Sketchbook Sunday: Trouble

Another sketchbook Sunday inspired by music. 
This sketch is a twist on the Nevershoutnever
song, "Trouble". I would recommend anybody and 
everybody to listen to this little band from Missouri.

Best Wishes.

Book Club: "The Earth Knows My Name"

"The Earth Knows My Name: Food, Culture, and Sustainability 
in the Gardens of Ethic Americans" by Patricia Klindienst is
beautiful.

Simply beautiful.

It is now my to buy list. It is a perfect read for any history buff, 
gardener, newbie gardener, wanna-be gardener, nature lover, 
permaculture geek, sustainability geek, and anybody that can 
read should love this book.

It is open and sincere. It tells the stories of all types of people. 
From recent immigrants to native Americans to the descendents 
of European immigrants.

It is not a manuel of what to do in your garden, it is an inspiration 
for your garden.

It inspires you to love the land you live on regardless of its size 
or where it is at. It is truly a book worth reading.

Best Wishes.

Local Color: Tiny Shed

I love my city regardless of its imperfections.
During a recent trip to the local zoo, I spotted this little
beauty. The orange faded red color of the wood
is amazing.

Best Wishes

Sketchbook Sunday: Anxious

Worries can be bothersome and a bit overwhelming.

But worrying too much about anything never does

get anything accomplished. Action is the cure to worry.

Best Wishes. 

Cupcake Love

For a good two years, I had a love affair

With this Cupcake shop here in town.

I love the décor, atmosphere of the shop,

I love the cupcakes (the most beautiful

Cupcakes I have ever seen), the coffee,

and chai tea.

Basically I had fallen in love with the

Shop. The shop had become my special treat.

 I think I basically talked people’s ears off about cupcakes. 

But word to the wise, Sometimes good

things must end. The shop started to

change. They got new employees, They

become focused on quantity not quality,

and the straw that broke the camels back:

they change the cupcake recipe. They did

something maybe a shortcut or loss of quality.

The cupcakes were alright not the dreamy

goodness it once was.

Our love affair came to an end. One good

thing that came out of this love affair is

some of my favorite photos of food I have

ever done. Enjoy.

Best Wishes.

Sketchbook Sunday: It's My Party

I’m not really a party animal but I

do like a good party. I did this sketch

A while back ago when I was stuck in a

Party desert. It had months since the last

Party, and it was starting to take a toll on

My moral.

All I want was a good party even if I had

To throw it.

I might be exaggerating but a good party

Is always appreciated.

Best Wishes. 

Little Scribbles

A while back, I was completely inspired to make children clothes. I plunged 

myself knee-deep with anything I could learn about sewing, pattern making, 

seams, stitches, techniques, and style to make this project happen. As I was 

daydreaming of the collection, I decided to create little drawings featuring 

little girls and the dresses.

The result was a series of lovable drawings of little girls and a pint-sized 

dinosaur. I like the drawings so much that I took them a step further turned 

them into spunky bite-sized Linoleum prints. Flash-forward to the present, 

I have lost my stream for clothes making but have not lost my love of these 

mini prints.

I was (and still am) deeply in love with origami. Being able to cease, tease, 

and fold paper into little cranes, flowers, or even dinosaurs is amazing to me. 

So I combined origami, cuteness, and little girls into one print.

The piece was hand-drawn, hand-carved, and printed by myself. Each print 

is unique in its own right. Each print slightly different from one another and 

is the perfect affordable bite size art for child in all of us.

This was actually the start of my love for small edition prints. I know that 

when I started printmaking, I did not know what I was getting myself into. 

I really did think that my separation issues with my work had been solved. 

With printmaking, I could make thousands of the same design and part 

with them while still owning one myself.

Foolish foolish girl.

Now that I know the amount of time and energy it takes to make a single 

print. I don’t think I will do a huge edition print ever in my life. I know 

my limits now. At the same time, I think I know now the value of a small 

edition print. Linoleum plates do tend to break down after a certain number 

of prints. This break down destroys the quality of the image and the print.

 Plus I like knowing that there are a few of these prints in existence. It’s 

kinda exclusive.

Stop by the Shop to check them out.

Best Wishes.