Is the cold, gray winter bringing you down? Are you weary and depressed from the lack of sunlight, the endless shoveling and needing 6 layers to walk to your driveway? Chances are you have a case of the winter blues...and you know what the best remedy is? Flowers! Flowers have the ability to brighten your day and elevate your mood. Studies at Rutgers University have found that merely looking at flowers can induce happiness and reduce anxiety. So bring flowers into your life

Recently, a young women came to my studio to learn about pressing flowers. Lhyn, who is from northern VT, had visited my website and Etsy shop a few months earlier and was inspired to attend a flower pressing workshop. We scheduled a 2-hour individual workshop for June, when more flowers would be in bloom. Lucky for us, the day was sunny and dry, just right for a 3-hour drive and perfect for pressing flowers. Lhyn arrived right on time and after a short introduction, we got

We called them Stinkpots but their real name is Trillium There are many trillium species but Trillium Erectum or Red Trillium, otherwise known as Wake Robin, is perhaps the most familiar of all trillium species in the woods and forests of eastern USA. As kids, my brothers and I called them stinkpots because of their unpleasant odor when put close to your nose. Actually, Stinking Benjamin is really another nickname for Red Trillium, so apparently we weren't the only ones who f

Queen Anne's Lace It's dainty as lace and pretty enough to deck a queen. In late July and August, Queen Anne's Lace is seen along roadsides, embankments, in fields and in other places where the soil is not very rich. As lovely as it might be, it is considered an invasive weed in many states, so beware of planting it in your garden. Queen Anne's Lace's botanical name is Daucaus carota. It is in the same family as the carrot and its root smells just like a carrot. When rubbed

The studio is cleaned up, the display panels are set up and pictures are hung. We're all set for the 22nd Open Studio! Open Studio Weekend, sponsored by the Vermont Crafts Council, is a statewide celebration of the visual arts and creative process during Memorial Day Weekend. Visitors have an opportunity to meet and talk with a wide variety of artists and craftspeople in their studios and watch demonstration of the artists at work. Sharing my pressed flower art with others