imagine that

"Imagine That" is a really cute movie rental! Yara Shahidi is too adorable as Eddie Murphy's daughter and Thomas Haydn Church is extremely hilarious! And of course, so is Eddie Murphy. I especially love the soundtrack which has a lot of Beatles songs redone... my favorite- "All You Need is Love" and Colbie Callait singing "Here Comes the Sun"! Two thumbs up!

anyone else getting excited?

It's time to think about Christmas cards again and all the things that come with the holidays...oooohh!!!!!!

more kokeshis

The Japanese American National Museum has kokeshis from their show which ran from July through October for sale and also shows some that were sold. They used the longer vertical kokeshi form for their entries this year and as usual, there are some very inspiring works. Check it out here if you have a minute!

The End...

I'm sorry to share the news that Hatch Studio & Gallery will be closing it's doors after the last drawing class on Saturday, November 20th.

I want to thank each of you who supported my opening, who took classes and art camps, who bought the wonderful art and the crafts from the gallery, who gave me great ideas, and who had fun with me and others at our Ladies Night Out! Whether it was just bad timing with the economy or not enough interest in art, Hatch wasn't able to make itself fly right now. I don't regret any part of it... in fact, I'm so thankful that I met so many wonderful people-- adults and children, who I hope to see after the doors are closed.

If your child is enrolled in the Drawing Classes right now, I will still continue our classes as scheduled. If you have a Hatch Card and were not able to make up a class or we missed one because of my having to close last Saturday, refunds will be given at the last class.

As for the gallery, I have some things on sale from my previous sale: Beautiful photography

prints by Kellie Honea and Maureen Miller, Handmade greeting cards by Terri Fisher, Felt

Crowns by Rubyellen Bratcher, and jewelry by Juleann Benkoski. I also have hand-dyed and spun yarns by Linda Price, prints by Mandy Sutcliffe of Belle & Boo, and a number of other little goodies. I am not doing any deep discounting because things are either consignment items and will be returned to the artist or I own them and they will become part of my home studio.

While we never know what the future holds, my plans are to set up my home studio (which is

under construction as I write this) so that I can do my own art work, which was the first reason

I opened Hatch. I would like to offer private lessons/classes from my home, so if that is something

you are interested in, please let me know and I will keep you posted. I don't anticipate doing

anything until after the holidays.

I hope that during this time when you were receiving news, that something inspired you or that

you were able to share a little bit of the joy that I have through creating art. The greatest reward

in life is to be able to pass on joy to another, to watch the excitement and interest build in

someone else and to share seeing the world through an artist's eyes.

Thank you again for your friendship,

Beth

[reprinted from my email letter to my mailing list recipients]

quiet

I feel like I've been living my life out loud for awhile now. Craig and I were cleaning up my computer and doing a major Backup (of over a million files...yikes!) and I found this photo of me and my kids when they were just in preschool. It's funny how it seems like so long ago that they were this little yet it also seems like they are exactly the same two kids who I was sitting between on the couch last night, cuddling and watching tv. When this picture was taken, I was involved in some little projects but I never would have guessed that I'd be blogging someday (we were barely on the internet at that point) and that I'd have friends all over the world! Then when I started Hatch, I met more wonderful people. I think I've reached an overload mode... too much interaction for this introvert! I didn't even have enough time to keep up with everyone on my blog and even when I did want to write, my energy was gone. Is gone. I see all these great posts by others listed and my heart sinks because I know I need to rush off and get ready for another class or get home before the school bus comes. And it's not like I don't want to do those things... I just don't have time to be spontaneous and explore the world like I used to. I'm lucky in that I have a husband who understands that about me. He reminds me frequently that to be happy, I need to have freedom to create, to learn and to explore. And that also means being quiet occasionally and not be a part of the whirlwind of life that I seem to be a big part of right now. I know if I say I will stop blogging, then I'll be on here more! That's the way it always seems to work. I know I'm writing this for myself, but I just needed to express this and let myself just accept that fact... that I am quiet and I need that. After the death in Craig's family and Nathaniel having the flu, it forced me to take a break and I finally felt like myself again. So, I'm hoping this fall that as the holidays near and Hatch closes, that I start working in my studio again and embracing what truly makes me happy. I wish that for everyone.