I’ve been wandering through my photo archives lately, and it’s like a stroll through back roads and small towns and memories made. We’ve made quite a hobby of road-tripping over the years, and my kids have been pretty good sports with all the random stops to capture the views. I’ve been trying to archive and organize and make connections between all the places and wanders we’ve experienced, with the hope of sharing them here on The Frog Kisser.
This week, I’ve been looking at some images from Clarksdale, Mississippi. We last visited this crossroads of Delta arteries on a hot (HOT) summer day, and I’m revisiting the sun-baked glimpses of a small town steeped in art and dust and most of all, the blues. I’ve already shared about our visit to Delta Blues Museum and the iconic Ground Zero Blues Club, but most of our adventures also include at least a little dawdling over downtown streets and the search for whatever street art we can find. So, today’s archive is a glimpse of painted Clarksdale.
Read More →Today is National Dog Day, and I decided to celebrate with a little Maker’s Dozen — 13 bits of studio nostalgia and ephemera that remind me of the four-footed and slobbery friends in our lives. Our family includes two pups, and at least one of them is a constant companion in the studio.
Read More →Our fall season officially kicked off last week with a trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, exploring the Smoky Mountains and navigating everyone’s excitement over cooler temperatures. I returned home tired but refreshed by the change of scenery, and excited to get our home ready for the fall season. Amidst the mums and gourds and pine straw bales, we have amassed quite a few happy jack-0-lanterns of all sizes and materials that I’ve been slowly spreading throughout the house. Some of those jack-o-lanterns are old familiar receptacles for Halloween night – buckets my children took to preschool, felt versions we bought on various fall trips, and even my own 1970’s childhood version. Those jack-o-lanterns represent the one-time excuse to indulge in fall’s favorite sugar rush. They collect the one Halloween accessory that gives pumpkins a run for their money – candy!
I’m heading to Jackson, Mississippi on Saturday for a client strategy meeting, and I’m looking forward to getting a few glimpses of the Capitol City again. My children and I spent a few days in Jackson at the end of the summer and had lots of fun visiting museums, trying out restaurants, and exploring historic downtown. This week, I’ve been looking back through all the photo evidence of our wanderings and thinking about any places I’d like to revisit this weekend. I’m reminded again of all the inspiring textures and colors and materials and art and signs – old and new – found everywhere in an urban downtown. Sometimes, we just have to train our eyes to look.
Hello & welcome! I’m Haley Montgomery, and I’m the designer and owner of Small Pond Graphics. I sometimes fancy myself a frog kisser— a documentarian coaxing poignant moments from unexpected places. This blog has evolved from those moments.
The small Pond FIELD GUIDE is part diary, part sketchbook, and part wish list – an archive of ordinary wonders. For years, this space has housed my stories – creative ideas, vintage inspiration, our forays into curious places, and the simple artifacts of quiet of conscious living. Through watercolor, photography, and illustrated tales, these pages uncover the blessing of ordinary days and the wonder found in authentic places and pursuits.
I invite you to open the boxes.
Peek into the drawers.
Rustle through the pages.
I’m honored to have you here.
© Haley Montgomery for Small Pond Graphics.
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