Online Class, Painting Koi & Reflections Yesterday I spent the afternoon wandering through the marshes with tea in hand, listening to frogs and red-winged blackbirds while the boardwalk carried me over still water and reeds. These walks always feel like a kind of forest bathing for the imagination, a quiet return to observation, myth, and calm. That atmosphere inspired my next online koi class. We’ll be focusing on how to paint koi beneath reflected skies, trees, and moving water- learning...

Ornamental Koi, oil on linen by Teresa Oaxaca Ornamental Koi The Cherub—wears Green—as if the World Had chosen Spring— And laid it breathing—on the Blue— Of Water—hardly moving— Below—slow Lanterns—glide— Gold Thoughts with living Tails— They keep the Silence—faithfully— As monks—keep Bells— A Cup—of Tea—defies the Depth— Porcelain—brave— The Sun—accepts its Invitation— And stays— No Hand—disturbs the Floating— No Wind—argues— The Flowers—learn—what Holding means— By letting go— ⸻ ...

Teresa holding Tiny Tim There is a particular relief in painting subjects that do not want anything from you. Some of them move. Some of them wilt. Some of them crack if you are careless. None of them perform. In Christy’s studio, the days unfolded slowly and deliberately. We gathered roses and wild flowers from her garden — some just past their prime, others still tight with morning — and set them among porcelain teapots, saucers, and cups worn thin by years of use. Fresh eggs were...