Poetry, Plaisance, and a Present for You!

Poetry

This week, we officially celebrate gratitude—though we unofficially celebrate it year-round, of course! So another big Thank You to all who helped me get to Vermont Studio Center in October. It was a dream come true—with the bonus of crimson-and-gold foliage and many new friends. I spent entire days in what I call Poetry Land, looking up from the page or screen to watch the Gihon River run past outside my studio window. It was a bit of heaven on earth. In addition to mostly finishing my poetry manuscript, I created and posted little bits of micropoetry and watercolors each day to share the journey. When I gathered those daily lines together, I was happy to see that they had shaped a single poem that celebrates beauty and community. You can find it here along with a few of the paintings. (In the photo, courtesy of Howard Romero, I’m hiding in the back on the left 🙂

Plaisance

Another dream come true: I wrote wine labels! Twenty “poetry labels” for twenty bottlings of Plaisance Ranch wine. If you’re from Southern Oregon, you probably know how good Plaisance wine is—and how it’s created by third-generation winemaker Joe Ginet and his family. I was thrilled to write the descriptions for their wine (and to discover the Mondeuse varietal!). The photo shows one of my favorite labels.

…And a Present for You!

Best for last…a little present from me to you. Click here for a free digital print of the image above—a bit of holiday love to enjoy in pixels or print, to keep or to give—or all of the above!

Big gratitude & big love,

Anna

PS: At the very end of this newsletter, find a few gift ideas of the more experiential kind. Happy holidays!