My newest book coming soon!

I am thrilled to shout to the world my newest book will be out very soon. This one had some serious bumps in the process of getting from done to finished. Here is the cover which keeps making me smile. I'll let everyone know the release date as soon as I do.

                                 

                                                                All my best!

                                                                               Marica

Happy Holidays Everyone!

 

                                                        Cheers ~

                                                                      Marica

Autumn Projects...

Something about the fall, the change of temperature, the leaves, the moister in the air. It's all so good and such a hearty invitation to sit down and get to work. Thread and needles, sewing machines and felting. I want it all, and I want a wealth of quiet mornings with mild sunlight or dripping rain and tea, and hopefully a friend to sit with. These are special days, not as easy to come by as I'd like, but I'll take what I can get.

 

                                                                 Cheers ~

                                                                               Marica

P.S. Please add links to your projects, I would love to see them!

Thoughts… creation… a doll maker… a circle back round…

Ooo, I just read a wonderful post, by a most wonderful doll maker. I love hearing from people who feel similarly about the process of making things. Too often and too easily we are "taught" how to do things. I make an immense effort to guide rather than teach artistic processes. I notice this most lately via the pie-truck. Teaching people how to cook is such a tender occupation. I don't mean they come for classes, I mean more that the folk so far who have helped out at the pie-truck are far from experienced or knowledgeable in the practice of cooking. 

Right from the beginning I was very sure I wanted, not to have them follow my recipe, for even I don't bother to do that most days, but to hone the understanding of what was happening as they put ingredients together. They do use the recipes, but more as bench markers and arrows pointing in the direction of a fabulous pie, or amazing soup. 

I notice the same thing as my kiddos grow with their drawing, or my daughter asks for help with her sewing. I am terrified of giving too much instruction, scared they will rely on rules rather than discovered notions. 

As a somewhat impatient person, I loath directions, recipes and instructions. Trial and error are my best friend. I have tried to discover why, and finally thirty-three years into this life I truly understand my determination to make several disasters before I finally find the correct path. It is because I feel like an explorer; I feel my own discovery is mine, and to top that, I understand why and how what I did worked. 

I wrote a similar post several years back, it made me smile because somehow we can never get away from ourselves. I have found bits in my teenage diaries that ring true like I am writing them for the first time today.

Thanks for reading my rant, I recommend you check out Fig & Me, she got me inspired even after my dawn to dusk day at the truck. 

                                                                   Cheers 

                                                                                      ~ Marica

One Treat After Another…

It is here, it has arrived, my newest book, One Treat After Another, has officially been released! We had a little trouble getting it out the door, there were cover problems and then a print mishap which led to the book coming out a month after its original release date. But now, hurray, here it is… 

Thank you to Mayo, at Escargot Books, who so patiently helped the process through, the book is now possible to order on Amazon, and will be available at other major bookshops soon… 

Please go check it out… I am so excited, this book was made when my kiddos were little, which is quite a few years ago as the planet turns, and only now is finally in print form. Amazing how time and space are always trying to catch up with intention—

A rainy-day Monday, and bursting with the motion of forward, onward…

                                                                Hope Everyone is well!

    

                                                          

                                                                      Cheers ~

                                                                                     Marica

January…

I love thin winter sun. I love the day we get to take the Christmas tree out of the house. I love the day we put the tree in the house too, but there is always that fresh feeling of space when the tree goes out again. I love hot tea and quiet outdoors. I love the days at home with no school. It makes me nostalgic for homeschooling, even if I love the kid's school—and I mean LOVE!

I love no planned meals and no company, I love putting the house right and trying not to think about tomorrow. I don't love trying not to think about tomorrow, but I love that tomorrow is tomorrow…

                                                  Hope Everyone is well!!!

                                                                Cheers ~

                                                                             Marica

Oh Sweet Monday, and a giveaway...

Good morning lovely Monday world. It is my day off, the pie truck is closed and I have the whole day to do as I wish.  I am learning that on these days away from the truck I tend to have such high hopes for getting things done that I often feel frustrated come evening. It is not that I want to do ten million errands, it is that I want to work on so many projects that there is no way to fit them all in. How do I choose where to start? I am getting better at this weekly pattern—at least I see it, and am not so crushed at my lack of ability to create it all.  But there is still that rise and fall every week…

This is where my dilemma in loyalty gets split. Pies or books?? Clean house or take a nap. I used to hear people say if you want to do something well you have to give it a hundred percent. I always want to so many things all the way, I couldn't settle for just one. Years ago I read Brian Eno's biography and was forever inspired. He was a musician of course, a producer of some of the most amazing bands, a painter, involved in politics and he had children when he was young. This is the stuff I want to hear—you can do it all! Or at least he could...

As the holidays are nearing, I am excited to offer a giveaway of my first published 

children's book Oh My Sweet Baby… 

 Please leave a comment below to be entered in the drawing. If you post this 

giveaway elsewhere, state the link and you will be entered twice.

Drawing will happen December 16th.

                                                                         Cheers ~

                                                                                    Marica

November Craft Fair

Well hello there everyone. Second post without a whole month gap in between?? Things must be calmer around here. Well, sort of. Actually this week I had my second annual craft fair at the kid's Waldorf school. I had a table last year, which was so much fun, but almost missed the boat and skipped it this year due to the madness of running the pie truck...

But alas, I wanted it enough that I made the arrangements and squeaked in by the seat of my pants...

 I sold cards…

And prints…And books...

 And was accompanied by a friend who also does water color paintings.

 I wish I had a close up of her pictures, they were truly lovely!

The printing of artwork was so addicting I decided to set up an Etsy shop …

Overtime I'll see if it's worth the trouble, but for now it's there if you are curious…

                              Anyway, hope you all are having a pleasant Monday!

                                                            All my best~

                                                                       Marica

Oh My Sweet Baby

I am so excited to show everyone my first children's book—PUBLISHED!!!!! 

It feels amazing to finally have a chance to hold in my hands, my very own work. 

A few weeks ago I called a good friend who manages a bookstore, to ask if he would consider carrying my book on their shelves. His response was "of course," and "congratulations on completing a project."  I loved this because his words fit my feelings so exactly. The most exhilarating part of my book being published, is the fact I have a totally finished, completed, ready to go, chunk of done. I kept pushing through, telling myself; once it is completed you will feel no guilt toward the longtime tucked away pages of this creation. I have so many tucked away creations, as I believe so many of us do. This one was started, I'm guessing, seven or eight years ago. It was inspired by my babies and my love of babies, and their sweet mothers, the old fashioned kind of mothers, who had so many children and all of them would follow her around, and on and on and on. 

Anyway, setting humbleness aside, I am proud to finally be done and published. 

As a little fun way to get a flurry around this publication, I am offering a giveaway of this book.

To enter, please leave a comment. If you wish to be entered twice, link to this post on your own blog, Facebook, or twitter and post that link in your post here. I will draw the winner at random on September 15th.

Thanks to all you lovely readers!!!!

                                  Cheers ~

                                            Marica

To order, you can find it at the usual, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Powells, or at the publisher's site.


Giveaway Closed. Thank you for participating.
Maria Simon is the winner.

Mini look a my art show...

I've been too busy and preoccupied to post lately. A lot has been happening. For one, I had my first art show in sixteen years!!! Yes, I was sixteen when I had my first show, and now once you double that number, I have made my way round to having another one. I decided to do all new pictures just for this event, which was fun and difficult at the same time. 

I have tended toward illustration my whole life, although I truly enjoy acrylics and the massiveness of painting giant pictures. For this event, due to our move and my lack of knowing where all our paints had landed, I chose to do a water-color/illustration influenced theme. At first I felt like I was battling my self, but nearing the end of finishing all my pictures, I finally hit a zone that felt comfortable to work in. 

My favorite was accidentally forgotten at home and never made it up,
but soon it will hang in my living room… 

The rest were too big to scan and I didn't manage any good photographs of them; the glare, as you could see in the first picture, was horrible.

Anyway, hope you all had a wonderful March!!

                  Best Wishes, and I'll save our big news for the next post…!!!!!

                                                                               ~Marica

Samurai Exhibit…

A few weeks ago we managed to slip by the Portland Art Museum to see a samurai exhibit . . .

 In addition to samurai, there was also many other incredible pieces of art . . .

In the first room we found beautiful ancient Chinese statues …

This one was my very favorite . . .

It felt like an honor to be allowed to be this close to these pieces of work . . .

Another set that truly struck me was the Japanese paintings . . .

Each detail was so extraordinarily perfect. The lines precise and tasteful . . .

The trees . . .

The horses . . .

The gentle slops that show the wind constantly moving . . .

 The samurai suits were too amazing to be real . . .

Very elaborate and in depth . . .

Each item had such careful stitching . . .

It must have taken forever to complete one of these . . .

From helmets . . .

 And masks . . .

  To shoes . . .

Even their horses had masks . . .

It was a remarkable experience . . .

Getting to witness this all in person . . .

                                                                Cheers ~ Marica