Winter Fallow

Winter Birches, Photograph © 2010 Michelle Basic Hendry

During the darkest days of Winter, I am generally less productive. The time I take to recharge my physical batteries and take care of my health after a busy season can also be a valuable time to allow transformation – in thought and in creativity.

It is during these ‘winter fallow’ periods that I go inside and look for inspiration, analyze the product and projects of the year before and generally  recharge. Nature itself experiences that slow dormancy and I tend to value it. Creative projects are often less formal and more play, and the paintings to come are still in the earliest of development.

Spring is still weeks away, but, the strengthening of the sun speaks to my cells and I am starting to very slowly move forward again. My project in the works, the Book on the Echoes series, is well underway and I am preparing drawings for some of the final paintings. Release is planned for September.

I am trying a big experiment with magic realism – a 36 by 48 inch painting. It will trickle out in bits and inspirations, but the finished piece will likely take months by the time the sketches become drawings and a final drawing is set to paint. This is new for me, so we’ll see how it goes!

So in the meantime as we approach the Equinox, I will share my inspirations here and as things become ready to share I will post them.  I assure you they will be worth the wait. I am very excited about the season to come.

I will be taking a short break from the blog and I plan to resume posting on February 24th.