Spring Projects

We are so enjoying the sights and sounds of Spring. Last week, we saw three pairs of Sandhill cranes – including one pair leisurely walking across the road in front of us! What a wonderful sight! And it was a thrill to welcome two bluebirds to the house in our front yard yesterday. In the midst of chaos in the world around us, I’m thankful for the incredible rituals of this season and the ability to see God’s hand in the rhythm of each day – the lengthening of the light, return of the songbirds, fresh smell of dirt, and new buds on trees. We are blessed!

I’ve been away from my art for a while – it’s been a busy time with family and spring projects! This time of year, I always start getting restless to be outdoors working on yard and garden projects. Since it still looks like the “thawing of permafrost” out our back door, it seemed to make sense to tackle a simple indoor project like putting glass into the fronts of a couple of kitchen cabinets. Unfortunately, plans don’t always go as expected, and the project somehow morphed into a full-scale painting of our kitchen cabinets! While the mess of living with all your kitchen contents piled up on tables, chairs and floor is unbelievable, the effort was totally worth it. And I really need to share the story of how we chose the color.

In May 2007, I traveled with my mom to Holland. It was my first trip out of the U.S., and we went to visit our dear family friends, Val and Alvin Jordan and their children in Nijmegen. My dad and Alvin were in business together for 25 years, but the connection for me with the family occurred in 1994 when their 14-year old daughter, Katy, came to live at our home for a few weeks that summer. Katy had been struggling with school and her friends, and the experience turned out to be life-changing, not only for Katy, but for all of us. This trip was a wonderful opportunity for me to visit with the family and reconnect with the “grown up” Katy and her fiancé, Maarten, in their new home. When we got there, Maarten was helping paint their kitchen cabinets a lovely shade of blue-gray-green. When I exclaimed about the beautiful color, he grabbed a sheet of paper and swiped a paintbrush across it. I’ve carried that “color swatch” with me ever since. In starting this project, I brought the swatch to our friend, Angi, who owns the fabulous hardware store in Balsam Lake, and she matched the color perfectly! Here’s a view of our new “Holland Green” kitchen.

 

 



This painting, Rocky Shore – 12”x18” Watercolor, was completed just before we launched the kitchen project!