swallowfield

linkarific

this has been a busy week for me, and i've been feeling kind of quiet to boot. yesterday there was a dusting of slushy snow on the ground in the morning. what?! i don't feel ready for that nonsense, not at all.

i wanted to share a bunch of assorted stuff  i'm liking right now:

it was a dark week for marriage equality here in maine. i was really disappointed + sad about the outcome of the vote. my friend liz made this handy map to show the cities and towns that did support equality.

brandi carlile's new cd, give up the ghost - i've been listening to this a ton lately. love it.

we love you so, a blog dedicated to many of the artists and influences behind the magic of where the wild things are.

maria has curated and installed a show called come darkness at chelli wilson here in portland. it looks amazing and i can't wait to see it. the opening is tonight for first friday art walk.

meg mateo ilasco has published craft inc business planner, a follow up to the great craft, inc. (i was interviewed for this book, along with a bunch of other arty folks you very likely know. )

let them sing it for you, one of the coolest things i've seen around the internet in a long time, via all songs considered. you can send someone a singing telegram love note, if the spirit moves you.

the kids and i are super excited to see fantastic mr. fox.

i now have a selection of prints in stock at rare device in san francisco. (and i am looking forward to a solo show there in september, 2010! thanks lisa and rena!) and speaking of shows, i wish i could see lisa and amy's show, gently by the horns, in person.

phew! that's a lot of links. hope you all have a great weekend.

boo.

trick or treating starts in, well, seven hours and i've still got one costume to make and some pumpkins to carve. zoinks. wish me luck! what time is it socially acceptable to start drinking beer and swearing at the sewing machine and trying to lower my kid's expectations? that's what i want to know.

in the meantime, here are some pretty pictures i took this week. i love the colors outside right now.

 

 

 

have fun tonight!

wary meyers' tossed and found

a few weeks ago i had the opportunity to go and see john and linda meyers talk about their new book, wary meyers' tossed and found: unconventional design from cast-offs at longfellow books here in portland. you might know them best as the design duo wary meyers, or recognize a few of their interiors from, well, every design blog i've ever looked at. the image below is sort of eponymous of their aesthetic. isn't it gorgeous?

and, um, how awesome is their kitchen? damn! double damn! i love it so.

they have a really unique, fun + quirky style, and though i've known them a little from the arts scene here in portland and caught glimpses of them at yard sales over the past few years, it was really interesting to hear them talk about the book, their various projects, and what drives them artistically. i have really been enjoying reading their blog, which features stuff from the book as well as various awesome finds from yard and estate sales.

i've been happily devouring their book. you can buy it locally at longfellow books, or here.

today was perfect

today was a perfectly gorgeous, warm and sunny fall day...the kind that doesn't come along often enough. the kind that instantly warmed the dark depths of my cold, cold heart.

 

 

 

 

i could use a bunch more just like this one, please.

come + have a seat by the woodstove

it's been surprisingly cold this week - i've reluctantly had to admit to myself that fall is here. i've had the wood stove going almost constantly, and it's been super cozy  to sit next to it while drawing or catching up on emails. i love the colors of fall, but i am always slow to warm to the realities of extra layers and  frost in the mornings. last weekend  i  did a lot of driving - i went to a wedding  along the coast in massachusetts and then, the next day, a funeral  in downeast maine, and the leaves  i saw everywhere were overwhelmingly, pretty much take-your-breath-away bittersweet + lovely. it was nice to have all of that time alone in the car to soak it all in.

this time of year always makes me want to buy new smartwools. i'd love to draw designs for them - i love a lot of the recent patterns i've seen them put out. plus - smartwool tights? how smart is that?

i am really excited to go and see swoon's installation at space gallery here in portland. i'll try to share more about it once i've visited. 

right now i'm working on pieces for a few different upcoming group shows, several art/craft holiday shows i'll be doing around maine, new card sets, and some plans for some special holiday items. it's fun and varied and i love thinking about it all and planning everything. more info on all of this soon.

thanks for reading!

 

inspiring me: f-i-e-l-d

two of my very favorite artists here in portland are friederike hamann and colin sullivan-stevens, the wonder duo behind field. check out their installation marking their third anniversary at their gallery space - i love it so much!

 

 

 

photos from field, with permission

happy friday!

september is okay with me

today's post is just a bunch of bits and bobs i've been thinking about lately:

thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth at PICNIC last weekend. i had a great time, despite the rain. i had wonderful booth neighbors, and finally got to meet a sweet online friend in person for the first time. and i sold a ton of a brand new print i'd just finished the day before, which is always a nice feeling.  there will be a small shop update soonish, i think. i will write about it when it happens.

have you seen glee yet? i love it so much! i am sort of living for the next episode. it's bringing me right back to those awkward yet awesome drama geek days in high school. good times.

i finally stopped in to homegrown herb and tea today, and it was even nicer than i'd imagined. maria wrote a nice post about it on design*sponge a bit ago, and i've been meaning to go by for ages. and the tea i've had two cups of at home is extremely delicious. if you aren't local, she also has a great website.

i hemmed and hawed for a long time, and finally worked on the color for a drawing i made and digitally colored last summer (you can read about it here - it was called 'maine summer' and was a moody shade of blue for all of the rain we had in early summer this year.) i was really happy with the drawing and a bit scared to add color to the original, but i knew i wanted to include it in my upcoming show.  i finally got brave and went to work on it, and the colors turned out to seem much more fall-ish to me. so i've renamed the original 'maine autumn.' i'm so happy with it!

i am feeling particularly in love with fall this year.  i find myself wanting to sit in a sunny spot a grassy hillside and read poems and listen to folky music. or maybe it's just all this new tea i've been drinking.

i hope you're having a nice week so far.

high five

high five, sarah neuburger. i loved your post.

i've been listening to the new regina spektor CD and loving it so much.

the kids start school tomorrow. clean hair + trimmed nails: check. de-breeded backpacks: check. spanking fresh notebooks and pencils: check and check. super cool back to school clothes at the ready: check. it's a bittersweet time of year for me, but i have a lot of work to dive into this month + keep me busy. and i think we'd all agree that we had a great summer together.

these pictures are a few i snapped at the coastal maine botanical gardens last weekend. we loved it there! i highly recommend a visit if you're in the area.

i like august

i've been feeling kind of quiet these past few weeks; sorry i haven't been around here more. the weather has been gorgeous and i know how fleeting it will be, so we've been trying to soak it in while we can.

i finished up a large illustration project i'd been working on for a good chunk of the summer, which felt surprisingly good. i learned a lot about myself during the project.

a new friend was in town + we got together and went to amanda's book signing on friday. it was a super nice + mellow night. i love it when blogging friends are just as great in person as you imagine them to be!  this gets reaffirmed over and over for me as i meet online friends, and it makes me happy.  i would like to say congratulations to amanda on a lovely book! ellie and i are excited to try a few of the projects together, especially brandie's recycled journals.  

i've been listening to some old favorite songs, and trying to be cool about the fairly significant birthday that's coming up this week. it's only a number, right?

i also discovered kombucha. these are my favorites. (better late than never: that's me in a nutshell.) i really love it, and just try to think about the good stuff instead of the fact that i'm drinking expensive fermented mushrooms. but it genuinely does make me feel healthier, and i am usually totally skeptical of such things.

what have you been up to?

summer glow

this past weekend we got a chance to spend time with my mom + step-dad at their camp in northern maine, on the western border of baxter state park. after the summer full of rain and fog we've had here, saturday's gorgeousness was especially appreciated. all of the kids ran around in the light of the sunset with that warm summer glow on their skin, and even the mosquitoes behaved reasonably well. nice.

i've been working on some drawing for the enormous tiny art show.  you can see the drawings here if you're interested.

this week i want to pick raspberries. they're my favorite.