I was going through some of my piles of pottery and art today and came across my bin of ceramic poppy flowers. I made a whole bunch of them a couple years ago and made some into pins and others into magnets, and gave them to all of the veterans in my life. Each one was so honored by my gift it lifts my spirits just seeing them. I eventually want to make a project with the remaining poppies. I have several ideas but haven’t settled on one yet. I should definitely make that a summer goal.

But seeing the poppies inspired me to make a poppy painting for today. It’s not in my orange ink style, since I haven’t seen any blooming yet. It’s still too early for them, but you can bet when they are ready I’ll be ready to add those poppies to my series. So, instead, today I tried painting some loose wet poppies. I was all set up when I realized I hadn’t turned my lamp on, and rather that move everything to stand up, I painted in the dark. It looked a little better to me with the lights off, but not every piece is a masterpiece. It’s good to practice with styles outside my comfort zone, so I have to let go of the expectations and embrace the process. This hasn’t been an easy concept for me to implement but I’m working on it.

What goals are you looking forward to accomplishing this summer?