swallowfield

wrapping up

it's our last day of vacation in downeast maine. i'm sad to go, but excited about continuing with a lot of new drawings i started working on over the past two weeks. (i'm getting ready for having a few pieces in the enormous tiny art show 6  in september, and then for a two person show with julia rothman in october, both at nahcotta. i'm excited!)

this week we went to winter harbor to visit a friend, and it was so wet and foggy and lovely there. i fell in love - the coastline is so similar to acadia, but i have spent very little time in that part of the coast.

this rock looked like granite dipped in chocolate.

 yesterday we went on a whale watch.

that's all i have to say about that. well, mostly. once meg and i saw graffiti written in a ladies room that said 'don't mock my necessity.' it came to mind yesterday when i saw everyone around me in various stages of nausea and vomiting. i generally consider myself decently hardy, but those were some pretty serious sea swells.

the harbor was gorgeous though:

 and petit manan reminded me of the island where hagrid rescues harry from the dursley's in the first harry potter book. it was so beautiful out there.

see you back in portland in a few days. there is still a good chunk of summer to enjoy. can't wait.

life imitates art

this is another case of discovering a flower i've never seen before (that i can recall, anyway) and realizing it is a pattern i draw all the time. i love it when that happens.

also, wouldn't you like to have this place as an art studio?

happy sunday. xx

echoes::summer is...

the ladies over at echoes asked me to create something that is summer to me for today's entry. i've worked on this drawing all week while i've been on vacation, which has been so relaxing and fun. thanks so much for asking me, women!

summer is lush + overgrown, brimming with pattern, and drenched in color.
summer is the ocean - the blue gray grit of salt air, weathered wood and smooth rocks.
summer is small island towns and a sense of community.
summer is fleeting. 

 

summer colors + flavors

we're having a lovely week. 

after playing outside each day, we've also been enjoying:

morning glory

reel pizza

mount desert ice cream

::::::::

{{i will be back later today with another post to share something special with you.}}

cheers, + happy friday!

 

vacation dispatch, the 2009 edition

the kids and i are on vacation up on mount desert island this week and part of next. summer seems to have finally arrived; it's been gloriously sunny and warm since we got here on saturday night, and that's been just fine with me.

if you've been reading this blog for any length of time you probably already know that mount desert island is a place very close to my heart. i grew up here, but moved away after college. and it took me a lot longer than it should have to appreciate just how lovely and incredible it is here. a hearty amount of the inspiration for my artwork comes from our visits.

and it's even better when friends come for a few nights to play with us.

on top of gorham mountain

barnacles on pink granite in seal harbor

they are never too chicken to swim in the ocean. i am content with dipping my toes in.

a quick trip through the azalea garden with our friends

and a visit to the thuya garden and lodge - so inspiring

at thuya lodge

happy friends on top of cadillac mountain

happy monday

happy monday!
this is just a quick post - i've been super busy lately, working on a large illustration project that has been equal parts challenging, interesting and a good source of growth - it's all kind of new territory for me.

this is a recent blockprinting experiment i did while taking a break from the drawing. i used to love to work on blockprints, and i haven't done it in ages. i have really been liking the red/orange and aqua color combo lately. i love to take patterns like this and cut them up to use in collage.

the sun is finally shining in new england and life feels pretty sweet. i hope you are soaking it all up, wherever you are.

ps: can you believe how interesting this bloom pattern is? it looks like fireworks to me.

the passion of the hausfrau - book giveaway!

i have been meaning to write about the passion of the hausfrau by nicole chaison for almost a month now.

i don't know about you (or those of you with kids, anyway,) but after my kids were born, i pretty quickly got turned off by the mainstream resources out there for mothers. i found myself seeking out books and zines that told the real story of parenting with honesty and humor, like the east village inky by ayun halliday, operating instructions by anne lamott, and the mother trip by ariel gore, to name a few. luckily for me and countless other parents out there, nicole also began writing a zine called hausfrau several years ago when her kids were small, and it quickly became one of my favorites. (there are dog-eared copies of every issue of hausfrau scattered all over my house.)  luckily for everyone, nicole got the chance to write a book about her parenting adventures, and the passion of the hausfrau was born. it was published by villard, an imprint of random house, last month.

the book is a hero's journey, full of the ups and downs and the crazy rollercoaster stuff that happens once you have kids, and it is lovingly and painstakingly illustrated as an illuminated manuscript. it is smart and funny and honest and painful in parts.

in full disclosure, nicole is one of my closest friends. i've written about her here before. and last spring,  bess welden adapted some of the stories from nicole's zine into a one woman play which was just amazing.

i am happy to say that i have a copy of the book from random house to give away here. leave a comment on this post between now and sunday, 7/12, at noon EST and i will draw a lucky winner.

you can also buy the book at your local independent bookstore, or amazon. you will be so happy you did.

((edited on sunday to add: congratulations to renee, commenter #6, you won the book!))

blue skies ahead

it has been a busy week, spent alternating between packing my babies kids for sleepaway camp and working on a huge freelance illustration job that's due next week. plus there's been the managing to keep the feelings of total hopelessness at bay while looking out the window at day after day of rain and heavy gray fog. i cried a little in the trial-sized aisle at target while i was buying the kids each their very own soap dish, because this is their first sleepaway camp experience and i am going to miss them terribly.  but later that day when they were determinedly trying to choke each other, i thought to myself that a week away really isn't that long for them to be gone.

i did see a wee patch of blue sky up above for a total of about five minutes today. it was something special to behold, let me tell you.

if you live in or are visiting maine this summer, i wanted to let you know i have some working hanging + for sale at two of my favorite places on mount desert island: the burning tree restaurant in otter creek*, and at lisa hall jewelry in northeast harbor.

*they don't have a website because they are too busy cooking the world's most delicious food in the history of ever to worry about such paltry concerns, but you can see a picture i took there here.