you guys are great!

Thank you for the understanding and kind comments from yesterday. I really (really) appreciated them, and they did make me smile and feel better. So back to the happier land of elves and mushrooms (elves like a little extraneous ink- they would not have it any other way). (I like them and haven't packed them up from xmas). The mushrooms are a silkscreen (for fabric) that I was testing on some paper and I just liked how it looked, though it needs a little more work. I'll show you when it's ready for fabric. Thanks again!!!

bummed

These are illustrative of how I feel today- It really shouldn't bother me by now (8+ years of selling cards), BUT- on top of an otherwise crappy day I got a phone call from a bookstore I just sent cards to saying that 2 styles of my cards seem to have a lot of "extraneous ink" on them like "something was wrong in the printing process". Well I am the printing process, each card is hand inked and hand pressed. So some of the carving lines sometimes pick up ink and print too- in my view it is the charm of hand printing and what makes each card truly unique. What should I make of that? Well so I guess I will just call tomorrow and offer to exchange them-as they are a consistant account..... I just hate it, and it makes me not want to hand print anymore- does anyone know about Offset Printing?

some things i like

just a few things that I like (you can see more on my flickr site) now I'll tell you why...the fan I like the shape and the shine of the blades and the light blue of the base. I love tomatillas- not just the taste, but the way they grow is they form a little green paper lantern and the fruit grows inside of it, then it looks like this when it dries out- It looks to me like a little bird cage with the seeds stuck inside like the birds. Then the dried anise I just love the color and the shape of the arms with the little flowers at the end. Oh a note for Shona- I actually packed and moved the dry plants- I'm no magpie (Rick is though), but I seriously packed every little thing and moved them! and okay some things I'm glad I still have, like these. oh and the fan I got for $5 at a yard sale. They had about 10 different old neat fans, but I liked this one the best, though now I wish I'd gotten all of them. $50 for 10 fans, I don't know but.....

why i love rice and hummus...

This is my favorite thing to eat, it is brown basmati rice with hummus. I love it because you can eat it hot or cold, make it on sunday and eat it the rest of the week. Not only that, but with the addition of a little salad it is good for you. Basically beans and rice, but with a little soysauce, oh so much more! Hummus is super easy to make, this is what you do. Rinse a can of garbanzo beans and put them in the blender (or make them like other beans) add a small amount of tahini (1/2 tsp.) add some lemon juice (3T+-) just a splash of olive oil (T) then a ton of garlic (or none if you don't like it) you can add parsley (italian) if you have it, but if not, it will still be okay. also put just a bit of salt-to taste really. Add some water, but slowly and just as you need it to keep the whole thing moving in the blender. the nice thing is if you add to much tahini you just add lemon juice and vice-versa. then just add everything more or less as your taste dictates. Dump some on some brown basmati rice and a splash of soysauce for saltiness and you will see why I love it!!!!

Varied Thrush

So what am I doing up so late (9:00!!) well, finally finishing my artwork for Art From the Heart- an auction I donate to every year. It's for the Sonoma State University Gallery, where I went to college, so it's a good cause AND I get a free t-shirt (or rather Rick does). So here below you see it finished. A blockprint colored with watercolor and some stencil and printmaking ink too. on a 5"x5" ampersand clayboard deep cradle panel. What do you think? ( I always do something with a bird and a heart). Call the gallery if you want to bid for it! And the other is the second in my slowly-developing new card series (you may remember the pinecone?). I think it's pretty cute. But kind of sad, as it's a tribute to a lovely bird one of the cats got. Makes me just sick and so sorry. (it really does not happen too often, but when it does....) so this is it's tribute it will live on in the art world. and now, GOOD NIGHT!!!

Studio and a Secret

Since you asked (Eliana)... Here is a picture of a little part of my studio. I love it and it's huge and it's warm and heated with radiant heat. I feel so lucky. (thanks, Rick!!!) And the coasters, well they're for Eliana too. I can't keep a secret. Since I only sent you ONE coaster (I know it's strange) I made you four more, they don't really match the other one -a snowcouple-but I think you will like them. They are my designs silkscreened on felt, with little felt pieces sewn on for accent. Now if I get them sent that will be the real surprise. I'm not one in that group of (seemingly) organised bloggers who have all their packages wrapped, cards sent and cookies baked on time- For me Christmas ends when the last gift has been given, so sometimes it can last into July-heck or even all the way until the following Christmas!

animals

Well sorry- a little blurry- this is our cat, Adventure Cat with a portrait of him I did for a Forgotten Felines auction. The portrait is a hand-watercolored blockprint. And this is Snowflake- in the snow (we did not name him, by the way, in case you think his name is a bit silly). It's been really cold and icy here, we have to break the ice in the water barrels for the llamas to drink. brrrrrrrr

cards going out

though I think rabbits are for any day- I think this order is for easter-yes I said easter! hard to believe, but just shows how early wholesale orders go out!

Life in Oregon

one day at the beach the next day snowed in!

what is it?

I was walking in our little woods the other week, and saw this.... does anyone know what it is? I think some kind of fungus?? anyway it's quite beautiful as well as mysterious-

Little pencil bag

Well, I finally switched over to the other version of blogger, so nice and oh the features! Do you remember the blockprinted curtains I made for my kitchen? (yes?) well here is a little pencil bag I made from the same material. I was working without a pattern, so it could use a few professional touches, but I think it's pretty cute. I'm hoping to come up with about 4 more designs and make little book covers too to take to the stationery show with me in April. Naturally I'll have to have someone else sew them....

For Shona!

This is in response to Shona's blog on January 2nd. she had some of her little porceline japanese-made dolls in some scenery, strangely enough I'd been wanting to feature mine for a couple of weeks, though just in the studio where they reside, but her pictures encouraged me to go outside and shoot them on location! thanks Shona! I actually have a few more pics, but I'll spare you and show them at a later date!

Happy New Year 2007!!!

It always does feel different to me, waking up on New Years Day , it really feels like a new year. We had a surprise guest (Karen Carston) who was on her way home to Washington from CA, so we really partied it up!! ha ha. we stayed up until 11:30 and drank red wine. Just couldn't make it that last half hour. We wore our red underwear and filled our wallets with money and ate black-eyed peas for breakfast- so it should be the best year ever!! anyway............ Happy 2007 everyone! I hope the coming year is creative, prosperous, laid back, time-plenty, war-ending, and every (positive) wish granted for everyone!!