Bright Winter Blessings!

 

Happy Yule! 

Holiday time! Most of you know my day job is teaching art in a public school, so hurray for winter break! I'm so fortunate to have time off at the holidays but its still a whirlwind! We took the girls to the cabins at Disney (yes my idea of camping has heating and hot water ;) for a few days family get away which was wonderful.. but when it was time to come home we hit the ground running!  Tomorrow I'll slow down and bake cookies with my daughters ( I wait till last minute or I will be the one eating all the cookies!) and preparing for friends and family that will start arriving tonight.  I was supposed to clean house today but ended up rearranging furniture and framing art. (I'm sure this isn't a stall tactic ;)

and of course I have visions studio time dancing in my head!

I hope you are staying warm and cozy and doing the things you love this season!

Wishing You Bright Winter Blessings! 

Catharine

Happy Summer Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice everyone!

I went out and bought some new flowers to celebrate (I will post pictures of the dahlia when it opens :)

Thought I'd share my painting of the Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu. I'm smitten by her story and the relationship between her and the goddess Uzume, This story of laughter and joy bringing Amaterasu out of the darkness after all the other gods had failed is so inspiring. Laughter is the best medicine it seems, even for the the gods :)

from pantheon.org

When the sun goddess Amaterasu had hidden herself in a cave, thus covering the earth in darkness and infertility, it was Uzume (Shinto goddess of joy) who brought her back. With her provoking and curlew dances she managed to make the gods laugh so hard, that Amaterasu left the cave intrigued. Her emerging brought light and life back to earth. Her brother Ninigi married Uzume to the deity who guards the Floating Bridge to Heaven.