I've been busy enjoying the infinite beauty of nature...

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And I'm trusting that this time I am taking to nourish myself

will soon be reflected in my art.

{hopefully very soon}

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This past year...

I have tried writing a big long post to explain my last year, but I am finding it impossible. So many things happened and they are all so intertwined that it could easily be a novel and not a short blog post. So, I'll give you a list. I am sure in the future I will touch on a lot of things in this list, but for right now, it is all I have in me.

1. Death
2. Divorce
3. New Town
4. New Job

So, there it is. The list.

I've barely picked up a pencil since my grandfather died. Six months without a creative outpouring. I am putting this immense pressure on myself to create something different. My thoughts are- my life is different and this should be reflected in my work.

And that's were I stand.

I would love to open up a dialogue about any of this, so please feel free to ask questions, comment, or share about any similar experiences...

reporting from a new location...

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ON DECK Auction

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Two days left to bid on the skate deck I designed!

All proceeds go to the skatepark & you get a sweet board.

How can you go wrong with that?

Click on either of the pictures above to check out all of the decks.

{mine is the fifth row down, third from the left}

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I have a lot of news to share,

but right now I'm in Boston 

soaking up a little city life

&

taking lots of photos.

I promise I'll be back soon...

tattoo tuesday

Cheesy post title, I know. I just couldn't help it. *^_^*

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Last year I posted about someone getting a Sister Kiute & the Bumblebee tattoo {above}. Now there are a few of my sweet Bellarosa popping up {below}! The one on the very bottom took a few details from my other Dia de los Muertos girls and combined them together. I think she looks awesome!

I've had quite a few requests about using my Day of the Dead girls for tattoos. I'm totally cool with it~ all I ask is that you send me a picture. 

I can't wait to see more!

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I've been pondering the idea of getting a new tattoo for a while now.  My biggest struggle is whether or not I should design it. For some reason I waffle back and forth between my work or the work of someone else. What do you think about artists designing their own tattoos?

back to business

The past three months have been a roller coaster. 

Holiday fairs and shows bled into a nearly month-long visit to Pennsylvania. While there, I created "The Grandfathers," spent the last holiday season with my own grandfather, and helped he and my grandmother out as his illness progressed.

The first week in January, I flew back to Montana, set up my show, and had the opening. It was a wonderful night, and it felt great to be surrounded by friends.

I wasn't home long. Cancer, the evil beast that it is, confined my grandfather to a hospital bed {thankfully in his own home} a week and a half after I left. My sister and I made the decision to hop on a plane and head back to Pennsylvania. Without getting into any details, I will just say that I now have a deeper respect for those people who choose to be caretakers.

"Tickled Pink" and "Dreams of Spring" were opening soon, and I needed to head back to Missoula to ship my pieces to Tasty and hang my work at Bernice's.

A few days after we left, and before my opening, my grandfather died.

There is no way I can convey how important he is to me in a few short sentences. {I was born on his 50th birthday, his first grandchild. We spent nearly every birthday together. the ones we missed, I can count on one hand}. I'm going to save these thoughts and stories for what I hope to be a well-crafted essay honoring his life and his influence on mine.  

For the past month, I feel like I have been stuck on the aforementioned roller coaster. You know the straight part of the track, after all of the ups and downs, when the coaster slows before the end of the ride? That is where I spent February~ not touching a pencil or a piece of wood.

It is time to get off the ride.

Thank you to all of you who have stuck around this stagnant blog and artist. I hope that I won't disappoint in the future. I have an opening on April 1st to prepare for and a few other things I can't wait to share with you!

dreaming a little more...

Below are a few of my newest pieces for "Dreams of Spring." The areas on the work that look yellow are actually gold paint & pigment. I wish I was better at translating that through photography~ the pieces shimmer in the most delightful way.

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The gold frames below will hold illustrated flowers,

and the black frame will contain a small diorama.
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I photographed the beginning steps of my flowers.

Here is a peek~
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Now I have to 

finish the green and blue flowers,

add gold circles,

varnish the piece,

attach in frame {under glass},
and repeat.
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If you are in the Missoula area, you should definitely pop into Bernice's and check them out~ the show opens tomorrow!

the need to create

While I am not looking to discover the next radical miracle, I do strive to live my life with constant curiosity and wonder. One of the things that I love the most about myself is my imagination. My hands and mind are truly at the peak of happiness when something is taking shape in their care~ whether it be a new piece of artwork, or a daydream. Wanting to infuse my desire to create into nearly every aspect of my life, I am, naturally, always looking for new uses for found objects.

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Yesterday, two wine crate panels caught my eye at the antique store. I thought it would be fun to turn them into jewelry racks like the one I created back in September. 

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I used varnish, black screws, hemp rope and a drill to turn my wooden crate panels into a wonderful way to display some of my favorite jewelry pieces.

But,  

the most important part to me~ 

Making them made my heart smile.
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Tickled Pink

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{sarah}

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{genevieve}

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Sarah & Genevieve are my two newest girls. I sent them off to Tasty this afternoon for "Tickled Pink." If you are in the Seattle area, you can see these two, and twelve of my other pieces, at 7513 Greenwood Ave North. The show officially opens on February 11 {6-9pm}, with a preview and Valentine trunk sale this coming Wednesday, February 2 {6-9pm}.

Next up~ Dreams of Spring

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My opening at Bernice's will be filled with bright colors, flowers, and monsters! After all of this dreariness, I am in the mood to work on something fun and cute...so that is what I am going to do. *^_^* I hope you enjoy this sneak peek at one of the pieces! The circles are gold paint & pigment and shimmer in the most delightful way. I need all of the smiles I can get right now...

monster valentines

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I worked on a few monster valentines yesterday, but didn't get as far as I would have liked. I made the decision last night to head back to Pennsylvania to spend more time with my grandfather. So, after being back in Montana a little shy of two weeks, I am hopping back on a plane tomorrow morning. I'll have my work for Tasty to finish up while I'm back, as well as my show at Bernice's. Hopefully, I will have time when I get back on the 26th to finish these sweet little valentines before Valentine's Day is over! Maybe they will just have to be a head start for next year...

Silly me...

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This lazy, dreary Sunday is all about procrastination for me.

I thought I would share my nerdy self with you...

Enjoy!

Next up...

I have two shows coming up in the month of February.

"Tickled Pink" at Tasty & a solo show at Bernice's.

I'll be sharing the theme of my Bernice's show soon...

and I will tell you this~ it is going to be super fun!

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But first, "Tickled Pink"

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I'm excited to show with one of my favorite artists~ Jenna Colby!
Unfortunately, I have been in Pennsylvania without a scanner, so the piece on the invite is one of my older works that has sold.

Here is a sneak peek of one of the new pieces that will be in the show~

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I'm excited to be working on a few pretty ladies 

after my last run with little old men.

I'll be sharing more sneak peeks and works in progress in the coming weeks.

The Grandfathers

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{salvatore sparrow}

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Sal wishes his brother would stop dressing like him.

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{alfredo sparrow}

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Al wishes his brother would stop dressing like him.

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{edwin shepherd}

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The group of men that have coffee with Ed in the morning will never know about the night they saved
his life.

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{stanton marks}

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Stanton is glad he never got tattoos like his USMC buddies.
He thinks the ink blotches look terrible on their 90-year old arms.

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{horace allen}

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Horace knows he looks like a head of lettuce when he wears this outfit,
but his wife loves the way it matches his eyes.

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{archibald smith}

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 He cannot wait to grow out his beard to play Santa Claus every year. It is a shame he can’t grow his waistline, too.

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{donald elliston}

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He often wonders if things would have been different 

if he told his family he loved them more.

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{theodore boggins}

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He does not mind that the whole town calls him Abe.

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{cecil french}

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Cecil has been in love with Twila from the day they locked eyes.
He wishes she wasn’t married to his brother.

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{arthur pitinski}

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Art thinks his father’s old dentures are the perfect size, but no one has the heart to tell him they are far too large.

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{jenkins barr}

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 He talks to his wife, about his wife.
It makes her sad that he can identify his friends, but he can no longer recognize her.

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{harvey kleinfeltz}

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 Harvey gets excited about flying, only because he likes to see how many complimentary blankets he can bring home.

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{jack meddows}

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 Jack mumbles so often now,
his family can barely understand him.

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{elliot granthal}

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 The hardest worker in all of town,
Elliot uses two canes to get around.

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{peter cooridge}

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His friends keep telling him how much younger he is starting to look.
Peter is afraid to tell them it is because of the yoga class he has been taking.

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The Grandfathers are finally finished and now available.

Which ones are your favorites?

Do any remind you of someone you know?

I'd love to hear your stories~

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