Oh my goodness! We are so busy here at the studio. I leave for the Philadelphia Flower Show a week from today! This year’s theme is Brilliant! – based on all things English. What fun! Junebug and I are looking forward to being immersed in English Gardens all week- Formal hedge, cottage gardens, topiary and English roses! Shown below is my new design for this year’s show featuring the Hedges & Hares bunnies. We can’t leave out “Keep Calm and Garden On” or the Wellie, or the Cavalier King Charles or lastly the beautiful Teapot. We know how the British enjoy their tea!  Enjoy!

If you will be attending the Flower Show be sure to stop by booth #1002 and say hi! Hope to see you there! All of the designs featured are available at http://michellemasters.com. Click here to order.

Onward and upward. I came up with this little design while sketching a couple of months ago. I love the optimism, innocence and solitude that it expresses. I hope you like it too. It will soon be available in blank notecards, linen guest towels, lavender sachets and signed prints.

Doesn’t every Cavalier King Charles need their own royal topiary throne in the garden complete with David Austin English Roses and Burberry Pillow? I think so! This design will soon be available in notecards, linen guest towels, prints and pillows online at michellemasters.com. Until then… give us a call toll free at 888.313.0239 to order.

A couple of years ago Farmboy, the kids and I surprisingly decided to drive down to Mississippi and take my 95 yr old grandmother to Thanksgiving brunch at Houmas House in Louisiana.  What can I say;  we try to be an adventurous bunch whenever possible. That was the year that we discovered the Columbus Topiary Garden… pajamas and all.

This time of year makes me think of our trip: going home, that amazing lunch and sitting with my grandmother in the gardens. Boxwood hedge, century old live oaks dripping with Spanish moss, and distant sculptures framed by long allees create a series of exterior spaces to take in and savor. Let’s stroll through an old southern plantation garden, shall we?

Our day at Houmas House ended with standing on the levee overlooking the Mississippi River watching the sunset. Not too shabby. If you are in south Louisiana/New Orleans area during the holidays… the Thanksgiving Brunch is to die for. You will NEED a walk through the extensive gardens after you leave the table! Believe me.

For more information on Houmas House, its history and gardens or to make dinner reservations click here.

Junebug and I taking Paley and North for a ride.

I finally got back in the saddle… because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t.

The last time I lost a horse I was a freshman in college and I didn’t ride again for 10 years. It was too emotional and I was used to loving and having a relationship with the knowing beast that carried me around.

I got back in the saddle- on my gelding North who seems lost and displaced since we said good-bye to my mare Paley. She’s been a dear friend to me for the past 18 yrs.

I haven’t been blogging because I have been grieving with the knowledge of having to let her go (and then adjusting to “after”). I felt an undercurrent of sadness that rose to the immediacy of calling the vet to come as soon as he could.

Family life, farm life… it’s what I write about. It IS my life here as an artist. But I couldn’t talk about what was happening. I couldn’t give my name to the receptionist at the vet on the phone. I couldn’t trust myself to speak when the vet came to the farm. Farmboy had to be there all the time. I didn’t know if I would sob, be silent or speak.

So. On a cold and windy Thursday in Dec. we said good-bye… Farmboy, my sister-in-law, me, the vet and North. It was both beautiful and heart-breaking.

One day I will write about that experience, what my vet insisted on to allow my gelding to say goodbye and how it changed what was happening. He was wise and right and I am thankful for his years and insight. The picture in my mind haunts me and reminds me of something that I always considered as one of the sweetest and saddest things I’ve ever seen.

Paley and North saying hello for the first time. He was very malnourished- only off the track a couple of days.

I got back in the saddle to help North find a different purpose than being her companion and to help me connect because he and the pony Queenie have been second string- the supporting cast.  She was my priority. I feel like I could walk away from riding right now. My spark is gone. She was my etch-a-sketch. When we went out, I came back shaken up… erased. Fresh and new… mentally and physically. My step was lighter and I could conquer much.

I got back in the saddle. It’s a start, right?

The day we bought Paley.

Our first ride in the hunt field with Cherry Valley Hunt. 

Hope this little fellow didn’t scare you in his ghostly sheet.

It’s quite a disquise, don’t you think. : )

This design will soon be available on Greeting Cards and Linen Guest Towels at http://michellemasters.com

Isn’t that a great title? Farmboy and I had a wonderful opportunity this past weekend to attend an exhibit presented by the Agricultural Stewardship Association in Cambridge, NY titled Landscapes for Landsakes– the 11th Annual Art Exhibition to Benefit Farmland Conservation. Located on a beautiful farm, nestled in a valley surrounded by flaming orange and red hardwoods, it was quite a visual treat and very well attended.

Maple Ridge Farms is the estate/gallery were this event is held annually. An old rough-hewn, wooden peg barn was converted into a lovely gallery-  well lit, gigantic walls and a wide open interior. In the lower part of the barn (shown below) a gallery was created as a special Tribute to Barns after the curator Serena Kovalosky’s numerous conversations with artist regarding the disappearance of many of the historical structures in the local landscape.

35 different artists created work that celebrated the landscape, farms and animals that inspire them. Beautiful oils from Leslie Peck (shown at top), an artist that we had seen in a gallery in Saratoga, were for sale as well as some compelling mixed media pieces, ceramics and photography. The $5 admission was well worth the price and included samples of New York State wine and cheeses. 50% of the art sales were also used to benefit farmland conservation.

Farmboy and I were inspired to create a beautiful community event in one of the old barns at home… if only there was more time in the day. : )

For more information on this event and the conservation of farmland please visit the website.