1: 2, 9, 21, 28!

My friend Elliot will be playing a few shows this month, lets go! (Poster by me. toot! toot!)

One done...

...and two in the works! Not bad considering all the holiday madness.

Dinorama!

I made this scene with the help of my grandmother when I was a very little girl. As I remember it she had gathered all her houseplants on the dining room table for watering and I swooped in with my dinos for some make believe. Nicely done little me! :)

Lady Parts + Wild Women

I just made a goddess rich treasury on Etsy. It's pretty sexy. You should check it out.

Sell Out

I've officially sold out of an item in my Etsy shop, the last of the dark purple vulva patches sold this week. Cool! Good thing there are four more colors! I only make a few at a time and each color combo is unique, I probably won't make it again after this set sells. So if you love one, snatch it up!

Holy shit.

Jung-Yeon Min's work is like, f-ing incredible. And truly visceral. See more here.

 

Via The Storque.

:: skin ::

... found image + watercolor ...

:: teeth + bones ::

... found image + watercolor + glitter glue ...

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As you've probably noticed, I've added some pages up top; on the first you'll find choice nuggets from my past and present art journals and on the second a smattering of hand pulled prints. Go check 'em out if you haven't already! Let me know what you think!

Nature shrines.

I finished some new autumn light boxes at the tea shop. They're inspired by more of my childhood collecting; I loved to gather and stash rocks, twigs, shells, feathers, nuts, seed pods and anything else that caught my eye. (My bedroom and school desk were subject to occasional raids by my parents and teachers clearing out moldy, decaying refuse.) I found myself revisiting this old nature fetish and looked for a project to apply it to, the light boxes turned out to be a perfect fit!

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And yes, those are wood veneers that I ran through the sewing machine!

Gournal share!

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I created this while waiting in the Tokyo airport for my connecting flight to Shanghai last summer. Next to it I wrote "Our unconscious minds recognize each other and draw us together." I believe my friend Renee told me that. Japanese newspaper & packaging + watercolors + glitter glue.

Another print!

These words are a simple expression of the unity of our universe; found in the Chuang Tzu, the full passage reads "Heaven and earth are one attribute; the ten thousand things are one horse." The Chuang Tzu is a book of Chinese Taoist philosophy and was gifted to me by the aforementioned Elliot Knapp. Thanks, buddy! The first time I encountered Taoist philosophy was in reading the well known Tao Te Ching. The Tao or The Way of Nature, resonated with me as a deep and eternal truth that I had always known, but perhaps lost sight of for a time. Both the Tao Te Ching and the Chuang Tzu encourage us to simply let all things in the universe be as they are; to flow and find harmony as everything in Nature is allowed to be as it truly is.

Oh, and this print is for sale in my Etsy shop. :)

Mr. Elliot Knapp

For nearly the past year, my dear friend Elliot Knapp has been working his ass off writing and recording his first album. I'm proud to say he's finally finished and the music is as great as the man himself! Come celebrate his victory at The Noble Fir on Old Ballard Ave this Sunday at 8pm. (The Noble Fir is a rad new bar with a vast selection of finely crafted brews and an awesome little library of hiking literature.) Elliot will be playing a short set and after we'll all hear the full album over a few beers. Check out Elliot's facebook page and take a little listen, then come out to The Noble Fir on Sunday! Bring friends!!

Gournal share!

Alright, here's another journal entry for all to see! Actually since I'm making this a regular and recurring post on my blog it better have a special name, right? Henceforth, this feature shall be known as... the "gournal share." Yes, gournal. If you've seen the movie Wet Hot American Summer you'll get this reference to Paul Rudd's charming mispronunciation. If not, you need to see it like, now!
Anyhoo, onto the share:

I opened up my old journal today looking for an image to post and found this little collage, the very first art entry. I used to find this image sort of abject and morbid but today it struck me very clearly as a resurrection. When I made this collage I was going through a time of general growth in my personal life, and growth I've come to realize, is always a little messy. There was a lot of upheaval and uncertainty; it had been a long time since I'd shown any new growth creatively and I was feeling lost, stuck and a little depressed. I was getting tense and frustrated, coming to the point where I couldn't stand those feelings anymore when one Saturday at work this just came busting out. It was spontaneous and almost uncontrollable. And it felt SO GOOD! I believe I stood cutting and pasting for an hour or so while my coworkers well... worked. (Sorry guys!) For almost a year after that day I couldn't be separated from my art journal, I took it everywhere and worked in it regularly. It brought me huge amounts of peace and was exactly what I needed at that time - a place to work through and express loads of complicated and confusing thoughts and feelings as I brought about drastic changes in my life and in my self. Working in this journal allowed me to grow elsewhere, creatively and otherwise. I started it without any knowledge or intention of where it would go but it's pulled me in a whole new creative direction, a trajectory that I'm so pleased to be on now!

Back from an informal creative vacay...

Ah, boy! Is summer the most distracting, or what?! I haven't been here in ages! My apologies. It's just that in Seattle one mustn't miss one ounce of vitamin D or warm air while it's available. Luckily I haven't been completely unproductive, I've been stewin' on a few things and doodlin' here and there.

When I posted about my retired art journal back in May I got loads of love from all of you (thank you!thank you! and right back atcha!) so much so that I've decided to post images from my art journal more regularly. :D The idea has been rolling around in my head for some months now, I suppose I just needed a little push. Lets start off with an item I finished this evening, shall we?

...found images + watercolor + colored pencil + pen...

I just got a new computer (wee!) and I'm with out any CS, so the crop is wonky and I can't adjust levels, and so forth. Again, my apologies. Funny how I hated it before but now I miss it ever so much. Someone help me find...please! Anyhoo, I'm hoping to post an art journal item about once a week in no particular order, I'll be reaching back into the retired journal as well as posting what's current. Stay tuned! Tootles!!

News!

I just announced that I, in my Etsy shop, am willing to HAGGLE! (more than willing really, I love to haggle) So if you see something you like but wanna pay a little less, just run it by me in a convo - and we'll haggle! There's been many an Etsy item I've fallen in love with, but I thought to myself "just a few dollars less and I wouldn't hesitate." I don't want people leaving my shop with that thought, so that's where the haggle comes in!

It seems haggling is dying out here in America and I think it deserves a revival. It flourishes in other countries and in small niches like some street markets + fairs and among antique rovers, but why not elsewhere? I see it more among an older generation (wisdom!) but I think it's something we young people could benefit from. It's certainly an opportunity for further interaction and relationship building between community members.

What do you all think? Has anyone else tried this in their Etsy shop, or know someone who has? Experiment!!

Hagglehagglehaggle. What a funny word.

help.

Here's a look at the print I've been working on lately. It's coming along slowly, but it's also more ambitious than any of the other prints I've done, being a fair bit larger (6 x 9-ish) and with more complicated line work. I've gotten this far, but honestly I'm not sure where to go from here. The outline plate is finished but I would like this print to have a few layers happening, I feel it needs some color and texture in the background. Huhhhh, it exhausts me. Any thoughts?

Best day.

Today was the best day, for so many reasons. Sunshine. Yard naps. Ukulele. Matching outfits. (>.<) I could go on, but I won't.

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These are all double exposures - and I love them, especially the last one. Really fun new experiment!

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While I'm here I feel the need to point out that the pictures I take are totally for fun, and are not to be taken seriously (by you or me!) despite the frequency with which I post them. Truth be told, I just love to fiddle with with my camera on an outside day - and the instant prints are so easy and fun to share! Also, not a single one is in the least bit photo-shopped, I'm too lazy for that sort of thing. (It's enough for me to muster a scan and post!) So please, enjoy them as I do - as a simple and joyful diversion, not unlike candy or a popsicle. :D

Pi'tures

Yesterday was the first true summer day I was able to soak in -- and I spent it wandering around in civilization! What's gotten into me?

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I've felt a bit uninspired when it comes to pi'ture takin' lately but some new scenery and subject matter made for an interesting outing. I went for a walk to Volunteer Park, then on a casual meander around Capitol Hill where I was introduced to the most wonderful vacant lot filled with wildflowers! Also, there was this strange piece of trash in the street that seemed to be some sort of former tree with lots of plastic tacked on, presumably to make it more convincingly tree-ish... what? Anyway...I love meandering. And wildflowers. And SUN. More sun please!!

Throwback.

When I was a youngster I collected model horses obsessively. At its peak my collection numbered 300+ holy moly!! Since then my collector nature has diffused itself -- I mainly stash art supplies, fabric and yarn...with a few digressions (a lot can fall into the category of art supply). For real though, I think my days of hardcore collecting are behind me, but that doesn't mean I can't dip my toes in the water. What I'm getting at here is this:

Isn't he just GORGEOUS!! Made by Karen of Song and Branch on Etsy. (Go check this shop out, you won't regret it! All sorts of animal buddies + more!) I am so in love. So in love my brain has stopped and I don't know where to go from here........ slippery slope! Now I won't do it all the time, but the thought of rewarding myself with one of these little buddies every now and again is mighty appealing.

No. 2

A second hand pulled block print, spawned in my art journal now for sale on Etsy!

Look at these:

Thanks to my friend Renee I have become a great fan of the library, a library lover you might say. HmHmm! The library is so full of treasures!! Borrowing helps satisfy my need for treasures, while keeping my in home collection reasonable. This is my latest find:

It's a book of Native American folk tales with some really, really cool illustrations by Paul Goble. I love the simple lines and natural geometry paired with bold earthy colors and subtle textures. Here's a few more:

Look at those perfect little elk! Thank you Seattle Public Library!

Full & Faithful.

It's time to retire an item that has been very dear to me for the last year - my art journal. I have carried it with me at all times, now it is full and I get to move on to the next one. I found this journal years ago at the Fremont Sunday Market, it was made in Shanghai in the 1940's or 1950's - funny, it made it back to Shanghai last June! It was my savior there, and in many other times and places. Oh, it has been so good! I've never enjoyed an art journal more, something just clicked with this one. When I look through this journal I see a very whole expression of my self - probably because it's a dynamic mess of writing, collage, drawing, painting, polaroid transfer, and other experimental techniques. Dynamic mess - that sounds like me. :)

Time to move on, and all that comes with it. Onward!