Camping, Knitting, Painting, Canoeing

Tomorrow I head out for a few weeks of camping, canoeing, knitting, and painting in the Canadian Maritimes. While my knitting inventory is already in good shape for fall craft shows, I'll be knitting some additional chicken mittens on this trip.

Oh, I do love the flowers of August! Pictured here is a bouquet from a very good friend. I receive an arrangement every August from this amazing organic gardener. Happy August!

15 Years Teaching Art...

After 15 years teaching Visuals Arts in rural Maine, it's time to change pace, create more time to create. It's taken this spring season for me to resign from my teaching position, wrap up this phase of my professional career, and find a perfect new position. I have been very fortunate to find my new job at the same elementary school. Starting this month, I can be found in the Learning Commons. A Learning Commons is a relatively new concept for library, emphasizing an interactive, multi-purpose, technology integrated environment where students creatively research, investigate, build (3-D printers), read, and generally explore information. I will be helping my students in a variety of capacities and generally working a lot less hours than I did as a Visual Arts Teacher-Ninja. (insert my favorite emoji: the girl doing a cartwheel). I'm feeling enormously grateful heading off in this new direction - and more frequently into my studio. (cartwheel girl)

Summer has brought experimenting in my studio - painting on stones! This is something I did many years ago with one of my sisters selling the finished stones in a little wagon on Fire Island in New York where we spent that summer. We did a brisk business! Back then I had a signature bird that I painted over and over again on lovely sun-bleached smooth round white stones. Today I'm letting the stones sort of speak to me and tell me what they want to become. It's enormously fun, sort of like releasing the creature from within.
Happy Summer!

Snow Day #6

I just loaded my Luna Moth and Red Geranium fine art print and greeting cards in my Etsy shop. This is a lovely and vibrant botanical illustration. The cards are a smooth heavyweight stock and blank inside - good for all occasions. Enjoy! https://www.etsy.com/shop/GenevieveKeller

Today I also knitted this little chipmunk a sweater and hat as a Valentine's Day surprise for the students at school. Tomorrow is Valentine's Day... they are going to love this little character!

New Painting

Here's a painting that's close to being finished. I'm thinking that it will make a nice greeting card in addition to being a fine art print. Happy January!

New Year's Eve

It's New Year's Eve. I've had a good number of productive days during this break from my teaching schedule. Today found me photographing felted rabbits for my Etsy shop SnowDayArtist, and designing new mitten patterns. My dog and I had a nice walk along the Sheepscot River this afternoon. For resolutions... I think it's going to be: create more time for painting and decluttering.

May this year ahead be a wonderful one for you!