This volunteer work gives the Rensing Center some outreach points, and Matthew some new skills to add to his already substantial arsenal. Bravo!
splashy dinner-plate-size blooms that collapse by morning. This one is at home in a pot Jamie threw in the early '80s, and has been a member of the family that long. The first twig came from Martha Dunigan, a marvelous artist and teacher whose green thumb left us this legacy and many a fine memory...we stayed with her for years at the annual PCI show in Winston Salem, NC. 
...enjoying a few moments of relaxation after a brilliant workshop and concert. Jessie fell in love with Hemmie the Mastiff at Hagood Mill, and Kiku did her best imitation of Martha Washington. We hope they had fun.
Three exhausted residents, re-hydrating after our first weekly Monday Morning group Workfest. Turns out that when you get a chain-gang together they can get a HUGE amount done in four hours. Especially if they're good! Elizabeth, Valentina, and Matthew helped gather the tools, hardware, and major painting equipment from the outside closet, emptied 30 years worth of files from my old office, painted said office, moved all the shelves in there, and stocked them. There's a threatening poster about putting things back where you found them, and soon we will know where that is!
As we prepare for Ensemble Pamplemousse to visit us for a week, and breathe the nearly liquid air of South Carolina's summer, we thought we'd make their arrival at the Studio somewhat more complicated by giving them a still-wet slab of concrete to dance across. Who wants to make bets on what kind of footprints are in the surface by tomorrow?
Cobblers, with lots of ginger (one of the other major food groups) are nearly a daily treat. Kiwi harvest is looking great for October, too.
Elizabeth's first contribution to our growing graphic history. I'm delighted. We are eager to welcome this tribe of New Yorkers next week. They look like fun!
Two fierce warriors, well matched. Jamie's old table is seeing lots of new use, and my skills are taxed tracking who is winning. I'm more likely to be learning Italian with our native speaker, Valentina. Evenings are a pleasure at the Rensing Center!
Boo (last year's resident), James (this summer's intern), and Amalia (full-time daughter and doctoral candidate, whose book collection been hidden in the storehouse for many moons) hauled countless heavy boxes up and down countless steps, and a real library emerged. This fitting tribute to Evelyn's passion for books (clearly a part of the genome worth researching) became a new focus and a 
commitment for the Rensing Center. Send us your favorites! Come help us catalog! Curl up and enjoy the newly-accessible wealth of information. We'll brew you some tea!
loved the lively activities at Camp this spring, and are busy planning the next ones. Tony's amazing bike was a big hit, as were Shelby's salt-lick moulds and Nathan's marching band. Every day was very full, but there were not enough of them! According to popular demand, we must perpetuate: Judy's story circle, some Roast Beast, and lots of music, perhaps as played on the alarming (plastic) baby-leg flute. Stay tuned. 
Benjie arrived with this new sign, legible from outer space, which Susan Lau created from mom's 1937 signature. We installed it just in time for the Garden Party. We were all very pleased, even mom.
Thanks to our Permaculture workshop in March, our Mother Oak is presiding over a new collection of friends, which have taken root nicely. Chestnut(with a pedigree), and a lovely pair of Nanking cherries, with some rhubarb at their feet and a mulberry in the background. Dot Jackson warned us that the chestnut is a favorite lollipop for deer, so Jamie caged our two. Cross all body parts.
The olive oil and wine flowed, and the eggplant, risotto, chicken cacciatore, and panna cotta were divine! Lorenzo translated. Marco worked his magic. Many new friends for the Rensing Center.
materials together for next week's ArtFarm Camp. We're having a bunch of people here for a Garden Party, to celebrate mom's 90th birthday, and support the Rensing Center. Jamie's donating his mom's collection, 35 years worth of his pots, for our auction...Don't you think the bamboo looks like the handles for our butterfly-shaped auction paddles?
