pause, reflection

My horoscope – which I don't normally read and don't even really go in for – says: June is a month of sad lessons for you. But there's much you can learn ... So pay attention – even if it hurts. The loss has already occurred, so do your homework and show up for what happens next, taking the risks that keep you moving.

Well, what can I say? There is an element to truth to the above. I won't go into details, not to be cryptic or mysterious – just because it's personal and this blog is so public. I'll just say that I haven't been posting to the blog because there's been an awful lot going on, both very good and not so very good – and I don't want to bore you with either.

So, I'm carrying on, working on some great projects in the studio, trying to figure out how to pack and move house and studio to our new home in Corvallis in about a month!! Life will settle, it always does. I've never been the best at frequent posts to this blog, even in the calmest of times, but I'll be back.

some news!

There are no photos for today's post, but there is some happy news for me. As you may know, we've been looking for a house in Corvallis. And, last week, we found one! It is a stunning 1952 ranch – a rambler with lots and lots of space for Liam, Ben and I. And the garage – oh, the garage! It's a DOUBLE garage. Luxury! If all goes smoothly, we'll be moving mid-to-end of June!

In other news ... there are only three 'my garden' prints left. They are available here. Thank you to everyone who has purchased; they've been a great success! And a delight to print ... Yu-I and I are discussing the possiblity of some more collaborative prints to come ...

And, last of all ... I found out that I did get in to Renegade San Francisco. I'm going to do my best to find time for it – I think it sounds like a great opportunity, plus it's in SF which is always fun. Stay tuned for details about that show.

Off to work in the studio now ...

at the park

I did this trunk show last weekend with some other local artists and designers. The show itself wasn't so very busy – bad timing perhaps, cold weather, who ever knows why – but the people were great and good connections were made. Elizabeth Soule was there with her cards and prints {which I love}. We've met a few times, but we got to talk for a bit longer last weekend. She reads my blog and commented that she never really thinks of Liam using a power chair – I guess because most of my photos of him show him in his high chair or stander. So I thought I'd post a photo of him now, taken last Sunday while the weather was gorgeous and we were on a roll-stroll {which is what we call walks in our family} through Columbia Park to our favorite cafe, Little Red Bike. Oh, and about the roll-stroll ... Sometimes he rolls and we stroll; other times, he zooms and I shout to slow down!!

Liam went on his first horse-ride ever a few weekends ago, too. What a great time! We hope to go back again.

someday

Someday I will have a studio that is bigger. Big enough so that folding and packaging doesn't need to be done at the dining room table, shuffled here and there for meals. Someday, I hope, I'll have a studio that has plenty of space – room enough for the press, the paper cutter (which is right now at Ben's shop), computer work table, packaging table, storage, file cabinets -– EVERYTHING! Someday I hope to have a studio that is a double garage instead of a small single one. Don't get me wrong – I like my little studio just fine. It's just ... little. I dream of a big open space with bright light and no clutter.

We are actually hoping to find a house in Corvallis which is about 90 miles south of Portland. There are a whole lot of reasons to move (although I love Portland dearly and have lived here for 15 years now) – a smaller community, schools (because Liam will start KG in a year!!), more mid-century houses that are single level (for Liam) and bigger (for all of us), a little more space overall ... And, I've got my fingers crossed, a bigger studio for me! We have family there, too. So we're looking, hoping to move by the end of this summer.

pretty in pink

For a long time, I didn't really think I was that into pink ... But I guess I must be, in some way, because this is one of the sets I printed this week. Peonies are probably my favorite flower – and they come in many shades of pink. There's no way around that. I mixed these inks by hand, beginning with an opaque white with the slightest touch of pink, gradually adding more as I printed. I had Mother's Day in mind when I did this, although I really doubt my own mother is a pink person. Oh well, I do think they are very lovely and very girly – so pretty in pink. You can find them in my etsy shop. I printed just 21 sets of these (though I meant to print more, I seem to have lost count somewhere along the way, ending up with far more of the middle pinks than the very pale and dark ones!!)




I've also featured the stitched circle love cards and bird + foliage love cards in my etsy shop, just in case they strike your fancy for Mother's Day. I know, a whole lot of pink.

Speaking of Mother's Day ... I will be (or at least my stationery will be – I haven't yet decided if I'll stay or drop off) at a local sale this coming Saturday. It is at the home of Melissa Stiles of Stubbornworks Jewelry: 2928 NE 11th Avenue (at Stanton, three blocks south of Fremont). Please come by – shop local, support local artists!