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| "Moon Night", scratbord drawing, 11" x14", VClaff, 2010 |
Deep in the forest, on a moonlit winter night, I am curled under
wool and down, a young cat curled into me, dreaming. I sometimes
wonder if he dreams inside my dreams, or me inside his.
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| "Two Trees in Snow", scratchbord drawing, 8"x10", VClaff, 2010 |
Cold days are upon us, though there has been a cycle of warming
up just as the snows come, bringing sleet and freezing rain and lots and
lots of ice. I have not taken my icegrips off my boots all winter. While
I walk here, I do not dare wear any other shoes.
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Having pulled these scratchbord drawings out for my open studio,
I've been looking at them and seeing the deep dark they contain,
thinking how they are just right for this moment. They are now
listed in my Etsy shop in this deep dark of winter. If you'd like
to take a look, go HERE.
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Getting back to work has not been smooth. The heat is working
very well, but I've been busy with school and other projects and distracted,
often, by Rhu who is still young and has lived here only five months and
I still keep an eye on him while he is out, as much as I can. But I
have begun, and that is good.
Always when I am in the studio, and especially on a sunny day,
my gratitude for the space is deep. If you are new to here, you might
not know that in 2011, I received a grant to build the studio as I
would not have been able to do so on my own. I think that sometimes
I feel I am abandoing this living, loving space when my
full life keeps me away, and though I try to banish it,
guilt can find me. Its not useful, I know, but it finds me still.
Last weekend in the studio, I did begin to find the place I want
to travel in with new work. Something about the icy winter,
the storms, the cold and the mystery at the core of being.
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| small mystery study, VClaff, 2015 |
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| small mystery study, cropped |
I can't see the studio door from my worktable, but I can sense him.
When I go to look, there Rhu is, looking in, wanting me to go out
as he has not quite yet transitioned into studio assistant. I believe
he is afraid of the ceiling fan, thinks its a bird of prey, as Pasha
did at first. Its taking him a lot longer to adjust to coming inside,
so, I am distracted.
When he manages to pull me away from work,
there are trees to climb,
and owls to impersonate,
and deep snow to romp in,
and sunshine to warm up by, once back inside,
before the afternoon nap.
