February 2012 | Making It In Vermont

Monthly Archives: February 2012

Inner Light

Written on February 24, 2012 by Lisa in Memories of Mom, Painting, Simply Living

I made this painting about 18 years ago when I really needed sunshine. My mom had stage 4 cancer, I was in my early 20′s and confused about where my life was leading me, living on my own, very very introspective, and just plain old in need of some light to brighten my soul. It’s a pretty simple painting and fairly crude, but it did the trick.

The light I needed so desperately back then has found its way inside, so as part of my Lenten journey, I’m going to paint over it and trust whatever comes next.

Ouch. I better get painting before I lose my resolve.
Jesus you are more important that any painting or thing of this world…

edited 1 hour later to say:

So way better than doing it by myself, my 3 1/2 year old ~R asked if he could help. It is so in my nature to say ” No” for the usual reasons; the paint will drip on the floor, it’s mine, etc. Thank you good God for helping me say “Yes” instead. What a joy watching him. He had so much fun and kept saying how much he loved painting with mommy, and kept randomly saying “I love you mommy”‘.

Such a fitting way to say goodbye to this painting, by relinquishing instead of taking over.

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Focus on the Moment

Written on February 21, 2012 by Lisa in Memories of Mom, Simply Living

We had ~O’s Baptism this past weekend. It’s the first one my family (my Dad, brothers and their families) have missed. Life has gotten so busy, it’s winter and far for them to travel, three of our boys have birthdays in the next three months, ~K has his first communion in May, and well we just wanted to get it done. So due to circumstance we ended up scheduling it a week before and sneaking it in to an already full day. Aside from Kevin’s family, we also invited a few good friends from Vermont to attend. It was so nice to look out during the ceremony and see Kevin’s family and these dear friends standing there.

The photo above is the shortbread cookies I made for our coffee and dessert time after the ceremony. I pressed doves and crosses in to them. The doilies are from my Nonni. She made them when she was a girl growing up in Italy. I’m not sure they’ve ever been used before (Nonni was more of a put it away safely and save it for the future kind of person). She is my Dad’s mom and passed away at just shy of 91 about 6 years ago. I have a bunch of her beautiful crochet work in a box in my closet. I’m so glad I decided to take a few out. It really made it feel and look special. Using them would be something my mom would have done (she was an appreciate it today instead of save it for tomorrow sort of person) so in a way it brought memories of both sides of my family to this special day.

~O did a great job. He was so smiley during the ceremony, even when the water was poured on his head, not a tear. All the boys stood up on the altar with us and the god parents (Kevin’s parents). ~R our 3 1/2 year old was in quite a mood and did his firm best to bring it all down to a wrestling brawl, but we managed to mostly ignore him and focus on the moment.

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God Calling

Written on February 12, 2012 by Lisa in Painting, Simply Living

Nearly every morning late last winter and then in spring I got up early to walk around the 1/4 mile of trails that surround our house. I needed the exercise for my pregnant self and spent time praying, talking to God, and watching each little bit of nature slowly come alive. Sometime around June I think, I started feeling God calling me to paint again. It’s been years, at least 9 since I’ve seriously painted. I actually had kind of let go of a lot of that part of me. I’ve been busy the last 6 years with designing jewelry, web design and marketing for said jewelry, and other little whims along the way that fulfilled my need to create. I always had an odd relationship with ART (painting) anyway. The approval thing always got to me, the I’m not good enoughs, the where to start, what to start, oh lots of human sorts of stuff. So really I wasn’t too keen on the thought of painting again. I just figured “Why?”. But I’m on a path to listening to the whisperings of God when I hear them, so I knew I needed to be obedient and say yes. I’m learning that God always has a better plan than anything I can come up with. I bought some new paints, thought of starting small, and instead took a big old canvas of mine from college and painted over it.

Well it’s finished. I started this painting of peonies from my garden almost 7 months ago, in the summer, when I was big and pregnant with ~O.

With 4 boys and a baby a month and a half away, really what was I thinking? How would I finish something so large? Instead of feeling overwhelmed, I approached it one morning at a time. I would set my alarm for 5:30, well before anyone was up and stole maybe 1 1/2 hours to work on it. When the boys woke I’d stop until the next day, or two. I wasn’t able to get to it as much this fall besides on Saturday mornings for a couple hours, but bit by bit it came together. I worked upstairs in my studio and when I was done for the morning I brought it downstairs and hung it in the living room here:

It would stay hung in the living room until the next time I got a chance to work on it. So I pretty much finished the peonies yesterday and all that was left was to sign it. I signed it LL with the new logo for Little Lisa Studios. It works as Little Lisa or Lisa Laverty.

The biggest most exciting part about finishing this painting that has become such a part of my world is that I’m not keeping it. It is marked for the world outside my home. It may sound funny, but I never liked to sell my art work, I felt too close to it and selfishly wanted to keep it for myself. Now the thought of someone else enjoying it is way better than any thought of my enjoyment. So my plan is through Little Lisa Studios (which is not yet officially open, but getting there) I plan to create: 4 large scale paintings a year -more than likely inspired by the nature found out our front door here in Vermont- ALL to be sold.

I remember in college when I was painting vaginas and depictions of birth, and the deepest darkest parts of myself, my friend Kelly asked me why I didn’t paint something pretty. I thought it was so trite, and thought “Why would I bother doing that?” Well the moon isn’t always silver, and there is something to be said for the beautiful. My deepest darkest, all that introspection I did for years didn’t really get me anywhere. It got really old, and this ride with God, where I trust instead of dictate is, well more exciting than anything I can imagine.

So I think I’ll keep listening…

~Lisa

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A Vitamix Valentine

Written on February 9, 2012 by Lisa in Favorites, Simply Living

This was my Valentine’s Day present this year… A Vitamix. Kevin said he was going to do it, being honest, I kind of wished for it, but didn’t quite believe he would do it.

See, we had an impromptu “date” about a month ago. We were flipping through the channels after getting the kids to bed and somehow made it to QVC and their 1 hour special on the Vitamix. Our friend Sean has talked up the Vitamix to us and the boys for the last few years. We even got to try it out at his house when we stopped by while visiting in Massachusetts last summer. The boys were totally hooked. They were amazed how Uncle Sean could blend up whole fruits and veggies into a juice and especially that they couldn’t taste the spinach in the smoothy he created for them.

So it really was a treat for Kevin and I watching QVC that night. You can make hot soup in 4 minutes! Whole fruit and veggie smoothies, chocolate mouse, ice cream already frozen! Milk from nuts! We ooohed and ahhhed and snuggled and just had fun together in our shared excitement. Yes in a household with 5 little boys it WAS a date for us and a fun one at that. The QVC price was $100 off the regular price (yes the Vitamix IS expensive). It was tempting, but I brushed it off. I thought “We don’t buy things, we are on a tight budget, we don’t NEED it.” But oh to dream…

That night Kevin asked me what color I wanted. I said red, still thinking he’s got to be messing with me… I should have known better.

So today, the UPS guy dropped something heavy off on the front porch.

I saw the Vitamix logo. My first reaction, “Oh crap, we don’t have the money for this”. I checked our credit cards and checking account, I didn’t see the debit. How the heck did he pay for it? Was I going to feel guilty, hide it, feel ashamed? Or accept it with appreciation and love?

I know that I can live without it and for my heart that feels good. I do not NEED it. Things have less of a hold on me now a days. But I KNOW that to love Kevin is to allow him to show me tangibly how very much he loves me. With our crazy budget, he doesn’t really get the opportunity to often.

So I am accepting it, I am loving it, and that candy apple red Vitamix sitting on our counter will be busy making all the smoothies, soup in 4 minutes, homemade ice cream, and lots of other goodies that it can take.

~Lisa

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