Around the corner....

 

A new year awaits!  I like the idea of a new year but don't buy into the whole new you idea.  In most cases there was nothing wrong with you to begin with!  Also never understood why you'd wait to change something until January 1st?  

Hope you're doing well, resting up & ready to keep shining in 2022.  I like how that date looks on the page.   I also remember thinking 2020 had a pretty, round look to it (numerically) & that year was a mess so no predictions from me!  Either way we'll keep hanging in there.

Pink Christmas

 

Where ever you call home... I hope it's filled with joy!  Wishing you & yours a Merry Christmas.  And if Christmas is not your thing I wish you a couple days of calm. 

I'm dreaming of a pink Christmas!  It wouldn't be the strangest thing that happened this year.

****Stay safe, jolly and warm ****

Winter Solstice

 

Today is the shortest day of the year & marks the official start of winter.  I plan on holing up with warm cups of peppermint tea & a good book.  Makes perfect sense to tuck in early tonight to catch some extra z's.  

For those of use who miss the light...  from here on out (precisely June 21st) our friend the sun will shine just a little longer each day.

Mid December

 

Are you feeling merry & bright?  By mid December I start feeling like geez...  is all this holiday hype almost over?  Everyone's different!  Some good news... my infinite for twinkle light remains strong throughout the season!

Cut paper animals

 

My kind of winter gathering!

(paint, cut paper, & nature bits from my yard)

Meow, purrr, crash!

 

                                                 Happy holiday antics!

                                    (festive felines from my sketchbook)

Home-made

 

 

 Being an artists you end up making so many different things for others but, very often don't take the time to make something special for yourself.  This year I decided to make a tree skirt for under our tree.  I wanted something bold, but with limited color & lots of animals all around.  I immediately thought of otomi textiles. Minus the rainbow palette... Don't get me wrong– I love a rainbow but, not right for what I had in mind this time.

To save some frustration ( Have you ever tried to sew a circle?)  I purchased a plain cream tree skirt from West Elm to use as the base.  I found some nice black felt. (It takes some looking but you can find beautiful felt that doesn't feel completely synthetic.) I started cutting out animals that came to mind... reindeer, a fox, a hare, some birds & why not butterflies?

 I tacked everything down with glue & each night would stitch on 4 to 5 different silhouettes. As you can imagine– it took some time but, I'm happy with the end result! (Sophie likes it too:)

DECEMBER

 December begins with some winter bits placed on paper. 

(And a couple of pom– poms... I love pom– poms!)

 

 

Also, a handmade painted advent calendar for my son.  He has a severe nut allergy so we add a "safe treat" inside.  Peppermint patties are his favorite seasonal sweet!  Hope you have some special traditions in place for marching through this month.

Happy Hanukkah–

 The holiday season is in full swing!

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate!
 

Countdown to–

 

 

           PIE!  I'm looking forward to baking & sampling some family favorites in just two days!

Folksy Fall

 

  I'm pleased to report we haven't had a hard frost yet so, there a few flowers still sprinkled about.

        (Painted with acrylic gouache which usually isn't my favorite but worked well here.)

Fall Flutters

 

I cut out a lot of my art, then paint, scan & build more digitally.  Because this is often my process I have flat files filled with all sorts of paper cut art & sometimes I decide to re-purpose it.  Like these butterflies that were for a greeting card project & I turned into a mobile to hang on my studio wall.  Most the butterflies are headed south now but, I've managed to keep a couple close by!

Umperfect Symmetry

 

Some silkscreened symmetry– perfectly imperfect!  Almost all my designs in art school were silkscreened.  My portfolio was large (50 x 70") silkscreened prints that I rolled and carried all over NYC for interviews in a canon like portfolio case. (which was taller than me)  I remember unrolling them for interviews to discover that the ink had crackled leaving a pile of pigment behind when I'd pack up to leave.

A couple years ago I took a print making class again– which brought all the memories back! 

(most of them good)

NOVEMBER

 

                      Some painted little leaves to celebrate the arrival of NOVEMBER.

                                Painting small is hard for me.... I usually work big!

HALLOWEEN

 

 I've always liked witches.  (Good witches of course...)  Happy Halloween my pretties!

(photo circa 1979)

Seek

 

I like this time of the year.  It’s not unbearable cold, nature is full of color & we get to 

play dress up at the end of the month.

 

What kind of everyday magic do you see lurking in the air?

Fluttering Frenchie

 

This piece was inspired by my French Bulldog Sophie.  Her first Halloween I bought her a pair of monarch wings to wear.  In protest, when we weren't looking she ripped them off & quickly destroyed them.  The next year I tried to dress her up as a bumble bee. (I guess I like the idea of something so dense & sturdy being able to fly?.?) The result was the same.  We've given up on trying to dress her up & respect that it's not her thing.  That said... she does happily rock a bandana a couple days of the week.

Transitions

 

Autumn is the transition time before we bring it all back in.  Kind of like Friday late afternoons gleefully guide you towards the weekend.  Have a good one!

Spreading some optimism!

 

 

 

Here’s a new growth chart, wall print & night light I just finished for Oopsy Daisy wall art for kids.

 

 (In personalized or non-personalized, either way keep dreaming big!)

Golden

 

 

 

Fall feels like a light show to me, where everything is bathed in a bit of gold.

(proof that I sometimes use limited color- ink & gold pen in my sketchbook)

October Alphabet

 

I love the month of October!  There's still some warmth in the air, the season starts to shift & I pay a little more attention to nature. (like I do at the start of spring)  The earlier nights feel like permission to retreat & the drudgery of winter is still a ways off.  I also enjoy semi- scary ghost stories.  Anything too terrifying will keep me up all night!

*The above art is an autumn inspired alphabet to set the tone.

Fall days

 

Orchard scene from HELLO, WORLD!  How Do Apples Grow?  Fall afternoons at the orchard can feel magical.  I love the golden light, the deep shadows, the cool breeze & seeing families enjoy nature together.

Wildflowers

 

Here's a gathering of different wildflowers before the first frost whisks them away.  This is a piece I painted a couple years ago & was a card for Design House Greetings.  

Did you know there are supposed meanings behind each different flower?

Purple Clover- Resolution

Daisy- Innocence

Dandelion- Growth & hope

Forget Me Not- pretty straight forward... don't forget me

Morning Glory- Affection

Thistle- Overcoming adversity/ difficulty

Queen Anne's Lace- Safety

Sunflower- Love & luck

It would be fun to build a bouquet around each flowers meaning & make a little chart for the recipient to decode the personalized message.  Flowers bring me joy!

Autumn Orchard

 

Today we did our annual trip to the orchard.  I tend to forget how pretty it is until we arrive.  This year delivered once again but it did feel different.  This was my families first trip without our sweet friend Gina.  She'd been a staple for seasonal outings like this for the past 15 years.  This got me thinking of her & I decided to paint a vintage floral this morning in her honor before we headed out.  She loved all things vintage & I think she would of liked this. (although would have preferred it to be shades of aqua, not pink)  Miss you G!  

Pink lady apples are my favorite... I think that's why I had my mind set on pink for this floral.

Fading flowers

 

My garden blooms are fading.  The nights are cooler now, the shadows are stronger & there's a change in the air.  Tried to capture some of that in my mini sketchbook.

 There are two new HELLO, WORLD! coloring pages to celebrate my new releases, BABY ANIMALS and ON the FARM.  You can find these and many more HELLO, WORLD! coloring pages on my website.  Just head to the HW COLORING PAGES section, hit download, grab some crayons & have some fun!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - E N J O Y ! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

N.Y.C.

 

 

Thinking about NYC today.  Three weeks after turning 18 I headed off to art school at Parsons School of Design.  When I graduated I worked in the city for a couple years.  Missing home I left to head back to the Midwest about one month before 9-11.  Manhattan is a special place–there's really nothing like it.  In an big city that can be known as a gruff, cold place I always felt a sense of community and kindness.

My heart goes out to everyone carrying the burden of that very sad day.

On the Farm

 

There's another new title out in my Hello, World! series... it's On the Farm.  The farm is a lively place– I hope you enjoy taking a look.

 

We start early morning at the farm where there's work to be done.  We meet some animals, harvest some crops then head off to the farmers market to sell some of the farm goods.  A simple, fun breakdown of farm to table to share with toddlers.

Sunflower Farm

 

Over the weekend we drove to Kansas to visit a sunflower farm.  It was spectacular this year & felt like just the boost of beauty I needed.  

There was bright, bold yellow for as far as your eye can see.

 

 

Up close you could see the special symmetry of the petals & seeds.

With different bugs sprinkled on top the blooms.

 

I love sharing this little moments with my son- flower.

(who at 14 has grown much taller than me)

BABY ANIMALS

 

WELCOME…. Baby Animals the next book in my Hello, World early learning series. (out today)  I made this book during the first couple months of lockdown.  I reached out to my editor and told her I’d love to make a book that felt like a safe, happy hug.  Baby Animals explores a variety of creatures some furry, some feathered, some big & small the commonality here is like us they all started out as a baby.  

 

 

 

 

Each spread features a different animal and the help it receives starting out.

Hope this brings a smile to your face when you share it with the little ones in your life.

Did you know... *A baby swan is called a cygnet.

 

 

 Here's a glimpse at some of the original art in the book.

 

Labor Day

 

It's hard to let summer go! (sigh)

Like a squirrel I wish I could hoard it away in a safe spot and quickly dig it up when needed. Here's to one last, long summer weekend.  *** ENJOY!***

September

 

Here we are SEPTEMBER... already.  I associate this month with sunflowers.  Each September we visit a sunflower field in Kansas.  The drive is long & boring.  We travel down what feels like an endless gravel road until you see the bright field of deep yellow up ahead.  I love the height and strength of sunflowers & the way their bright blooms follow the sun throughout the day.  They're the last flower to appear each summer and worth the wait and the big dose of Benadryl my son & I take before hand. (they make us sneeze!)

I'm not a winter person & slipping into the colder month is something I dread. Little reminders- like the sunflower field at the end of each summer gives me something to look forward to and make the transition into the colder weather a little easier.