New stuff in the works - finally!

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Got the burst of Spring Fever energy I needed and I started two new pieces this past week. I have the ink work done and now I'm just mulling over colors. I got so lucky this week, too. A "customer" bought SEVEN pieces from etsy! "Customer" sounds so lame. I consider this person a friend now. I might invite her to my kid's third birthday party, I like her so much.

Anyhow, as great as it is to sell seven pieces (I still can't believe it) it certainly cleans me out and make my etsy and supermarket storefronts look especially bare. Thank God for the burst of energy... Here's a quick snap from the phone camera. I have to admit that I quite like the quality (or non-quality) of the phone pics. I hope to have them painted and varnished and posted by the end of the week.

Spring has sprung

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wall of ideas and inspiration

and I like it. No, I love it. Every year I wonder, do I love Spring or Fall better? I think the winner is Fall but I am in love with Spring right now. Everything is a riot of life. Life finds a way, no matter what. The frozen ground still begets tiny, bright green shoots that will eventually be amazing, strong things that take over our yard. Unreal. I'm feeling excited to make some new pieces and I have stacks of bare boxes and piles of scraps and bits of things to make make make. I am currently working on a series of alphabet cards for a new product for L2 - stay tuned for more details on that. We're heading to NYC in May for the National Stationery Show so now begins the flurry of pre-show activity for us. Here are some pics in honor of Spring and honeybees and hopefulness.

Warmer...warmer...

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I am so stoked to report that I coated my first screens in my rinky-dink, basement darkroom this afternoon. The boy is asleep and it's snowing and the time seemed right to mix up the photo-emulsion and get to it. Hopefully this portends an avalanche of inspiration and printing! A great friend came by today with her girl and a box of cinnamon rolls. We spent a couple of hours watching the kids try each other on for size. She asked me to do an assemblage piece for her brother's 40th birthday. It is so great to be asked to create something "for the man who has everything." Thank you for your support! Off to enjoy the snow.

Must make this happen

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I love printing. Screenprinting. Blockprinting. Etching. Potato printing. Whatever. If it involves ink and something to put the ink down with, I love it. I don't do enough of it and I'm hoping (begging, praying, rain-dancing, holding my breath, everything short of reading "THE SECRET!") to make it happen soon. We have a huge basement that's mostly filled with junk but there is ample space for a terrific screenprinting studio. I have 99% of it already done...for real. I can't seem to get the last 1% done but one of the brothers is arriving in less than two weeks and, since he helped build the darkroom, wants to see a return on his investment. In the meantime, I did a little block print for the holidays and then printed it on anything I could find that would accept ink. I put the box on etsy and will use the envelopes for all the gift cards I will give out this year (sorry to ruin the surprise). Merry Christmas, all.