'Cliffside Columbine' Inspired by the wild columbine that bloom in the springtime on the rocky shores of Lake Champlain in Burlington, VT. This is a four layer print made with transparent primary colors (blue, red, and yellow) which overlap to create the secondary colors (purple, green, and orange), and then a final key block in black. 'Midsummer Feast' This print is intended to be a reminder of how much joy there can be in the food that we eat, how it can be specific to the season we are in, and how we can connect to the land around us through food both foraged and cultivated. It is inspired by a delicious and memorable meal of chanterelle mushrooms and summer squash over egg noodles that I had this past summer. You can read more about how I developed this print here. A hand-painted version of this print will be available soon. 'Contemplate Decomposition' This print is not actually new, but this is the first time I've tried coloring it in. The stump in the middle is a hemlock, you can tell by the reishi mushrooms growing out of it. And the new tree in the middle is a birch, which was Jamie's suggestion based on how readily they grow from old stumps. I love how the color brings life to this print, and helps clarify what certain things are, such as the russula mushrooms in the bottom corner, and the pixie cup lichen on the stump. 'Living Room' This was my first new print of the year, carved after a very busy holiday sales season. I wanted to capture the feeling of finally relaxing after months of hard work. The coffee table is based on the one Jamie made from an oak slab salvaged from one of his logging jobs, and the candles are based on bees wax dippers that my sister Rayna makes. Carving this one taught me a lot about different textures and patterns (such as the wood grain in the table and floor and the paisley on the cushions) that I hope to carry with me into future prints. 'Sun Moon Earth'
This is a two layer reduction print with a color gradient for both layers. Reduction printing uses a single block to print multiple layers by carving away more of the block between each layer. On the left you can see the first layer and on the right is the completed print. I am quite obsessed with astronomy/astrology, and I have been wanting to make a print about moon phases for a while now. I don't want to explain too much, as I'm hoping the image can speak for itself with a little study and contemplation. But I will give you a hint and say that eight smaller circles represent the moon at different points in it's cycle, and that the moon closest to the sun is a new moon, and the one farthest from the sun is a full moon.
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It's a snowy day here in Vermont! If you found your way here from the Women's Festival of Crafts website, welcome! And if you found me some other way, welcome as well! Here are some new prints and greeting cards that I just listed at PotionsPress. An updated version of my Contemplate Decomposition print. This phrase has resonated with a lot of people over the years, which is something that really means a lot to me. It came to me at a particularly difficult time in my life. I would spend a lot of time in the woods seeking peace, and I found it immensely comforting to notice the way that trees became dirt and new life grew out of old wood. Send a little full moon magic to your friends and family! These note cards come in sets of four with a different design on each card. They are based on pastel drawings I did this summer of the full moon. This set would make a lovely gift for someone who likes to send snail mail, or you could frame them up for inexpensive wall art. And finally, an extra special hand embellished version of my Work & Time print. A reminder that all this stuff takes work and time, and that isn't a bad thing!! This is a celebration of patience and persistence. The background shines with metallic gold and the flowers and vines are painted with rich watercolor.
There are lots of other designs to explore at PotionsPress. And if you are local to Burlington you can find me in person at the BCA Holiday Market, December 5th and 6th at City Hall Park. Thank you so much for supporting my small art business and Happy Holidays! I was really nervous leading up to Art Hop this year. There was a lot of uncertainty about what this typically very crowded event would look like with corona virus regulations. I didn't think I would be as successful as usual without all the big crowds. Plus I hadn't yet worn a mask for more than an hour at a time. My last market had been in December, back when there was no worries about large gatherings. Since then I've focused on building my online sales. I've put more effort into my etsy shop, building up a greater variety of listings to attract more customers. I've also experimented with flash sales on instagram where I post pictures with prices and dimensions in my stories and then work out payment and shipping through direct messages. These have been pretty successful, and sometimes almost have the whirlwind excitement of a real live market, but I truly missed selling art in person. So while I was nervous, I was also really excited! It turned out that I didn't need to worry at all. Everyone was really friendly through their masks, and it was so nice to make small talk about the weather, prints, paper, and mushrooms with a steady stream of strangers. There were some friends in the mix as well, including Andrea, Dakin, Meili, Kason, Sharon, and Aleyna. My family showed up too somewhere in there. I met Erin Bundock for the first time IRL (we had only communicated through instagram up to this point). She is a recent art graduate from UVM who's work I really admire. She is the resident artist at the vaults this year, which is across from where we were all set up for the market. I also met Liv, who is a friend of Meili's from herbalism school, and was set up near me at the market. She makes gorgeous botanical jewelry and she traded me a pair of black eyed susan hoop earrings for a couple of prints. I didn't really have time to experience the rest of art hop. We live about 45 minutes outside of town these days so we didn't have time to come in on Friday or Sunday to look around, and all of Saturday we were occupied with the market. I did visit Aleyna's studio in the Howard Building and then together we visited Susan and Kevin, also in the Howard Building. Corrine shares a studio with them but was out of town for the weekend on a camping trip. I do not blame her, it really was beautiful weather. I exceeded my goal in terms of sales. This was a really pleasant surprise! I guess that even though it was quieter than usual the people who did show up were there to look at and buy art. I also raised my prices on a few things. I was nervous that people wouldn't want to buy them at the higher prices but it turned out to be the right choice. I introduced a new print, a mini version of my old cabin in the woods print. These were only $5 for the market and sold really well. My mom helped me make some print garlands a few days before the event. These were really lovely to hang from the rafters of my market tent and they moved nicely in the wind. I think they made my set up extra attractive and I was even able to sell a few. For the rest of my set up I had three tables, a six foot table in the middle, and two four foot tables turned shortways on either end to fill up the ten foot space at the front of my tent. Most of my prints were arranged on the table to show different color options and weighted down with rocks. I chose a few prints to attach to cardboard and stand up along the back of the table. Overall it was a great event. I loved getting out in public with my artwork and interacting with so many different people. I do not know what the winter season holds in terms of in person markets. My hopes are not super high at the moment. So I will continue to build my business in other ways, including more instagram flash sales and getting my prints into stores.
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