Soulful Studios Pet Portraits Almost Ready for Business

I can't believe how much we've accomplished since my last post. During the last week of January I started making arrangements for our wedding. Even though we are keeping it small, simple and mostly family, there was more work involved than I realized. Thinking I was a smart woman, I put my house up for sale at the beginning of March so that by the end of summer it would be sold and my wedding would have been over and the new studio would be finished. This way nobody would be rushed, or so I thought. The dear Lord smiled on us and my house/studio sold in a matter of days to the first person that saw it, after being on the internet for only 2 hours. This was great news however, part of the deal required me to be out of there in 3 weeks. Again, the new Soulful Studios was not finished and I would be without the ability to paint or upload to Blogger for many weeks. In this crazy housing market, we didn't think twice and got my stuff out of there and let our crackerjack real estate agent handle the rest. So, since February, we've built a new studio, organized a beautiful wedding and moved an entire house and workspace. Wow.

This is more than amazing to me because this time last year I would not have been able to meet these physical and emotional challenges. My body was not nearly healed enough and it still has a long way to go even now. Yet, every morning that I wake up, I see steady improvement. I doubt I will ever be able to run 13 miles on a Sunday morning again but that doesn't matter. My life and my world has different challenges and better rewards now. For the first time since 2006, I look far into the future with excitement and the knowledge that no matter what, I have a strong support system. To say this feels like a rebirth is an understatement.

By Wednesday of next week I will be painting again. New business cards will be made and regular updates to my website and blog will be published. Business as usual can be expected at Soulful Studios but better than ever. Still to be finished is the back wall gallery, the stone path and shrubs, the proper light bulbs installed and the front signage made. All of this must be in place for the Arts in Bloom Open House Studio Tour on May 30th and 31st. Please visit the main site for more information about this special event. I will be posting more updates after the wedding. Until then please enjoy the photos above as a little hint of the peacefulness and beauty that you will find here when you visit.

Also, please visit Canine Partners for Life's site and view the videos about their fabulous work. Watching these clips will help you better understand why this is the organization I support the most.

Finally, Woodstown will be starting their farmers market on May 8th. Please visit their site for more information. As things get rolling there, I will be creating a series of paintings featuring the Woodstown Farmers' Market much as I painted for the one in Salem.

So much to say and yet so little time. Thank you all for being so patient. I'm glad to be back.