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Today we went above and beyond and furnished a previously built potting table into a full-blown seed-germination factory.

Just as I was leaving Aroma Joes, I thought to ask for extra cardboard trays. The kind coffee shop girls obliged. I explained that I am starting seedlings in mouth-wash cups, or Dixie cups as my neighbor Joe called them.

Painting the cardboard trays with acrylic sealer to give it durability when watered, I soon realized I did not have enough.

I prepared the Dixie cups for growing seeds. I fixed a screwdriver in the vice, using the flat-head to puncture holes for drainage. 200 cups flew by, and I was able to move the process along by punching holes in 2-4 cups at a time.

On my way back to the table, I attained a realization. The cups will not stand up on the table. made of 1”x1” slats set approx 3” apart, but they will fit in the space between the slats. It’s tough to describe, here it is:

With some joy, I report that the table holds 13 cups per row and there are 28 rows. in the slats, there is enough friction to hold cups full of soil. Whoo!!! We’ve got our plant-holder. I showed my neighbor, who asked me, “what’s next?” The seeds, I thought, and began showing off my collection of various flowers, grasses…really all types of plants that come as seeds.

I’m excited to share my accidental intentional potting table, I thought, with the world. But first, my parents gotta check this out. They wound up having a completely different take than I expected.

Both my parents had a huge impact on the evolution of this table. My mother, the wonderful conserver of words, sentences, and heat, observed that it was too cold in the work shop for seeds to germinate. A quick check spotted the indoor temp at 34 degrees. No wonder I had my “Russian” hat on.

My dad, Mo-, also around to witness, immediately began devising ways to reduce heating costs , but still have a heated space for the seeds to grow.

Having thrown shower curtains under the table to catch soil, it turns out they are better served as curtains. He stapled the shower curtains to the sides of the table to make an enclosed space under the table. Then we got the space heater.

As my friend Carlin pointed out, the ground has a natural effect of heat produced by Nitrogen decomposition. The 1,000,000 microbes going to work on the organic matter produce a lot of heat.

Flipping the shower curtain skirt up on top of the table, the excess fabric acted as a blanket, holding the heat in and keeping our seed babys warm. It took a little adjusting to get the sheet to fit over the table, and continue to retain heat under the table, but it worked like a charm.

The bright Christmas lights are there for ambiance … a sort of “cross between a boarding school student and bringing the outdoors in.”

Now to pot some seeds! Stay tuned.

Yesterday I helped my landlord and his son clear a fallen Pine tree. The Pine was a blowdown, which fell as a result of the recent wind storm in New England.

The cutting was easy. With a sharp chainsaw, the wood easily melded to the simple shapes we cut.

The bright yellow wood really brightens the back yard area. Because the trampoline is a social feature, and is clearly crushed, these benches will not only illuminate a dark spot, they are an opportunity for a similar social garden spot.

I am looking forward to doing more benches. We will see what is in store!

It was a great way to end the month, for despite not actually finishing the competition, I completed 8 paintings in 7 days. I joined the competition officially on February 21.

The competition, fittingly titled “28 in 28”, is a special way to celebrate February and its dreary weather. My uncle Rigg, who finished the competition successfully completing 28 paintings, extended me the invite to join him and his gallery early last month. Preparing hardboard panels with acrylic sealer and two coats of Gesso, I was off to the races. Many thanks to Rigg, and to my friends for encouraging me to keep painting.

The scenery in New Hampshire has been snowy recently. This idyllic setting was furthered by an ice storm leaving trees glistening in the sun. These scenes inspired me to complete paintings celebrating NewEngland Places and Trees—the title of my series.

Starting with a painting measuring 24” x 24” of my neighbors barn, I quickly realized that in order to actually complete this challenge, my subjects needed to be simpler. A consult with his uncle Rigg resulted in a trend in a different direction.

Sketching, a skill I learned at landscape design school, is a way for artists to gauge composition, shadow, and contrast. To make simpler subjects, Rigg advised me to use sketching before painting to map out a subject and make it simpler. Having done two paintings already, I sketched the scene before subsequent paintings.

In addition to the advise from his painting guru, Chadd also got advice from his beloved sister, Ju. She encouraged me to adopt the mindset of working on a painting every day, focusing on the present, and enjoying the desire to paint. I adopted this mindset, and it was the difference for me in the challenge.

There were several highlights to be celebrated, and built upon in the future. The stat line “8-28-2” refers to the eight paintings I completed in the 28 days of February. The two refers to two incomplete paintings. I also performed one study painting.

There were highlights throughout the effort, and success to be built on next year.

Highlights:

• Sketches. I did many sketches of the scenes around the site I painted. I enjoyed working on a small spiral-bound notebook and dark black “China” marker
• Painting with color. I felt the need to brighten the mood of the paintings with color. I went to great extents to use every color I put on the palette.
• Background interest. This challenge(d) me to experiment with background colors and detail. The usual backdrop of deciduous trees often was grey, but could be construed otherwise.
• Foreground interest. The subjects of my paintings weren’t always clear even to me, but I challenged myself to work towards my perspective, and use the progression to highlight different emerging details.

Next year, I hope to improve upon this years performance. I plan to do so with better composition, realism, and simplified color palette. Also, I really want to edge closer to the 28 painting mark! A triple bonus/- sell a painting.

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Thank you to everyone who followed along. Thank you for your support. On to the next one, as they say.