It’s a special time of year.

We are attuning to the cycles of the Earth, the temporary fallowness of the fields, and all that we may have neglected in ourselves in the rush to make the most of the sunlit hours of the warm seasons.  

I have found this growing quietness in me can be confused for kind of sadness, nostalgia, or even depression, but it is really a gentle knocking at the door of my heart, an invitation to accept that all of life is change. 

When this brings me to the kind of dark places I have trouble navigating alone, I turn to the light of others. My friends. My fellow artists. 

This week in Haiku Milieu, I will be sharing collaborations between me and other people.  

Some of them I’ve known about for a while — a particular photo from Jason Bennett some months ago inspired this idea of a collaboration week in the first place — and then an image from Missy Isley Poltrock, tumbled me forward into a haiku. But it yesterday's photo taken by my husband Robin, who does Sidewalk Rorshak, that confirmed this path.  

Is it a coincidence?

Every show I am a part of in November and December is a group show, bringing together the talents of multiple artists to share their gifts over the course of just one night.

I hope you’ll join us for as many of these shows as feels good to you, and particularly the one coming up with Kyle Rausche at Jarvis Square Pottery.  Kyle is a spectacular human being, a Kerrville winning songwriter from the state of Michigan, and a dear friend.

As the daylight hours condense, let us seek the light of friendship and music to raise our spirits. 

Cheers to you my friend, and to us, as the shadows lengthen and the home fires burn brighter.