And it's perfect

so clean looking
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

While the entire move isn't complete by any means, my studio is all set up and ready to go. Now I just need to take care of that pesky rest of the house problem. Gotta say that I am pretty pleased with how it turned out and with myself a little bit. But most of all I feel very blessed and privileged to have such a great space. This downsizing and moving was something we always knew I would have to do as soon as I found out I was pregnant. But it was such a daunting task and I wasn't exactly thrilled to be giving up my studio. But I got over that selfishness a long time ago and have been itching to move for ages now. What stopped us was the hassle of it all. But we had an opportunity to get it started the Wednesday before Thanksgiving when Jon was home from work and Alex was at her toddler group so we started moving our furniture. But we couldn't move the 200lb press, that had to wait until he had a friend come over to help on the following Tuesday.

There is so much natural light I rarely have to turn the ceiling lamp on and I have no need for any of the clip or desk lamps like the old studio. I was able to hang my SAD light up on the wall so it can illuminate the entire room. This space was a blank slate for me to build on and I think I did the best I could with the space and without buying anything new. I made a lot of mistakes with the layout of my last studio, mistakes that I learned from.

And I finally framed and hung some of the art I have collected over the years!

Alex so wants to be in this room and that cannot be as there is way too much for her to get into. So we removed the door and put up a gate. Now I can be in there while watching her at the same time. We might hang a curtain for privacy and decor at some point in the future. I don't know how much work I will be able to get done when she is awake as she still requires a ton of my attention, but it has to be better than before.

Hopefully I will be back to making art sometime this month. There is still so much to do.

The Studio that Was

Printing Corner
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Is dead and gone made into our bedroom (makeshift at this time) and I now have a space that is about one fourth the size. We finally gave Alex a proper bedroom and in order to do that I had to downgrade my studio.

And it is awesome! Instead of feeling sorry for myself like I was I actually am loving the new space! Some would call it cramped but I call it cozy. There was a lot of wasted space in my old studio so everything is fitting a lot better than I expected it would. Originally we expected to need to keep my press outside the room in the neighboring livingroom. Not so! No inches to space, but the beast fits.

Jon moved it with a guy friend last night while I was out and I am going to work to make it usable today. Starting from scratch is great because I learned what to do and what not to do when setting up my old space.

I think I'm going to need to have a studio sale soon due to this downsizing.

continuing on

#2 with #1 in background
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

The lettering series can officially be called a series now. The second one is up for sale on Etsy and Artfire.

I found myself dawdling with this one after I got it going two weeks ago. I guess I have commitment issues. But really, I just have so much to do it is hard to find the time when I am in the right frame of mind to work on art. The timing is often just not right.

But with Alex going to her Toddler group every Wednesday that leaves me 2 hours and I should be able to use at least an hour of that to work on art. If I am diligent about it I might even be able to get back to making a piece a week. Not quite the same as the 20+ pieces I would make every week or two back in the day, but these are collages not prints. And my life has changed since then and I accept what comes along with those changes.

Anyhow, I hope you enjoy this piece as there will be more following it. Keep watching!

The past made current again

Night Falls on Two Trees
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

It may not be new, but this piece is still lovely to me. I've always loved how the colors gently moved into and around each other. The coolest blue I could mix combined with a bright pale orange. Finished off with dark purple. And the mysterious shapes that overlap it all. It speaks to me now because this is basically the point in autumn that we are at here in New England. There is still some beauty, but it is fading quickly as the cold airs come in. But there is still this crispness to hand onto.

It was a lovely weekend filled with as nice as the weather is going to get until well into next year. Hope all my readers, wherever you may be, had a wonderful weekend as well with gorgeous weather. And if not, here's hoping for next weekend.

My Box

Lettering #2 Mosaic
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

My project box that is. Through all of the not part of reality silliness in The Creative Habit I found a few gems. I finished it on my Kindle iPhone app the other day and am putting what I learned to use.

1) Start a morning ritual to get myself going in the right direction. My first thought and attempt was for this to be making green smoothies and then working out doing The Shred. But that was just too much to do every day, especially on days following a rough night with Alex. So it soon got whittled down to just the green smoothie part. Much healthier than a cup of coffee and a more long lasting energy, plus it is for the entire family. And Alex needs all the veggies I can get her to eat. Plus we are fasting for the next three weeks and coffee is out.

2) A box for my creative project(s). One box for each one to keep things focused. Right now I am using a shoe box, but when I get the chance I will probably take her advice and get the kind you can buy at Office Depot. In this box goes all the papers I have found that could possibly work for my project. Various papers including plain ones, pre-printed ones, washi and my own woodblock and gocco print scraps. Along with that I have a two tiered pencil case that keeps the small pieces so they don't get lost in the shuffle. And at the top level of that case are the ones I think I will be using. She just suggested a box, but she is a dancer not a visual artist, so I felt the need to expand to suit my needs.

3) I also have an computer based tool that I am trying out as a way to gather and organize various materials. I can save websites and images and put them into folders so they are easy to bring up whenever I need them.

Have I mentioned how much I love the Kindle app yet? Because I do, yet it actually keeps me from getting an actual Kindle rather than making me want one. I'm a minimalist when it comes to what I carry with me and having it in my phone is perfect. Now I read my physical books at home, but I always have something as backup on my phone.

Now along with a novel (The Blind Assassin for you curious types) I am reading another book to boost my productivity. This time it is a book that is practical for all people called Getting Things Done. The latter is on my Kindle app again which makes it handy for a quick read and note taking. I plan on always having one fiction and one non-fiction books going at all times. Funny how just six months ago I could barely find the attention to finish a book in six months and now I am reading books within a week tops.

Just another sign that things are improving.

Onwards and Upwards!

new materials
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Since I was so happy with this piece from last week I've decided that it needs to be a series. It just feels right and my energy for it is high and consistent. I haven't had that in ages, instead having short and sudden creative bursts where I make a piece in an hour and then may go as long as a few months before making another in the exact same way. The inspiration then was still real, but different and very fleeting. This feels much more purposeful and planned. Well, because it is more purposeful and planned!

Last week I downloaded The Creative Habit for the Kindle app on my iPhone and am reading it bit by bit daily. It isn't perfect, in fact some of the advice is downright laughable. Such as the one where she suggests to take a week and not talk, at all that entire week. I'm not a nun and I have obligations, as most people do, that require me to be able to communicate in more than just hand gestures and notes. Maybe some of the artists that don't have day to day jobs, or a family that needs them can do this exercise in restraint. But for the vast majority of us it is not only not practical but it is not possible. But overall it is a positive experience to read it and I am better off for it. For starters it has gotten me to rethink my day and try to get on some sort of schedule. Or at the very least get my day started with a bang instead of a groggy hour watching Curious George while downing coffee.

So I have been attempting to change my morning routine by going to bed earlier and waking up earlier and better. The attempt to wake up at 5:30am so I could use that precious time to work out before my daughter woke up did not go so well. I have pretty bad insomnia and when 5:30 came around I would be going on sometimes no more than four hours of sleep. Every time without fail I would turn my alarm off and go back to sleep. But now my husband and I have a schedule that allows me to work out in the morning and make the family a good breakfast and I don't even have to get up before seven on most mornings. Of course with a toddler, staying on a strict schedule is impossible, but for the most part it works. And that book pushed me to make this change.

This has impacted my health and ultimately my creativity. I'm not as tired any more and my head isn't so muddy. I've been working out whatever has been muddling my mind out slowly for the past few months and am really starting to see some results. I've been obsessed with Google Calendar and various scheduling apps for my iPhone, trying to find the perfect mix to keep me on task.

Newfound Hunger

a great find, but I need more!
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

My collage from last week is officially finished and listed on Etsy and Art Fire. I worked hard, yet it all seemed to flow quite naturally, to balance color and form. The only snag was my own confidence making it difficult for me to commit. But after playing around with the layout of elements for the week I knew when I had the right one.


This alphabet paper I found last week has awakened a letter hungry monster in me! I have such a selection of papers to chose from that I have built up over the years that it is remarkable that I found these so quickly. But I didn't know that I had multiple colors! This opens up a lot more to me, but I still need different papers, cut outs, fonts and colors. More please! The circle series didn't feel like a series at the time, but this piece is certainly the beginning of a new series. What fun!

So for now I must settle for a virtual online shopping spree collecting various papers, stickers and what not of various fonts. I'm thinking some stencils might be nice too so I can make my own.

I can't wait for my two free hours on Wednesday! It is a pity that I won't have more to work with by then, but I have enough to get started.

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.

Unsure

layout
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Being out of a near constant stream of creativity and art making has left me feeling rather insecure and slow to nail anything down or complete something. I hesitate before bringing out the glue and sealer. I hesitate before making certain cuts to paper or wood.

This is my current challenge. I have a hard time feeling that I have wasted precious and sometimes expensive materials on a failed piece. This was much easier when I was just doing straight up woodblock prints. Sure, if I messed up an actual block that stunk because I was out one block and the time I put into it. But with actually printing I was much less scared of failure because paper and ink are rather inexpensive and I knew that even if some pieces didn't turn out I could use parts of them in other things eventually. I saved failed works sometimes for years, being a packrat has really paid off because now I am going through those pieces and finding bits of beauty even in the worst of them. Even a horrible piece can have an inch of beauty.

Many of these collages are rather spontaneous and fast. I wonder if that is wrong and I should labor over the layout for many hours or if I should just go with my instincts. One thing is for sure that this is something I need to figure out so I can keep it from holding me back.

I'm excited because I just got a wonderful and rather inexpensive refurbished sewing machine off of Overstock.com. Unfortunately I can't figure out how to even get it started, but that should be solved tonight with the help of a friend. I've been wanting to add stitching elements to my work ever since I started collage making two years ago. I've done a bit of hand stitching in some pieces but I really like the look of perfect machine stitching. I'm very excited about what is to come and I hope to share it here with you soon.

New ACEO

Green Hair - ACEO
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Time to experiment with my art. The whole direction I had been going with my woodblock prints while I enjoyed it at the time just isn't working for me right now. I've been slowly touching up an unfinished carving and I am almost done. But to be honest I'm not sure what I will do with it when I am done.

I would rather push myself to make little pieces like this piece I have listed on Etsy and soon to be put on Art Fire. This is how I got started before, experimenting with smaller pieces.

I need to finish up this carving so I can clear my desk and get to work on some new small pieces. I might need a little inspirational run to the art store this week.



Heaven knows with this weather we have been having I have plenty of time to be indoors and create. That is if I weren't chasing after a stir crazy toddler all day. We had a break in the dismal weather on Saturday and enjoyed the day at a Strawberry Festival. We picked a bunch of really good strawberries and took Alex on a hayride before we had to take her home for a nap. She's been waking up early and getting exhausted early.

The rest of this week looks like rain, rain and some more rain. Bah!

A Sudden Inspiration

Abstract #1
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Last Saturday I made this piece on a sudden inspiration. blee was napping, my husband was playing one of the video games I got him for his birthday and I needed something to do. So I did what normally isn't a good idea and got on the computer. Now this can lead to a lot of time wasting, but not this time. This time I saw how my Flickr art contacts were experimenting and was inspired to do the same. Rushing to my studio only to find it forever messy I grabbed some supplies and created on top of the mess instead of taking the time to clear it first. I knew that there was a good chance for the mood to leave at any moment if I took the time to clean first. I grabbed some canvas and various papers and started arranging and laying them until I came up with this.

It might not be much, but if I can do something like this at least every few weeks I am going in the right direction.

It can be found in my shop on Etsy here. I've been neglecting my Etsy shop like I have been neglecting my blog, but hopefully this is a sign of change for me.

Final Days

Jungle
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Of my Buy one Get One sale. On Saturday I am having an Open House in my studio in honor of Spring cleaning and will be shutting my shop down for the day. This might be the last chance for certain pieces. This woodblock print is just one of nearly sixty pieces that I have for sale now.

We enjoyed our Easter holiday with the family, but I think in the future we are going to ask them to visit a month or two later so they can enjoy good weather. They aren't religious so I don't see what the big deal about being here on Easter is. None of them joined us at church. Which is fine, but the weather will be so much nicer in May and early June.

Jon and I are making plans of our own for a nice little trip. We are finally going to make it to NYC in mid May. We got back into contact with some old friends and they invited us to stay with them in their spacious Brooklyn apartment. It will be nice to see them and other. I hope to make it to Etsy labs once, or at least see Anda from Etsy. I'm dying to meet her daughter!

The collage a day for a week went so well that I am doing it again, but with less restrictions. I just need to do some art daily. Yesterday it was a collage, today I'm not sure. I have a woodblock drawn on and ready to carve. It is quite small, but that is a good place to start.

Hope everybody has a great Wednesday. I miss the old days of blogging and reading blogs daily. I miss everybody.

Time for DVDs

Inauguration Day
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

I've already watched the first four discs of the Monty Python box set and I have Extras Season One on the way. Maybe I will rent Rome next, I love that show and could watch it again and again.

Now is a time where little blee needs a lot of casual care from me. She is happy to play on her own a lot but I need to monitor her so she doesn't get into trouble. So out come the DVDs so I don't go crazy with boredom or spend too much time on the computer. I tried doing some collage cutting because I can do that in the living room but she is going through a grabby stage so that didn't work. I can't even drink a glass of water in front of her without her grabbing at it and screaming when I won't give it to her.

I go to the gym and put her in daycare two to three times during the week and leave her with Jon so I can go on the weekend and that gives me a much needed break.

But my art life has been suffering and I don't know what to do. By the time she goes down I am tired and grumpy and I am just feeling creatively empty. I tried getting back into sketching but I just don't know what to draw these days. Ever since I lost my daily walks things have gotten much worse for my art.

I am just lucky that I used to be super prolific because I have so much older work to keep my shops full. But having some fresh pieces would be nice.

I guess I am going to have to learn to be a stay at home mom without much of an art life for awhile. How long I don't know.

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.

Klimt - He's nice and all but...

fabric panel
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Quoted from a co-worker of my husband after my husband showed him my work and mentioned that I was a fan of Gustav Klimt. A bit enough fan that one of my first baby carriers has a panel with fabric inspired by his work.

"I'm sure his work is nice and all, but I like your wife's work better."

While I totally do not agree with him I am completely and utterly flattered by the compliment. Gustav Klimpt was one of my favorite influences as I grew up as an artists. I loved his usage of pattern more than anything else and that is an inspiration still today. Many of these majorly Klimpt inspired pieces can be found in my shop today. Anything of my figurative work is 15% off this week of October 6th through 12th only! Just add Klimpt in your notes to seller when purchasing those works and wait for an invoice.







And one of the master's most inspiring pieces.

Quakers, Shakers and Candlestick Makers

Winter in New England
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

Just a quick post before I head off to bed, hopefully tucking myself in before ten tonight. I've had a touch of a cold this past week and haven't been sleeping well on top of that. I have to wear a mask when I sleep or I have eye pain and sometimes that mask comes off in my sleep and I end up with the pain again. I saw a doctor awhile back and he gave me some goop and drops and said it would be better in a week, but it wasn't. But if I wear this mask and it stays on, which it does most of the time, I don't have any problems. Something in bed just seems to irritate my right eye.

Things are pretty good here. I'm drawing and writing a lot these days. New work is being made weekly, I'm hoping to do some printing this week. Lately it has been very relaxed and simple collage work. Reading an old favorite book of mine called Wise Blood and The Screwtape Letters right now. Both dark but in very different ways. My near complete lack of reading since blee was born has been bugging me for ages now and I am finally doing something about it. And what a perfect time to grab a book and cuddle up in bed with it. Jon is a total non-fiction political/social/ economic book junkie but I think he would enjoy Wise Blood. He read The Screwtape Letters years ago. Wise Blood was one of my favorite novels when I was in high school.

Went to a Shaker village in New Hampshire on Sunday kinda spur of the moment. I needed to get out of Boston in a major way and it was too icky to go do the cliff walk in Newport, RI like we had planned. It was a quiet little trip but I think the three of us had a good time. The Shaker religious sect is a pretty interesting one. Except for their complete celibacy to the point of not even communicating with the opposite gender I can really stand behind them. It is sad that they died out, but great that there is so much that is preserved.

blee is growing tall more and more each day and eating like a little piggy. At lunch she just couldn't get enough of her baby food and the adult food that we gave her. Then on the road home she drank a full 14oz bottle of whole milk! And then for dinner she ate chicken and some blueberries. She likes fruit and meat a lot, but veggies are a struggle with her. She will do sweet potatoes and squashes and carrots if I mix them with (a lot) of applesauce but that is about it. Oh she kinda likes cucumbers.

Okay, time for bed I've rambled enough. Hope everybody had a great weekend to start off a great week. Keep warm!

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.

mmmmm Autumn

Twin Goddesses in Fall
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com

My favorite season is here. And to celebrate fall please feel free to take 15% off any pieces in Etsy Shop with a fall theme. If they have Fall or Autumn in the title is what I mean. Just put "fall" in the notes to seller and I will send you a revised invoice.

Monday night and Tuesday were kind of a wash for me. I planned on blogging on Monday night but I got tired. Then I slept in. Monday was spent packaging up some orders and getting them mailed while running some errands.

Today I went to Cambridge with a friend via T to go to this clothing exchange to trade in some of the clothes blee has outgrown for some gently used correctly sized clothes for fall. This along with the few basics Jon and I purchased over the weekend and the $100 Gap gift card we are waiting on should cover us for all of the fall and a good part of the winter. Especially if her growth continues to be slower like it has been.

There are a few of the outfits she has worn this past season that I can't part with just yet and have put into a box for maybe another baby girl someday.

My Visiting Mom comes for the second to last time on Wednesday and I am looking forward to seeing her, but so sad that she will be leaving our lives soon. She has been a real blessing to me and Alex during these past months. I know all good things have to come to an end, especially when they are scheduled too. But I am very sad about this.

Going to go read some of the new chapter of "The Artist's Way" and go to bed. Goodnight and good morning. Or good whenever you happen to stumble upon this posting.