Hygge Chronicles #1

 

Rains coming down, temps dropping, winds whipping up.  Time to hygge!  Tomorrow is December and I am so not ready for the upcoming holidays, both mentally and emotionally.  I'm trying, my whole family is trying, but it's hard.  Our son passed away earlier this summer.  I never thought I'd lose a child.  Parents always believe they'll be the ones to go first.  It's unnatural.  But life goes on, and I have the rest of my family to think about, care for, love.  It's just the Christmas holidays will be the toughest, especially this year.

So that's why I'm embracing the Danes' theory of hygge, a way of life and attitude that embraces winter, celebrates this sleeping time that sends many of us into a tail spin.  For me, it's the loss of light, the darkness creeping in about 4:00pm. 
 

To battle the dreary gloom I've upped my game -- lots and lots of candles. I've added more mirrors throughout the house to help reflect more light.  I tend not to drop the blinds as much as before, letting the neighborhood holidays lights shine in from the outside.  And the fireplaces are going non-stop from about 3pm until bedtime.  

So, taking each day as it comes, tackling little projects (and bigger ones) each week, whether it's taking up the brush again or setting up my weaving loom and sorting through my stash of yarns.  I've even taken up cooking and trying new recipes, as our son was an excellent cook and could whip up some amazing dishes within minutes.  I'll try to carry on in his spirit and cook from the heart.

I think careful cooking is love, don't you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who's close to you is about as nice a Valentine as you can give."

Julia Child 

Start your hygge?

 Autumn has hit hard here in New England.  It seems as if just the other day it was in the 70s and sunny with roses still blooming in the garden -- and then wham!  Cold, cold, cold.  2020 strikes again, I suppose.

So what to do to maintain a positive outlook?  To keep plugging along when almost everything in the news wears you down?  Well, I'm adopting -- or at least will try -- to take the Danish approach of "hygge"!  

Earlier this summer I stumbled on Helen Russell's wonderfully funny yet informative book.  It was truly fascinating how this little country has the highest rating for happiness, although Russell was quite frank about the "negative" aspects of living Danishly, as well. 

But I'm trying to embrace the idea of hygge -- to enjoy the simple, comforting aspects of winter.  And with the pandemic flipping into high gear once again, maybe this is the best approach for the coming months.  So, I'll be looking to cook more, read more, wrap myself in wooly socks and throws, whip out those knitting needles and crochet hooks to help sustain some type of positivity.  How about you?  Any plans for survival?  

In the meantime, I spent some hours sifting through artwork and such, posting to my Red Bubble store and thought I'd share some shots with you, several of which are colorful and summery in feel.  

Cape Cod Marshes (pastel on paper)

A throw pillow to break up the dreary winter months!

 

Melon Freefall (acrylic on paper)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A new journal for 2021?

Sail along the Coast (watercolor on paper)

Time to get a new apron?

 

Nothing like a bit of color and fun to lighten the mood, right?   As far as I'm concerned, anything to help get through the coming weeks and months.  So, stay warm and keep smiling (even if it is behind your mask).   I've always loved this quote.  It seems to capture that hygge attitude almost three hundred years earlier --

Barn's burnt down -- now I can see the moon.

               Mizuta Masahide, Samurai (1657 - 1723)

It's tough to re-learn

 

It's been years since I've had the time (or interest) to return to digital photography and embellish / alter, etc.  I used to play for hours, layering images and text and textures in order to achieve "the right look".  But lately I've found I like the somewhat blurred, vintage look -- soft, ethereal.

I've always admired the work of Kim Klaussen and Jill Ferry of Flypaper Textures, but recently found the work of Denise Love in a copy of Bella Grace.  So today with the temperatures once again soaring into the 90s and high humidity, I retreated to my artsy "Bat Cave" to play a few hours before going to work.

Small blossoms are often lovely -- their simplicity compelling.  This is a shot I took several springs ago during one of my morning walks (no, not a power walk; more like a wandering meander!).  I layered several textures on the original image, including some text, then worked a Gaussian Blur and lowered the saturation a few times.

And then my software crapped out and the image was compromised -- just a weird wiry image like a dying TV screen!  WTF?!?   Deep breath, Kelly.  Start again.  And amazingly, I like this image better than the one before.  Goes to show that patience is a virture, uh?  

This image is now available on my Red Bubble account, if you're interested in notecards and such.  I still have so much to do to organize my little corner of RB -- create "collections" for easier searching, etc.  But I'll get there eventually.

 

And on another entirely different subject -- but still creative! -- I dug out my old tabletop loom this morning, dusted it off and polished it up.  Another project I intend to re-visit this autumn.  I'm loving the wall hangings I keep seeing in the Scandi magazines and sites.  

How about you?  What are you up to as the summer winds down and we're still somewhat constricted with the pandemic?  

 

Blessed are they who see beautiful things in humble places where other people see nothing.

Camille Pissarro