I painted the bits of this in my sketchbook last year and decided to turn it into a repeating pattern. I based the design on a visit I made to The Huntington with my sister, back when she was living in Los Angeles. It was a glorious Saturday in September and I could have stayed days instead of hours, poking through all the gardens and exhibits. We ate oodles of scones in the tea room. I remember being obsessed with the Bonsai. And when it was all done, we left happy and tired, blaring the radio as we barreled down the freeway. Whenever I hear T. Rex’s “Cosmic Dancer,” I still think of that day.
Fields and Forests
Last year, I had the good fortune to collaborate on a batch of mugs with the very talented Annie Buchholz, who runs Sunshine Design. I created the repeating pattern, which Annie added to her beautifully made pieces. The illustration was inspired by the area around Sandwich, New Hampshire, which piqued my curiosity driving up to teach at Squam in 2019. It’s hard not to get sucked into the story of a town that has a massive wall topped with an enormous statue of Niobe.
