As a fan of the Rule of Three, I mulled over what would complete my list for this month’s newsletter inspiration. It all started, serendipitously, while I was in Iceland on vacation last month and received an email from one of my collectors. She wanted me to see photos of the piece she’d purchased from me in late ‘23. She’d bought it unframed and was excited to show me how she’d had it mounted, and to let me know how happy she was. Her correspondence arrived the day of my visit with an Icelandic friend, also an acquirer of my work. I loved seeing the pillow she’d purchased a year ago in her living room with the Atlantic behind it.
The elation I felt from these two facts – 1) being on vacation and 2) opportunities to revisit past art purchases – coincidentally provided my theme for July: How I fill my well.
The third ingredient wasn’t hard to identify in my refueling metaphor. A trip to Naugatuck, CT, to purchase more hand-dyed wool was already on my calendar and made the choice simple – 3) re-stock

I’ll start my elaboration there.
I’d had that date to go to Connecticut for several weeks. I wanted one of my artist friends, Cookie, aka Marisabina Russo, to meet my supplier, Naomi, AKA the Wool Witch, a true conjurer of beauty and hue. Cookie lives a short ride from the ReTake/ReMake Thrift Shop in Peekskill where we’d previously visited and found unexpected treasures. We combined outings.
While at her home, Cookie showed me all the Penny Rugs she’s made since we attended the class with Liz Alpert Fay that fateful weekend in 2020 before the lockdown. Her style is unique and different than mine. I knew our palette selections would reflect that. We agreed to share some of our ‘fat quarters’ (the generous cuts our supplier makes in the yardage) with each other to broaden our choices

We spent about an hour mulling Naomi’s broad inventory, touching the soft wools and admiring the subtleties of her dye lots. I could feel the wheels turning in my artistic brain, conjuring new designs and combinations of colors.
Later that day at the “used” craft shop, we made quick work of sorting through the hugely discounted Perle cotton skeins, miscellaneous buttons, and surprising finds like a box of heart-shaped paper clips I couldn’t pass up, bringing my total outlay to $7.21.
Like Halloween nights as a child, when I’d spread out and arrange my haul, anticipating each sweet future moment, I was excited to get home and lay out my threads and swatches, letting my mind begin to play.
I’ve seen many of the pieces I’ve sold ‘in situ’ as my thoughtful buyers have shared them with me. But the one I mentioned at the beginning of this article was my largest wall hanging yet, and I wasn’t sure of its status. It was an overseas purchase in an unsettled political region. I hadn’t wanted to probe.
Along with the exhilarating photos she sent, my buyer wrote: It is now hanging in my office where I spend most of my time and it is everything I had hoped it would be.
Her positive testimonial prompted me to reach out to collectors in Palm Springs who had also acquired an unframed textile. Their proximity to Joshua Tree National Park attracted them to this particular design which they’ve had beautifully matted and framed. I was thrilled to receive their photos of that piece and the message, We get asked a lot about the piece and we have to pull out the inspiration photo you gave us. It is lovely to see the light bulbs go off and the warmth in people’s faces.

I know I’m not the only artist with self-doubt. Seeing my work in clients’ spaces is a quick remedy, one that fills me with incredible joy. The unexpected sequence of those opportunities was magical.
Iceland! For 9 days I did not have to make a decision, lift a finger, make a bed, or plan the next sight to see. I traveled with a group that had an extensive itinerary, but also included time to see two friends (one from my coach training days, one who has lived in NYC) and who both live in Reykjavik.
The landscape is entirely different than anything I’ve seen before. Though we’d been scheduled to visit the Blue Lagoon, the road there was closed due to lava flow. I still got to visit geothermal pools, glaciers, geysers, icebergs and see Icelandic horses. I saw art, visited a greenhouse that supplies most of Iceland with its tomatoes, and met a couple of dozen new people to travel with.
Any tech geek you call when your operating system is on overload will remind you to power down and restart. Consider me your Creative Techie with similar advice for a refresh:
- Change the scenery and unplug.
- Remind yourself of past successes (with visuals).
- Find new materials to bring to your practice.
I’d love to see your vacation photos! Please send pics!
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