Dear Ones, This month I offer you a poem in honor of my favorite season of the year. Why I Love Fall I love fall for the way the world seems to exhale. The leaves let go in the most gorgeous colors, Read more…
When my mother was alive, she was always keeping me informed about good books to read and movies to see. She had a wonderful way of passing along what she found meaningful. Now that she’s gone, my dear friend and questing guide Anne Stine has taken on that role. She keeps me updated on worthwhile […]
As I write this there are over thirty large active wildfires burning in the state of Oregon and 1.6 million acres have already burned. In many places the air carries the bitter scent of smoke and sunsets are a brilliant splash of red and orange. Forests that have stood quietly for generations are disappearing in […]
I recently returned from five days at Tipi Village, where a circle of twelve artists gathered beneath towering Douglas fir trees to “Court the Muse.” As I settle back into ordinary life, I find myself reflecting not so much on what we made, but on what unfolded among us and how the creative spirit wove […]
Recently a friend sent me a link to an astrologer, Pam Gregory, talking about the year 2026. Astrology mostly confuses me, but I got the message loud and clear: amazing things are happening in the stars, the planets, and the cosmos this year. Astrologers tell us that 2026 carries the feeling of a threshold year. A turning […]
I’ve been carrying this quote around in the back of my mind lately, “In times of terror, wage beauty” (Mark Gonzales). It is an understatement to say we are living in some scary and uncertain times. The news is shocking. The world feels heavy and full of terrors. And it’s so easy to think that making art, […]
Dear Friends, As this year draws to a close, I am sitting in quiet wonder (and a bit of melancholy), reflecting on all that has moved through the Down to Earth Studio this past year, the hands, the stories, the images, the courage, the laughter, the tears, and the deep listening that happens when we […]
For years I have admired artists who work in a series, taking the same idea or image and working with it over and over. I had never been attracted to the idea of working in a series myself, until now. Over the past several weeks, I’ve found myself utterly captivated by the Enso circle—that single, […]
My friend Kim sent me a photograph she had taken on a recent hike in Southeastern Oregon. The photo featured a sight that seemed impossible: a juniper tree rising straight out of solid stone. No soil, no softness, no invitation for roots—just rock. There it sits, strong and green, alive against all odds. I keep […]
Autumn often elicits feelings of melancholy within me. Lately I’ve been reflecting on the ways our lives carry forward—sometimes in the most surprising and tender ways. This summer, my 14 year-old grandson, Silas, went off to camp, where the days are filled with endless possibilities: swimming in the lake, climbing ropes courses, laughing around the […]