Inspiration from the Open Studio

My Open Studio earlier this month was one of my favorite I have ever done. The weather was warm and bright. There was a steady stream of almost 100 terrific folks who inspired me with their interest and appreciation of my work. Above all, having the Open Studio at my home studio in Muir Beach allowed me to integrate my home/family life with my art/professional life. My mother signed her books on the deck. My daughter played and laughed in the yard with the other young children. My neighbor sold her wonderful plants. I felt so wrapped in the spirit of community and family in the midst of being a professional artist. It was a magic day for me.

I hope to keep that magic alive by offering another one of these events in October, partnering again with Wendy Johnson and her Dragon's Bend Nursery. I will keep you posted as soon as I know the date - we are thinking late October when the pumpkins and apples are ready for picking.

While preparing for this last open studio, I could feel my creative energy rise. I wanted to share some of that enthusiasm. So I printed up copies of my 11 favorite quotes on the creative process, folded them, stamped them with a red butterfly, placed them in the white basket picture here, and added a note that invited people to select one as a gift of creative inspiration. It was my way to say to visitors that day "thank you for coming and inspiring me to keep going on this exquisite & challenging path of making art, and may you too be inspired to follow your own calling." Many of these quotes I have shared on this blog before. I share one more now...

You’re a song

A wished for song

Go through the ear to the center

Where sky is, where wind, where silent knowing.

Put seeds and cover them.

Blades will sprout where you do your work.

-Rumi

Rituals for Life's Milestones: A Booksigning at my Open Studio

I am getting very excited about my Open Studio on Saturday and am extra delighted to share the news that my mother, Sandra Hobson, will be there all afternoon signing copies of her book, Rituals for Life’s Milestones.

My mother has always known how to turn special events into meaningful rituals. As a child, birthdays in our household were celebrated every year with breakfast in bed, and Valentines Day often began with a trail of paper hearts leading to the dining table. Over the years, my mother has honed this gift for ritual by studying different indigenous cultures around the world and bringing that wisdom back home where she can share it with friends and clients, helping them navigate life’s passages with more grace and meaning.

She has captured 15 of these rituals in her book, Rituals for Life’s Milestones, which has been beautifully designed by my father, Charles Hobson, in a limited edition of 500 copies. Each copy has an actual stone glued to the cover, referencing the use of elements from nature in so many of the rituals described within the book. If you would like to learn more about her book and the healing power of ritual, you could listen to a podcast interview I did with my mom for the Arts & Healing Network by clicking here, or download it into iTunes by clicking here.

If you are in the Bay Area, I hope you will to stop by and enjoy all the great offerings of the day on Saturday, April 17 from 10am-4pm: Wendy Johnson's Garden Sale, my Open Studio, and my mother's book signing. Please contact me if you have any questions.

Open Studio & Garden Sale on April 17

I am so excited to be hosting an Open Studio at my Muir Beach studio on April 17 from 10am-4pm. This is where most of my creative work gets made. It will be a nice chance to share with visitors my creative process as well as a selection of finished work.

Not only will my doors be open on Saturday, April 17, but just two doors away, my neighbor and extraordinary gardener, Wendy Johnson, will also be having an Open Garden and Plant Sale featuring organic plants, starts, and seeds as well as tea and treats. Wendy (pictured below) is one of the wisest gardeners I know - she used to manage the gardens at the Green Gulch Zen Center and is the author of Gardening at the Dragon's Gate. You could listen to a podcast interview I did with Wendy for the Arts & Healing Network by clicking here, or download it into iTunes by clicking here.

My home studio has always been my inner sanctum - my ultimate place of refuge, renewal, and creativity. For many years, I have felt the need to keep it private and quiet here, but lately, I have been dreaming of doing more events here, and so when Wendy invited me to share my art on the day she is sharing her garden, I leapt at the chance. If you are in the Bay Area, I would be delighted to have you come by and say hello, enjoy fine art, new plants, and tea and treats. Children are most welcome - my daughter Anna will be here most of the day. Click here for directions, and please email me with any questions.