Alliums & a Red Pen

This past week was spent mostly in the studio, settling back into routines and making room to think, write, and paint.

An Ogemaw County Year launches in 16 days (gulp), and I’m still not quite ready to say I’ve had that last, careful pass through it. I’ve got the red pen and sticky notes out, reading line by line, worrying a bit. I suppose that’s part of the vulnerability of putting something you’ve made out into the world. So, until September 1, I’ll keep improving it

I’ve also managed to paint each morning before work - which is probably when I should be editing the book, but early mornings are for painting. I’m especially happy with a couple of little things I finished this week (below) because they are a reflection of small treasured moments.

Labor Day’s Art in the Park in Port Austin, Michigan remains as my final outdoor show of the season and I am eagerly anticipating the lovely holiday weekend at the tip of Michigan's Thumb. Don’t forget the Chippewa Nature Center’s Nature Art Show and sale in early December which will be the last show of the year.

OK, we’re trying a slightly different format this week! First, thank you so much for the feedback, dear reader (you know who you are). It really is appreciated. And I think everyone else will appreciate the larger images also.

I did a little more dabbling with snapshots using some of the Keweenaw Peninsula landscape reference photos I took. I didn’t really discover any pieces that I felt needed to be enlarged, so I think I might be done with those burnt-sienna-colored rocks for a hot minute.

I also spent some time last weekend with my Dad (he has his woodworking pieces on NORDmi.com), where we pulled the garlic down from drying and harvested the onions from his garden. The work itself left us with this beautiful harvest — big garlic bulbs nestled into their dried stalks and onions hanging from their boards in the garage.

It was such a pleasant and satisfying day that I decided to paint it.

I think it was the monochromatic garlic stalks and the shadows falling across the garlic that really caught my attention. The texture, the lighting, and those warm/cool contrasts with the onions made me pause, too.

So much of growing your own food isn’t really about the moment you eat it. It’s about all the little moments in between.

Berry season is beginning to wane, but it’s been a good, long summer for berries up north. Blueberries and raspberries can still be found in the woodlands, though in smaller numbers and tucked into little microclimates. And now the gooseberries are beginning to ripen! I found a nice patch of black berries yesterday on a hike too - they totally reminded me of the new Blackberry Mouse painting on the site.

Learn more about the native berries that feed both people and wildlife across Michigan in this week’s Northern Notes.

If you’re reading this, you’re already where I most like to share my work. Thanks for being here in this slower space. I’ll see you next week. Until then, If you’d like to follow me on TikTok, Instagram and/or Facebook, please do, I post regularly.

Warmly,
Laura
NORDmi.com