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Back from Narnia

San Francisco photo by Chandler O'Leary

After thirteen days and 2,382 miles on the road, I’m finally home in the real world again. And that’s exactly how it feels—like I’ve been in a land of make-believe for the past two weeks. A place of impossible landscapes and endless shorelines and absolutely no connection to things like phones and computers and deadlines and to-do lists.

Now that I’ve washed back ashore, however, there are photos to edit and sketches to scan before I can tell you about it. In the meantime, Jessica and I have a schedule to keep: as advertised, our next Dead Feminist broadside is back from Codex and ready to share. Look for it here and in the shop tomorrow.

See you then!

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M.I.A.

Berkeley, CA photo by Chandler O'Leary

Going A.W.O.L. from the studio can be a very good thing—especially when this is the destination.

Codex Book Fair 2011 photo by Chandler O'Leary

I’m here to spend some time with these folks,

Artwork by Chandler O'Leary at Codex Book Fair 2011

for the sake of this.

San Francisco photo by Chandler O'Leary

But the “work” part of my trip is done now, so I spent today up here.

Half Moon Bay photo by Chandler O'Leary

And tomorrow I’m leaving for home, but I’ll be taking the long road, by way of this.

Tide pool photo by Chandler O'Leary

The goal is to take as much time as possible for things like these,

Half Moon Bay photo by Chandler O'Leary

and for moments like this.

I promise to share when I get home and have access to a computer again. See you on the other end of the trail.

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Merry and bright

Letterpress holiday card by Chandler O'Leary

I was afraid I wasn’t going to have any holiday photos to show you—when I was in Portland the other week, my camera took a nosedive after being bumped off my shoulder in a crowded room.

Daily Sketchbook drawings by Chandler O'Leary

Snippets from my daily journal

So I shipped the lens off to the good folks at Canon for repair, and switched to paper for awhile.

Seattle and Stowell-Sendak Nutcracker Ballet sketch by Chandler O'Leary

One of Maurice Sendak’s eye-candy stage sets for the Pacific NW Ballet’s Nutcracker

My favorite thing about sketchbooks is that I can take them anywhere—including places where cameras, functioning or not, are strictly verboten.

Seattle and Stowell-Sendak Nutcracker Ballet sketch by Chandler O'Leary

More Nutcracker scenery, plus Christmas on Pine Street in Seattle

The downside, though, is that it takes me a lot longer to draw a picture than to shoot one—so my output is always smaller than I’d like.

Christmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'Leary

But then the Fedex guy showed up with my lens, good as new and just in time for Christmas.

Christmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'Leary

I managed to refrain from hugging him, and then hopped around the house in manic glee, documenting the holiday the Tailor and I have spent all week creating.

Process photo of letterpress holiday card by Chandler O'Leary

(We finally broke down and bought twinkle lights for the tree; which provided the perfect inspiration for this year’s card!)

Christmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'LearyProcess photo of letterpress holiday cards by Chandler O'LearyChristmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'LearyChristmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'Leary

Wherever today finds you, have a warm, cozy, abundant, and very merry Christmas.

Christmas 2010 photo by Chandler O'Leary

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Aboard the Pineapple Express

Portland, OR photo by Chandler O'Leary

One of the nerdy things I love most in the world is “collecting” regional nicknames for weather systems. I’ve lived in a lot of different places, and have first-hand experience with such things as the Nor’easter, the Albuquerque Low, the Alberta Clipper, and Blood Rain (which, I’ll admit, is as freaky as the name; watching rust-colored droplets fall from the sky and stain every surface—including you—is a disturbing experience).

Here we get the occasional visit from the Pineapple Express—a holiday guest from the South Pacific that overstays its welcome and eats everything in your fridge. And it thanks you with the gift of a warm bath—a gift that keeps on giving: namely, torrential rains, washed-out roads and rails, snowmelt at all but the very highest elevations, and areas of flooding which include, right at this very moment, our basement. (Not to worry; for us, at least, the rain trickles in, gathers in an interesting map of puddles, and trickles back out again when the storm subsides. And for all the well-meaning people who offer us unsolicited remodeling advice, it serves as an excellent illustration of our resolve never to have a finished basement.)

Anyway, while I concede that it made the drive more … er, interesting, the Pineapple Express served as an oddly fitting companion on my trip to Portland yesterday.

Portland, OR photo by Chandler O'Leary

For one thing, it gave sudden and perfect context to one hilarious interpretation of a Christmas tree.

Portland, OR photo by Chandler O'Leary

It made the bright spots glow—

Crafty Wonderland photo by Chandler O'Leary

and turned even the most nauseating corporate decor into a sea of color.

Crafty Wonderland photo by Chandler O'Leary

It got the old mental wheels turning by inviting me indoors, from a dose of crafty goodness,

Museum of Contemporary Craft photo by Chandler O'Leary

to an entire museum devoted to another kind of craftiness.

Museum of Contemporary Craft photo by Chandler O'Leary

And with nothing but a soggy hike waiting outside, it inspired me to take my time and have a good, long look at what I found.

Pearl Bakery photo by Chandler O'Leary

It encouraged me to visit a favorite bakery—

Pearl Bakery photo by Chandler O'Leary

—and warm up over a well-rounded lunch (sorry).

Powell's City of Books photo by Chandler O'Leary

It gave me an excuse to duck into the best bookstore in the entire universe.

Portland, OR photo by Chandler O'Leary

And just as daylight waned, it helped a certain somebody’s nose glow oh-so-bright.

Oh, and then, as I walked back to my car for the drive home, it made this song pop into my head. After all, paddling home in a canoe might have been a little more efficient!

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Stalling a wee bit

Knitting photo by Chandler O'Leary

You know what? It’s pretty dark here in the winter.

No, I mean really dark. Not just a sunrise-at-eight-pitch-black-by-five dark, but a kind of silver pall that sets up a permanent residence, even at midday, and makes you forget about the sun. It’s absolutely beautiful when you’re taking a walk in the fog, or curling up with your trusty Rosie mug and a hank of yarn. Not so great when you really need a lot of natural light, though—like, say, for shooting photographs…

Process photo of "Local Conditions" artist book by Chandler O'Leary

…or mixing paint to fill in a huge stack of glorified coloring book pages.

So between the short daylight hours and a desperate need to reserve a little personal time, work on the book has slowed from a breakneck pace to a stately, clip-clopping trot. I still have so much to show you—so much to explain—but my head needs to catch up with my hands first (or is it the other way around?). I’m going, then, to break it up into a series of posts, and take a little extra time to gather my thoughts before I start. I don’t mean to string you along; because the process required working with a kind of tunnel vision for so long, I’m only just now seeing the “finished” product myself. So thanks for your patience—and for being interested enough to stick with me.

Thank you also for the huge outpouring of support you’ve shown since I posted this thing a couple of weeks ago. The comments, links, blog features, Tweets, emails, and amazing reviews are just overwhelming. I simply can’t find the words, except—thank you.

Mt. Rainier and Seattle Post-Intelligencer Globe letterpress illustration by Chandler O'Leary

Part of what’s taking me so long is that at the same time, I’m working on a small series (like a baker’s dozen or so) of individual prints of images from the book (exhibit A above). There’s not a whole heap of rhyme or reason as to which illustrations I’ve chosen, except that these are some of my favorites. I’ll be posting them in the shop (believe me, they’ll be a lot more affordable than the book) as I finish them.

In the meantime, it’s time to light a few more lights, and keep the dark at bay so I can see what I’m doing.

Candles photo by Chandler O'Leary

Which reminds me—Happy Hanukkah!

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Snow day

Snow day photo by Chandler O'Leary

Three inches of snow fell today while I had my morning cuppa. Since the region has possibly the world’s tiniest fleet of snow plows (Seattle has a grand total of twenty-seven; you can imagine what the handful Tacoma’s got), and none of them are out thus far—’round here, three inches is enough to cancel an entire city, let alone school.

Snow day photo by Chandler O'Leary

Despite the lure of white beaches and urban ski runs, I’m not crazy enough to try descending the hills today. Instead I’m spending my snow day close to home, so I can marvel at how strange the rhodies look under a sugar dusting.

Snow day photo by Chandler O'Leary

On our rare doses of “real” winter, it always looks like Nature made some sort of clerical error—like the mailman dropping someone else’s holiday cards into our mailbox.

Snow day photo by Chandler O'Leary

Instead of a blanket of white over a soft grey world, everything glows in blues, greens, yellows … and reds?

Snow day photo by Chandler O'Leary

Yes, that is an apple, still on the tree—nicely chilled and ready to serve for Thanksgiving.

Let it snow!

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Suffragist City

Washington state capitol photo by Chandler O'Leary

I woke up this morning after the first full night’s sleep in over a month, and celebrated by breaking the recent routine of studio-studio-studio entirely. I ignored the computer, bundled up, and headed down to the state capitol in Oly for a once-in-a-century party.

Washington state capitol photo by Chandler O'Leary

One hundred years ago today, the state of Washington approved an amendment to the state constitution granting women the right to vote.

Washington state capitol photo by Chandler O'Leary

To celebrate the occasion, the capitol rotunda played host to the Centennial Day of Jubilation. Forget collaborating on Jell-o recipes; I think even May and Emma would have agreed on how cool an idea this was.

Washington state women's suffrage centennial photo by Chandler O'Leary

Everyone in the Rotunda got in on the action. The Lieutenant Governor’s office, here, was transformed into a picket line,

Washington state women's suffrage centennial photo by Chandler O'Leary

while reenactors turned the foyer into a debate chamber.

Washington state women's suffrage centennial photo by Chandler O'Leary

And upstairs, in the Reception Room, a feisty demonstrator channeled the spirit of the suffragists—

Washington state women's suffrage centennial photo by Chandler O'Leary

and did her best to drag the audience into the past with her.

Washington state women's suffrage centennial photo by Chandler O'Leary

It’s too bad I don’t own any Edwardian clothing—I felt a bit underdressed for the occasion.

Centennial of Women's Suffrage, Washington state capitol

Still, I managed to channel my inner suffragist, even without the corset and bustle.

Button photo by Chandler O'Leary

And on my twenty-first century overcoat, I found a way to wear a little pride. In my head I did a little thank-you salute to all the Washington suffragists of old. Ladies, we couldn’t celebrate without you.

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Holdouts and harbingers

Romanesco photo by Chandler O'Leary

Somehow I’ve managed to tear myself away from the massive pile of drawings a couple of times in the past two weeks—once for a quick trip to the wonderful Olympia Farmers Market to pick up a few things. (Look, fractal geometry!)

Tomatoes photo by Chandler O'Leary

Okay, maybe “few” is stretching the truth a bit, since one of those items was fifty pounds of organic romas, destined for tomato sauce. These babies are a month late, and we’re lucky to have them at all. It’s been a dismal summer for tomato growers here—but hey, it’s nice to have that one last bit of summer when you can get it.

Sheep photo by Chandler O'Leary

The other time was for a little taste of the winter to come—at the Oregon Flock & Fiber Festival. The place had me dreaming of winter silence and warm, woolly sweaters.

Maybe if we hurry up and can those tomatoes, sweater weather will come faster!

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Turning

Orb weaver photo by Chandler O'Leary

I don’t need the calendar to tell me that fall has arrived. For one thing, the enormous garden spiders are back, guarding our house and reveling in the rain that’s come early this year.

For another, when the sun finally came out, and the skies cleared, the air was suddenly crisper, thinner, fragile in its warmth.

Autumn maple photo by Chandler O'Leary

And the trees—

Autumn photo by Chandler O'Leary

the trees.

I blinked, and it was autumn.

Japanese maple photo by Chandler O'Leary

Good thing I was paying attention. I don’t want to miss it.

Happy fall, everyone!

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Blue ribbon morning

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Judging by the chilly rain that’s suddenly arrived, the rapidly diminishing daylight and the maples that are already starting to turn, summer is officially over. But maybe it’s all those years I spent going to the Minnesota State Fair, because the end of summer has always got me dreaming of still-hot days and fried food on a stick—and I find myself handing out metaphorical blue and red ribbons to the winners of nonexistent competitions.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Take, for example, yesterday morning, when I had to return some library books to the Kitsap Regional Library. Since I could visit any library in the system to do it, I picked a branch in a town I had never yet visited: Poulsbo (pronounced “Paul’s Boh”).

To kill a few minutes before the library opened, I parked the car next to a waterfront park, and took a stroll along the boardwalk that extended toward the center of town. I have no idea what I was expecting to find at the end of the boardwalk—

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

but it certainly wasn’t anything quite this adorable.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Tucked away on a fjordy arm of the Sound, Poulsbo was settled in the 1880s by Scandinavian immigrants (the ones who didn’t stay in Minnesota to start up the State Fair, that is).

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

And it’s been a little piece of Norway ever since. In fact, Norwegian was the primary language here until World War II; and even yesterday, I swear on my own grave that I overheard a conversation in Norwegian. Hey, I didn’t live in both Minnesota and North Dakota for nothing—my friend Bridget would be proud of me for picking out all the “jeg“s and “er“s and “av“s she taught me long ago.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

So Poulsbo gets a blue ribbon for charm and gratuitous outdoor use of Norsk.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Eventually I remembered what I was there for in the first place—and then, when I laid eyes on the carved pillars and intricate paneling, I had to make sure I had written down the correct address. I think it’s safe to say that Poulsbo has also netted the Most Beautiful Library ribbon—

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

aaaand another blue for Cutest-as-a-Button church steeple.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Before I headed for home, I walked the rest of Front Street—and stopped dead when I saw this sign. I don’t have a drop of Norwegian blood in my veins, but I do know my way around a Norse bakery.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary

Lefse wasn’t on the menu that day, but I did find the perfect treat for my State Fair state of mind. Oh, yes. Another blue ribbon.

What can I say? Poulsbo knows the ways to my heart.

Poulsbo photo by Chandler O'Leary