The Magic of Fire

I hope you're enjoying the winter weather wherever you are and staying warm, Reader. Last week was bitterly cold here in Lancaster County, PA and we also had some snow. Fortunately, this week is shaping up to be much milder. In fact, on Friday Mother Nature may provide me a birthday gift with temperatures approaching 60 degrees F, quite warm for January. :)

Because of the unpredictable nature of January weather, my dear friend Angie and I had to postpone our plans to perform a releasing ceremony to close out 2023 several times. Well, the weather finally cooperated for our gathering on Wednesday and I am still basking in the glow of our sacred ceremony.

In my last newsletter, I talked about how I wanted to approach New Year's rituals much differently this year. I didn't want to focus on goals or plans for 2024. Instead, it felt more important to me to release old stories, old feelings, and old practices that are no longer serving me.

And it turns out that the delays due to weather made it possible for us perform our sacred ceremony just before my birthday, a new year for me in a different way.

Angie and I wrote the things we wanted to release on small slips of paper and after a beautiful opening meditation, we tossed each thought, feeling, or story into the fire of my wood stove. Watching each piece of paper catch fire with a burst of light was beautiful. Even Bella seemed to enjoy the ritual, lying on her perch calmly watching the fire, as if mesmerized.

Next, we each set an intention for our year and Angie read a beautiful poem and offered an ending prayer. Finally, we quietly journaled about our experience.

After this simple ceremony, I felt lighter and more energized than I have in years. More grateful for the gifts that were 2023 and the people I shared them with. There was magic in that fire that will follow me into the rest of 2024.

I hope sharing my experience inspires you to try something new and encourages you to follow your joy and intuition wherever it leads.

Until next time,
​

​

In the Shop - Winter Wolf

The Winter Wolf is one of my favorite designs that took me several days to complete back in the fall of 2021. I still remember looking at my computer screen with the wolf and 5 black trees and wondering what was missing. The answer, it turned out, was more trees. I kept adding more and more trees until I had a beautiful forest. A "mistake" with one of the outlining tools created the marks in the snow quite spontaneously. I've created illustrations I've loved more since, but this was one of the first that made me feel like an artist. I hope you enjoy Winter Wolf on the products below and many more in the shop!

Art Board Print (10"x8", 12"x10", or 14"x11") See in Shop

Throw Pillow See in Shop

Tote Bag See in Shop

Coasters (Set of 4) See in Shop

​

Inside My Sketchbook:

As part of my exploration for my new project, I've started drawing mandalas again. Here are two that I've completed over the last few weeks. The 3rd one is still in progress, an experiment to see if I could recreate the beauty of sea turtles in the mandala form.

​

​

Gathering Inspiration:

I was inspired by the wolf painting my 13-year old niece, Anna, shared with me this week. I love the depth of the scene, the snow, and the texture in those trees. The wolf family is adorable. She graciously agreed to let me share it in the newsletter this week! The next picture is Bella relaxing on the couch under "her" blanket. It used to be mine, but she has other ideas :).

On the bottom, I took a snapshot of the new mug I bought with some Christmas money. I don't drink coffee, but I just had to have this shimmery mermaid mug. I'm using it to store pencils and brushes on my art desk. Finally, cute animal stationery I found while browsing the bookstore.