I live in the heart of wine country in Woodinville, Wa but the grapes in this painting are from Italy.

We stayed in a dreamy villa outside of Montepulciano last summer.  On a warm Italian evening right about sunset, my son and I walked into the vineyard to photograph the grapes.

Italian Grapes

11 x 14

$600

Oil on Board

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But nothing important, or meaningful, or beautiful, or interesting, or great ever came out of imitations. The thing that is really hard, and really amazing, is giving up on being perfect and beginning the work of becoming yourself . . .

Anna Quindlen

Why do we as humans struggle so hard with the notions of being our authentic selves?

Why is the call for success and money so strong that we imprison ourselves in the constant quest for it?

Why is success defined more by what we accumulate than by what we leave behind?

I ask these questions because I have been striving the last several years to answer them. I’ve spent a lot of time sitting and thinking lately – it’s what happens when you have a broken foot.  And I have begun putting together the story of my journey to this place where I sit now.

And I have been working on being imperfect – more challenging than I’d like to admit for my type A personality.  As part of this process, I’ve been making bowls.  Not perfect bowls that you order on-line from a factory in China.  I have been making beautiful, imperfect bowls.

And I have discovered that the beauty is in the imperfections.