February. We’re coming out of a cold and wintery week that wrapped up a month of hibernation and I’m hoping that we’re moving into sunshine and more spring-like weather. In the Celtic calendar, spring began with Imbolc, and since 80% (or maybe more) of my genes agree with this logic, I agree. Perhaps the birds agree, too. We’ve had large flocks of robins and starlings in the fields behind us since the snow began disappearing, and it’s been wonderful to listen to them talk about their travels on the days they’re here. A sign of spring which I very much need right now.
But back to the here and now. I was away from my studio for much of January and I’m glad to be back in it again. There’s something reassuring about being surrounded by my own messes, which I know sounds sort of weird, but it’s true. When I look around and see a notebook that I’ve written in recently, a pile of stickers needing to be cut, watercolor and colored pencil supplies lying on the table, and my dogs napping on their cushions, I can’t help but smile. Signs of a life in motion again.
After a December that was heavy into planning, goal setting and reviewing the progress of 2025, January turned out to be a month of listening instead of publishing. I felt like it was okay to not post. Play video games, read books, watch documentaries, study fairy tales, learn history. I’ve learned over the years that it’s these impulses that provide fuel for my creativity. So I just went with it.
I did, however, begin a new project: the Bluebeard project. It will be an altered book, and it’s grown out of my desire to think about the current U.S. political situation through metaphor rather than commentary. I’ve chosen a text, analyzed it, and started developing a comparison between it and the Bluebeard fairy tale. I’ve never carved a book before, so the process itself feels like an experiment, one that’s as much about discovery as outcome. I'll talk more about this in a future post.
January was also when my first book of short stories was printed. It’s called “When Imagination Came Calling”, which is also the title of the first short story in it, but it includes The Shopping List and Mamaw’s Stories. All three stories explore imagination—first through the eyes of a lonely grandmother looking at a younger girl, then through the eyes of a younger woman looking at an older woman, then finally through the eyes of a mature woman seeing her past and future through the lens of her own grandmother. I’ll put it up for sale at Studio Second Street this week. I’m thinking about putting it out through Amazon, as well, but haven’t made up my mind yet.
And now it’s February. The birds are returning, my creative work is picking up, and my world is starting into motion once again. It feels good to notice the movement without needing to direct it yet.
