Repose

​
"Repose" - acrylic and charcoal on illustration board, 12" x 16".  Available here and at Artfinder.

Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves.
--Rainer Maria Rilke

Here in the land of green and groovy, the light is soft and diffused.  It is the perfect setting for contemplating the big mysteries of life while taking a well-earned rest.

And rest it is to be reunited with charcoal and paints, letting the muse have her way with me. Today she insists on a restful figure and a three color palette.  I am happy to oblige.

There is a great temptation, when relocating, to resolve everything as soon as possible.  Unpacking, setting things up, making spaces work, finding "our" grocery store, gas station, bank, coffee shop...but Rilke's words whisper to me.  

Be patient. Love the questions, Sit with what is unresolved.

There it is....the dreaded "P-word" again.  But somehow, here, it is easier to wait.  Easier to pause - delightful, even.  Everyone, and I mean EVERYONE, stops to exchange pleasantries, offer a smile, ask if you need help.  I have to stop myself from rushing and bustling through the day, because I think here that would be downright rude!  Just like in lovely Listowel in Ireland.  I am doing a lot of sighing and smiling here.  It is sweet relief.

​In the studio, there is a temptation to resolve my direction - who am (artistically) here in Oregon?  What will I create?  Who is my muse?  What does she want?  Ahhhhhh.  But here, too, I will love the questions themselves and strap myself in for the journey.  If I listen closely, there might be magic along the way.

---

For those of you contemplating a visit to the PNW, I will share my favorite new spots as I find them.  These might be cool places to visit if you're ever out here (which I hope you will be!)  

Today's lunch spot, and my new favorite AMAZING Mexican restaurant is Tamale Boy in the Dekum Triangle.  It's just blocks from my house, and super delicious.  Try the cauliflower.

This week's delightful shop discovery is actually a favorite from a prior visit to PDX, and I was thrilled to find it still thriving:  Woonwinkle.  Who can resist this?