A Beginning: Stories in Paint, Thread, and Found Things
Welcome to Field Notes, a place where art, nature, and quiet magic intertwine. Here, we explore the creative process, the stories behind the work, and the little wonders that shape a life filled with art. Whether it's the hush of a snowy morning, the golden glow of late afternoon light, or the scraps of history found in vintage fabrics and paper ephemera—each piece carries something of the world around it. This is a space to linger, to look closely, and to discover the beauty in beginnings, however rough or unexpected they may be.
Winter begins with a hush.
Snow drapes the landscape, the days are short, and time seems to stretch and fold in on itself. There’s a quiet disruption to the rhythm of things—a starkness, a pause, a moment of waiting. Beginnings, much like winter, can be uncertain or even harsh, but they are also full of possibility. In these cold months, art becomes a way to find warmth, to bring small wonders to life, and to stitch together stories from what is scattered around us.
The start of something new is rarely smooth. The winter months stretch long and quiet, blanketing the world in stillness, but also in cold and uncertainty. Beginnings can be disorienting, full of unknowns, where the old ways don’t quite fit, and the new has yet to take form. But in this space—this in-between—there is also a kind of magic. A chance to gather fragments, piece them together, and create something beautiful, something true.
Creativity is a process of discovery
It is a time for gathering remnants, following threads, and piecing together something new from what has been forgotten or left behind. Each painting, textile piece, and handmade object carries a sense of history and transformation, blending vintage materials, storytelling, and quiet magic.
Art is a way through. With paint, thread, and found things, we can make sense of shifting seasons, capture fleeting wonder, and bring warmth to the coldest days. A scrap of fabric becomes part of a sunrise. A painted reindeer emerges from paper and gold. A fox and a horse follow a winding path into the unknown. These are not just objects; they are pieces of a story, stitched and painted and layered with meaning.
Take, for example, Sunrise Quiltlet Stitchery Patch.
It’s a small textile collage of vintage silks, ribbons, and quilt scraps, embroidered with reclaimed threads. Its warm pinks, lavenders, and plums recall the first hints of morning light, offering the kind of hope that only a new day can bring. It’s a reminder that beauty often comes from the softest, most unassuming places.
Dried Roses Wand is another piece that speaks to the delicate balance between fragility and resilience.
Inspired by dried roses and adorned with ribbons and silk scraps, it holds the essence of something once fleeting, now preserved—a small talisman of beauty and memory.
Then there’s a sketch of a hibernating bear in progress —
There’s something about these companions—steady, unhurried, trusting—that speaks to the way art can be both an escape and a guide. Like them, we move forward, even when we’re unsure of what’s ahead.
This is what winter asks of us: to sit with stillness, to embrace uncertainty, and to find ways to create warmth. Whether through paint, thread, or found objects, the act of making is an invitation—to reflect, to transform, and to bring something good into the world.
In this season of quiet transformation, may you find space to create, to dream, and to weave a bit of magic into your own beginnings. Welcome to Field Notes—a journal of art, nature, and the stories we tell in between.