September, Slowly!

September is a funny month.

It always feels a little like a beginning. Back to school, back to routine, back to finding some sort of rhythm after the chaos of summer. And yet, I always seem to spend most of it recovering from August. Then I blink and someone mentions Christmas.

I’m not ready to talk about Christmas.

This September has mostly been about finding my footing again. Getting back into the studio, getting back into a routine and beginning to make work properly after the summer.

There was a slight setback when I managed to chop the ends of my fingers off. Not ideal for an artist. Thankfully it was my left hand and I’m right-handed, which feels like an important piece of forward planning on my part.

Despite that, there has been some lovely work coming out of the studio.

A couple of new pieces are heading off with Gallery North West in Brampton to the Junction 36 Art Exhibition, and I’ve also been working quietly on a collection of pieces for another exhibition in the new year. I can’t say too much about that one just yet, but I’m really pleased with where the work is going. More soon!

Outside the studio, September has been quieter.

There haven’t been any big hikes or adventures this month, but I’ve been getting outside with the boy and watching the season slowly change in our local woods. And actually, that has been enough.

Autumn is, without question, my favourite season. The darker mornings, the cooler air, the colours beginning to turn. There’s something about it that makes me want to walk more, notice more and make things. When im not painting or out walking, this season is very much about soups breads and comfort meals in front of a good box set. I miss my fire, and dream of the day I can come home and light the fire once more!

Those ordinary dog walks have become a little pocket of the day that I really love. No mountains required. Just me, the boy, the woods and that first feeling of autumn arriving.

Perhaps that’s what September has been about.

Not racing forward. Not doing anything particularly spectacular. Just getting my feet back underneath me, making some good work, getting outside when I can and settling back into a rhythm.

October can take it from here.

And Christmas can wait!