One of the nicest things Wally has done for me is to have a table made so I can stand to paint. Being short, I need an uncommon height to comfortably paint. Now I have a generous table of perfect dimensions made from huanacaxtle, a wood so hard that termites turn the other way. The table has a sliding shelf with my supplies. Painting is easy and accessible now.

This is what’s on my table. It’s a common tree, though nothing here is common to me. The seed pods look like big paper figs. Painting is a way to stay in wonder, to see and see playfully, experimentally and experientially.