the art of life

A thunderstorm blew in late yesterday afternoon. It was the first rain I'd seen in six weeks, although the wind was more impressive to watch, as were the heavy gray storm clouds advancing over the sky. I liked all those sunny warm NM days, but I'd miss rain if I lived anywhere else for too long. I fell asleep to the sound of it drumming on the birdhouse's tin roof. The early part of the day was so hot, we rode in the back of a pickup down to the lake to jump off high rocks into the cool water. I'm not embarrassed to admit that, at the critical moment, I found myself unable to leap; I had to descend to a lower rock.
Pictured is a watercolor I did of the Better Farm bus parked next to the barn.
There's a lot of art & music happenings going on in Beacon this month. I'm a bit disappointed to miss it all, but then I remember that as stimulating as it is, it tends to be a distraction for me and I know there will be plenty more going on in the future. I'm proud to call the place home and to be a part of that creative community, and doing things like this (travel, residencies elsewhere) makes me happier and more constructive when I am there again. A ceramics show opening this weekend at bau is featuring the pottery & sculpture of my friend Faith. The following weekend there's an auction of the art guitars done by local artists as a fundraiser for Beacon Riverfest (happening the week after that!), one of which I painted. I'm also thinking of all the strawberries beginning to ripen everywhere and my mouth waters when I imagine their juicy, red, sweet-tartness, waiting to be picked and devoured by the crate. I'll be hunting some down later this month, to kick off the season of fruit/veg picking. As it is, I already wish I could return to the farm to reap the bounty being planted now by the lovely and industrious interns, and which I occasionally help weed or whatever they tell me to do.