Tuesday August 15, 2006

"Big Cherry Tree" 16" x 20" available on etsy

Tuesday, Tuesday. Nice. I am a little bit obsessed with the giant cherry tree in our backyard lately, and I can't seem to stop painting it. Or, my version of it. Sadly, the actual tree lost a limb yesterday. The branch just came crashing down, out of the blue, like a giant bark covered arm. The tree is over a hundred years old and spent a few years covered in ivy before our landlady rescued it. Or so the story goes. It's trunk is enormous and deformed, full of scars and twisted bark.

When I get obsessive about painting the same thing over and over again, I start to feel like all of those people in Close Encounters, (one of my all time favorite movies.) who frantically painted Devils Tower again and again. Do you think aliens are planning to land beside the cherry tree in our backyard? Is there someone I should notify about this kind of thing? A 1-800 number I should call or something? I need to know if there is something else I should be doing before I start crafting cherry trees out of giant mounds of mashed potatoes.

What's New Monday August 14, 2006

Check out this amazing kid's book store in Beijing. Must. Go. Visit.

Happy Monday! I can't believe it's been a week already! I also can't believe it's the middle of August already too. This is nuts. Time is warping by like a snake on a slip-n-slide.

Crafty Wonderland was a great time yesterday. I sat around some really nice and crafty people that make everything from these books to these gorgeous necklaces. Really great folks all around.

I love the feeling of being set up at a show with my iced tea or coffee in hand, and preparing for a day of chatting and people watching. It's such an awesome feeling.

I have a few new paintings to post, but unfortunately that's going to have to wait until tomorrow. My camera is floating around in Gabe's van, and I forgot to retrieve it before he left the house this

morning. Doh!

So, until tomorrow. Adios tamales!

Crafty Wonderland August 10, 2006

Crafty Wonderland this Sunday from 11-4pm August 13th! Come by and say hello if you're in the neighborhood. I'll be there, with some little paintings I haven't posted yet and would love to see you. YOU, yes you!

Hey! Life is really turning around this week. I'm feeling calmer and healthier, and a lot less frazzled. My routine is shaping up. The pumpkins got planted, (thanks Gabe!) dinners were eaten, paintings were painted, and I got the tangles out of my hair. The hair was a major operation, let me tell you. Wendy sent me a package yesterday that was so nice! Full of yummy healthy snacks and a sweet photo of my very favorite New York dog . (Thanks Wendy, and congratulations with your show opening last night!)

High fives.

What's New Monday August 07, 2006

'What Are You Trying To Say" 10" x 10"

hello friends,

happy monday.

well, let's see..what's new around here, not much. It was a working weekend. Gabe and I took a break Saturday night to watch Space Balls at the Laurelhurst, but otherwise, my nose was to the grindstone, or...painty canvas, or.. you get the idea.

I'm having waves of panic lately that are starting to wake me up in the night with a sweaty jolt. Money worries, upcoming shows, the state of the world. Our house has taken on a new look lately. Chaotic with some dirty laundry sprinkled in. I've been trying to take life lessons from friends that stop working at a certain hour everyday and water their plants and eat dinner and stuff like that. People that change their sheets regularly, clean their refridgerators, oil their cars, pump the air in their bicycles, brush their hair, brush their animals, and floss.

Right now I'm in a bad phase I fall into when I get stressed out. I'm completely covered in paint, my hair is long and matted, I water the garden in death defying forgetful spurts, eat bits of bread and cheese, candy and iced tea (nutritious!) , I work frantically until it's too late and fall into bed for a few hours in a light restless sleep. Then I get up, put the same painty clothes on, and have at it again.

Well anyhow, I know it's crazy and not a good system. So I am trying to unpeel myself from it. I just ate some chicken tacos from this awesome place down the street, did the dishes and a load of laundry and I'm feeling much better. I also made a list of things that I'm hoping to accomplish in the near future, (ahh, sweet lists) and posted it above my computer. This helps me regroup in my mind when I'm feeling afraid and overwhelmed.

Also, I like to crank up the NPR and try to let it sooth me into a peaceful, smarty pants state. Hopefully I'll be able to remedy myself back into some kind of equilibrium before long.

sister feet August 04, 2006

Have a great weekend.

Ponies and Rainbows July 31, 2006

Outlook, Not Good 16" x 20"

Hello all,

Happy Monday! Busy times here in Oregon land. After a great weekend of seeing some old friends get married (congratulations Sara and Franz!) I've settled back into work mode. Unfortunately this means that I've also started feeling an old familiar twinge of stress in my neck about upcoming (exciting, but slightly stressful) events.

Let's see. There is Crafty Wonderland at the Doug Fir on August 13th, the Renegade Craft Fair on September 16 and 17th in Chicago, and last but not least, the Santa Barbara Festival of Arts on October 13-15th.

Are you noticing the pattern here? One event a month for three months, starting...*gulp* in to two weeks. There are a million and one details to contend with, from air fare to booth set-up. Business cards to order, tax forms to fill out, emails to send, supplies to buy and paintings to paint. Sandwich all these things together and you have a slightly stressed out enchilada. The enchilada, or uh, sandwich, being, me. But the stress and worry aside, life is fantastico.

I hope that if you're around for any of these events that you come by and give me a high five, and maybe some rice pudding. I really enjoy the rice pudding. Also, I have some new items for sale on the store page, if you get a chance to check them out.

These really are exciting times, love is all around! The spicy, delicious, green salsa kind of love. Ponies and rainbows mixed with beans and rice.

swims-a-lot July 27, 2006

Went for a swim yesterday with Gabe and his cousins in this beautiful lake below Mt. Hood. The water wasn't nearly as chilly as you might think, and I swam and swam my guts out. We finished the day with huge plates of Cuban food, a late night showing of Nacho Libre, and my first game ever of air hockey.

To get a feel for this awesome day in the comfort of your own backyard..just make yourself some kind of banana treat, sit in the sprinkler, and crank up the beautiful sounds of this tune.

Ahh. Perfecto.

What's New Monday July 24, 2006

"Roll With It" 10" x 20"

Happy Monday everyone!

The painting above is cropped, but you can see the whole enchilada on the store page*

I would write more about how the week is going and how my weekend was and everything, but my brain is busy melting into my skull. It’s about 200 degrees outside and I think lava just started bubbling up through the grates. What are you doing reading this? Run! Save yourselves! To the wave pool!!

New Paintings July 20, 2006

A Much Better Castle 24" x 24"

Hey All,

Well, as promised I've been hiding out in the basement the past few days finishing a few paintings. Hurrah! I posted them on the store page, but haven't gotten around to updating the artwork page. Will someone please send me some kind of magic pill to make me paint and work a little faster? Wait, scratch that, I know about those little pills and they're illegal. Guess I'll just have to start doing a little more a workin and little less swimming and spitting watermelon seeds.

And when I say I've been hiding in the basement..does it make you think of a painty Egor?...Because that's exactly how I feel. The sun..it burns! It burns!!

Ciao!

What's New Tuesday July 18, 2006

Tuesday! Yipes, I guess I dropped the ball on the Monday update yesterday. Which is weird because this week has been very un-busy. I've spent a lot of time getting organized. Cleaning out menacing closets and drawers. We painted the living room. I did about three thousand pounds of laundry. Stuff like that. I know I haven't really mentioned it, because there is isn't much to share about it...but I've been working on a young adult novel for about a year now and it's finally starting to get somewhere. It has offically taken over my brain like one of those things, that you know, take over your brain. All I want to do is work on it, so it's been taking a lot of effort for me to do other stuff, like shower and paint. But I'm heading back into the studio today and plan on finishing a few of the half baked paintings that I started a couple of weeks ago. I'll post them on Thursday. Oh! And I just found out that I got into the Santa Barbara Arts Festival in October. So I had better get in my rear in gear and all that.

Stay cool everybody! I just looked at the weather and it looks like parts of this country are about to burst into flames...