Hi From Europe!

Hello Friends!
Greetings from the continent across the Atlantic!

We just finished up the third leg of our European tour - Gryon, Switzerland - where we had two restful days with good friends. After the first two and a half stops (the wild landscapes of Iceland, a race around Copenhagen, and city life in Rome), a familiar visit was great. We ate a lot of cheese and wandered in some beautiful meadows (saw a newborn calf!) and strolled some quiet resort town streets. Then after goodbyes at the train station, we took EasyJet around the Mediterranean and arrived in Barcelona! The metro here is great and we easily made our way from the airport to our temporary neighborhood. As soon as we emerged from the underground we were greeted with this amazing sight...

Only under construction for the past 130+ years, La Sagrada Familia! I can't wait to go inside.

If you haven't been already, you can follow along on our trip on tumblr here. In a few days we will leave her for Paris and London with MAYBE a stop in Brussels.

Here are some photos so far...

Switzerland:






Italy:






Denmark:


Iceland:






And as you may already know, my Etsy shop is open but I won't be shipping again until October 1.
xo
Sarah

Great Distances

Last night I finished the final piece for my upcoming solo show. And I'm feeling pretty great.

I'm framing the remaining three unframed pieces today and then I'm dropping them off at Aviary Gallery this afternoon.

The opening is this coming Thursday from 6-9pm but the show will be up all month. I hope you'll stop in and see it.

I'm feeling very honored and very proud. I love these paintings and what they are about.



xo
Sarah

October Hurricane Watch

We are hunkered down with oatmeal cookies and a bottomless tea cupboard. The cats are on full alert. Hurricane Sandy is headed for New Jersey and although she won't make landfall up here, the storm is so wide that we are getting wind and rain. They're shutting down Boston's public transport in a couple of hours and some of the coast has been evacuated.

In other news, our neighborhood trumpeter has been heard on his front stoop tooting Silent Night into the storm. I appreciate his contribution and dedication (we can usually hear him playing down the street when it rains).

Stay safe, East Coast friends. See you when things dry out/stop blowing around!

xo
Sarah

Good Things

Autumn is shaping up to be beautiful this year.


(Sweet little dreamhouse in my neighborhood.)

The weather has been great. It's been years since we've had a proper fall. Lately we've been going straight from summer into WINTER and skipping my favorite season.



Yesterday was an A+ mail day! Letters from friends and I had ordered this beautiful Bookhou bag for myself as an early happy-birthday-to-me gift. When it arrived that it is more lovely than I imagined and so well-made!



This past weekend we went out to the Fort Point Open Studios (more on that later), strolled in the Arboretum and attended Jamaica Plain's Lantern Parade which is one of our favorite annual Boston events!





Oh, and we got engaged. :)

(Ring made by our friend Kara.)
Exciting!

xo
Sarah

September September

Oh September2012. We are a busy one, aren't we?

I took last week off from the old day job to paint (and I acknowledge and appreciate how lucky I am to be able to do so, thank you office work for PTO). Here's how it went...

Tuesday we drove to NH (by way of Salem and the Peabody Essex Museum) to pick up plants from my dad and to have dinner with my mom and stepdad (and see their new in-progress home).



Wednesday - Friday were spent, as I've mentioned before, hunched over the dining room table painting.



Also, framing.



Saturday evening was the Dream Team show opening!
The Washington Street Art Center was the show-place for our happy little group exhibit. Megan Mary Creamer, Alex Feinstein, Lauren Leone and I have our work up through the end of the month.

Alex


Megan


Lauren


Me


This is the show I've been drawing all of the medicinal botanicals for. I picked three helpful plants and painted them full, painted/inked portraits of some details, displayed a specimen of the plant and, on tiny shelves (made by Megan!), had samples of the finished product. My dad preserved two of the plants for me and gave me samples of the finished medicines he makes from them (St. John's Wort oil and Boneset tincture). I harvested the Rose Hips myself and found some Rose Hip tea to show.



It was incredibly satisfying to hang the show and see my vision come together just as I had hoped. Usually what I have in mind for a body of work changes over time and the end result, although good, isn't exactly in-line with my original idea - BUT this time it looked in the real world just as I had seen it in my head. I am very happy with this little collection.
It was great planning and plotting with Lauren, Alex and Megan and I'm super honored they asked me to be a part of this show! (more photos here)

Sunday was an art-free day. Curtis and I did the Jimmy Fund Walk with Jen and Amy (and a few thousand other people). It's a long day of walking/strolling/trudging and it's so rewarding. We had perfect overcast breezy weather and we all made it through in good shape.

Monday I slept and watched tv with my feet up. The cats appreciated that and kept me good company. Tuesday, my last official day of vacation was punctuated with a delicious lunch out with Curtis at Trident on Newbury Street.



And that's the story of my Art-Cation. I have one more full weekend before Open Studios and should finish lots of new things before the big event. I've been planning a new display and my 2013 calendar is THIS CLOSE to being fully realized.
I'm so excited!

xo
Sarah

So Long Summer

Hello!

What a beautiful LONG weekend we just had! I spent it celebrating a friend's 3rd birthday, riding bikes, having brunches with friends, snoozing, editing product photos for the shop, eating huge delicious late-night dinners, window shopping beautiful furniture, walking to the North End, and just milking the last days of summer.

We have more hot and humid days headed our way here in Boston but for me, the beginning of September and the passing of Labor Day means - AUTUMN. Even after being out of school for years I get the itchy urge to buy new back-to-school clothes and the nagging feeling that I'm forgetting something (ahem - HOMEWORK). I love the promise of a fresh start and lots of potential fall brings. I rarely lament the end of summer - I know she'll be back even if it won't be until after 6 or 7 long cold months.


My brother and his girlfriend. Taken during family vacation in Peru Maine in August.

Anyway! So long lazy busy summer! Time to get working for autumn and winter!
I'm having dinner with my long-time friend and co-creative Ryan Marie of Maisonwares. We're going to make some lists and plan some projects (and play with her kitten Bo).

More news on fresh projects and products soon.

Have a lovely Tuesday,
Sarah