white picket fence

art/scrapbook/sketchbook

Inspired a lot by these pattern Project Life journals by Ashley G, I decided to play around with my art journal / collage style artwork in a pocket page format. It's a fun diversion from making art in a sketchbook or on loose pages.

Also a nice way of keeping track of some of the things that are inspiring me right now (photocopies from A Hundred White Daffodils and Steal Like An Artist).

This has been a little side project I pick up for a few minutes here and there while working on other things, and I'm finding it easy to keep up with (so far.) I would like to incorporate more photos though so that's a goal for the next few pages. 

Most of the materials I'm using here are vintage or hand-painted, but let me know if you have questions about sources or techniques. 

working on / reading / thinking about. january 2014.

It would be safe to say I have a half dozen projects going right now. I'm SUPER EXCITED about all of them and want to finish RIGHT NOW. But I also have to make dinner and go to church and put mittens on my kids and blah blah blah... you know. 

When I get inspired like this the piles grow on the dining room floor. They're usually not this photogenic (gotta make it look a little less like a hobo lives here, you know) but these are my current projects and inspirations. 

. Project Life, using a Studio Calico Handbook album. I don't know. I'm having a Project Life Crisis (har har.) I have more to post on this later. 

. Jane Kenyon: my new favorite poet. The book I'm reading now is primarily her essays and interviews, which is almost more compelling to me than the actual poetry. I'm always fascinated with the lives of poets. I know they're just regular people, but they've got that special word magic. 

. Mini collages and a few of my letter drawings. I think I started the letter project 2 years ago and I'm finally at 13/26. Look for this project's final unveiling in spring 2018!!!

. Little cut outs of my doodles.

. Filling my sketchbook.

. Writing down positive things about our days and recording funny stuff the kids say. 

. Reading a Richard Scarry biography. One of the greatest things about having kids is rediscovering all your favorite childhood books. I have a giant love for all things Richard Scarry. This book is not discouraging that interest, that's for sure. 

. plus a whole other pile of collage and art-journally stuff that didn't make it into this photo. 

Oh man. So many things to be excited about. Now, who wants to come over and take care of my kids and cook our meals for the next 2 weeks so I can actually accomplish all these things? 

collage & art journal ideas zine, volume one

I've wanted to make a zine for probably 10+ years. I can't believe it took me this long because it was SUPER fun and the perfect project for me. Collage, little books, typewriting? Yep, that's me. 

So here it is! My first little zine. First of many, I hope. 

It was made entirely by hand, no computer involved. (Just pens, x-acto, scissors, tape, old paper, a typewriter and the copy machines at Staples & FedEx.) Though I have to tell you... typing on a typewriter is not very forgiving. There is a typo in the zine, by the time I noticed I didn't have the heart to redo the entire thing, and I'm just chalking it up to the downfalls of the medium. Namely, the fact that a 1950s typewriter doesn't have spell check. Plus it's like a fun treasure hunt! Find the typo! Whee!

I'll be sharing a few more peeks of the inside soon, and maybe some of the original color pages. 

Available on etsy! Hooray. 

slowly, slowly

I added a few new things to my Etsy shop today. I'm not lying when I say I've had these packs ready for months and just not taken the time to photograph and relist them.

It's part of a personal initiative to Finish What I Start. I have an embarassing amount of projects in various states of not-quite-readiness. I know I can do it, I just need to DO IT. 

But! They're there now. And guess what? If you use the coupon code "FRIENDSHIP" you get free shipping. Good news for you, good news for my art closet, which desparately needs some free space.

december minibook, part one

I am super glad I won this little book from Jamaica. I doubt I would have made any kind of memory book this past month if I hadn't been so inspired to use it. And I'm really happy with how this is turning out. The kids love it too! Anytime I take it out to work on it, they want to flip through the pages and talk about the photos. That's truly gratifying. 

The materials I used are pretty basic: minibook from Jamaica, screenprinted papers from Tina at Life Love Paper (side note: my first order from her shop appeared to go missing at the Anchorage post office, so she kindly sent me a whole new set for free... and then the original package showed up the same day. Silly post office!), a few gold glittery sheets of scrapbook paper I picked up at Paper Source, random other papers I had on hand, and those ubiquitous washi tapes from Target. Oh, plus sheets of gold vinyl letters I buy from a local art shop (I think they're meant for labeling mailboxes and stuff but I love them on art projects) and text typed out on my old typewriter. 

Here are a ton of photos:

The recurring themes for the month seem to be: cookies, church, wine, and cute little kids. And that sums up my life for the past few weeks pretty accurately. 

handmade holiday show

My little craft show set up.

So, it went well. I think even if I hadn't sold anything, I would have considered it a success. It was a success for me to get out there and sell some things in real life. It was a success for me to actually MAKE some works to sell instead of just keeping everything in my sketchbook and hard drive and instagram photos, you know? 

I left my display to the last minute but it came together really well I think. One trip to Ace Hardware yieled this $15 pegboard and some wooden clothespins, and the ribbon was left over from my brother's wedding. I printed out my signage on some Paper Source cardstock I'd found at Salvation Army for like 45 cents. Altogether I don't think I spent more than $20, which I'm pretty proud of. It makes me wonder how people make set ups for bigger fairs; it gets expensive to create all the work AND figure out a way to display it properly. 

Overall people were really kind about my work. There were a few little kids there that just kept looking and looking, and THAT made my heart sing. 

I had a few different postcard packs, an 8x10 print, some alphabet originals, and some mixed paper packs. All of these things will be in my etsy shop.... eventually. Let's say this weekend? The photography/styling part of etsy is my own personal challenge, and that's the only thing I have left to do, but it's a big task for me and doesn't happen without some toil. 

Thanks for reading this far. I knew a few of you were curious so I wanted to post a little update. And another thanks for all your support. I honestly don't know if I'd feel as confident about my work as I do with the kind words and comments I've received from online friends. Thank you. 

refrigerator inspiration board

Every once in a while I get bummed that I don't have a true "studio space;" that all my supplies are jammed into a tiny closet and I don't have a cute place to display little pieces of art. But usually it passes and I realize it's a good exercise in not hoarding, and staying neat, and being content with what I have.

Also, just because I don't have a studio doesn't mean I can't have an inspiration board somewhere. And wouldn't you know it, I have a huge blank magnetic canvas right in the heart of my home... the refrigerator door.

I've been changing this up every other month or so, but I really love the current arrangement. The colors just came together perfectly and I prefer this kind of small grouping over filling up the entire space. It feels cleaner to me, and anything in the kitchen I can get to "feel" cleaner is a good thing. 

From left to right: piece of mailart that I love from Robyn, postcard of the painting Mater Dolorosa and Man of Sorrows by Simon Marmion, from the Groeninge Museum in Bruges, print by Rosemary Travale, print by Essimar, vintage greeting card with St. Francis' prayer was thrifted, postcard of a painting by Martin Johnson Heade, and a little reminder to myself written on an old Paper Source label.

ONE OTHER THING. I finally chose a few winners for the mailart giveaway on this post. Kelley and Cindy, I've emailed you! Thanks again everyone for commenting.

renegade chicago 2012

This is the only photo I took on the day I went to the Renegade Craft Fair:

That's my friend Renae. And our glasses of wine at 4:30, a.k.a, the elderly person's dinner hour. Though in Wicker Park you might as well be elderly at age 32. 

This post is not to say that I wasn't blown away by what I saw at Renegade. Earlier this week I was thinking back to when I first attended (2004?) and the fair was held in the actual park of Wicker Park, and there were maybe like 30 vendors selling weird jewelry and band t-shirts. The artistry and displays and merchandising and serious TALENT that comes to Renegade nowadays is pretty amazing. It's also pretty overwhelming. It was really hard for me to concentrate on admiring the work when there were just so many people, it was hot, my allergies were bad, blah blah blah... oops, sorry, now I feel like a senior citizen again. 

ANYWAY. That said, I discovered a ton of new favorites. I bought a pillow from Caitlin at Little Low that I'm in LOVE with and I think I may redesign my whole bedroom around it's color palette. Renae bought a darling necklace from Rachel at Poppy and Fern and I'm planning on ordering one of her custom embroideries for Norah's room. I was also super happy to pick up a print from Laura Berger, whose work I've admired for years. Every vendor we talked to was so friendly and approachable too. 

Some other cards I picked up and sites I've bookmarked this week? Belrossa, their bags and clutches made from recycled vintage quilts were super cute; Brainstorm had really beautiful, detailed art prints; if I wouldn't have run out of cash I probably would have bought a little pouch from Custom Made UK; and Thimblepress also had some really eye-catching prints. 

I do feel like such a crank complaining about how crowded the fair was; I should be sublimely happy that all these hard-working artisans are getting so much business. Friends that went, what did you think? Am I just being cranky? I'd love to hear about your experiences. 

subtle patterns paper pack

This weekend I added a few new packs to my etsy shop. In the last few months I've accumulated a pretty impressive range of graph and ledger papers, and I thought it would be fun to make a new Subtle Patterns Paper pack. I really love this one. 

 

screenprinting. and other things you should just DO.

Are there certain things you think about all the time, but never take action on? Maybe it's taking a dance class, or asking someone out, or learning to cook a certain kind of food. Everyone has something.

For so long I have yearned to screenprint my own work. I've thought about it for YEARS. I researched the heck out of the benefits of buying a kit vs. purchasing/making your own screens. Read tons of online tutorials. I enviously studied gig posters and tried to zoom in as close as I could on printed pieces on Flickr. I listed it as an ambition anytime I made a list of ambitions. 

But all those things never got me any closer to actually DOING something about it. Last week in my bible class, our pastor was talking about growing in faith, and he said, "Let's say you want to become a more generous person. Do you sit around thinking about being generous? Or do you go ahead and give, and see how it feels?" You just have to give. You just have to DO. 

This is a theme that runs through almost everything I've learned about myself and the world recently. You have to show up, do the work, learn to enjoy the process, KEEP WORKING, repeat. Sarah Ahearn talked about this in her last online class, Pages and Paint. David Foster Wallace speaks at length about it in the interview turned book, Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself. Pretty much everything Keri Smith has ever done or said leads to this concept at some point. There's this famous list by Sister Corita Kent and John Cage, 10 Rules for Students and Teachers (and Life). Rule Seven is my favorite: "The only rule is work. If you work it will lead to something. It’s the people who do all of the work all of the time who eventually catch on to things."

So I bought a printing kit. I knew if I tried to make my own it would never happen. So whatever! I stopped feeling like it was dumb for someone with a fine arts degree to buy an art kit, and just did it. My first test prints this weekend didn't turn out great. I have a LOT to learn and lots more to try. But I feel deeply satisfied and crazy excited about finally making this happen. 

So, are you waiting to do something and have no good reason not to try it? Just go for it. Don't give up, be patient, things take time, keep working, & don't get discouraged. Seriously. Go!

(I'll share more details about my first printing experience tomorrow, but I needed to get the heavy/philosophical stuff down first. That's me!)