three posts in one on account of food poisoning the past 4 days. ugh. i’ll spare you the details! 

first up in blog news is my first-ever 24 hour art sale! it’s online now until tomorrow at noon. art at discount prices, all proceeds go towards the new stationery collection i’m working on now and hope to launch next month!

second, pixelated. which is the 4th annual mississippi state aiga student invitational contest, recently concluded. i was one of the three judges deciding students’ fate and portfolios by ranking their work. nail-biting responsibility, i tell you. i was a student not so long ago, this was my first time on the other side of a contest. it was all done via flickr, which meant i wasn’t able to actually see and hold the physical work – we had to rely on only photos and descriptions. a little strange. guess that proves i’m old skool.

third: moss. if you’re familiar with my artwork, you know i’m obsessed with moss. well, right before i got food poisoning i was lucky enough to spend a few hours at portland’s japanese gardens. it was my first visit. not only are the gardens beautiful, but, oh, the mosses! so many different kinds, including “giant” [well, for moss anyway] varieties i’d never seen before. my companions were laughing at me versus all the other camera-wielding visitors. while everyone else was snapping pics of waterfalls and such, i was literally on the ground taking photos of all the different lush ground covers.

today through the weekend i’ll be in my studio putting the finishing touches on a new area of my website, set to debut on monday…

my first-ever 24-hour online art sale!

[this upcoming monday, march 30 at noon, pacific time]

i’ll be emailing my newsletter subscribers on monday shortly before the sale starts to provide the secret website link.

prompting this sale was the discovery of a bunch of old art pieces from various shows over the years [2005 - 2008], and a need to raise funds to finance my upcoming paper goods collection. you’ll get deep discounts on great art, and [eventually] new paper goods!

regular readers of my blog may remember this sale was supposed to happen last friday. sorry for the delay!

last week i spent a few hours at evan b. harris’ studio working on the above piece. a spanish magazine sent a long roll of paper to evan and asked him to work with local artists and create a collaboration representing portland. other rolls of paper were sent to other artists in other cities around the world as well. apparently the magazine is going out of business, but they will turn each roll of paper into the pages for their last issue. of course i can’t remember the name of the magazine! but i’ll post more details when i learn them!

i drew a piece of oregon alder and douglas asters on a hill created by apak, surrounded by artwork by tim karpinski and bwana spoons!

four girlfriends and i just spent two days camped out in a yurt on the oregon coast in the middle of a rain and wind storm. heaven! our friend michael made us all sweet shirts for the weekend [above] and we took plenty of funny group photos that i’ll keep to myself!

other highlights included lounging around in sleeping bags and jammies, eating too much, making electric heater s’mores and box wine spritzers, and a quick run/hike through the sprinkles to snap some pics.

stormy waters!

trees with so much moss it looked like leaves!

can’t wait to go back for more soon!

these just arrived in the mail… the oregon league of conservation voter’s annual dinner for the environment invitation. i did the illustrations, while eldon at bryan potter design designed the invitation package. other local artists who’ve contributed images for past dinner invitations include carson ellis and evan b. harris. nice company!

the pacific northwest premiere of the handmade nation screening extravaganza is coming to portland april 4! get your tickets now! above is the spread about it in this month’s portland spaces magazine featuring a pic of my studio. here’s more info on the premiere from the museum of contemporary craft’s microsite:

Join director Faythe Levine for the Northwest premiere of Handmade Nation, the documentary companion to the book Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft, and Design. Artists featured in the film include Mandy Greer, Jenny Hart, Nikki McClure, Portland’s own Susan Beal and Jill Bliss, and dozens of other crafters nationwide. The companion book published by Princeton Architectural Press features photographs of the makers, their work environments, their processes, their work and discussions of how they got their start and what motivates them. Local contributors include Susan Beal and illustrator Kate Bingaman-Burt.

On April 4, the Museum will host an entire day of related programs, including a panel discussion and a hands-on crochet-a-thon with Mandy Greer.

above is the first round of snacks from the little green grocer opening. there was also a sommelier and wine tasting, yum! many thanks to scott and nancy and everyone who came out for the show! artwork for the show can be seen on my flickr page. below are three of the larger pieces in the shop.

this past week has been a flurry of drawing, framing, pricing in the studio. a bit chaotic, but controlled and fulfilling to complete something!

tonight i have an opening at little green grocer here in portland showcasing the finished sketches i made in the park across the street from the shop in preparation for the wetlands mural i completed on their back wall in august.

the details:
native wetlands drawings
march 5 – april 5, 2009
artist reception march 5, 6 – 8 pm

at:
little green grocer
1101 nw northrup [11th and northrup]
more info.

i’ve also begun the drawings for my upcoming show at life and limb here in portland in may, and i’m still working on the drawings and designs for my new stationery collection set to debut next month.

drawing, i love it! it’s taken a while to get back in the right frame of mind to make this possible. it’s a quiet, meditative type of work that requires quiet, calm surroundings – my life has been anything but quiet and calm these past few years! eliminating all unnecessary distractions and dramas has been a continual but worthwhile process.

back to the green grocer opening tonight… i’ll post pics of the event and the artwork tomorrow morning as usual.