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Girl with Red Book painting in an environment, originally uploaded by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie.

This little painting was in the Wonder Wagon during Art Prize. I have only recently brought it into the house and found a nice place for it by the front door in our foyer. The little shelf underneath is laid out with a few objects of beauty and curiosity that provide some more context to relate back to the painting. The frame has been made out of scrape wood with the top cut to a peak which refers to either a house or an alter. The reading of a book, a young girl lost in the pages of a story, the suspension of time that happens while reading, study and meditation as a narrow passage back into God, these possibilities are forever fascinating to me. The background is a view from the upper window of the carriage house studio and shows our driveway emptying out into busy Fuller Street and our neighbors houses. This little painting is a frozen moment, a moth trapped in amber, a place to pause and reflect and allow life to drop further into places of depth, meaning and beauty.

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Self Portrait with Pin Cusion, originally uploaded by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie.

I have had this painting now for 5 years. I posted it to my Etsy shop this morning and in the process of writing a description it caused me to reflect on what this piece may say about me.

I have always considered the pin cushion as a reference to the heart and the suffering mine has endured over the years. The first and most dramatic blow to my heart was the death of my mother when I was nine years old. The feminine aspect of articles on the dresser may refer to this early hardship. The thread and needles speak of mending, perhaps my personal desire to be healed. This also could reveal my desire to be one who brings healing to the people in the broken world around me. The hand held mirror in this painting was one I had for a long time and was an element in other paintings as well. It was very old and eventually fell into ruin. The items that become still life elements seem to taken on more life after being in a painting. It is as if the process of being painting makes something or some one holy.

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bicycle girl collage print, originally uploaded by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie.

I rode my bicycle down to the post office to send out two pieces of art sold through our www.etsy.com/shop/studiobeerhorst packages. We have been hit with a heavy load of snow here in central Michigan and it has remained very cold which means all the secondary roads are carrying a thick load of packed down snow and ice. This makes riding a bicycle a challenge. I needed to find a pair of winter boots because I had none and my only real pair of shoes has a worn out heal and hole that wants to pack in snow as well as a tear on one side of the patent leather. I made my way to Coat of Many Colors on Wealthy Street, doing my best to stay up on my bike. Once at the store I was met by the friendly store dogs and then Matt and Beaver the partner owners. They had been having a slow day and decided to use the extra time to rearrange the store. Sorting through a pile of boots Matt had pulled out for me I was able to pick out up a nice pair of used Carolina boots in my size. When I got home I gave them a treatment of mink oil for water proofing and this morning I gave them a good polish. I love my friends at Coat of Many Colors and I love these boots that keep my feet dry and nice and warm and I am grateful for a bike that can still get me places even in tough Michigan winter conditions.

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Urban Village, originally uploaded by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie.

The winter time is the time we go inside. Inside our homes and inside of our selves. It becomes the time for reflection. A time to reconsider our life’s trajectory. I love being with other people and this time of year makes that more difficult. Last night daughter Rose and I bundled up with scarves, hats and mittens and trudged down to the Sparrows Coffee Shop through deep snow and cold wind looking forward to hot tea and the exciting frontier of new magazines. At the coffee house I bumped into someone I had met before but did not recognize at first. He said hello and reminded me where we had met before and we had a little conversation. Later in the night shortly before Rose and I headed for home he came over to show me a picture on his cell phone of a piece of art he had in his cubical at work. It was a piece he had purchased from our family this fall during Art Prize. It was so small I had to really concentrate to make it out but it was there. This was a small detail in my day that made me feel connected to my community, like I have a place and a role.

The isolation I experience during winter actual makes my hunger for connection with others more acute. The isolation I experience during winter drives me inside of my inner life, my secret life. My time alone is the all important counter balance to my time spent with people.

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Dove through the gate, originally uploaded by {studiobeerhorst}-bbmarie.

I just love having this fence. We made a privacy fence that now gives us the option to let our chickens range free with out them ending up in the neighbor’s yard. The fence was all made out of salvaged materials. The only thing I had to buy was four 60 pound bags of concrete for $14. I improvised a gate latch with wood, scrape metal and a little cow bell left over from the Wonder Wagon adventure. Every time someone goes through the gate there is the sound of a bell. “Rings on her fingers, bells on her toes, she shall have music where ever she goes.” We have what we need. When we really need something it has a way of just showing up at the right time.

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