Farm Dinners

betsy

Last year, totally serendipitously, I found a new part time job at a third-generation family farmette here in Pittsburgh. I was hired to do 8-10 hours a week of bookkeeping and invoicing, etc. While that is part of the job the bigger part has become much more than that. Farmer Tara has welcomed me as her partner-in-crime to help brood chickens, take care of the beehives, host special events (our first wedding is in October!) and produce the Summer Farm Dinner Series.

The Farm Dinners are one of the coolest things I've ever been part of. This season we have seventeen dinners in the series. Tara worked this past winter to secure chefs from around Pittsburgh to participate by planning menus based primarily on produce from the farm. The chefs also source meats and cheese and other items as locally as possible. We even ask that as much of the alcohol is locally produced and we're lucky to have vodka, rum and whiskey made right here. And the beer! So many great brewers doing their thing locally.

[Side note: We just started working with Hitchhiker Brewing Co right here in my little town. There are plans in the works for them to create a special Churchview Brew with ingredients from the farm. Standby for details on that.]

One of my favorite roles in these dinners is creating the look and feel of the farm. Getting to go "yard-sale-ing" (with my dudes) for vintage dishes and linens is a great way to spend a Saturday morning. We have amassed a nice collection to set the table and various other spots around the farm but I'm always on the hunt. The farm itself is ripe with old wooden boxes, farm tools and antlers to use to create the feeling I'm going for. The flowers for every dinner are pulled from the fields, herb garden, edges of the surrounding woods and Tara's mom's amazing garden. As such the arrangements change along with the season just as the menus do. It's really cool to watch the summer unfold and slowly turn to fall and bear witness to it in such an intimate, close to the earth, way.

I'm wildly thankful to be a part of what goes on at Churchview Farm.  Check us out when you get a minute.

Patchwork Tin USA

This piece will be in my pop up shop at Lure Paper Goods on June 20, 2014.

Join me for a pop-up shop in Florida!

Spring Announcement

I am so thrilled to announce that Bourbon & Boots will be selling the Southern States from my Our Fair States series. I am shipping the pieces to them today and will announce shortly when they're live on their site.

Busy Spring

Our Fair States: New Work

 Just a quiet little reminder that I am accepting commissions for any state or region you would like!

Our Fair States: Pennsylvania

Our Fair States: Florida

I am so excited to announce that you will soon be able to find pieces from the Our Fair States series in Florida. I'm creating a small collection of Floridas to sell at the Lure Design SHOP. They will be available Feb 1 at the shop along with mind-blowingly great posters, funny cards and other paper goods created by the amazing designers at Lure.Shop hours are M-F 8:30-5:30 - 1009 Virginia Drive, 32803.

Great big ol' USA - process

My husband inspired me to do something big with the tin art I've been making so I used the Our Fair States idea and went 48 times bigger - I made a map of the contiguous states. It's about 26" wide and 20" tall on two pieces of wormy chestnut. I started by printing out a map of the states. Then I traced and cut out each state separately. I then cut each state out of my stock of biscuit tins. I got lucky with some (NC and VA for example) and others were chosen simply for color or pattern. I began assembling at Washington state, moved down and across, down to FL and upwards to New England, tacking and cutting and placing as I went. After every state was tacked well into place I filled up a barrel of wine and set myself up for hours of tacking in hundreds of tiny nails (I use 19 gauge, 1/2" nails for anyone that's interested). When that was done I had a hot soak in epsom salts and slept like a baby. And dreamt of putting nails into metal. ("What could that MEAN?") I will have the piece on display TOMORROW at Handmade Arcade along with a batch of new tin pieces for the holidays. I will have some new 2C prints and my wooden panel pieces, as well. AND tasty Peppermint Bark to give away with purchases. If you brave the wintry weather that is predicted please stop by my booth and say hey. Onward.

Autumn news

Welcome to the world, Baby Harris! I don't know you but I made you a sign. Best wishes on your path through this world. 

Upcoming events:

TOMORROW! Posted at Townhouse in East Liberty. I created a series of three prints that feature my illustrations of jars with various keepsakes in them. Stop by the opening party from 6-9PM.

Craftin' Outlaws  - Saturday, November 16 in Columbus, Ohio. I LOVE this show and am so glad to be a part of it again this year.

Handmade Arcade - Saturday, December 7 in Pittsburgh. This show is packed with talent and I'm thankful to be included.

Tin signs for all!

I'm so excited to be making these signs and I feel like people are starting to notice them more (at least I HOPE that's what is going on!). I'm about to start a new commission for the largest one yet. It's for a Tenth Anniversary gift. The buyer reminded me that tin is the traditional gift for 10 years. I love that this is how she's choosing to honor that tradition. I will post a picture here once her big day has passed. I just delivered the piece below to the most wonderful home I think I've ever been in. If you didn't see the previous post about it they were featured here. I love making these and I love the kind feedback I'm getting about them. Feeling happy and hopeful. Onward.

Put me to work

 This sign is DONE and in the post - heading to Charlottesville, VA. I am beyond thrilled that I'm getting orders for these signs. My sweet husband found a huge batch of wormy chestnut boards on craigslist for me so I'm set for many, many more signs. Next up, one for an unbelievably wonderful home here in Pittsburgh and then one for my sweet soon-to-be-born nephew and then one for the farm where I work. And then...? Maybe you know someone who needs a handmade sign fashioned from reclaimed wood and vintage biscuit tins? If so, send them my way. Much obliged. 

NEST

Recent commissioned piece for a baby's nursery. I had a hard time sending this one off!!

Summer for real and everything is growing

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 It's the season of CSAs and farmers markets and fresh everything wonderful. I started a new job with Churchview Farm here in Pittsburgh and I love every minute I spend there. It's not just that the women who own it are awesome and driven and hard-working; it's not just that there are chickens roaming and dust-bathing and crowing and scratching everywhere; it's not just that bees are flying in and out of their hives - it's all of things rolled into perfect hours under the sun. When I'm not there I find myself daydreaming about our own farm sometime in the future. There's something special about having your surroundings sustain you in ways physical and emotional. I'm thankful for the things that are shifting in my life and in my heart. I'm thankful for my family who I share these days with. Grow some vegetables. And eat them. Enjoy your summer.

The birds have already feathered their nests

Have you? It's definitely spring here in Western PA (I saw some House Sparrows doing-the-do this morning so I know it's true) and we're all coming out of hibernation and greeting the new season. A few Spring Cleaning items: last weekend was Craftin' Outlaws in lovely Columbus, OH. Thanks to Megan and everyone for putting on another great show. I will be at the Mt Lebanon Earth Day event this Saturday to celebrate. Stop by my booth to say hi and feed some mealworms to my hens. It goes from 11-3 at Main Park. I will be adding some new pieces from my tin series to my etsy shop later today. This one is already there: Lastly - I designed and printed a 5x7 piece featuring a Great Horned Owl. I am going to be selling the print and a portion of the proceeds from each sale will go to Wildbird Recovery Center. Details to come in the next post. Onward. 

A good day for a show

Spending the day here in beautiful Columbus, Ohio, at Craftin' Outlaws.

Big doings around the Foxbury Farm

Just in time for Spring everything is new around here now. The biggest of the big doings is that my wonderful husband took the leap into working and living the way he (WE) wants to. Yesterday was his first official day as the Big Boss Man at Yellow Couch Studio. This means so much to us - more time together and more time as a family, flexibility with our time and our days, space and time to explore new ideas and projects. It's all so wonderful. I am so proud of him and excited to see what our future brings. I'll have a couple of full days a week to work myself which will be the first time since 2006 that I've been able to dedicate big, fat blocks of time to my pursuits. (Watch out, pursuits!) I'm starting my new work life by putting a bunch of new work up in my Etsy Shop. ONWARD. 

Butterjoint

I recently finished up a project for Butterjoint in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh. I worked on the logo and illustrations for the bar signage, menus, etc. The sign out front will stand as is but the main logo is a bit different and includes more of the hand-carved elements that were not able to translate in the laser cut steel sign. The illustrations that are currently used on the menu are all inspired by elements of the bar and the menu - from bar tools to wine barrels to vegetables.I had the pleasure of working with Joy Robison on the project - she is pretty much amazing at runnin' things.So, long story short: GO TO BUTTERJOINT. Delicious food, cozy atmosphere, amazing drinks and on and on. Maybe I'll see you there.

Making by hand and loving it

Handmade Arcade 2013 is only two days away and my mind is reeling with ideas and things I wish I had more time to keep making. I've got to stop and actually start packing up things and get to that Peppermint Bark I'll be giving away in my booth. Make your plans to visit the show - it's at the Convention Center from 11-7 on Saturday, December 8. And it's FREE so you can spend your money on handmade goods.Here's a sneak peek at some of my new pieces that I'll have. Also look for chalk boards and gift tags, a brand new print perfect for parents with picky eaters, bags and more.Happy Holidays! WORKER BIRD

Worker Bird

Alright ladies and gents, I've got it. I decided to name the new project "Worker Bird" (as in, busy as a bird). I'm not entirely sure how I plan to reconcile this space with the new space but I think it'll all fall into place as I go. I think this blog will be used for general posts about the chickens, illustration projects, client work, life, etc. I think Worker Bird will be solely about the products I design and make under that name. We'll see. Maybe in the end I'll fold it all together under one umbrella.Thanks to everyone for your ideas and suggestions. I need to get to work - Worker Bird will make its debut at Handmade Arcade on December 8.Lastly, please visit Sweet Six to read a little interview that my friend Jenny did with me. And order some tasty hand-crafted candy while you're at it.