swallowfield

let's go home

this drawing is one of my favorite things for the show. i will dorkily admit that it makes me feel happy every time i look at it. (excuse the not-great lighting - my scanner kept wanting to turn this into 17 small images instead of one big one so i went with the somewhat sunny window instead.)

i was thinking about all of the (many) places i've lived in 38 years, and the things i loved about each house. i wish i had done a better job documenting some of them, with their high beamed ceilings and interesting moldings, built-in china cabinets and crazy flower gardens, pantry cupboards and spiral staircases. i do remember you, interesting details! even if it's only in my mind. can you imagine them inside these little houses? or can you remember the places you've lived and loved?

happy halloween, if that's your bag - for those who don't enjoy halloween, i had a good laugh at this.

In honor of Halloween, and because I have a very busy week this week getting ready for the show (I keep thinking I can just make a FEW more things...but I need to stop at some point here,) I am going to share some pictures from Halloweens past.
First we have the classic photo I bring out every year at this time now -the completely unstaged chair stacking photo from three years ago - this was a team effort aimed at getting to the halloween candy. It scared the bejeezus out of me.

This one was from last year, and I still love it. Our house is always this cozy and idyllic. Just kidding.
 
Finally, because this is, you know, meant to be  my art blog, I bring you one of my more favorite pieces for the show - it's called 'I like the view outside my window.' 
Happy Tuesday, friends.

Deck the Halls

Thanks for all of your nice words on my last post! I am pretty excited about it, so thanks for being excited with me.

It's raining a lot this weekend, and lots of leaves are coming down. I'm not so excited about that. We are working on costumes for one Ginny Weasley (she changed her mind on the pirate queen idea) and one "hooded reaper with glowing eyes + lots of weapons." Regarding the latter I have whittled the original weaponry request down to one scythe (I think that's what it's called), much to the chagrin of the requestor. Someone's got to be the heavy around here.

Here are a few things I've been working on in the past few days. I had a little freakout when I realized my show opens in six days. And  did you know it's almost time to start really thinking about the holidays? That one kind of crept up on me this year. But it's going to be okay because I love it all, the sparkle and the glitter and the trees, not to mention the chance to get out the Sufjan Stevens Songs for Christmas again. Whee!

red magazine

Oh, it is something of an exciting day for me today. I did a full page illustration/collage over the summer for a magazine called "Red" that Target Corporation puts out to college campuses across the country, and I got my copies in the mail today! I'm on page 18+21! It's a slick little thing, part ads and part articles, with terrific design and illustrations.  I love the cover art by Andrew Bannecker. (That's his, on the left, and mine in the middle, next to the article my art goes with.)

There's also a great little mention of Etsy in there, too. See? I heard that Martha Stewart loves Etsy*, too. It's going to be a handmade revolution.   (*Ok, I admit it. I've started watching Martha sometimes while I'm drawing during the day. I like to think of it as research...it's addictive.)

Inspiration Boards

Have you seen Inspiration Boards yet? It is a new blog from my friend Lori, based out the Flickr group she moderates of the same name. As someone who not only collects all manner of little snippets that wow me but also enlarges any picture someone else posts so I can better see all of their little snippets, this is definitely the blog for me. Because, you know, I really need another blog to read. No, I do.

There is so much more I want to share with you, but I am going to be a good little monkey and get back to work. See you again tomorrow.

an excellent weekend

happy weekend to you! after a big rainstorm on friday which brought down a lot of leaves, yesterday and today have been perfect, crisp fall weather - the colors are unreal. i want to print them into my memory while i can,  especially the super vivid yellows.

i've been busy in the mornings and evenings working on the last stuff for my show, listening to the new radiohead, and catching up on pushing daisies, which i was happy to realize i can watch for free on my computer because it is a great show.

i'm also taking a class in photo silkscreen this weekend + really loving it. first of all, just being in a school setting (as a student) is fun and a bit (okay, way) out of my current comfort zone. it's nice to step outside of the mom role once in awhile and do something like this, where for 10 or 12 hours it is just about learning and not needing to teach or guide anyone else. the art school where the class is happening is also a very inspiring place. i feel like i've been floating a few feet off of the ground all weekend.

i hope you are doing something that's inspiring you, too. it's good stuff.

stop, drop and roll

i cleaned my basement workspace this morning. i don't want to tell you all it entailed, but let's just say it took awhile. maybe it is because i am fond of collage making that i have a hard time throwing anything out -  i always think i might use it, or a wee bit of it, again. today i cuddled up with the recycling bin + actually threw a bunch in there, because there was some generalized worry around the house along the lines of 'mom's workspace is a fire hazard! stop drop and roll!' we had a good talk about fire safety and our family emergency meeting spot, and then i cleaned.

as much as i hate to admit it, it does feel good. and i know where everything is again, too. bonus.

some of you might be interested to know that it took the tooth fairy almost 72 hours to get to our house after the loss of the tooth i mentioned in my last post. she left a note, though, and told us she'd been held up in portland, oregon. all was forgiven. i was glad to hear from you that she has been late at some of your houses, too. she's a busy little lady, i guess.

today i puttered around and did business-y things and cooked a bunch. a giant pot of apples yielded only 1/3 of a pot of applesauce but i threw in some raspberries, and it is a lovely deep red color, and pretty delicious, too. i also made some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins, which are a longtime favorite + a fall staple around here - they're from a recipe i got from a very special college friend a long time ago. they have lots of butter in them, a good amount of sugar, and of course...chocolate chips - and they're tasty as hell. it smells like fall in the house now, or more accurately like someone used +/- several big tablespoons of cinnamon, and i like it. while we're talking about cooking, i'll tell you that last night i made a vaguely grown up, chock full of vegetables, spices and tamari sort of rice dish, and i was determined that the kids would eat it and like it, but somehow it ended up that they ate cheese sticks and kiwis instead. i had run out of parenting mojo, i think. that happens around here sometimes. they don't floss every night, either.  don't tell the tooth fairy. :)

hey tooth fairy: come check out these plates

yesterday i did something i often do when i have lots to catch up on and am feeling overwhelmed by my to-do lists: i ignored it all and embarked on a little decorating project. i have been planning to hang up my favorite vintage plates for months, and had taken the advice of holly from decor8 on what kind of plate hangers to use, because i hate those stretchy, boingy ones. these plate hangers were easy to use and seem great and sturdy. that holly is quite a smarty.  unfortunately, i have run out of plates, so i have to get back to business this morning.

in other, disappointing news: mr. 6 3/4 lost a tooth yesterday + the tooth fairy never made it to our house last night. bad, bad tooth fairy! i am going to try to draw that little space cadet a neon sign to make sure she makes it here tonight in a busy, buzzy flapping of her tiny wings. oh, tooth fairy. get your act together, will you?

saturday

this morning i stood in line, shivering with some die hard yardsalers for the baptist church's twice annual rummage sale, and i could see my breath - it's cold! {{thankfully it is also sunny, because that rain yesterday was starting to make me feel like i'd been visited by the dementors. no fun.}} anyway! back to the sale - the doors always open promptly at 8am, and i have never been disappointed with what's inside. today i got some old textbooks, a sweet little tupperware container and 3 big + gorgeous old pyrex mixing bowls for $2.25. i think yard sale season will soon be coming to an end, so i've been trying to stock up on all of the old books i think i'll need for my artwork this winter.
today i am listening to iron and wine (it's been on heavy roatation around here this week), thinking about holiday card designs i want to do (yikes), pondering a quilt i'd like to try my hand at in this lovely, lovely book, feeling happy that al gore won the nobel peace prize yesterday, and trying to convince my children that their stuffed animals don't really need handmade halloween costumes, too. we have one request for a 'pirate queen' and one for 'some kind of really scary guy with a hood and lots of weapons' so far, and that's for the kids - which should keep me more than  over my head. the stuffed animals are one their own, man.