Beatrix Potter Day

Not many people know, but Beatrix Potter has a connection to New Hampshire. The Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion in Portsmouth became the home of the Coolidge family in the later half of the 19th century. Because J. Templemann Coolidge III was an amateur artist and a trustee of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the house became a summer artist colony, and the family became acquainted with a number of artists.

When Henry Coolidge visited England with his mother, he met Potter. She even dedicated her book The Fairy Caravan to him!

I spent a few hours on the grounds of the mansion, indulging my own artistic side:

I agreed to display my Peter Rabbit diorama for the event. It looked perfect, nestled into the landscape:

  I occupied my time by working on my Secret Garden scene:

Eric and John tagged along because the weather was perfect. John decided to try using chalk pastels for the first time:

The day before, I slapped together a few cards, in case anyone wanted to see more photos, or contact me. I know that business cards are more professional, but I feel like artist trading cards are more 'me', so I made them using index cards, washi tape and pages from an upcycled copy of Charlotte's Web.

My favorite one is the one depicting fat Templeton, with my name above.

It was a nice event: not crazy and crowded. I enjoyed having such a quiet day there, and it's fitting with the theme of Beatrix Potter's nature-inspired stories.