Spring Break

I am soaking up every last drop of Spring Break free time doing everything I love and recharging my creative batteries. First off, I've spent lots of time with family, who I feel like I barely ever see with our crazy everyday schedules.

 We visited Laurel Hill Cemetery for the first time, where there is an awesome view of the Schuylkill River as well as some fascinating funerary sculpture and architecture. It's a strange city within a city.

 We visited the Philadelphia Art Museum, partly to see the Peale painting my daughter is currently researching for a school project. But I loved seeing some new works hanging in the Prints and Works on Paper hall, especially this panoramic charcoal drawing by Mei-Ling Hom. We also went through the Outsider art exhibition and I snapped this charming bird collage by James Castle:

I've spent some time in the studio every day. (oh blessed, beautiful, quiet studio- I've missed you) I'm working on a large "wall" piece with lots of patterned running stitch to fuse the applique layers together, so my fingers are starting to get calloused again from pushing the needle. Today, I took a little stitching break and sketched the odd cast iron shapes of my sewing table legs:

 Tomorrow our adventures will continue, but I'm most excited about Friday's Stations of the Cross exhibition at Norris Square, 3 pm. I'm looking forward to sharing this piece with the crowd:

The great perks of teaching are the lovely breaks. But believe me, these breaks are very well deserved and crucial to the well-being of teachers. Teaching is both the most rewarding and the most stressful job I've ever had. I'm very thankful for this week off to relax, renew my creative spirit, and refresh my inspiration. I will be totally ready to meet the challenges of the last few months of school!