I am still working on this, but wanted to share my progress. I had a visual image of this one night and have been trying to get it worked out. Simple trees, but I’m working on intensifying the mood of this piece.

I’ve enjoyed trying to blog a bit more lately, but am about to get pretty busy at work on the spring/summer 2009 line. I’m excited that I’m headed to NYC next weekend for some work stuff, but will surely have some fun too! So excited to see my friends.

And, with a big huffy sigh, we’re about to have our 3rd snow storm in a week tonight. The snow is absolutely beautiful, but with 2 puppies, it can be trying to stay warm enough to take them out constantly for their breaks. This morning, it was 12 degrees out. And this was one of the chosen mornings my little darling Cowboy decided to escape from my grasp and play games with me. I had to trick him into getting back up the stairs and into the house. He was just playing, but it was too cold to play I think!!!

This weekend, I look forward to putting on the wellie boots and taking them (well actually they usually drag ME to the beach) to run wild. I also have plans for some more raindrop/teardrop pieces… I have also been thinking of doing some sewing. Happy weekend!

A photo from the art show! I had already forgotten about those little line drawings of bird heads on wooden panels. They are small and propped up on mini easels!

Just a quick drawing over gouache. It has been raining and snowing again. It was 20 degrees today, brrrr.

I have been getting caught up on movies lately, I watched a lot of them during my last few months in NYC, while waiting to move here and trying to save money, and go out less. I was also freelancing so I worked weird hours and had some insomnia, so I was probably watching 5 movies a week for a while! I didn’t have a TV, I just put my laptop on a chair next to the futon I slept on, and it worked!. Anyway, I watched this which I always love, this and this. And also this. I loved it. It really moved me. Sadly, can’t recommend this, even though it’s of an artist I adore and with an actor I really like, the movie unfortunately sucked.

Look how cute the dogs are. They are always next to me, unless they are running laps in the house and chasing each other. Cowboy is turning 1 years old on March 8th! Beppo will be 1 in April. Babies!

read this recently…
“It has been said that elephants, women and anyone with the moon in cancer NEVER FORGETS.”
That’s me. A woman, an elephant, and with the moon in cancer. hah.

Um. I carved these little elephants and printed them on this paper. I like it.

Had so much fun with Sarah while she was here. We worked on cutting out block prints from linoleum or speedy cut squares (which are basically like giant erasers you carve into.) Fun! And also had some pizza, wine and some walks to the park and the beach. The dogs are pretty much in love with her, and are missing her already. I also met up with a fellow blogger and it was great. She was so nice not to hold it against me I was so late, looking for parking. We went to Utrecht and looked at my show, and had some coffee.

The beach was full of so much beautiful white fluffy snow, we had a blast running around. The waves were crashing and the tide was high!

Well. Doesn’t this look violent? This is how they play. Funny. Looks so violent. Really, you do hear teeth clanking, entire dog jaws clanking and clicking. But the rest of the time they are curled up into a ball and sweet as pie. Well this is actually how they USED to play before they started going to doggie daycare (while the boyfriend is away for a few weeks in Italy, working on stuff for his company.) Now, they are so worn out they just collapse in a pile of fur and snore, truly wiped out from 12 hours of running in a big dog pack and chasing balls, etc. They love it, and as puppies, how wonderful to just be a puppy all day long. Thank goodness the vet is our neighbor, she had to make a house call as both of them have ear infections. She remembered to bring over the leather muzzle so that Beppo looks like hannibal lector while she administers ear medication. He is a fussy patient, true that.

So the art show was really fun, really motivating and I really felt the love and support from my friends who made it out. The work is up all month so if you’re local, check it out. I showed up and started to take photos and my camera battery died. I am so mad, because I am usually so hyper-prepared with stuff like charged batteries, etc. Well I wasn’t this time, so no photos until the Curator emails me her photos, and/or when I go back and take some photos myself. It looks great framed, really classy. I can’t wait to show you. I will be screen-printing some new tee’s with some new designs, and working on some new products. I know (well I hope) that Spring is coming soon (despite the fresh 6 - 9 inches of snow we just got today) and I have plenty of reality to know that since the Winter was spent hibernating, the Spring and Summer will be spent outdoors. Not chained to a drawing table. So. Trying to be productive now, while the governor of Massachusetts declares a snow emergency and sends every non-government employee home early today. Crazy, huh? Snowy Winter for sure.

Some things I’m really into right now (cuz all cool bloggers are making lists full of links they love):
*Signing onto Itunes and having it ask me if I would like to complete an album by downloading the rest of it for a fraction of the album price (cuz it noticed I have one or two songs from an album.) I downloaded this, this and this and they are all really nice listens. This too. I love madlib and this is a great album. This too. I hate to believe the hype, but had to download the recent Radiohead too. It’s good. It only gets better the more you listen to it. Hypnotic. Oh yeah. This too. I needed it. Pretty fantastic. Just needed it. Did I mention that I drive a lot and listen to my ipod constantly? New music is pretty much like filling up the gas tank to drive, it’s vital.

*A slumber party Saturday night with my dear friend Sarah, who is coming over to make art, play with dogs, drink wine, listen to music, walk the beach, and eat raviolis with me. Yay!

*Drawing cute decorative footwear treatments for shoes that light up for little girls. Taking a break from my mostly fashion-inspired line for kids, and doing cutesy stuff.

*Loving this new handbag, I finally have my grown-up lady leather handbag, thanks Ebay. Why do I have to vacillate so drastically between little girl and old lady style?

*These wellies are really coming in handy for all those doggie pee breaks in all of this snow. Had to throw out the pair I bought at Ricky’s in NYC. Typical NYC story, you’re wearing darling shoes and then comes a torrential downpour, I mean like flash-flooding style and you pop into the closest store and hope they sell something rubber for your feet, to save your cute shoes. The cheap wellies I bought were total crap, really, but somehow they got me through 2 winters in NYC as my only winter boots. I hate spending money on ugly things, but sometimes, outerwear just isn’t cute but totally necessary. I like these.

*Being included in the Schmap Boston for a photo I took while just visiting one summer, now I live here. Funny. But the happy part being, if really you could just do what you like, and self-publish, and people would find you and support you for it… nice. Flickr is really nice. One of my favorite web places. I just looked at my stats, and it’s interesting. I’ve been a member for 3 years, and have 2673 photos, with 12,642 views. I have met people from all over the world who have similar interests; whether it’s taking photos of the pavement, or art or whatever. We’re all connected. Yay!

Things I’m a bit sad about:
I miss my boyfriend a lot. And so do the dogs. We are moping. They don’t understand why the kitchen isn’t filled with the potent smell of garlic every night and why they don’t go to the park and the beach every day.
The hockey ice skates I’ve had since I was 15 years old, broke, and I was really sad. I loved them. So I bought a new pair and am excited to try them out. Hope I don’t sound like an old man and say “they don’t make ‘em like they used too.”
Not having vacation time until Summer. This winter is long and I could really use a trip to some sun.
Realizing it has been a year and a half since I’ve been to Portland. I really miss my family and friends. Had a vivid dream last night and I could feel a Portland summer breeze on my arm. I could feel the grizzly beards of my Dad and Stepdad on my cheek when I hugged them. It was a vivid, visceral dream and I am doing everything I can to get out there the very next 3-day weekend I have off. Miss you guys!
not necessarily a bad thing, but did the math and realized I’ve had 25 addresses in my 31 years of life. Why, oh why, do I move so often? I have also counted that I’ve had 17 different jobs since I was 18 years old.

Well friends, that’s all for now. Thanks for hanging out with me on this long post, more good stuff later. xo

I hope to see you tonight at my art show! Here are a few rough photos (bad lighting and curling paper) of some work, but I hope to take some great shots of everything looking all professional and framed tonight! Hope everyone had a great Valentines day!

The opening is this Friday, February 15th between 8 - 10pm and it will be in Gallery 333, which is inside the Boston Utrecht art store. If you can make it, please do come by! The show will be up for about a month, so you can see it anytime the store is open. I will also be selling remaining pieces on my online shop, so stay tuned for that sale!

Rabbits, as promised. I love 140lb hot-pressed watercolor paper. Smooth so the pen can just glide right over. But the cold-pressed watercolor paper does more justice to the paint washes…

Very busy with the art show I’m preparing for… and still experimenting with some ideas for some new pieces… This is done with gouache and watercolor washes, pen and ink. I am working with some new watercolor paper that is very textured, and a bit of a challenge to glide ink over, but holds the washes so well. After (finally) watching disc one of the Planet Earth DVD’s coming in from netflix, I can’t get enough of the elephant image. Seeing those elephants dancing and swimming in the water after their long, dusty dry walk was just amazing. You will be seeing more elephants along with bunnies, birds, etc.