An Artist-Gardener’s Ode to Compost

An Artist-Gardener’s Ode to Compost

Jul 10, 2023 | Art, Digital Art, Essay, Garden, Reflections, watercolor

At the beginning of June, the green Fennel loomed large in the garden.  It towered over me proffering lacy yellow blooms to all those flighted-passerby’s.  But at the base of this skyscraper of an herb there was NOTHING.  No bulb.  And the fronds supported no caterpillars yearning to become butterflies.  The blooms didn’t even appear to garner much attention.  The rest of the garden offered little except arugula- and there is only so much arugula one girl can eat.  This has been a disappointing gardening season for me.

I pondered the water-hog I called “Fennel” and decided it had to go.  If it wasn’t going to give me a sweet bulb to chop and it wasn’t going to provide an explosion of colorful winged insects, then it had no place in my raised bed which I drip-irrigate daily through 100+ degree days.

As I thought about the fennel and planned its demise, I realized that my garden is an eerily accurate reflection of many of my studio hours-  busy and non-productive. Frequently I consider creating the same project multiple times simply because I have an idea- but I am not sure of the best expression of that idea.  Should I paint it?  Should I create it digitally?  If I paint it- should I use ink? Should I use lines?  If I choose to create it digitally- how?  Vector?  Raster?

The only solution is to jump in and commit to creating it in one method- with the promise to myself that I can create it as many times as I like in as many different ways as I see fit.  My gnat-sized attention span actually prohibits this, but usually the promise is enough to nudge me off the starting block.

The fennel in the garden is gone.  I reduced it to a sweet smelling pile of green waste.  It is drying out and I am adding it to the compost pile, a little bit at a time.  That non-productive greenery is going to feed future gardens.  I tell myself that likewise, whatever “non-productive painting/creating” I do in the studio is feeding future projects. The artist and the gardener work in much the same manner, planting seeds in hopes of yielding bounty and beauty. Cast-offs become compost.

I check on the green tomatoes and pendulous melons daily- silently begging them to flourish.  The unusual recent rains have cooled the days and I have new hope for the plants that DID make it to the garden this year.  In the studio this month I merged my painting skills with my Photoshop knowledge to create a collaborative illustration with a friend.  Behold- “Robotman.”  This is a lengthier project and will result in an illustrated children’s book with a December due date.  

POP-UP Event!

I will setting up a tent at the Wildflower Art Market on July 29.  Come shop and visit.  I would LOVE to see you!  More information on my events tab.  Use the link below. https://www.sparrowshinedesigns.com/events/

In the Studio

“Robotman” is a children’s story written for a special boy with Downs syndrome.  I am thrilled with my first illustration – the cover!  I will continue working with my friend to create another 8 illustrations for the story.  Then I will typeset the story and format it with the illustrations and send it off to create a book.

I have also designed a new Birthday greeting card for my collection.  This one will feature interior art as well as exterior art.  Usually I design the cards so I can print them at home.  This one is off to the commercial printer in order to achieve my desired look.  Look for it soon!

I am preparing for Wildflower Art Market- July 29th in front of the Meadow Gold sign.  I will have new cards, original art, and more.  It’s a one day event featuring local art and crafts.  Check out my events tab for more information.

What I’m Reading

  • Food for Life by Tim Spector  Yes, I am still reading this one.  It’s a sizable tome, but it is actually an easy read.  I spread it out amongst my other activities- like all reading.  The chapter on bread was AMAZING.
  • TheTriumph of the Moon by Ronald Hutton  This one is going to be a true marathon!  It’s a look at the history of paganism/witchcraft (specifically in Britain).  It begins with etymology and promises to be a fascinating read.)
  • The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver

This post has been written by Renee Griffin, a human being.  The art has been created by Renee Griffin, the aforementioned human.  No AI has been used in the creation of my art or writing.

A Singing House Whistles While I Work

A Singing House Whistles While I Work

Apr 11, 2022 | Art, Digital Art, Essay, Garden, Humor, pattern design, Reflections, Surface Pattern Design, watercolor

April blew in with such ferocity this year!  My doorways have been moaning for weeks on end- a slightly eery sound that I have begun to liken to Moaning Myrtle.  If you have never heard your house “sing” before, I will explain.  The wind comes through the gaps with such strength that it causes the copper flashing to vibrate and intonate.  The first time I heard it, nearly 19 years ago, I was home alone with my babies while my husband was away on a business trip.  It frightened me until I was able to process what was happening.  But I digress.  Resuming….

As I sat down to write today I reviewed my posts from 2022 and I startled myself with how much I wanted to share with you.  I have let more time slip by than I intended.  So, please, pause here to grab a cup of tea, a glass of wine, or perhaps a cookie and a glass of milk.  But get comfortable and let’s catch up!

In January I shared my Intentions for 2022 and it is important to me that I continue that conversation.  Accountability.  I set these five intentions for 2022:

  1. Eat more veggies!
  2. Keep a cleaner garden.
  3. Become more disciplined in my approach to learning.
  4. Learn to create process videos.
  5. Create free downloads for my website subscribers BEFORE March!

Let me start with Number 5-  I’m a little late, but I have done it!  I have created my first free download for you.  It is only the first; you can plan on more.  When visitors sign up to receive email from me they will be taken to a Thank You page where they can download the freebie.  Those who are already on my mailing list will receive a separate email with their link.  This first freebie is a bookmark.  I haven’t decided how long the free bookmark will be available, so download it when you receive the email.   If you have troubles with the download or you don’t receive your email, just let me know.  I will post a follow-up blog entry with suggestions for how to print your bookmark.

Flowering Quince Bookmark

Plant Babies!

New Art!   “Hummingbird with Screen”

Number 4-  Sadly, I haven’t even BEGUN to tackle this one.  Let’s get that garden growing first!

Number 3-  Becoming more disciplined in my approach to learning has been a biggie for me.  Sometimes I feel like I am stalling out-  but when I grant myself a little grace and look at my work with objectivity I see great strides here.  I have spent considerable time painting birds lately under the tutelage of several self-guided classes with differing approaches and strengths.  The instructor in me says I haven’t earned an A- yet.  But, I will get there! 

Number 2-  Oh My!  In order to keep a cleaner garden, I have to clean it first!  The ideal time would have been Winter- but if you know me, you know I hibernate when the weather is anything less than 68 degrees F.  So, that leaves Spring.  And if you are a parent, or remember parenting school-aged children (or adults), then you remember how your calendar can simply explode overnight!

My son is a Senior in high school and just attended prom this past weekend.  Graduation events are beginning to fill the calendar.  Soccer matches have begun to populate the little white squares.  And in between grass fires, weird cold snaps, and the occasional promise of severe storms, I know the garden is calling!  But each day only holds 24 hours and I demand to sleep at least 7 of them, so something gets ignored each day.

In the past I have delayed gardening until the last possible minute holding onto the fear of losing seeds and seedlings in Spring Flash Floods or odd late frosts.  This year won’t be much different.  I have begun to clean out last year’s crops, but I haven’t finished.  We haven’t even turned on our irrigation system yet.  The baby plants are thriving in my studio nursery.  I have sown a few seeds outside, with disappointing results.  If the wind wasn’t bad enough, the squirrels immediately dug up the fresh soil.  The morning after planting seeds I discovered holes dug all over my cleared beds!

Last-  1.  Eat more veggies!      Do convenience salads count?  We haven’t made a heap of progress here-  but, if you recall, the whole point of setting Intentions instead of Resolutions is to emphasize the PROCESS or the journey.  I have eaten a few extra salads, which is easier as it becomes increasingly warmer.

Your turn-  Did you set any Intentions, or resolutions, this year?  Did you share them with anyone?  If not, I invite you to share them with me.  You can include them in a comment or send me an email.  I would love to return the favor of being your accountability partner.

Hops - A Rabbit

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Let’s Plant: A Spring Haul and What’s Hopping!

Let’s Plant: A Spring Haul and What’s Hopping!

Mar 15, 2022 | Digital Art, Garden, Reflections

The postal carrier delivered JOY in an envelope today-  actually over 2 DOZEN little envelopes!! Hooray for Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds!

Each winter I pore through the catalog and select seeds for the garden.  I try to be frugal and reuse seeds from year to year, but some years are big spending years because my seed stock has grown old or depleted.  This was one of those years.  

Additionally, I was feeling particularly optimistic/experimental when I placed the order and I decided (again) to try starting flowers indoors.  Though I may have started too late for that.  It’s hard to tell here in OK.  First I chastised myself for not placing my order weeks ago.  Then I soothed myself when yet another weird snow storm blew in following an 81 degree day.  

While waiting for the new seeds to arrive, I sorted through the bucket of seeds I keep in the refrigerator all year and started a small half tray in my indoors grow house.  A select few have germinated- squash and pumpkins, you know the GIANT seeds.  A couple tomato seeds have poked their pale heads up through the peat as well.  Germinating is the no-brainer part.  Now, if I can just get them all to become plants!

 

In the Studio

I have been squeezing art into the nooks and crannies of my days, but I feel ashamed I don’t have more to show for it.  Though I do have a stellar rabbit!

I have been wanting to create another shirt, and I really wanted to try out screen printing which requires a very different type of design from my last shirt.  I thumbnailed a few ideas and then set to work bringing my rabbit to life- at least on the screen.  After the initial drawing I cleaned up the lines in Illustrator and I am off to meet with the screen printer!

I will have shirts to pre-sell at my Pop-Up Artist Shop at The Market March 17-31!  I had hoped I would have the shirts, but weather, global conditions, and other extenuating circumstances have decided that shirts would not be ready to wear until April.  So…  pre-sell it is!  The shirt is heathered brown, super soft, and will have “Hops! The Rabbit” on the front side.

The Market is located at 81st & Harvard and is a wonderful collection of small local shops selling housewares, furniture, accessories, art, & more.  I am thrilled to be a part of their Pop-Up event!

In addition to my two weeks at The Market, you will find me at Hummingbird Fine Craft.  I have “Okie Proud” relaxed muscle tank tops in stock now- just in time for warmer weather.  But supplies are limited.  Greeting cards, art prints, travel cups, stickers, and more are always available.  Hummingbird Fine Craft is open Tues – Sat and is located on Studio Row.

Lingering Near the Path- Introspection by a Commitment-Challenged Creative

Lingering Near the Path- Introspection by a Commitment-Challenged Creative

Feb 4, 2022 | Cooking, Essay, Garden, Humor, Reflections, Surface Pattern Design, Watercolor

Hello, my name is Renee and I am an online-class junkie. I have spent thousands of dollars on classes and subscriptions and BOOKS. Wait- I don’t think this is the debilitating condition that plagues me. Under closer scrutiny, it is not an addiction to purchasing self-learning tools, but rather a refusal to commit to the process that has dampened the joy in my art life. I purchase all these classes and books to learn but then I fail to commit to the learning process.

Periodically I interrogate my inferior self- “Why don’t you follow through? Do you think you know more than the instructor? Are you too good for those exercises? Or is it just that you know you are going to fail? You are afraid that you will follow along to the letter and your bird, or portrait, or tonal strip is going to be shit!” My inferior self winces, squeezes her ears shut against the harsh line of questioning and begins whimpering… “No. I don’’t think I am too good. I just ran out of time. I am too tired at the end of the day. I can’t stay focused- there are too many other things clamoring for my attention.”

Weak excuses that all harbor a bit of truth. But that doesn’t mean I should hand all my power over to them. So- this year I intend to take my power back!

In my last blog entry,  I mentioned that in place of “resolutions” I have made intentions. A resolution seems to imply a 180 degree change in behavior. In my mind, the word intention implies that there is more room to make the turn and more than one way to succeed. Because I am so easily lured off the path I have set one of my 2022 intentions to become more disciplined in my approach to learning.

Being aware that I have strayed is the first step. It sounds obvious and easy, but how often have you set out to respond to a text or email only to discover an hour later that you have been watching cute kitten videos on Tiktok for the last 45 minutes? Now cute kitten videos are rarely my nemesis, but you get the picture.

In January I set out to complete a very simple watercolor class on Skillshare. I have managed to follow along- but only by self correcting over and over again. It has taken me WEEKS to get through the class. As I immersed myself in the painting process one evening, I became self-aware. I noticed when the impatience began to set in. And then I talked myself down. I reminded myself that I enjoy getting lost in the process when I permit myself to do so. Until I become a competitive sprinter- time is not important. Who cares how long it takes me to finish the project, or a simple flower?!

How often do I fail to follow through because I do not give myself permission to surrender to time? I think this should be my mantra for February- Surrender to time. Surrender to process.

In the Studio

I embarked on this Folk Art journey for three reasons: 1. to practice following through  2.  I wanted to use folk art flowers in my current project  3.  simplifying forms is difficult for me.

In addition to playing with folk art, I created “Siracha” (a working title) from inked line work to digital painting.  I will post the finished piece next week.  I am super excited by it!

In the Shop

You can find Valentine’s in my Hummingbird Fine Craft shop.  Coming this month… new travel cups.  I have restocked the scissortail travel cup and will be introducing two new ones to the shop-  “You Make My Heart Sing” and “Scissortail Flycatcher with Rose Rocks”.

For other products or if you don’t live in Tulsa, be sure to check out the Society6 shopping tab under the Shop menu at the top.

 

In the Kitchen 

With snow on the ground, it’s a great time to make bread and use what’s in the freezer!  Today I revived summer with a batch of Roasted Tomato Soup with garden “fresh” tomatoes from the freezer. 

Roast frozen whole tomatoes drizzled with olive oil in oven at 425 for 15-20 minutes.  Drizzle sweet onion slices and cloves of garlic with oil and add to tomato pan.  Increase temp to 450 and roast for 20-30 minutes until onions are golden brown.  I then add this pan of gooey goodness to a pot with homemade beef broth (or chicken), 4 TBSP butter,  and bay leaves.  Simmer for 30-40 minutes. Remove bay leaves, season, add 1/2 Cup or so of chopped fresh basil and use immersion blender to create smooth soup.  Add in some milk or cream to finish it.  My fresh Basil came from my counter-top Pod Garden.

 

Add a loaf of Sour Dough Bread with Cracked Pepper, Rosemary, and Walnuts and you have the perfect snow-day supper!  A few years back I took a bread baking class with Cat Cox and it has been money and time well-spent!  Using her techniques and basic instructions, I have created countless creative loaves of bread- all stunning and irresistible!  If you get a chance and you are in Tulsa, take a class with @CatCoxBaker!

Summer's Bounty on Winter's Day

Digging into 2022; Reflections on the New Year Revolution

Digging into 2022; Reflections on the New Year Revolution

Jan 19, 2022 | Art, Cooking, Essay, Garden, Humor, Reflections, Watercolor

January 1st signifies new beginnings, a fresh new calendar and the promise of a better self and a better tomorrow.  Well-oiled gears of capitalism quickly speed up, cranking out magic machines and elixirs to give us the bodies we admire in the media.  Gurus across all spiritual and economic planes sell us subscriptions to their wisdom so we too can rake in the six figure incomes while vacationing on our Covid-proof private yachts in the middle of a sparkling Mediterranean.

Each year I am slower and slower to join in the New Year Revolution.  This year is no different.  It’s CERTAINLY not because my svelte twenty-like body doesn’t need some attention.  In fact, after nearly 2 years in the Covid-Free Pub of my own living room, downing beers and “bar food”, my body would appreciate a good detox and a steady regimen of downward dog.

Nor am I late to join the Revolution because of an out-of-control-wildfire art career that I created from nothing but aluminum cans and social media followings.

Nope.  The increased velocity of time itself has opened my eyes to the silliness of the whole shadow play.  We all know we have the ability to change tomorrow every day.  However, I am grateful for the collective will to examine the past in order to forge the future.  Remember those gurus I spoke of earlier?  Well, I am pretty sure they would tell me the first step to change is accountability.  In other words, SHOUT those intentions to the mother-f-ing universe.  So, friends, that is what we have happening here today.

  1. Eat more veggies!
  2. Keep a cleaner garden.
  3. Become more disciplined in my approach to learning.
  4. Learn to create process videos.
  5. Create free downloads for my website subscribers BEFORE March!

Now its your turn.  Hold me to the fire.  If all six of you return a comment, we can break the internet! 🙂  In all seriousness, it makes my day to hear from you.  You can send me your favorite way to eat veggies.  Gardening tips.  Or tell me what my first free download should be-  a printable bookmark? A wallpaper for your phone?  Something else?

And don’t forget to check out Hummingbird Fine Craft in the Pearl District of Tulsa.  Make an afternoon of it.  There is a Cuban cafe next door, a kick-ass vinyl (record) store across the street, and The Church Studio (also across the street) will be opening soon!  So you can shop for locally created crafts and art, grab lunch, and pick out some tunes all in the same outing.

Avocado Green is not for Appliances

Avocado Green is not for Appliances

Sep 15, 2021 | Art, Essay, Garden, Humor, Reflections, Watercolor, watercolor

Do you have a favorite color?  I confess, I do not.  In fact, I am hard-pressed to find a color that I dislike, but that hasn’t always been the case.

In the folly of my youth, I would have quickly denounced yellow and orange as gaudy colors- obnoxious and undesirable.  Avocado green sent shudders up my spine and triggered flashbacks of shag carpet and outdated appliances.

Fortunately, life propels us toward change!  Each day we are blessed with the opportunity to see the world with fresh eyes.  And if we earnestly turn our attentions inward, we will note the fatigue in our very bodies from clenching relentlessly to notions that no longer serve us.

Today my closet proudly harbors multiple yellow items including a pair of pants and sandals that have each found their way into my weekly rotation.  And while I still maintain appliances should not be manufactured in Avocado Green, I am happy to spread it on a canvas, welcome it into my home, and wear it without shame.

Do you have a complicated relationship with color?  Or are you one of those who can readily answer the security prompt- “What’s your favorite color?”  Inquiring minds want to know!

In the Studio

This month I completed my first commissioned watercolor pet portrait.  These two darling kitties are nestled in among the Daylilies.  I have a couple more commissions in the works.

I finished my Okie-themed Christmas card and have sent it off to the printers.  I can’t wait to show it off, very soon!  It features a gold-foil star in the night sky and a silent lone bison.

I have been prepping new cards for the Cedar Ridge Outdoor Market which is this Saturday-  Sept. 18th from 9-2.

 

 

 

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