Grey Easter arboretum adventure.

Arnold Arboretum, Jamaica Plain, MA. April 8th, 2012.

New York & an early spring.

I've been trying to write this post since Sunday. Life has been very go go go, and I feel like I haven't stopped moving in weeks. Last week alone was both amazing and difficult. Monday was the anniversary of my step dad's passing, Wednesday I was tattooed late into the night, Friday I was off to NYC, and the time in between was full of work/chores/plans/life/etc.

I keep wanting to talk about New York, but there are no words good enough. It was exactly what I needed. Seeing Sophie and Iain was the best possible thing at the best possible time. It was a lot of exploring, a lot of conversation, book-talk, girl-time, hugs, green tea ice cream, a strange party in Williamsburg, and feeling both out of my element and right at home all at the same time. I came home Sunday night, jumped right back into work Monday, and while I've had some time this afternoon to enjoy the weather and try to relax, my brain is busy and this evening I have an art date and important-secret-plan-meeting.

The above photos:
1. Getting tattooed by Molly.

2. Iain, the very edge of Sophie, and a cat we met in Chinatown.

3. Where we sat and ate ice cream shortly before walking across the Manhattan bridge.

4. What was at the time a smaller OWS protest in Union Sq. If you've been following at all, you know that earlier this week there was hundreds of people there (I think maybe there still are).

5. Yesterday, tights for the first time this spring, boots folded down. This was at north station. As an aside, someone was selling daffodils there in the morning, and I was disappointed that I couldn't buy some, as I'd have to take them to work with me.

6. I need to spend a moment on this, because this book is far more beautiful than I expected. I knew it was going to be great, because I'm pretty familiar with what Iain and Jon (the photographer) do, but the book itself was.. being pushed into a cold pool? Being punched in the gut? Like someone took a big spoon and stirred up my insides? It did something, that's for sure. I knew it was special the moment I held it in my hands, because even the cover feels unique and soft and homey, but I didn't let myself read any of it until I was back on the bus for the long ride home. I was drawn right in, but ended up having to put it down because I was overwhelmed with the amount of emotion in it, and the memories it was bringing afloat. You should consider giving it a look. Iain's also doing one last reading tonight in NY, 6pm, the band shell in Prospect Park.

7 & 8. Pineapple and I on the porch today, basking in the warmth and listening to birds.

9. Brooklyn flea market finds.

10. Last night's commute home.


I'm going to try really hard to post some art soon. All I've been managing lately is pencil sketches, flash practice, and line sheets. Bad, bad, I know.

Albatross.

I have always, perhaps wrongfully so, depended on movement to mend things. Then there's this: I can't fix anything, can't escape anything, and I'm placing all of my hope in New York next weekend. Like I said to my friend Nancy earlier today, travel replenishes the soul. I'm counting on it, foolishly and wide-eyed, because, because, because.

Blue tulip.

I love Sundays.

Concerning time (in which I talk and share photos).

Truth be told, I've never been very good at updating this blog. Talking about myself and the things I create makes me a little uncomfortable. It's much easier for me to just make things and snap a picture and upload it wherever. But it's more than that too. I only started drawing regularly again in September. Before that, I was working six days a week at a job that didn't make me very happy, and that unhappiness spilled over into every other aspect of my life. I allowed for all of this to last a long time. I allowed my creativity to take the backseat to my job and my relationships for a year and a half.

My life now is incredibly different compared to.. well, anything it's ever been, really. I left my job in August and started working at a tattoo shop. (Let's pause for a moment: Upon hearing that, everyone asks me if I'm tattooing. No, I'm not. But I hope to earn my way to that point.) My job is wonderful. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's frustrating. But it is an amazing thing to be around artists all day -- and not just artists, but good and inspiring ones. I am learning a lot from everyone there, and I'm very grateful for that. My commute is long, sometimes two hours. I have little time for anything outside of work and the commute itself on my work days. But somehow, that's okay. It doesn't make me feel drained. At the end of the day, I get home and I'm still excited about getting things down on paper.




Leaving my old job meant being able to leave the awful north shore town I lived in. I miraculously found a lovely apartment with a kind roommate (and a large cat), in Somerville, MA. It's a great neighborhood, a great space. Thing is, when life changes, it usually changes in a big way. I don't know if it's this way for everyone, but usually when several good things happen to me, something bad and difficult usually occurs as well, and last month I lost someone very important to me. I won't talk about it here, even though I want to. I want to talk about it all the time, as if speaking about it will somehow pull the pain out (although we all know it doesn't work that way). I am still struggling with the empty space, each day, and it is proving to be one of the harder things I've fought against in a long time. Even writing this seems to be exhausting, but if I were to talk about life here and not mention it, it would be very dishonest, because whether I like it or not, this change will be something that continues to shape me. And probably my art too, as I am throwing myself into it further as a result.

And so it goes. I am working on two Sketchbook Projects. The 2012 and the Limited Edition. I'm dreaming up ideas for new projects, planning collaborations. I'm finding new things to pour my heart into. If you've read all of this, you are a champion. I will leave the rest of this post in pictures.

On life:



On loss:



Sketchbook Project:


I will do my best to share more, very soon (especially because there isn't even a finished piece in this post and I haven't scanned anything in a while - yikes). ♥

On making time.

I have decided that I need to try significantly harder to make more time for art in my life. I allow myself to be consumed with work and relationships and in the last year+, art has been the last thing on my list of priorities. This is poor logic on my part, as drawing makes me happier than almost anything else on the planet(! in the galaxy! in the universe!).




To give myself a little motivation, I signed up for The Sketchbook Project again this year. This is actually doubly motivating, because I have a theme/deadline, and last year I failed to finish my book on time and never sent it in. And I don't take failure or disappointment lightly, so I'm determined to finish this year!

My chosen theme? Encyclopedia of. Sounds vague? Absolutely! But my brain started filling up with ideas as soon as I decided on those two words.

(And in case you're wondering, that tote in the third picture is from Fieldguided, and is one of my favorite things this spring. I promise they did not bribe me to say that.)