A May highlight: a quick trip to New York City for my niece’s confirmation. My mom and I spent a fun morning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we were able to see the Casper David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature exhibit, and so many other beautiful things. And then catch our breath and restore our energy with afternoon tea.

I’d never seen this Matisse — don’t the colors go beautifully with my mom and the tea room?

So what is an Art-O-Mat? They’re old cigarette machines that have been converted into dispensers for art. Trade $5 for a token or insert it directly into the machine and get back an original, tiny, piece of art. It’s very fun. This is a picture of my friend Michelle (also an Art-O-Mat artist) and I with a dispenser in Littleton, NC.

This is my first collection for Art-O-Mat, I submitted a prototype and had it approved in March. My collection is titled Views and features expressive land and sea scapes composed from(itty bitty pieces of) hand-painted and found papers. I’m not sure when or where my pieces will appear in the Art-O-Mat universe, there are currently over 200 machines worldwide.

And finally, a note of suspense — could this be the view from the windows of my next studio? It’s possible, we’re in negotiations (today, as it happens) for a lovely property in western NC. I’ll let you know how that shakes out in my summer email. (Which I promise not to skip:)