While recovering. . .birds

Two weeks into recovery from my fall, I have been propping up my injured knee on a cushion while sitting at my studio table with the view of the bird feeders. In that position I can sit and draw and paint for a half hour or so, enough for a quick sketch of some sort.

watercolor in 6″X6″ Field Watercolor Journal HP

This fellow I’d never seen before appeared on the suet feeder, then perched in a bush for a while, looking like he was taking a midday nap.

But I have been following along with my birder friend Lisa Genuit, who sends out out several slide shows of her local sightings each week. During this time when I’m homebound, this supplements my diet of only those birds that dine at my feeder.

It’s a fortunate moment when you can pair the bloom with the bird in a perfect complement! THank you Lisa!

And down on the beach, the killdeer – how did such a delicate bird get that name? looking so dapper in the bird tuxedo. Another of Lisa’s pics.

I’ll settle for this kind of bird watching for now, and when I can get back out to the lake and the woods and the Sound, I’ll have a better chance at identification.

The answer to my question above is Killdeer get their name from the shrill, wailing kill-deer call they give so often. in All About Birds.

Accidental Landings

The news we consume daily becomes the warp and woof of our tangled perception of daily events. It spills out onto the painted and written pages if we pay attention.

black and white gesso, collage, Interference acrylic

Out there in space resisting reentry
wishing for another administration
one with an ounce of good sense
NASA’s calling us back into the mess
Any chance of a detour?
Mars maybe?

An unhappy landing. Unlike the successful Artemis II flyby of the moon earlier this month that I think I was channeling when I painted the above Muse piece. Now it speaks to me as a premonition – oh why not?! – of my fateful fall last Saturday.

I took a clumsy tumble, landing unfortunately – no broken bones- well except oh yeah my nose and a knee blast and a bloody round of urgent care, ER, even ambulance and treatment, until even my phone stopped recognizing me and the bathroom mirror presented a new bad ass version of Susan.

I should take a tip from Octopus Lady now as I heal, meeting challenges as they come, using my shape shifting properties, borrowing her spirit animal adaptability, creative problem solving, intelligence and ability to regenerate from challenges!

It might be starting to work!. My phone once again recognizes me as its genii!

Kwansan at the Capitol

fineliner and watercolor in Zeta Series Carnet de Croquis sketchbook

The second round of cherry tree blossoms brought the sketchers out to the Capitol grounds again last week. Another sunny day to show off the Kwansans this time, frilly in their pink pom pom dresses. I was not feeling well enough to stay and set up my stool for the onsite painting, but took pictures and gave it a try at home later.

Octopus Lady

inks and fluid acrylics, collage on w/c paper

Octopus Lady
Does she have you fooled
with her puzzle of a body?

She is the water
the flow within it
the hush that slips through you
like a subtle rain,
not stopping to explain,

She leaves you spellbound
as she slips away
shape shifting and color turning,
becoming what she must.

So call her trickster,
but know her as Mystery
Mistress of the deep.

So which came first? the idea of an octopus animal spirit or a confusing image on an abstract painting? Definitely the latter! It was a leftover gesso-textured paper with some random . . .well, here it is. . .

So I started making it into an ocean wave, and that’s when the octopus started to manifest!

But perhaps you see something different appearing? Another spirit animal? Don’t worry. You’re not losing it. Haha!

South Capitol neighborhood

fineliner and watercolor in Carnet de Croquis, mixed media sketchbook

Any street in this quiet neighborhood of older homes, many with a view of the Capitol rotundra, would offer an interesting subject for a sketcher. This one happened to be for sale. A bungalow with a red door, perched on the edge of a forested ravine. Houses very seldom come available in this sought after neighborhood. Ineke and I were there to enjoy the sunshine and flowering trees. These are Camelias.

Visitors and Marauders ?

Although I profess to be an equal minded nature lover, I do have my preferences. These little wrens are squarely in the welcome visitor category.

It was 70 degrees and sunny, one of the first days this year I was able to eat my lunch in my favorite backyard spot. And these two busy little wrens were carrying their nest building materials in and out of the round entryway in a birdhouse someone gave me years ago. I watched with delight!

Later in the day Mr. Muscular Marauder arrived at the suet feeder hanging from a shepherd’s crook outside my studio window. He landed there within five minutes of putting it in place.

He shimmied up the slippery pole, turned his back to me and dropped down – an acrobatic wonder – skewered the suet cage with rear feet, curled his body down and around the bottom, perfectly situating his mouth for instant toothful consumption of morsels of fat, releasing a cascade of pieces into the air. Such a messy, wasteful eater, I think! Such terrible table manners! Such an uncouth oaf, stealing meals from the delicate chicadees and finches, juncos and downy woodpeckers the meal was meant for.

I bang loudly on the window and he’s gone. Good, I think. I scared him off.

Five minutes later he’s back, perched on the pole facing me head on, insolent. . .Repeat: knock on window, he bolts. Returns in minutes and resumes eating. Repeat. Repeat. He doesn’t remember? Dosn’t care? Or does he think I’ll give up?

Until I start to question. . .so why are the birds more worthy of the meal than squirrels? Why am I being so stingy? Why not let him eat, especially since he’s giving me such a good show!

UR Eggs-ceptional!

Happy Easter and resurrection in all its myriad forms! There’s always the eggs, and chickies and bunnies. . .I’ve always had a thing about eggs. Not just eating them, but enjoying the multi-colored ones, especially when arranged together in the egg carton. Years ago I had my own flock behind the studio, chosen for their party feathers and a rainbow of different colored eggs.

So I went back to that favorite shape when figuring out what to do with a gesso textured piece I’d painted on, but which was going nowhere. Eggs! I thought, remembering the egg coloring get togethers I used to attend and host. I got the scissors out and started cutting. . .

. . . and arranging, and then made an underpainting, or maybe I was thinking nest. . .

And here’s your Easter card, which is just waiting for the words. . . . .

U R Eggs-ceptional!!

Shape

The Muse lesson this week was Shape, one of the five elements of design. SHAPE: a self contained defined area of geometric or organic form.

I demoed one way of shape-making by painting an abstract shape with water first and then charging in pigment – acrylic ink in this case; tilting the paper; and watching patiently to see what would happen before adding water or more pigment. I used Daler Rowney Sepia ink and touches of Vermilion Sumi Ink, finishing with some asemic writing.

today sprouts out
organic sepia
seeping soil
soaking sticking

creatures creeping

hopping like rabbit
felled now by hungry crow

. . .remains of a wildness
meal left behind

The lawn out front is soft and spongy from an abundant overgrowth of moss this winter. I was surveying the garden the day before Muse Group and discovered a bunny in pieces, left behind by a now sated crow, circling with his gang overhead. Tufts of gray and white fur, inner organs carefully separated out intact, and haunches gnawed to the bone. The art sought and found the beauty of emergent life and got snagged on the inherent destructive aspect we would rather not see.

Another New Playful Muse workshop series!

The Muse is feeling Spring bursting out all over, and is hoping you are willing to drop conventions and make some wild playful art. If you’re in the Olympia area, I hope you’ll join us. And if not, please join us anyway, as I will be sharing our lessons here on the blog. After all, the Muse is not bound by physical location.

Here is your invitation:

New Spring!Summer, 2026 series!

Find new spontaneity and playfulness in your art-making. The Muse Group is a creative laboratory designed to help you uncover your intuitive voice while guiding you in fresh, unexpected directions.

Each session introduces a new mixed-media painting technique, expanding your repertoire and gently pushing the boundaries of inks, acrylics, and watercolors. You’ll explore texture, collage, printmaking, mark-making, and more—building layers of discovery and experimentation.

Meditation and reflective writing are woven into each session to quiet the inner critic and awaken powerful Muse energy. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced painter, this workshop offers a supportive space to play, explore, and deepen your creative practice.

Wednesday Morning Muses – meets every other week
April 29, May 13, 27, June 10, 24, July 8, 2026
Time: 10am-1pm
Cost: $30 per class (all class fees go toward studio rental, extra supplies and donation to Olympia Food Bank)
Where: 1230 8th Ave SE, Olympia
Class size will be limited to 8 students.

Space is limited, (only three spots left!)so register early! To register, contact Susan

No Kings 3!

Me and the millions, I was THERE! Here in Olympia at the Capitol grounds. A crowd person I am not. But this crowd felt like family, glad to get together and share our anger at the hostile takeover of our democracy, but also to celebrate our caring for each other, and hope for the future.

I headed over first to join the Dances for Universal Peace by the fountain, joining hands in the circle which steadily grew as new people joined in with the singing and dancing. When the marchers arrived and the speeches began, I set up my stool for a while to see what I could get on paper.