Hi! I'm Tara, The Portrait Witch Another New Moon, and something unexpected keeps catching the light. I’m learning that even the darkest rooms have edges that gleam—if you know where to look.

WARNING! - Proceed with caution. You may find something offensive or difficult to deal with in this newsletter. If you don't like inappropriate humour, deep emotional discourse, or smutty books, this may not be the newsletter for you.

From The Witch's Desk

Greetings Reader

It's hard to believe that 2025 is almost over. Now that my semester is done, I am working on Xmas gifts and trying not to fall into sadness too much. I've never been the biggest fan of this season. There's so much pressure to keep everyone else happy, to get gifts for everyone, and what have you. And many years my husband was at work for the holidays. Last year, he left for work ON Xmas Day. This year, it will also be the 8-month anniversary of his passing.

I've been missing him a lot lately. You think that the grief should get easier the more time passes, but right now, there are still days I don't want to believe he's gone. He was my person. The one I would get excited to tell all my things too. When I drove home after my last exam, it sucked that I couldn't talk to him about how much I loved school, how challenging my French Final was, or decide together what presents to get/make for the kids and everyone else.

Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for my girls and for the family and friends that check in, but his absence is tough to fill. No one gets me like he did. No one makes me laugh like he did. No one challenges me or teases me or hugs me like he did.

Recently, a fellow photographer sent me this photo she made of us at workshop in early 2024. Such a lovely gift.

I'm just trying to be patient with myself this holiday season and keeping my eye out for silver linings. And there are some. I think this has brought me and my daughters closer and I appreciate all the time I get to spend with them. Attending University has been one of my biggest silver linings.

What are your silver linings right now?

In The Spelling Room

What's been happening around here? Well, let's see:

• I finished my semester. I'm still waiting for final marks.
• I still think attending University in-person was the smartest decision I made in 2025.
• I've slacked off on a lot of my daily habits since the end of October. I need to get back on track.
• I'm looking forward to having a house full on Xmas day.
• My youngest and I went to see Papa Roach which was an amazing and emotional experience. I highly recommend doing so if you ever get the chance.
• After this first semester, I'm leaning towards becoming a Professor. I love helping my fellow classmates grow. And a few more years of school is a bonus, right? I know, I'm a total nerd!

From The Cauldron

I'll share in-progress, behind-the-scenes, or unreleased images. I'm also aiming to be more present and mildly less future-focused. Plus, creating is a messy business; it's worth it to see how we arrive at the polished stuff.

Last month I shared the behind-the-scenes of my final project, this month I am sharing the final images. They are cell-phone photos of the actual prints from my final project in my Photography Class. I got a final mark of 91% on this assignment.

The Ringmistress, Little Red, The Witch, The Goddess Hel and The Warrior

I also wanted to share a couple of drawings from my final portfolio for my Drawing class. I am still waiting for my final mark on this, but during critiques I had a lot of great feedback on the top image. The bottom drawing was still in its beginning stages.

The first drawing was to take the composition from a movie scene and set up a still life in that composition. I used the bathroom scene from 8-Mile where Eminem is looking at himself in the mirror. The bottom drawing was to do an indoor or outdoor space using a perspective grid. I used the Thorvaldsen building from campus.

Portals

This section will now link you to new posts in The Grimoire (a blog of my current projects) or in The Inspiration Bank (a blog of creativity and philosophy). Or, I might surprise you and share a link to something that inspired me.

This week I am sharing a short story I wrote for my Creative Writing class and a song I think is fitting for this month.

Stalker A flash fiction piece about a late night visitor. Read Grimoire Entry

The song:

Silver Lining Mt. Joy PREVIEW   ​

Cackles and Chaos

You will never know what shows up here. Could be funny, could be inappropriate, or it could be deeply moving. I like to keep you guessing. If you can't handle dark humour or deep thoughts, you should probably scroll past this section.

Some Xmas and Buffy Cackles

Recommendations

Other newsletters you might be interested in:

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Final Thoughts

It can be difficult to find the silver lining when life throws you such hard curveballs. But it's easier to get through life when you keep your eye out for them. I think my ability to see them is part of how I'm surviving this tragedy.

Again, I would love to hear what your silver linings are lately.

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