The Nature of Inspiration

The study of natural history reveals one over-arching theme that I find fascinating. Not one creature or element in nature is strictly one thing or another. A tree is not just a tree: a tree is both solid and liquid; hard and soft; rough and smooth. The more you study nature, the more complex it becomes. Every thing is an elaborate combination of opposites.


Consider the lowly mollusk. Icky snails. Slimy wormish creatures that live in a shell creeping slowly along the ocean floor. A basic life form that is everything at once: both rock hard and gelatinous; shiny smooth yet rough and sticky; vulnerable and also deadly; beautiful and ugly. A simple-brained creature that, in cross-section, reveals a structure that would require mathematical calculation to replicate. Complex but ultimately not. There is so much inspiration to be found in nature ~ in the world right outside the window. So much or none at all.

"In wildness is the preservation of the world" ~ Henry David Thoreau

Fresh Cut

The weather man says we have some cool days ahead ~ giving me the perfect excuse to quit the driving around and get back to the business of making art. The sun pours through the window in the morning so that's when I do my best coloring.


I'm working on several series at once in order to have enough on hand for the holidays. Orchids are by far my most popular botanical and I sold out of those a while back. There are several more in the works that will be up and running on Etsy soon.


The three bulbs pictured below are from a series of fall crocuses that are brand new. They feature pieces of pages from some old comic books from India that I ran across a while back. They illustrate the life of Buddha in comic book form and are reincarnated here as botanical papercuttings!


Please stop by my new shop on Etsy if you haven't done so already. There is a little photo album in the column to the right that provides you a direct link to that site. If you enjoy browsing handmade treasures and learning about the people who make them then you'll enjoy shopping there. It's fun and easy to use ~ you're bound to make some new friends!

Settin' Up Shop

Well, it took me a while ~ and now I am a proud new Etsy member. Click on the button to the right to view my shop! I look forward to a long, fruitful relationship with this wonderful community. If you're not yet familiar with Etsy, I encourage you to stop by and browse around. It's fun and easy to shop for incredible handmade goods!

Now that I've figured out the digital details of settin' up shop, I can get back to the drawing table. I'm putting the finishing touches on two dozen new botanicals that will appear here and on Etsy soon!

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who took advantage of my Summertime Studio Sale! I appreciate each and everyone of you. Thank you for including my work in your lives! May you enjoy these pieces for many happy years to come.