Happy Holidays

I don't have much to say, other than to wish my readers a good time and a happy new year.

I wrote this haiku series to suggest the changing seasons.

I Imagine a Fox

Black rock amid snow,
Glistening, the onyx eye
Of an Arctic fox.

White Narcissus blooms,
A star against a stone sky.
(Fox runs in the night.)

Ebony stone hides
As bamboo grows around it,
Shadow of hunted.

Crimson leaves become
Lush red fur on napping stone
Moonbeams cradle it.

Snow slurries again:
Bamboo lashes frame the eye.
The fox gazes on.

Christmas is coming

I will ship priority within the US so there's still time.

The postman gets off on most holidays;
But it still works him hard in many ways.

;) Okay, I'm reduced to letting doggerel chase the mail man, but it's a busy time of year.

Spacing Out

This piece, Launching, depicts a cat as a silhouette of space and stars, playing against a background of sunspots, chasing after a ringed planet.
Partly it was inspired by watching my cat jump after toys, thinking how rocket-like their high-leaps can be. Partly it was inspired by the "solar-powered cat" joke, referring to their love of napping in the sun. Partly it was my love of the night sky, astronomy, and my cat's sleek black fur. She hides against black backgrounds from an instinctive love of camouflage. Having loved books about space-faring cats as a child, it just all sort of came together thusly. I have some future Cosmic Cat paintings planned, but tis is the only one completed yet. I have recently relisted this on my Etsy site to get it the attention it deserves.

The Cosmic Cat's the only one,
Who might be playing on the sun.

Flame On!

I love phoenixes. They are a symbol of hope, especially for someone like me who has to deal with health issues. I imagine job loss, heartbreak, etc can also be helped some by the thought of the creature that rises from its own ashes.
I painted this and a few other glasses to serve as candle holders. They are painted with the same durable, dishwasher safe paints I use on my wineglasses-- speaking of which I have added 3 Christmas themed pairs of wineglasses to my shop.

I wrote this poem several years ago.

Each Life, a Phoenix
by Helen Krummenacker

Though rage may leap insatiable as fire,
And dark despair like smoke engulf the skies,
The blaze of pain will not become a pyre,
For even anguish meets its own demise.

The human heart endures beyond breaking
And human minds can dream beyond defeat,
For there is joy in toil and retaking
The field from which we were thrown in retreat.

For life is like a phoenix, ever new,
Reborn amidst the ashes of despair.
Each loss is an au revoir, not an adieu—
Even ones which seem beyond repair.

For phoenixes we are all; we have no end.
Not even death will last; life must return.
So with the faith that ev’ry wound shall mend
What matters is our courage while we burn.

The fires have not scorched me very near
And yet I know the flames approach, sublime
And I will lose my treasures, not with fear,
But with the hope to rise higher next time.