Happy New Year, dearest patrons! I can't say I will miss the old year -- 2019 was a tough one for many of us -- and I hope that 2020 will be a better year all round.

My final piece for 2019 is a duo improv between me and violinist Geli Wuerzner. As you may remember, Geli and I used to improvise together often -- but Geli now lives in Santa Fe, and I haven't seen her since mid-2018; I miss her terribly. Happily, she came back to the Northwest for a visit a few weeks ago, and we got to make some more music together. This improv was recorded "live in studio," meaning that we stuck a microphone in the middle of the room, finished our wine, and then just began to play together; what you hear is what we played, without any editing.

This piece, Flora (Fauna), was inspired by two of my favorite illustrations, which hang in my studio. (In the cover image for this post, the two white framed prints are the art in question. The artist, Nadia Kim, doesn't want her art re-posted anywhere online; so instead of including it here, I'll just send you to her website, where you can see not just the two pieces I have, but all the wonderful work she's posted over the years.) The two Nadia Kim pieces in my studio are her "plant elephants" and her "plant whales" -- playful watercolor illustrations of plant elephants (yes, elephants made of plant matter - or perhaps elephant-shaped plants?) and plant whales. Her "Flora (Fauna)" series includes many other delights, including plant deer, birds, narwhals, turtles, manta rays, and octopi. Go check them all out at nadiakim90.blogspot.com/p/flora-fauna.html .

With much love & warmest wishes for a happy, bountiful and peaceful New Year,

Betsy