Purring in our laps
Cats somehow make it easy
To love and be loved.

This was an especially fun commission to take on: a verbal and visual portrait of a man’s beloved cats, to be presented on his birthday. It inspired me to write several more poems about cats and their quirky ways, as well as our heart connection with them. I’m looking forward to illustrating those. And I’m in the midst of creating a goofy-sweet series about dogs that I’ll share soon.

Perfume bottles: five
Tee-shirts for four days: 13
Daughter packs for camp.

You may be going into the wilderness, but there’s no reason not to look and smell your best!

Alchemy of bees
Transforms sunlight and flowers
Into liquid summer.

Alert viewers may have noticed there are quite a few pieces about bees and honey in my collection.

Email menu option:
“Remove all attachments” —
Zen tip from Apple.

I’m a longtime Apple fan. From the first Mac Classic computers I used in the Stanford library in 1985, to the MacBook Pro and iPhone I use today, Apple products have been a big part of my life.

Our dainty white dog
Catching scent of a deer trail
Is poodle turned wolf.

Even in the most domesticated of dogs, the ancient instincts survive.

We lift our voices
We join our breath together
Rejoicing in song.

I painted this piece yesterday to donate to the Arcata Interfaith Gospel Choir for the silent auction at the Prayer Breakfast and Gospel Concert we are holding this coming Sunday. I’ve been singing with this wonderful group for about five years. We perform joyous, lively and healing gospel music at venues around Humboldt County: in addition to putting on our own concerts, we perform at churches, fairs, and for inmates at the county jail.

My sweet warrior son
Stages sword fights, draws warships
Then snuggles in bed.

I’ve found that painting haiga, the art accompanying a haiku or senryu poem, is a process of subtraction, of stripping away everything extraneous until just the essence remains. This piece is a perfect example.