Thoughtful Thursday-On Carving Pumpkins

I love carving pumpkins, which I did this morning. I'm finally grown up enough (it took a ridiculously long time) to not mind the preliminary hollowing of the pumpkin and I treat the carving as a free-form adventure. I don't draw anything ahead, I just start cutting. I have always taken special pleasure in seasonal activities like carving pumpkins and dying Easter eggs as a respite from the standards I feel I need to meet in my artwork. Last year's holiday card said, "Take joy!," from Fra Giovanni's 1513 Christmas letter and I also quoted it in Art Lessons. As I carved pumpkins today and reflected back on yesterday's lettering for tomorrow's First Day of Celtic Winter image, I felt that the two were not that far apart. I can approach my work with greater freedom. To "Take Joy!" is truly a possibilty.