A year in review
As 2023 comes to a strong decrescendo and Advent season invites us into waiting and seeking light, may these words and photos be a gentle offering of thankfulness for the gift of life we’ve been given.
We have felt a deep sense this year we are NOT alone. Our community and mysterious God has sustained us in unimaginable ways. We have chased the light and found hope along the way.
Peter and I are sending our first ever Christmas card this year- but it will likely arrive after Christmas day. Sometimes things show up later than we hope. Sometimes we are left waiting. Sometimes we are rushing around without margin and feel we’ve arrived “late”. Life is full of many mysteries.
a year marked by grace and divine ADVENTURE- this photo was taken in Zambia in October!
RENEWAL
2023 began with rain. Massive storms hit the Bay Area similar to our wedding day in 2021. The weather shifted our plans and brought renewal to our drought stricken land. I had the joy of helping lead a one-month residency program in the heart of the mission district. My work with Transform arts continues to be a way for me to bridge the gap between art and faith. I made so many new friends during this time and painted two new pieces depicting themes of renewal in my mother’s journey with cancer as well as the cyclical nature of womanhood. My rug was in full use in January!
Seeking HOME
Peter and I have been keeping a secret from you! In Febuary I traveled to Semur-en-Auxois to visit a beautiful apartment that was for sale. My similar soul friend Sarah Strand came with me and met the owner- a kind older gentleman who became my French pen pal for a season as we perused the dream of having a retreat space for artists in the French countryside. The town is a medieval village and the apartment in is a former convent, “La Visitation” from the 1700s with best friends as neighbors. After a long, arduous emotional rollercoaster with French bureaucracy and thinking we may have lost the apartment, God performed a miracle and we were able to purchase the home!! It is a DREAM come true! This year has allowed us to prayerfully consider our next steps and build a bridge between France and California.
(film photos from my vision trip to visit the space and many friends along the way)
“New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills, and I will bring my people Israel back from exile.
“They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
Amos 9:14
I celebrated my 29th birthday in my parent’s backyard with a table full of dear friends. The phrase “New Wine” has marked this new year of life- I am abundantly grateful for the creative community that surrounds me. Community has been integral in many of our decisions this year. We have made some BIG life changes and seeing dreams come true before our eyes. It’s a beautiful and messy gift to witness dreams come reality.
Peter has picked up his camera again this year- capturing many beautiful moments and relaunched his photography site here.
Summer in the French Countryside
We have become unofficial ambassadors of FrenchBee this year- a budget airline with direct flights from SFO to ORLY. We flew over to Paris and zipped down in a car lent by generous friends to Burgundy. This was Peter’s first time visiting the apartment! In 2022 we had visited friends in the village and fell in love with the town. We spent the first few weeks exploring sunflower fields, hitting up “vide greniers” (garage sales) and finding vintage furniture for the space. I love a good bargain and France is full of them. My mom was miraculously able to come just before starting another season on chemotherapy. We cherished her time with us and called it “france-therapy”. We ended up extending our trip and hosting over 8 artists and friends during our stay. Peter photographed a wedding dress shoot with Amanda Lorraine Bridal- a dear friend! Peter’s parents spontaneously came towards the end of our trip, Marilyn’s first time in France after 43 years! They had lived in Paris in the 1970s working with college students with Cru! It was a joy to see God work through generations and bring them back to a country they love.
What is Home?
We arrived back to foggy San Francisco after what seemed to be a dream with a notification our rent would be increased and health issues from mold experienced in our cozy little home. With much prayer and tears, we decided it was time to move out and trust God had a different home for us that better suits our needs as artists. Peter is freelancing full time as a graphic designer and I work part time with a non-profit art organization (and full time artist!). This season has been one of increased faith and trust to continue life in the Bay Area living on the margins of the tech world. We found a great storage space and moved out within three weeks to hop on a plane again- this time to Zambia for the Kids for the Kingdom national conference. Peter has served on their board and it was an honor and complete JOY to take this journey.
Daily Bread
We came back “home” to France after our life-changing trip to Africa. We spent the sacred hours in the change of seasons and fullness of fall. We visited Peter’s dream bakery, Les Champs du Destin and dog sat a beloved gordon setter. Mallory and Claire-Elise came for a few nights from Paris for art retreats. Peter and I painted a new series of work that is now on display at our Reality Church in San Francisco. We began to see a the vision of this space to be lived out- a sanctuary and place of nourishment. Peter cooked delicious meals and we shared communion of daily bread. Time passed quickly and I left for the life changing Renaissance Conference in London. I received new vision for my art and met others that are boldly living curious and inspiring lives on the edge of culture.
We returned back to the strange reality of not having a home here on earth. Our earthly belongings now in storage, keys to an apartment in France and deep experience of global community has given us a refreshing lightness and possibility of what life is all about- togetherness and creation. We arrived back to my parent’s home this season- living in the french-themed guest room with suitcases slightly unpacked. Many friends have asked if we’ve moved and our response has been one of “well, maybe- but not quite- we are in transition”. If you enjoy the practice of prayer, we invite you to join us in prayer for direction in this in-between.
There are so many miraculous and messy moments not captured in this post. We have both struggled and thrived, We have been rich and we have been poor. We have tasted and seen, the goodness of grace this year of 2023- another year in Eternity.
We leave you with a deep exhale of thankfulness. Thank you for being on this journey with us. To end, here is a fresh poem for this season of Advent presented at a showcase in San Francisco last night I had the joy of helping curate with other artists. May you feel the depths of HOPE this season.
We love you
