going for some mad genius via osmosis.  The world will never know.

In any case, after pouring through my library books, I felt inspired to create my next bird illustration with a touch of the Art Nouveau designs I so dearly love.

This print can be purchased on Etsy at: www.etsy.com/shop/wildhearthistories

Freckles...

Don't you just love freckles? My mom used to say they were angel kisses. I especially love them on kiddos.  I've been working on a few works of art with children and my friendly birds and this one I'm especially fond of.  It must be her freckles that leaves me completely enamored.  She's still a ways off from being finished, but I needed to pause and smile with a sigh.  Ah, Freckles! :)