What a Year this has been! 2018 was a memory creating year for sure.

We added a new addition to our family- Bobby Pretzel! I came back from a workshop in San Jose with a Pretzel in my hands – LOL

He is not as tiny anymore but he still loves fetching the ball and we love him very much! (Niles our 18 1/2 year old cat might not love him as much though ;) )

2018 was also the year of some really cool visitors – and if you visited us and you don’t see yourself here- trust me – you are still cool and loved !

My friend Thomas stayed for a while and I loved having him as we share so many interests – it was an art, book, food, fun, chat filled visit.

I loved seeing my sweet Birgit again

and being part of my friend’s eloping wedding in NYC- what a wonderful sweet day in NYC.

2018 was also a crazy and gorgeous travel year – the highlight def. being our trip to Japan – Tokyo

and Kyoto with some inspiration for a later stamp

and Nara. Oh man- I so want to go back to Japan. It was one of the best trips ever!

But also two trips to Germany -visiting friends and family, teaching a workshop at the Baltic Sea and closing a part of our life as we sold our apartment in Hamburg.

A short trip to The Netherlands – Amsterdam – meeting friends and visiting old favorite spots. Amsterdam is actually the city where my husband and I got together :)

And last a short stint to Coventry the UK with my friend  Julie and a visit to the beautiful New Cathedral.

I painted a bit in 2018 – not as much as I wished I had but these are my two favorite paintings from 2018

This too Shall Pass

And “Behind the Museum” (sold)

It was also the year of some fun and special Art Strolls –

Hakone- Open Air Museum in Japan – can I come back soon?

An Art Stroll with friends at the Noguchi Museum

And a birthday Art Stroll to the Met Cloisters.

It was year filled with tons of wonderful memories! It is so good to look back at a year and get a grasp of all the fun and good things that happened – it puts things in a different perspective and shows me how blessed I was this year. I hope your year was a good year as well and you have wonderful memories that make you look back at 2018 with a smile. What made you smile this year?

Nat

What a year this has been! Besides 2017 being a bit of a rollercoaster ride with some health issues with my shoulder and neck and some other world issues, it was a year of mile stones for me for sure.

Becoming an American Citizen after living for four years here and publishing my first book Artful Adventures in Mixed Media were major and weird and awesome and fun! I will never forget the experiences and feelings tied to these two events.

2017 was also a wonderful year because I had my godson visiting me– which was a cool and bonding experience as well, I am sure neither he nor I will forget this.

An epic road trip reminding me to appreciate our world we live in, to respect nature and history and how fortunate I am to have such an awesome husband who shares the same ideas, values and interests with me. We called it the Tour of the American Ancients  

And also last but not least a highlight was meeting the many wonderful students and workshop organizers this year at A Work of Heart in San Jose, CA, The InkPad in NYC, OOAK in Salem, NY, Artiscape in Dublin Ohio, My Heart’s Fancy in Oklahoma, Scrapbooking Forever in CA, Everything Scrapbook and Stamps in FL, Art Workshops in the U.K, in Nathalie’s Studio, NJ, Queen’s Ink in MD and  Runaway Art & Craft in Salem, Oregon, thank you all for coming and inspiring me right back! I cannot wait to come back to many of those places in 2018!

Thank you to all of you who joined me on this Artful Adventure in 2017 – you are amazing! I wish you a wonderful, healthy, creative and peaceful year 2018!

Nat