(This is Letter #2 written for November 2025 - I am slowly uploading previous Letters as I take this project from analog to digital.)
So often I find that memories can linger quietly in the periphery of my mind, then echo when I need to hear them the most. Writing these fleeting thoughts down has been wonderful. I hope you enjoy reading them in my letter project.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been pondering the many ways we show our love through simple kindness and how often this is done through the unique voice of food. This is the memory that came to me...
We had just moved into our current house; my children were aged 3 and 7, and we had a 12-week-old puppy and two kittens. It was CRAZY. To say I was feeling a little overwhelmed would have been a huge understatement.
One day, the doorbell rang, and I opened it to a friend from my youngest daughter’s playgroup. This friend was a mother of three, with a busy household and her own kids to feed.
“I’m not staying, I’m just dropping this off,” she said as she bustled into my kitchen and put a foil-covered tray onto the counter.
“There’s a note with cooking times, and I’ve printed off a few of my favourite quick recipes”.
When I peeked under the foil, tears came to my eyes. Underneath was a roasting pan, complete with a leg of lamb, peeled and cut vegetables, and all the perfect seasonings, ready to slide into the oven. She had even baked a cake.
This kindness, this generosity, and this selfless gift were incredible at a time when I felt so exhausted. It said, ‘I see you’re struggling, and I care.’
That gesture has stayed with me all these years. When I began to dream about writing these letters and sending them out into the world, and taking steps to collate my art into a book, I kept returning to this moment of generosity. That’s the feeling I hope I’m mailing to you; I want Letters From My Art to feel like a gift, a small act of generosity in your day, a piece of art, a story, a recipe, something tangible and gentle in a world often too loud, too busy, and too fractured.
My artwork, ‘Anyone Can Cake’, seemed the perfect print for this month’s ‘Letters From My Art’. You can order a copy of this print in a number of sizes from small to large, and in paper and stretched canvas here. It’s about the language of food. We turn to food for comfort, for distraction, to say ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘I see you’, to express gratitude or affection. Sharing food is a universal language that has been used in societies worldwide throughout history. If food has ever spoken for you, this print is for you. You know wholeheartedly that food can be a love language, and that you belong to a tribe—a community of food lovers who find meaning and connection in every meal. The original oil painting was sold as a reminder of happy family times.
The recipe this month is a simple vanilla cupcake. I’ve baked hundreds of cupcakes over the years, for birthday parties, school events, picnics, especially when my girls were younger. November is my youngest daughter’s birthday month, so it’s especially fitting this letter was written for November. I stumbled across Recipe Tins’ recipe quite recently, and though I have made a few little tweaks out of pure laziness (!), it’s the best cupcake I’ve ever made. My girls have heartily enjoyed my renewed baking enthusiasm, taking us right back to their primary school days.
Get creative with your toppings. It’s the best fun. The buttercream can be adapted with simple ingredients or a touch of imagination. Dress them up for adults or go wild and colourful for the kids. Let’s be honest, for some little ones, it’s all about the decorations!
One of my girls, Ishbel, hated the frosting but always insisted on decoration. Thats’s a photo of her above, on her 9 birthday - fondant daisies and sparkly sprinkles were the request. The client was very happy. My favourite way to eat these cupcakes is plain, minus the frosting, with a classic dollop of thickened cream and a few berries on the side.
I hope you enjoy them. Send me a photo!
If you have enjoyed this month’s letter, you can order a hard copy with a mini print at www.mialaing.au. The first 6 months of Letters are available with a mini print at this stage. Subsequent letters have larger prints only as I am yet to find a print on demand service for the smallest size now I have moved this project digitally. Each letter arrives beautifully packaged, ready to brighten your day or someone else’s. One of my friends has decided Letters From My Art are the new greeting card!
I’ve carried the dream of turning my art into a book for many years, imagining a beautifully bound volume, its pages filled with vibrant paintings and heartfelt stories, waiting on a coffee table to be savoured and enjoyed, read from cover to cover, or used in the kitchen —the heart of your home. This book is a legacy I hope to pass on to my daughters one day, a tangible piece of our family’s journey that can be cherished and shared. Letters From My Art is my way of taking those first small steps: creating, writing, and gathering the stories and recipes that give my paintings meaning.
I’m not a cook (far from it!), but I love painting joyful, whimsical art and sharing simple family recipes to the best of my abilities. Each letter will move me towards my dream of holding a book in my hands one day — part art, part story, part home-style food — something slow and heartfelt in a busy world.
Thank you for following along as this creative adventure unfolds.
See you next time,
Mia x
