'Tis the Season.

I don't know about you but this time of year, my long, lost child peeks out from under the bits of gray hair and giggles. "It's time! It's time! It's finally time for sparkle and twinkle and tinkling bells." Oh, my!

I do love decorating for the holidays. 

My first job is sweeping the usual items off the tables, bookcases and shelves. It gives me a clean slate to create vibrant vignettes. I don't move everything. I decide each year which places around the house will change. I want to bring color and sparkle, not cluttered chaos. So somethings and places change dramatically and others are just tweaked a bit. 

In the nook off the kitchen, I always take out my Spode Christmas china. I started collecting these pieces in high school. I love the 30's tree design with Santa on top and presents below because it brings back childhood memories of wonder and delight. 

In years past, I've created a Santa shelf in the bookcase over the desk, but this year, I decided to do it differently. It used to be a place to showcase all the holiday theme books we read to our children but as they grew up, it became more of a memorial to Christmas past. This year, we have a wonderful, sweet 2-year old granddaughter who loves books. So the non-breakable Santas and books are all at her level to be enjoyed once again.

The Christmas tree is a little lighter this year, too. All the ornaments that 'Santa' delivered to my children's stockings are now hanging on their trees. I added ribbons to fill in and create a new flow to our new 'Mom and Dad' Christmas Tree. 

I always re-decorate my coffee table as seasons change. But again, this year is a total change from our adult decor to one that honors not just my granddaughter, but my children's childhood. For years, we gave Brio Trains to our two children. For birthdays and Christmas, new parts, tracks, cars, trees, trucks appeared to add to our Brio Town. This year, we got the box out of the attic, dusted it off after 20 years and set it up for everyone's Christmas enjoyment. Who knew it would bring out the child in 3 generations. 

Creativity for me is always about heart and home. 

In fact, truth be told, I love decorating. You can call it home decor, fixing things up, moving furniture or interior design, I don't care. I still love it. And I've been doing it as long as I can remember. As a child and teenager, I moved my room around many times, painting and repainting furniture, making side tables out of boxes and creating frames from cloth and paint. I've made window coverings from bed sheets and valances from tablecloths. I've stenciled basketball players on my son's walls and leaping gold figures in my bathroom. 

I now create and make functional and sculptural work for the home. Bringing nature and color into my home and yours is a passion for me. So adding my work to my own family traditions just feels like the right way to celebrate any season. 

So here's my wish to you this holiday: Celebrate. Sparkle, twinkle and shine with hope and health. 

Creating Christmas.

I always think I'm going to do all my usual studio work during the holidays.  But the truth is, I don't. My mugs and vases and bowls are all sitting on studio shelves, slowly drying and waiting for me. I used to feel guilty during these non-studio periods and criticize myself for not being more efficient or dedicated to my art. I think I was wrong.

Art is a whole life experience.  

Decorating my home. Baking shortbread and cherry cake. Making ornaments for the tree.  These are more than just holiday activities for me, they are creative, inspiring art projects. I choose colors and work with my hands, just as I do with my studio work. And just as with my art work, the most important part is creating the work with my hands and heart.  

Every year, Christmas needs adjustments.

We redecorated our great room recently with new chairs, new rug and a new sofa.Everything in the room changed for the first time in 20 years. Christmas needed some redecorating, too. It was time to blend past holiday traditions into the present and for that I definitely needed creativity.     

This year, the tree fell down and old, cherished ornaments broke. Glue repaired some of them, but even the ones beyond repair, brought back many happy memories. 

We've added to our family over the years. We now have another son, daughter and granddaughter. Again, creativity and art take center stage as my husband and I add stockings, ornaments and make Santa Cookies for the next generation.

Baking was one of my first creative outlets. Growing up, I was taught to make Scottish scones, shortbread and cherry cake by my Dad's mother.  Although my grandmother was a strict teacher, I'm glad I learned from her skilled hands. And every year when I bake, I remember how her baking was an art in her hands.

No studio time?  No regrets.

My life without art is dull indeed.  But art without life is lifeless.  I really believe, true art is a product of the artists' life experience.  Art that's devoid of connection to the heart of the artists is not art.  It's product.  

My art is where my heart is right now: creating Christmas.

Changing Seasons.

Fall always creeps up on me.  Usually, I cringe away or dig into denial or force myself to embrace it.  But it's not really Fall's fault that I struggle so hard with this one season.  

It's change.

As an artist and writer and a person who spent my career in advertising, you'd think I'd love change.  I've changed and re-arranged my life many times over.  My work, my home, my media, my mind changes moment by moment and year to year. 

The really truth: change is scary.  It doesn't matter if it's a big or small change, either.  For example: I just bought a new couch.  Not a big deal, right?  It was for me and, it turns out, for my kids as well.  We've had the great room sectional for over 20 years and my 'kids' grew up on that sectional.  It's wasn't just a piece of furniture, it was a part of our lives. 

Now that my children are all grown up and have children of their own, it was time to make a change.  I ordered a new sofa and waited nervously for it to arrive.  Would it be the right size? Color? Would I like it in the room as much as the family sectional?  

I love it.  Many times, change is really a good thing.  It may be good right away or it may become a very good thing in time. This time, it was a good change for everyone, especially my son, who is now happily sitting and watching TV on his 'family' sectional.

It's new.  It's exciting.  It's challenging.

Changing with life in all its seasons is challenging.  Sometimes the new is exciting, but whether it is or not, like the Fall season, it comes anyway.  Morning into night. Planned or unplanned.  Everyday turns in its own rhythm.  Whether I create my own change in my art and life or not, I'm learning to settle in and breathe into it.  

One I make happen.  One happens and remakes me.

Just as the green leaves turn to gold and fall.  So must we.

Sometimes life needs a little redecorating.

​Once again, my home is being redecorated.  As most of us know, home improvement is an ongoing process, a little like life, actually.

There's the better homes and gardens kind of redecorating of your home, rooms or yard. And there's the spiritual retreat kind of redecorating of thoughts, feelings or past events. Maybe one leads to the other. 

My son moved in and out again.  I'm happy to see him moving out into his own adult life.  I'm glad to be able to help him and give him shelter whenever he needs it but I miss him, too. Last time, I packed up his childhood toys.
 
This time, I'm packing away his teenage drum sticks and college graduation robe. Last time, we made it through the re-paint and re-carpet phase only.   This time, we have redecorated and created a new room in our home.  

Here's what it looked after the re-paint and re-carpet.

 















 Here are a few pictures of the before and during process this time around.

 

Here's what it looks like now.  It's still a guy room, but now it's my husband, not my son, who plays his computer games and watches his golf shows in there.

Now, the next room re-do is my daughter's room.  I redecorated it when she moved out the first time and packed away her childhood.  Then, she moved back in.  When she moved out again and got married, I did the re-paint and re-carpet but nothing else really changed much.  

This time, after seeing the re-creation of my son's room for my husband, I think, maybe my daughter's old room needs a little re-creation, too.  Especially, since my married daughter and her husband are now moving out of town into an exciting new phase of their lives but will be needing a room for two here at home to use over holidays.  So, the childhood twin bed made into a daybed last time, is going this time along with the small flip top desk, wicker table and chest of drawers.  

What will the room look like this time?  I'm not sure.  But I do know it's time for a change. 

Sometimes life needs a little redecorating.  Sometimes it needs a lot.  It can be an inside job or an outside one.  Sometimes it's both.