Edible Gardens & Art

09/07/2026

09/02/2026

Something new is emerging… ✨

I’ve been working on a new series, and this is where it begins — fragments, painted papers, unexpected marks, layers, color, and a little bit of chaos.

I’m interested in what happens when these pieces are cut apart, rearranged, layered, and reconstructed into something completely new.

The pieces may look small here, but together they are becoming something much bigger.

More to come.

08/30/2026

🌿 Back to the Toledo garden—and WOW!

I knew things would be growing while I was away, but I wasn't quite prepared for what I found when I got back. 😂

The garden was very overgrown, but underneath all that wild growth was an amazing amount of abundance:

🍅 Tomatoes
🥒 Cucumbers
🍈 Melons
🍓 Raspberries
🌱 Arugula and lettuce
🍠 Sweet potatoes that had decided they no longer wanted to stay in their garden bed and were happily rooting across the lawn!

And among all the food were beautiful marigolds and canna lilies, adding color and pollinator-friendly habitat to the mix.

Yesterday I finally got in there and cleaned things up—not to make it perfectly tidy, but to give everything some room to breathe, grow, and produce.

The before was definitely wild, but there was so much life and abundance hiding underneath the chaos.

This is one of the things I love about edible landscaping and permaculture. The goal isn't to control nature or make everything perfectly manicured. It's about working with nature, observing what is happening, and stepping in when the garden needs a little help finding its balance again.

08/20/2026

✨ Introducing A Life in Layers ✨

I’m excited to share a new collection of mixed-media works exploring the layers of time, memory, emotion, and the moments that shape a life.

The collection includes two four-piece sets:

A New Beginning
“Today is the first day of the rest of your life.”
Four mixed-media works on stretched canvas

The Moment Arrives
“Today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”
Four mixed-media works on stretched canvas

Each set brings together collage, acrylic paint, found papers, music, handwritten words, and layers of imagery. The four works in each set are designed to be experienced together and are available only as complete sets.

You can see the full collection, artwork statements, dimensions, and pricing on my website:

https://christinemparis.wixsite.com/christinemparis/Life-in-layers

I love the idea that these pieces, created through layers of materials and marks, also reflect the layers through which we experience our own lives. ❤️

08/16/2026

✨ New Work: Gold Centers I, II & III ✨

I’m excited to finally share these three new original works from my studio.

Gold Centers I, II & III grew out of my exploration of color, movement, pattern, and the quiet pull of the circle. I started with watercolor and gouache, then built up the surfaces with acrylic pen and drawn marks on watercolor paper.

The gold centers became a recurring element — little points of focus emerging from all the color and movement.

I’ve spent the last few weeks getting these pieces finished and professionally presented, and they are now available for purchase on my website.

Gold Centers I, II & III
Original mixed-media works on watercolor paper
2026
$100 each — professionally matted, unframed

If you've been following my art journey, I'd love for you to take a look. ❤️

✨ See the collection here:
https://christinemparis.wixsite.com/christinemparis/gold-centers

08/12/2026

Coming home to my garden. 🌿💚

After being away, I honestly wasn't sure what I was going to find.

Well… nature had been busy. 😂

The garden was definitely overgrown. Paths had disappeared, plants had wandered into places they weren't supposed to be, and everything had taken on that wonderfully wild Florida summer look.

But underneath all that growth was something even better:

**Abundance.**

🍠 Sweet potatoes growing away
🍈 A melon growing out of the compost
🍌 Bananas thriving
🌱 Moringa reaching for the sky
🌿 Pineapple guava growing beautifully
🍓 Strawberry guava loaded with fruit
…and so much more happening everywhere I look.

This is one of the things I love about growing food in a more natural, permaculture-inspired way. The garden doesn't stop producing just because I'm not there every day. It keeps cycling, reseeding, spreading, feeding the soil and surprising me.

Is it perfectly manicured? Absolutely not. 😂

Is there some work to do? Oh yes.

But there's something pretty magical about coming home and discovering that the garden has been living its own life while I've been away.

Now it's time to gently bring some order back without taking away the wildness that makes this garden *mine*. 🌿

08/09/2026

🌱 Before I left our Toledo garden…

I’m back in Florida for the month of August, so before I left Toledo, I took a few photos of the garden to remember how it looked at the height of summer.

It really came alive! 🌿

The tomatoes were growing, the basil was going crazy, cucumbers were climbing, raspberries were filling in, and there were sweet potatoes, chives, greens and lots of herbs.

And the lettuce? We ate it all! 🥬😂

One of the things I love about growing food is that a garden is never static. It’s always changing — plants are producing, flowering, going to seed, attracting pollinators, and making room for whatever comes next.

And then there are the flowers. ❤️

These snapdragons are especially meaningful because they’re Jerry’s favorite flower. I love having flowers mixed into the edible garden. To me, a productive garden can also be beautiful, inviting and full of life.

Now I’m back in Florida and getting reacquainted with a very different garden. 🌴

Two gardens. Two very different climates. And lots to learn from both.

I’ll share some photos of the Florida garden next! 🌱🌴

08/03/2026

Today I'm sharing something I've been developing.

For the past several months I've been exploring a new way of making art that I call Embodied Painting.

Instead of beginning with an image or a plan, I begin with movement.

Music. Breath. Gesture. Emotion.

As I move, paint records the experience. The finished work isn't a painting of a moment—it's the physical evidence that the moment happened.

I wanted to discover whether an authentic embodied practice could leave something meaningful behind.

To my surprise, it did.

The first series, Lighten Up, emerged from that exploration. These paintings are not simply finished artworks—they are artifacts of a lived experience.

This is only the beginning.

Future series will continue this practice, each exploring a different emotional landscape while staying rooted in the same embodied process.

Thank you for joining me at the beginning of this journey.

Check out the video below and my website for more information about the Embodied Painting process https://christinemparis.wixsite.com/christinemparis/embodied-painting-practice