Collecting

I’ve been so busy this past month, traveling, seeing friends and spending time with family. It seems we’ve gotten every bug and germ and virus skulking around.

The sun is shining today, ski season has begun, and so sitting at my desk carving blocks has taken a backseat to being out there, soaking in the snowy backdrops and pine scents. Ideas and design inspiration do take time, and gathering scenes from the low light of winter is like collecting scraps for the future quilt. No need to rush. The mountains always do things their own way and in their own time.

Back to work

I had a great vacation in Maui, Hawaii. I visited the beautiful grounds and gallery of Hui No’eau, a community arts center in upcountry. There are some amazing block prints to see there, large scale museum quality as well as smaller greeting cards and journals. I highly recommend! Here is the link to their website: https:www.huinoeau.com

It turned to fall while we were gone. I am busy printing several runs of tees for a local shop called Shoppe Serendipity Gallery in Yreka. They are having a grand opening party to celebrate their new location on Miner Street on November 11th. If you are local to Siskiyou County, please stop in and support our local artists!

My first artisan fair with Stanley Collective

I had a great day as a member of Stanley Collective at our first market booth last weekend. Such pretty displays! Everyone gave their all and the community was right there for us with the positive feedback. I will be updating my shop in the coming weeks. These greeting cards will be available for purchase here at my shop in the next few days.

New horizons

My creative brain is a little tired, but in a good way. Like the soreness of muscles after a long hike in the mountains. As a member of Stanley Collective, I am participating in our first artisan fair. We will have a booth at the McCloud Apple Harvest Festival this weekend. I am trying to organize my online shop launch and display and promotion and let’s just say there’s so much to learn! I’m so enjoying the collaborations with other makers and looking forward to seeing the final display, all of our creative endeavors intermingled. See you there!

Learning curve

There is definitely a learning curve with any new medium. Ink is sensitive to the humidity in the air. I am sensitive to my lower back after making prints for a few hours at a time. Earlier this month, I was evacuated from my house due to a fast moving wildfire, a common experience for a lot of westerners these days it seems. Home again and all’s quiet. In fact, it poured rain all weekend and snowed on our beloved mountain. Hit the Instagram button to see Mount Shasta dusted in white.

I am working on some mountain prints for an upcoming craft fair in McCloud. More details to come.

Testing one two

It’s been awhile. But I quit one of my jobs and decided to become an artist. Sounds exotic and a little daunting. Here’s the thing I learned a long time ago: if you write, you are a writer. If you paint, you are a painter. The beauty of it is purely subjective. And don’t get me started on “fine art” versus “craft” and all that nonsense. Let’s just learn things and make things and appreciate that we are even alive and human enough to enjoy it. That’s what I’m about lately. That and block printing.