I made herbal amaro concoctions for the holidays. Amaro means ‘bitter’ in Italian, and a bitter ingredient is used as a base note (Orris root, Angelica, Cinchona, Gentian). Amari are digestives, they are made throughout the world and often contain local herbs making them wonderfully varied and a lovely way to experience a place when traveling. My concoctions change out the bitter, the alcohol base and offer up a playful variety of herbs. For the label, I used typography that highlights the base-bitter name running it vertically, and the bitter plant is pictured top. Amari are tinctures that aid digestion and are a wonderful celebratory finale for a meal with family and friends. Happy Holidays!
In graphic design there are parameters that come with each project. For me the fun bit is finding a creative way to work within these parameters to create a beautiful solution for my client. I thought it would be interesting to apply this process to the playground of painting. I choose a palette, photograph it and then set to work.
Now that it’s cooling down outside I look forward to getting back to painting, to seeing with new eyes after stepping away for a breather. It’s hard to explain but there is a visceral connection, this practice helps me to cultivate a space where I can trust my ‘embodied knowledge’. A term I first heard in this 
Rituals, for me, are a way of creating space, space when it doesn’t seem possible to do it all. There’s a quieting and a focusing that takes place, and I am finding that it allows for more insight and Beauty may just stop by as well. As Cartier Bresson said…aligning the head, the eye and the heart.
