Collage Crazy

This past Sunday I had a very bad art making experience. It seems like I am tired all the time, even when Alex is sleeping or at her toddler group. But on Sunday after she went to bed I had energy and time. Jon was out so I had nothing to distract me. Excited I dug into my incredibly messy studio and began playing around with various papers trying to come up with a composition.

It did not go well. After a few hours in my studio I came out with nothing but frustration and feeling bad about myself. Nothing was working. The only thing positive it seemed is that I hadn't actually made anything, hadn't glued anything down. Later I realized that days like that are just as important as days of success. I knew that before, but after all this time I guess I needed to be reminded of that fact. Everything is a learning experience that I should appreciate.

Now just a few days later, on Wednesday, I had a much different experience. It started out much the same, except that I had much less time to work this time around. But I had time, desire and energy. Three precious factors that can be difficult to find at the same time. This time when I started pulling out papers and looking at them together I started finding stuff right away. I even felt confident enough to use my new(ish) sewing machine and then glue down this background.

I'm not done. Adding bits and pieces and taking pictures of the journey so I have a record of my ideas before I finish off the piece. But I am having a blast and know now that the journey is just as important as where I end up in the end.

On the left is a bit of one of my oldest print attempts sewed next to a piece of purple and white letter paper.

Goodbye

with great grandma
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Jon's maternal grandmother passed away yesterday. He will be traveling to the funeral in Ohio on Thursday and be getting back Sunday. I am grateful that she was able to meet her only great-grandchild twice before she went. She was 89 years old and will be missed by us and many others. This is my first time caring for Alexandra on my own for an extended period of time. I'm very lucky to have such an involved partner.

I know I should be working my butt off on Etsy and Art Fire right now, but I'm not. Today was a busy morning and I just got home and I am spent.

Yesterday I had fun playing with monotype printmaking. Layering colored inks on a plexi plate and removing parts to form a multi colored image. I learned that I need to replace my Hansa Yellow because some air got in and ruined it and that I need some practice. But I had a good time and I learned how easy it is to cleanup these inks compared to oil which makes it much more doable during daytime naps when she could wake up at any moment. It was great to make something without regard for it being perfect or worthy of selling. I tend to get caught in that trap and I broke free of that last night. I expect to be doing more of this whenever I have the chance this week. It is nice to get a break from the normal and safe woodblock printing.

Also, in case you missed my post from the weekend I am going to repeat myself because it is important to me as I worked very hard for this.

Hi. If you were referred to Art Fire by me please send an email to Jessica Johnson and let her know. There has been some sort of bug and none of my referrals prior to today went through.

Thanks and have a great week. I'll be back tomorrow or Wednesday hopefully.

Like Getting Free Stuff?

Dark Branches
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Then check out my contest!

Spend $20 or more (including shipping) in my shop between now and Xmas and be entered to win a prize worth $80. You pick the 8x10 print ($60 value) of your choice and I will make up the rest. Consider it a holiday present for yourself. I will choose from my sales list on the day after Christmas and draw one randomly.

This offer is good on Etsy and on Art Fire.

And remember; Register on ArtFire.com for $7 a month for life.

Free Shipping Sale!

I Love You More
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Dark Leaves

I Love You More

These are just two of the most recent pieces I put up on Artfire in the past 24 hours and until Black Friday they will all have free shipping. Buy as many pieces as you want from wherever you are and I will refund you the shipping after you pay. This offer is only good in my Art Fire

shop but I can move anything from

Etsy

over if requested. I'm still in the process of filling out my Art Fire store and haven't abandoned Etsy just yet.

I'm going to try and be around listing my new pieces on Friday after Thanksgiving but we have family in town and they may want to see what New England has to offer. A month ago I would have said lots, but right now not so much.

I hope all of my readers in the US have a great Thanksgiving with family and/ or friends, and that my international readers simply have a nice Thursday.

Is anybody shopping on Black Friday? Looking for a killer deal on an HDTV maybe? My dad is going out at the crack of dawn per usual off in Chicago but I avoid shopping like the plague after Thanksgiving.

Working Through Pain

Lost in Translation (collage)
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

New work is coming faster these days. But I won't be online much as a result, and for a number of reasons. Not this week at least. I need some serious online detox time and today I kept them off all day until tonight because I wanted to scan this in and upload some photos. Expect this piece in my Etsy Shop soon enough once I get more pictures taken of it in the morning. Side shots and the like since it is a dimensional piece.

But I certainly kept myself busy. Today was a sad day, the last day seeing the woman who has been our visiting mother for the past seven months. She was linked up with me through this great program and has been coming over for an hour once a week for months now. But all good things must end, or so they say. And this is no exception. There are actually pretty strict rules in the program for her to now sever all ties. She can't contact me but she did give me her email address so I can write and send pictures. Also, because I started the program so late she is looking into being able to come back for a visit in the future.

I cried while she was here and then put blee on my back, put on some sunglasses and went out to meet a friend for coffee. I drowned my sorrows in a totally decadent Pumpkin Spice Latte and Chocolate Creme Cheese muffin. Eeeep! Not going to do that again. Until I do.

Got groceries, came home, put blee down for a short nap. The nap was short but I still managed to make this piece in the meantime. It consists of pages from an old french/english dictionary collaged with one of my woodblock prints onto stretched canvas.

Then I baked Sunrise Muffins. If you ask nicely maybe I will post the recipe. They are very tasty and pretty healthy too. My baking powder and soda are both expired so they didn't rise as much as they should, but they were still good. And will be better next time!



I'm sad. Looking at the pictures I took of them make me sad. But they are also precious. Blee is going to miss her. I think Maeby will too.

Light

Branching Out
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

ACEO
4x4

After two bleecentric birthday posts in a row I think it is time to get back to the original focus of this blog. The art. Something that has been neglected for months now that I am finally starting to poke back into.

Doing "The Artist's Way" is going very well. The art dates where I go out and do something by myself is by far the hardest, but probably the second most vital part of the program. The most important is the morning pages that I diligently do each morning while drinking a cup of tea. I've been getting up earlier just so I can be sure to get this, and some other art business stuff done. But it all started with doing the morning pages. Three pages about whatever written first thing in the morning. Even when I didn't complete the book in the past I did those and they helped.

This time I start each page with my list of seven things for the day. On my computer I have another list of seven business things to do. I go through and see what I completed and what I didn't from the day before. And each day I do more and more on both lists. I just hope I am not getting ahead of myself and can keep up this pace. I'm being very careful not to go too fast and burn out as I am prone to do. It is important for me to recognize my weaknesses both as an artist, a business woman, a wife, a mother and a person. Not to use those to beat myself up but to grow past them.

After every block I reach some sort of breakthrough. I wonder what it will be this time.

Please enjoy your day. I plan on enjoying mine and will keep listing new work from my last printing on Etsy.

Yay! Complete!

Fall Leaves
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Monday is here and I had quite the productive weekend, well Sunday at least. I am pleased to say that I not only got the custom order I have been working on for the past month finished but I printed a bunch of other new stuff at the same time. The prints that I started last week are now done and I am working on getting them scanned in, uploaded and listed on Etsy. I've been neglecting Etsy lately but this month is going to be different, starting with new piece, and followed by many more.

I have a busy week ahead of me that will hopefully include finishing a collage, putting artwork up on Flickr and Etsy and getting back into regular blogging. But for now I am going to do some Wii Fit yoga and then go to bed.

Here are my custom pieces for the seasons spring through winter.

Play Filled Weekend

Playing in the Forest
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

I did it! I took the class that I promised myself I would take this year, yet put off signing up for until the absolute very last moment. As in, minutes before the class started I signed up in person. Even though I am not completely in love with my creations from the class just yet it must have worked somehow because on both Saturday and Sunday after getting back from the class I printed at home. Something I have not been wanting to do these days. This Playing in the Forest piece is one of those post-class creations.

I hope everybody had a great weekend. Blee got a lot of daddy time, which was good for both her and me having a break was good for me.

Here is one of the pieces from my weekend workshop. Woodblock print chine colle, monotype, washi and etching all on Rives BFK. I hope everybody enjoyed their weekend like I did. There were some rough patches like my eye acting up again on Saturday but at the end of the day on Sunday I sit back feeling satisfied.

Time?

She Speaks to Nature
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Where is it going to? Because I seem to be losing all sense of it. I completed this piece on February 21st, five days ago tonight. Yet it feels like it was something I did ages ago.

I'm tired, so very tired. And I am sick with a cold round two just after recovering.

I was waiting to write the perfect post about what went into this piece but life just kept pushing it aside. Now nearly a week later and it still hasn't been written. But I love this piece too much to ignore it and not share it here in my blog. So much of myself went into the creation. Images taken from various sketches, block printing, gocco, collage and even some drawing and painting all dancing together on the stage of the canvas. They work together to hopefully create a vibrant and complex yet well balanced piece. Collage challenges me in a totally new way.

blee is good but very snuggly and needing to be held so she can nap and not get cranky. This is good in the sense that it encourages me to go outside and go on long walks. But creatively it is taking a toll on me. I am just very overwhelmed and can't focus on art or anything related to it. She is nearing six months now and just had her visit with the pediatrician. My little chunk is still under twenty pounds, weighing in at nineteen pounds and one ounce. Not too shabby! I'm pretty impressed with myself for being able to walk around with that kind of weight strapped to my front for multiple hours. My feet give way before my back does.







I hope this post finds you all well. I'm sorry for being so terrible about blogging and keeping my shop updated lately. I don't know what is the matter with me. Writing this has been incredibly difficult tonight. Please bear with me while I sort some things out.

Goodnight and good morning.

First woodblock prints of the year

Pfau
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Woodblock prints are back, my first of the year actually! Not that I am anywhere near done with collaging and gocco. In fact I made a collage that I am quite proud of just last night. But I had a chunk of time and was in the mood so I made about ten prints. Not a lot for me but it was what I was feeling. The peacock is my favorite.

I am going to try and do my 365 Sketch of the day tonight, but I won't beat myself up if I don't get to it. I am taking a break from reorganizing my work and cleaning my studio. You see I have a new work desk coming in and I need to be ready for it. And it is one of those situations where it is going to get worse before it gets better. This is my big birthday gift from my husband. It is a huge deal because my current cheapo Craigslist desk is on its last legs quite literally. It is unstable and I am constantly having to readjust the leg screws and an unstable desk for carving is not safe. Especially one that is piled high with stuff. Ikea has a smaller but great desk for me.

I'm looking forward to having it set up, but not looking forward to getting it set up.

More new work coming, check back often as I will be trying to put new stuff up in my shop at lease twice a day this week.

New Work Wednesday

Pinecones in Fall
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Good morning bloggers and blog readers! I'm up early because I was able to get sleep last night and can therefor take care of things like this. I'm going to try putting up new work every Wednesday and see how that goes.







This being the blog entry that always follows the creation of new work. And that happened yesterday. On Monday I tore a bunch of fresh paper, all that I had left actually as well as some half completed pieces until I had a huge pile to work with. Then I got inspired and started carving more new blocks! But instead of postponing printing yet again I used what freetime I had yesterday to print on the half finished pieces and therefor finish them off. It was much easier for me than to start from scratch and getting these pieces done was quite satisfying in its own right.

Most of these pieces have been uploaded onto Flickr already and will be moving into my shop over the next week. Meanwhile I will use my time to carve my latest ideas.

I have an appointment with the doctor and need to bring blee with me, along with dropping by the Post Office across the street to mail a few things. This is my first time going out with her alone without having the option of calling Jon and being picked up if she starts freaking out. I will be walking, it is only ten to fifteen minutes. Probably about the same as driving between dealing with possible traffic and parking combined with getting her in and out of the car. The thing is I don't like to drive, it makes me nervous and I haven't driven since we left Ohio nearly five years ago. It didn't help that my license expired just as we moved here and I had a very difficult time getting one here since I never seemed to have to proper documentation. And I can tell you how much I enjoy spending a day at the RMV (our version of the DMV)! Do I just walked around with an expired Ohio license with my maiden name on it for years. Since I wasn't driving it wasn't much of an issue. I only got a proper Massachusetts license this February. Mid-pregnancy I started talking about the possibility of taking short drives to make certain little trips easier but I have yet to do anything other than move the car to a safe spot on some Mondays because of street cleaning. I may hate driving but I hate an $80 ticket and possibly towing more.

I better start getting ready and do things now before the beast awakes and starts up with the demands. It is kind of chilly out today so I will need to bundle her up good. Thankfully she loves bumpy rides so the sidewalks of Boston please her just as the roads do.

New Business Ideas

Reproductions
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Hi guys and thanks for all the well wishes I have received. I'm alive and on the road to recovery. But am almost always tired and at least a bit run down. In fact, I bet I will have to stop and start writing this blog entry a number of times before being able to finish it because I always have a million things to do, most of them involving the hippo. At five weeks her sleeping habits are changing and we are adjusting to them and only starting to get the hang of them. I hear her fussing a lot during the day and run to check on her only to find her asleep. I've learned to detect what cries need immediate attention and what ones don't.

Heroes was on TV, saved onto our Tivo and commercial free after we got home from running errands. No matter how Monday goes, and how tired I am at the end, I will not put off watching Heroes until another day. We were up to late watching it, but it was worth it!







With much blood sweat and tears I managed to finish carving that block that I started working on eons ago and I think it turned out great. I finished it on Saturday and as I was going to bed asked myself if I should work on printing it Sunday or do some small blocks over the week and save the printing for next weekend. Giving myself a break since I am still ill. Well blee nixed any plans of doing anything on Sunday. She was a nightmare baby. Neither one of us got a single thing done unless you count Jon eating a burrito and me getting photo mailers for an order.

The simple fact is that it is harder for me to produce less work now and that is likely to remain unchanged for a very long time. I don't have massive amounts of new work coming out anymore, but when I do I think it is top notch and getting better. I think the work from my last printing sessions back in July was some of my best, and it selling out quickly proves that. It is time for me to raise my prices. Just on future work, I will not be going back to my old pieces and raising them. I won't decide my new price structure until I actually print and am looking at the new work.

To counter the price increase I am going to be offering more reproductions in my shop so that more people will be able to collect my work. I will continue to only offer pieces that have not only sold but have sold rather quickly, or were personal favorites. I even have two pieces framed
and hanging in my studio because I missed looking at them when they sold. I like them a lot, but my focus is going to remain on originals.

Oh, Jon and my fifth wedding anniversary is tomorrow. Hopefully we will be able to do something. Our favorite restaurant is pretty family friendly so we might go there. And as a real treat I am having somebody over to clean on Thursday! I am thinking I will stay in my studio with the baby and do some work and tend to her while the woman does her magic on the place.

Thirty Days of blee!

Etsy blee
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Our life has been bleetastic, bleebastic, and generally just all about blee for the past 30 days. Tonight, at 7:14pm blee will have been on the outside for thirty full days. Many of them wonderful, many of them quite difficult.

cute onesie courtesty of mamamonkey.etsy.com.

Mondays are always rough for me and yesterday was no exception. The kid is sucking me dry literally and figuratively. I nearly had a breakdown near the end and am still quite shut down and depressed. Last night was another difficult night starting around 4 or 5am. It is hard for me to know what time it is lately. Jon knew how bad I was doing and took care of her and let me sleep when I could, except for at the end when I knew he was doing badly and I took over.

The Open Studios over the weekend went so well that I ended up doing a half day on Sunday and am very happy that I did. And it isn't about the money, even though I made a good amount. But I had such a great time seeing people from last year and connecting with other artists as well as the people that came to talk to me. I had brought along one of my carved blocks and stuck up quite a few conversations about the process. People seemed pretty interested in it. Some of them bought from me, and some did not but I enjoyed it regardless of making a sale or not. And by the end of Sunday I only had a few business cards left from my stack and all my promo bookmarks were gone. I wish I had gotten Moo cards!

The weekend was dangerous because it gave me a taste of my old life, of freedom to a degree. And I realized how much I miss it. How much I want to make new work. And not just because I feel pressured to keep producing and selling but because it is something that I truly enjoy. Something that keeps me happy and sane. But currently all my free time goes into cleaning or I am so beat down tired that I can't do anything remotely productive. Yet I rarely have time to nap because she isn't down long enough during the day.

And I can't even work on art until I clean up my studio from the mess that getting ready for the Open Studios in a flurry caused. Throughout the day during blee downtime I would rush clean so I got some done, but I miss the spotless studio I had months ago. Currently it is clean enough to carve, but not to print. I do have a bit of carving to do before I can print and then I will need to clean up after that. Jon offered me some time this weekend to print but I don't feel hopeful about it. Plus the weekend seems very far away.

Look at me, feeling sorry for myself and depressed on my beautiful daughters first big milestone. Later today we go to the pediatrician for her checkup and will find out just how much of a hungry hungry hippo she has been! The big weigh in! Born at 8lbs 6oz, any bets on where she is at now?

A change in plans

Insect Set
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

First I have two pieces here that are listed separately, but I would love it if they were displayed together. Very energetic and vibrant pieces showcasing a dragonfly and a butterfly. I really hope to print some new pieces with these blocks combined with the new block that I am working on this month. Maybe over the weekend?

Things are moving along. We have bumps in the road for sure as we get to know our baby and her needs but we are figuring them out.

One thing we are learning is she likes to eat, a lot. She woke up last night and we went into our routine of him changing her while I pumped in the other room. We gave her the entire 4oz and she seemed pretty chill after that. But would get fussy again after 5-10 minutes. This went on for awhile and eventually we kept giving her more and more milk and in the end she sucked down over 7oz before she finally went down around 3am. When she woke up again she took another four, and then 3 the next time. Aren't their stomachs supposed to be the size of golf balls where is it all going?





I haven't had time for art other than some sketching I did before bed. It stinks but that is just how it is I guess. She is sleeping (finally) right now so I may work on carving a bit after posting this. But I also have some netflix to return that I would like to get in the post box before pickup at one. It only takes under 10 minutes to walk there and back but that can mean the difference between having some me time or not.

Jon's parents will not be coming today as we thought. They are coming next Thursday, which is probably better in the long run. This means that they will be around to help care for the baby (and us) when the JPOS is going on so my chances of actually being able to participate in the event just went up dramatically. And my stress level about it went down. I wish we had more family close to us. At least we have my aunt and her family in RI because they are great, but their pet allergies keep them from being able to go into our home. I'm really happy that my cousin was able to meet blee before she left for a semester in London and I hope to go to RI soon so her brother, who was working during their visit at the hospital, can meet her too.

My father is now talking about visiting in early October. I hope it happens. That would be a good time to head to RI, though since he is not planning on renting a car I don't know if that is going to work. We can't exactly fit four adults, one child and one baby in our Corolla.

My Hope

New Print Pile!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

I haven't printed since the 31st of July and I am itching to soon. And I think this week may be the week for me, though probably not until Friday or the weekend. That is when Jon's parents will be here and they can help us with the baby. While she is a very good baby it is hard to find the hours that I need to print. Carving is something that I can pick up and put down at any time during the process. Printing is a little more difficult. Not impossible but I really don't want to get ink on my baby! So having enough time to clean up is pretty important to me. I might start wearing disposable gloves except my hands get so hot in them I really dislike them. Instead I have always used barrier cream which makes washing up pretty easy.

My hands are already so dry, especially my fingertips from all the hand washing and hand sanitizing I have been doing with the baby. While normally I am not really on the anti bacterial bandwagon since I do think it may lead to problems in the long run with the bacteria that can stand up to it. But with the baby it is different. When the baby went down for awhile I put on my best hand moisturizer but still my fingertips feel dry and rough. A side effect of having a baby that I never imagined. I am a printmaker and work with my hands and ink yet I have always managed to have nice hands and nails despite that, possibly because I don't use a chemical solvent.

Blee has been a wonderful baby these two weeks. We've had moments of great difficulty for us here and there but we learned from our mistakes (such as me drinking a latte bad bad no no!) and have learned what she likes. What she likes more than anything is us. Being close to us is very important to her, she is so snuggly that sometimes the best way to calm her and get her to sleep is to lie with her next to you. Sometimes Jon simply puts her in the co-sleeper on the sofa next to him while he watches TV or whatever and she's happy sleeping next to her daddy. I also learned the trick of letting her sleep on her tummy on my chest until she falls into a deep sleep then I am able to carry her over to her bassinet and put her to sleep on her back.

I hope all is well and that this week will be a good week for us and for everybody I know. I know that I have been in a bit of a cocoon lately but I do try and catch up with people when I can. Speaking of catching up I have a couple of emails that I should reply to.

Past Due

Deep Sea Goddess
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

On a whim I listed this piece just a few moments ago. Even though I am not big on promoting myself lately I just had to put it out there because I love it so.

Thanks for all the kind thoughts sent my way lately, it has helped to know that I am not a freak for feeling the way that I have been feeling. Unfortunately it doesn't make the feeling go away either but at least I don't have to feel like the worst soon to be mother ever.

Mornings are the worst for me now so I would say to expect my blog updates to be less often and later on during the day. Yesterday we had to get up early and go to the hospital for an ultrasound and a nonstress test to check on my fluids because I am a week late. Everything is fine but it was a miserable experience. I hurt and probably should have been in a wheelchair but pride kept me from asking for one. So I just hobbled around the halls leaning against railings when needed. The ultrasound itself was quite painful because my belly was feeling very stretched out and sore and being pressed by the machine hurt. Plus lying on my back put a lot of strain on my back. I'd really like to have my body back, and know even after birth it will be months before that happens. But I would like to get the process started. I wasn't even excited about seeing the baby in the ultrasound because at this point that is not how I want to see her. I don't want to see a hand on a screen I want to touch the hand.

This morning I woke up around 6am in some serious pain. My upper and lower belly hurt very badly and my back was killing me. Getting out of bed was difficult. I walked and the pain didn't go away. I wondered for a moment if it could be labor except it wasn't a contraction but a constant pain that didn't let up. Somehow I managed to go back to sleep. Woke up about an hour and a half later still in pain but slightly lessened. Went back to sleep and slept until nearly 11am. Felt much better this time and was ready to get up finally. I'm still a bit groggy and should probably make some tea but the pain from this morning is pretty much gone.

I'm considering calling and seeing if I can schedule an induction for this week today. The problem is that I don't know if I can do that without at least talking to my midwife and I don't know if I can reach her today. I guess I can give it a shot otherwise I have to wait until my appointment on Friday. But actually taking the step to schedule an induction is scary to me. I can't seem to make that call. I was ready to make that call at 6am this morning when I was in tears from the pain, but they weren't open then! Now that I feel okay I am more hesitant.

Be more square!

Square Art Magnets
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Hey girls and boys! Yesterday was another rough one for me but after I thought it couldn't get any worse it didn't get any worse it got better. Why and how? Because my husband came home bearing a package from Kate Black containing the square magnets I have been wanting more of for months now. I only got one set the last time and I knew that I needed more right away. This is just the first set, each set of two magnets is original and one of a kind. On Flickr you can see this not so great photo of them all spread out, feel free to reserve any by making a note or contacting me. Jon really likes these square magnets and was interested in me getting a machine to make them myself until I showed him about how much they go for. Kate, your square magnet making business is safe! I really like how the woodgrain shows through.

I got a little extra something from Kate too, but I am going to keep that to myself for now. You will have to be patient and wait until Monday.

We have an appointment with the midwife this morning. Should be interesting. I'm ready to have this baby out, Jon on the other hand wants her to stay inside. Easy for him to say since he isn't the one suffering. Though after the shower and after the photographer from the Boston Globe comes on Monday to take my picture would be good for me. Also, him getting over his cold first would be nice. But really the idea of going another 19 days is pretty horrifying to me. Especially after another night of hell, which is what last night was for me. I didn't have the baby pushing up on my lungs and I thought I was doing pretty good when I went to sleep. Then I woke up with this acid cough and ended up puking. And even then the acid feeling didn't go away. I was up most of the night with it. The idea of actually carrying this baby longer than the 40 weeks has me screaming for mercy. I think I would be begging to be induced if I was even a day late.

What a Day! Ouchie!

Butterfly Surrounded by Nature
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Somehow I made it to Tuesday after one hard day yesterday. No amount of foot soaking could make me feel better after printing on and off the entire day. I think I must have gotten my ink out around 11 and I didn't finish cleaning up until 11 at night. By the time I cleaned it up the ink I had used earliest had gotten quite gunky.

Now I did not print for 12 hours solid. Far from it! More like I printed in 10-20 minutes bursts throughout the day. Sometimes taking breaks for a couple of hours in between. Honestly what I should have done is take it easy during the day while it was hot and printed at night when it wasn't so miserable. Around noon the air conditioner just wasn't helping me stay cool so I was sore and sweating bullets the entire time.

I think it was worth it in the end and here is one of my highlight pieces from the day. While I may not have 30 pieces like the last time I probably have a good dozen complete as well as a bunch of unfinished pieces. Had a couple of duds which is never fun, more than last time I printed and got blue ink on one of my maternity dresses that may or may not come out. But that is what printing is all about! Making mistakes and getting messy.

Not sure what I am going to do today. Rest for sure and maybe start carving the doodle block later on. I think I deserve to take it a bit easy today.

Here are some of the standouts that I have scanned so far. More coming on Flickr throughout today as I get them scanned in and eventually making their way onto Etsy. If you see something that interests you that hasn't made it to Etsy just let me know. Thanks for looking and reading.

Friday Afternoon Thoughts

Maple Leaves Fall in the City
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

The day is nearly half over at this point. Hope everybody is having a good Friday and it isn't as hot as it is here. And if it is hot like here you are enjoying air conditioning like I am right now.

Yesterday was a rough day for me. A crash following a very good Tuesday and Wednesday. I credit a lot of that to getting such a poor nights sleep the night before. And that has me wondering how I am going to handle the many nights in a row for possibly months at a time where I don't sleep well when the baby comes. But the difference I think (hope) is that I slept poorly because I was sick. Staying up or getting up often to feed and care for a crying baby doesn't sound like fun. But getting up in pain often only to end up puking up acid at 3am is something different. Especially since it didn't really go away after that. The entire day my stomach continued to give me issues and as a result I barely ate.

Despite feeling bad yesterday I managed to squeeze in a burst of energy and work at the very end after snacking on some string cheese and cashews. I got the pine cone block nearly finished carving and plan on finishing it up after I write here. And I feel good that I managed to save the day a bit in the end and I slept well last night. Other than waking up to pee often and general soreness I was fine.

This morning we saw the midwife and it went well. Except when I asked her how big she thinks the baby is going to be she kind of chuckled and said big. I still have about a month to go in theory and she thinks blee is at least 7lbs at this point. And Jon thinks she was underestimating to be kind. She said she would like it if I don't carry blee the full term and gave birth around 38 weeks instead because of her size. I fully blame Jon for this. He was a big baby. I'm gaining so little weight at this point that I think my body is actually losing weight while the baby packs it on. I am just not eating much. I have one odd craving and that is to munch on ice. It isn't even because I feel overheated, I just enjoy it.

Sorry that this was such a babytastic post. At least there is some pretty art to look at while you read it. This piece was one of those pieces that I had sitting around unfinished for months not knowing what to do with it but knowing that it would be beautiful once I figured out how to finish it off.

I hope to have more new pieces by Monday or early next week at the latest. If my midwife wants me delivering at 38 weeks that means I only have about two weeks left and I had better use them wisely!

Last Hurrah!

Carved Butterfly
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Of one very pregnant lady.

I hope everybody is having a good week so far. I can't believe that it
is nearly over. I also can't believe that we now have an infant car
seat strapped in our back seat! I'm all grown up now! *tick tick tick*
my belly has a time bomb in it and I can't read the clock.







Carving the pine cone block was beginning to wear on me. That 8"x10" was feeling rather large and daunting and my mind had moved on to other ideas. I've made good progress on it but find myself slowing down and neglecting it. Odd finding such a small block feeling so large when I have carved 20"x30" many times in the past. So I pulled out one of my many 6" square blocks and pasted two images onto them. They are a mixture of images I found in the dictionary combined with drawn embellishments. I attached the paper Tuesday night and then let it dry to the block overnight before carving. Dragonfly on one side, butterfly on the other. Then I carved them both in a day before washing off the paper guide. The process can be seen documented here in this set. I am really liking the paper transfer except for the part where I get the block wet. I wanted to go back into the butterfly after I removed the image but I felt that carving it wet would not be wise. It was the detail in the butterfly that really killed me and gave me some serious shoulder pain. I needed to use my magnifying goggles to carve those little dots and they still need to have the edges cleaned up before I can print.

In the end I am proud of myself for pushing myself to get this done. I am planning on printing the two separate and together seeing how the forms overlap. Depending on if I am able to complete the pine cone block or not these may be the last blocks I finish for awhile. And possibly my last big printing session until after we have adjusted to the baby.

Last night I was feeling good, really good, and I made the mistake of telling somebody that both my swollen ankles and my acid seem to be under control. Well around 3am I was puking up acid and today I will probably end up with swollen ankles even if I never get out of bed! What does a girl have to do?