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In case you might be wondering, I’m still working on my Mt. Rainier book. I don’t post about it often, but this is a near-constant backdrop to everything I do. Every day, I hand-color a few more prints. Every day, I cut a few more pieces. Every day, I cross a thing or two off the massive list. And every day, I get closer to “done.”
My next-door neighbor’s artichokes just can’t help but be gorgeous—in every season of the year. With no effort, nature can make a filigree that I could never hope to match in a million years.
Even though it’s nearly as late as it could possibly be, here I am thinking, “Already?!?” But it’s true—even if you don’t do Black Friday (as you can probably guess, I’m partial to Small Business Saturday myself), today’s the “official” opener of the holiday season. And for perhaps the first time ever, I’m actually ready for it! (Well, mostly.) This year I’ve got new stuff in three different online shops—in honor of the three arms of my little business (though of course, if you ever want to combine items into one order, just drop me a line and I’ll make it happen).
First up is my Anagram Press shop, where you’ll find two new holiday cards, inspired by mid-century vintage kitsch.
(One has just a touch of Griswold-y goodness…)
Also in there are my new bird magnets by Seattle’s own iPop! I’m so proud and excited to have these that I’m tempted to plaster every metal surface in my studio with them. (You can read my post about them here.)
Next up, a little holiday travel: I’m pleased to announce the Souvenir Shop is now open on Drawn the Road Again, my new travel blog! You’ll find a big array of prints available there—
from the first installments of my new 50 States Series—
—to original illustrations inspired by travel destinations.
And because enough people have asked for it, there are even prints of some of my sketchbook drawings—including a Pick-a-Sketch custom order option.
Last but not least, the Dead Feminists shop has some new additions as well—starting with a small letterpress keepsake version of the Birth of Venus steamroller print Jessica and I did earlier this year.
And we’ve finally restocked our supply of mini letterpress journals (you folks cleaned us out last time we had them in the shop, and it took quite awhile to make and photograph more!). We call ’em “Lemonade Journals,” because we made them from the “lemons” that crop up during printing—misregistered prints and tiny flaws that otherwise would have ended up in the recycling bin. But with some cute stitching and fun colored paper on the inside, Jessica turned them into perfect little stocking stuffers.
Whew! That’s the whole kit n’ kaboodle. Keep in mind that some of the travel and sketchbook prints require a lead time to produce, so be sure to get any made-to-order requests in early! I’ll be shipping holiday orders daily until 4 pm PST on Tuesday, December 17 (when the shops will close for the holiday break).
In the meantime, I’m raising a virtual glass of eggnog to you: happy holidays!
I love the hush that takes over the house, after the turkey goes in the oven and the table is set (and the sketches sketched!), but before the guests start arriving. It’s that little breath of time that reminds me to pause and remember that every raised glass, every hug, every laugh around the table makes the world just a tiny bit better. I’m thankful for that today—and for you, for joining me here as you do.
Whether today finds you snowbound or sweltering, at work or at home—happy Thanksgiving.
Every year for Thanksgiving, I like to whip up place cards for our guests. Often this happens about 5 minutes before they show up at our door… or sometimes after, while I hide away in a back room and the Tailor distracts entertains them.
But let the record show that I’m early this year! For the first time ever, the place cards are done and dusted before the turkey has even finished thawing.
Victory? I think so.
I’m not entirely sure where this is going yet, but I’m trying something new today. Either I’ll end up with a couple of new pieces for the portfolio—or some pretty additions to the recycling bin. We’ll see…….
Every so often the Tailor and I rack up a list of errands to run down in Portland. So we pick a Saturday and hit the road early. But before we tackle our list of stops to make, we always start our visit with a quiet cuppa somewhere. Since Portland is chock-a-block with fantastic bakeries and coffee shops, we try to hit a different place every time. This weekend it was the French bakery, St. Jack—and some quality time with the ol’ sketchbook.
Every year I tell myself I’ll actually take photos during Studio Tour—and every year we get a bigger crowd, and I get all wrapped up in talking to people, and somehow the camera just sits forgotten in a corner. But at least I managed to take a couple of quick snaps of how it looked before we opened! We had our biggest group yet this year—over 150 people, many of them new faces! So an enormous thank you to everyone stopped by or sent me encouraging social media messages throughout the weekend—I can’t tell you how much it means to me to be a part of this amazing community.
I woke up this morning to a pile of all my favorite things—the best birthday haul any artist could ask for. Today is still a studio day, but those tickets say I’ll be having a grand time at the Pantages tonight!
I always look forward to Studio Tour because it’s the time of year when I produce the biggest crop of new pieces—and get to “try out” new work with the folks who know me best. This year has turned out to hold some pretty major shifts in direction for my studio practice, and I’m both excited and extremely nervous to put this stuff out there in the world.
(My internal worry-wort lately: “What if they don’t know it’s me?” “What if people ignore this and just ask, ‘What happened to [X]?'” “What if I can’t make the finished product look like it does in my head?” “Who says you get to do [X]?” Ugh.)
Studio Tour takes a lot of that pressure off, because I get to show this new work, in person, to folks I already know, before I release it into the wild. People who already get me and understand what I do—who don’t need me to launch into any awkward elevator-speech explanations of why. They already know the because. I can’t tell you how grateful I am for that.
And I’m grateful for you, the reader, as well. Whether you live in my town, or you’re part of my online circle—thank you. I can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on. More soon.