The Collector

I have a new favorite painting...

"The Collector" is a really fun piece that I've created for the Grafton Fine Arts and Music Festival, which is held each March. It's a great way to see what the crafty folks in my town have been up to. Such a lot of talent for a little spot on the map! I've gone back to something I started doing a few years ago: painting on fabric. This is a toile Waverly fabric that I had to have, but didn't do much with. I dug it up and it was perfect for what I had planned. The little redhead is sporting a real fabric rosette in her hair, and the fern is framed with a teensy, real-wood frame that I picked up at my new favorite craft-supply haunt right in town.

I absolutely envy her collection of birds' eggs, feathers, exotic insects, nests and shells. If you look around my own home you'll find mounted butterflies, small clusters of interesting pebbles and rocks, and seashells, but I try to keep it to a minimum. Don't peek inside some of my drawers though, or you'll find lonely but pretty feathers, walking sticks preserved in boxes, broken robin eggs, and other natural curiosities that I can't bear to part with, but cannot find a permanent place for.

Wouldn't it be great to have a special spot in one's home for all of these neat things? It reminds me of being a kid again and scouring the woods and fields for treasures. So jealous.

My husband says this is a self-portrait, and I think he's absolutely right!