everything will eventually sprout

Happy Spring! However, it is snowing outside at the moment, so it doesn't quite feel like Spring yet.

I am going crazy from this never ending Winter.

What's that Emily Dickinson quote? "A little madness in the Spring is even wholesome for the King."  Quite right.

So what's a girl to do, but make some floating head drawings? Haha. I actually enjoy digging through my portfolio and finding old paint prepped paper that was never used.  It can sit in there for years, move with us several times before its even considered for use. But I like that. The paper has some history before it even becomes a finished painting.  These heads actually make me think of ghosts or ancestors, or just memories floating around somewhere still.

Have you ever seen the movie "The Secret"? Watch it sometime.  I am a sucker for these types of things. It's basically about the law of attraction. (The law of attraction is the name given to the belief that "like attracts like" and that by focusing on positive or negative thoughts, one can bring about positive or negative results) 
The movie itself isn't that mind blowing, but I support the premise. I think anything you focus on a regular basis is eventually going to come into fruition, whether those are positive or negative things, that's up to you. Hopefully they're positive things. Anyhow, it gave me an idea for a project.  I want to do a drawing a week for a year based on this idea.  52 portraits. No rules other than they are going to be drawings of things I want  for myself, for someone I know, the world... I had been toying around with this idea after I made a little doodle of a house for sale that I liked from the newspaper.  I figure if some claim the law of attraction works by mere thought, what if one focused that energy into recreating those thoughts into some other form? A physical object like a work of art. I guess we'll see. Hopefully, Spring will truly be here by next time I write.

its a new post

So, its officially March. I can't believe we're already three months into 2013. So, where the hell have I been right? I guess in the Winter, I go into complete and total hibernation mode.  There are many stages of this, as you may have started to see the signs in earlier posts. One would think that because it is Winter and you're all cooped up, that you should have all the time in the world to fiddle around on your computer.  I guess one technically does, but I have opted out to wrap myself in a pile of blankets in my Winter laziness and get strangely obsessed with shows like Twin Peaks, Downton Abbey, and The Walking Dead. This is in part due to me getting that hideous flu that's been going around. I swear I didn't move from the couch for a week straight.

Well, that's not all I have been doing.  This beautiful table spread was created for a friendly get together by my pal, Katie Rae (I couldn't resist sharing it) Her house is oh-so lovely, Katie is one of the classiest people I know, and I love their art collection. Her husband is a super talented print maker, Curtis Readel, if you haven't checked him out yet. Myself, I've completed a few new pieces of art and have some upcoming projects in the mix.  I have some artwork up at Janik's through the end of the month, thanks to fellow artist and friend Brett Whitacre, who curates that space (I had the pleasure of working with Brett's lovely wife, Kate, who is an amazing farmer.) I think its good to get your art out of the "gallery" from time to time.

Here are a few newbies...More up on my website. I have a show coming up at the Safety-Kleen Gallery at ECC April 16th- May 18th, I'll post more info on that soon.

The other news flash in Katie-land, I turned 30. Yep. I feel pretty okay about it. I am going to welcome all stages of this life, so I'm looking forward to what I'll do in my thirties. I'm excited :) I had an inspirational pep talk from this multi-talented gentleman, Johnathon Strube, recently. The future is looking good.

merry & bright

I can't believe how long it's been since I wrote last! I swear Thanksgiving through Christmas, my life is like running a marathon.  Thankfully I am on a blissful nine day holiday from work, and the craziness of the break is over. How was everyone's Christmas? Mine was good, but I'll admit it didn't feel as Christmas-ie this year. Not sure why... I guess the weather has been weird, it's hardly snowed. I'm glad the world didn't end on the 21st. After every doomsday prediction, I always feel great. Life's a gift, so I feel giddy to keep experiencing it. At Christmas, I suppose what I enjoy most is watching my young cousins get excited. That's where the true magic is still happening. Every year, we make one of our family members dress up like Santa Clause, and everyone gets to take turns getting gifts from Santa and getting a photo taken sitting on his lap. The food was great, I made a root vegetable gratin for the first time that is now going to be one of my Winter recipe favorites.

After Christmas, my mom and I went to Chicago to attempt ice skating and see the windows and Christmas tree at Macy's. It was one of my favorite things to do around the holidays when I was little, so I was really glad we made it down there.  When we got off the train, a soft snow began to fall, and the city was beautiful in all its haziness.

We went shopping for awhile too and saw these poodle shoes for sale, haha. You wouldn't believe how much they cost too...

I'll admit I've been lazy and awful when it comes to making any art. Sometimes I feel guilty about it, but other times I have to accept that the desire to create comes when it does. I have a few days left of my vacation and I am gearing up to get off my butt, and hammer out a few new pieces.  And it's almost the new year, a good time to reflect and anticipate changes I want to make in my life. Being a little more disciplined in my creative process is up there.  My sweet hubby offered to buy me a new camera for Christmas, he said that there was no way he'd pick it out for me, so I'm excited to do my research and see whats out there.  I'm definitely a hobby photographer, but I want something to take me to the next level, and inspire me to document my life a little better.  Well I hope everyone is happy and well, and warm in their homes, reflecting on the last days of 2012.  See you next year, har har.

Thanks

Hope that everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving, that your bellies were full and your hearts were warm. We had a super small gathering at our home, which we rather quite enjoyed! I come from a super large family on my mom's side (which we'll be celebrating with for Christmas) so it was nice to have a quiet, more intimate dinner this year.  For appetizers we had cranberry cinnamon goat cheese with crackers, and Provençal garlic almonds. The big dinner we had herb roasted turkey (with sage, thyme, rosemary, & parsley) sausage and kale cornbread stuffing, roasted veggies (hakurei turnips, garlic, celery, onion, & carrot) creamy green bean casserole, honeyed orange peel cranberry sauce, herb mashed potatoes, rolls and gravy of course! Just when we thought we were going to burst, we had homemade pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

I think we were all in a trance for hours. It was surprisingly warm, warmest Thanksgiving I can ever remember. My dad suggested we take a quick hike through the nearby forest preserve to help digest and burn some of those extra calories we all just racked up. We luckily made the entire loop before it started to pour.  We all dozed and watched movies cozied up on the couch.  I was in a deep turkey induced coma until this morning, waking up to a forty degree temperature shift, it really feels like Winter has decided to settle in now. As for today, Jason and I are going to be super lazy & be thankful for every minute of it. xoxo

mia

Hello dear friends,

I have most certainly been m.i.a. for a couple weeks now, I apologize for my disappearance. I had a bout of unfortunate events all occurring in a row and I felt it best to isolate myself for a bit, get my head screwed back on straight. When times get rough, I try to think that without these " lows", we wouldn't know or appreciate the "highs" in life. That things are happening for a reason, and something better may be just over the horizon.

My family has been through a lot lately ( basically my whole life ) and I admire their strength and endless love. I admire my friends for always being there for me and knowing just the right thing to say to cheer me up. And my husband for his courage and his ability to always see the truth in things.

It's November! All the leaves have nearly left, leaving the trees barren and shaking in the wind. There is winter in the air. I loathed winter as a child, but I have somehow started to enjoy it as I get older. Soon there will be snow. I do love that blanketed quietness that comes with the first snow of the year. A sort of stillness that you hate to disrupt.  And its the month of thanks! And I am definitely grateful for many things. I think its healthy to make a list of all the things you are grateful for and count all your blessings this time of the year. Jason and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year, so I am scrambling with menu plans that I'm pretty excited about. I already started working on some handmade Christmas gifts, trying to get a head start before the Holiday sneaks up on me.

While digging through random craft and art supplies, I found one of my old moleskin notebooks. This particular one was from nearly six years ago, with random drawings, idea's, quotes... A particular quote of note that I found in it, "Our whole business therefore in this life is to restore to health the eye of the heart whereby God may be seen."  I like that.

home body

Greetings. I haven't written in a bit, I swear it's because I've been busy sleeping-no joke. This time of the year, as it gets colder and the humidity levels are all out of whack (up and down, up and down) I can't get enough sleep. I'm talking about 10-12 hours of sleep per night, required. And I have an insatiable hunger. I suppose my body is getting ready to hibernate, or maybe thats my excuse. I also get into a "nesting" mode, readying my home for the Winter months. Speaking of nests, I found this wasp nest helping itself to a corner of my house. As much as I hate wasps, I really do think their nests are lovely- light, papery, so delicate. Interesting how they're called nests, versus hives. Wasps are often mistaken for honey bees. This is also a sneak peek of my living room. Its very peaceful and cozy. This trunk/crate, that we use as our coffee table, came from my mom's house and I can't say I know how old it is or where it came from exactly. Project for the day, I want to try my hand at finger knitting. So simple, you can teach most young children to do it. But on point with my goal to learn how to knit this Winter, I figured I'd start with the basics. Besides, I have an idea for some nice cowl neck warmer combos. The talented ladies at Design*Sponge turned it into this awesome pillow. Possibilities are endless (can you say Christmas present?????) Yes, it's true, I am already thinking about Christmas presents. My plans are to make or purchase handmade gifts for everyone this year. Alright, but for now, I will focus on this lovely Fall day.

1,2,3

Finished the 'a' and 'c' to my fresh veggie alphabet illustrations I've been working on the past week or so... I am still trying to sort out my feelings about these little babies, as simple as they are, they are so unlike my other artwork I normally create. I haven't incorporated vegetables much in my art, but they are such a big part of my day at the farm, I felt compelled to paint them, just direct and pure as they are. Sometimes I think I create paintings based off art I want hanging in my house. They will look cute above the stove or so I am thinking. Or in someone's nursery perhaps? Get those kids started on the right foot, dreaming of greens. I'm still trying to figure the best route with getting prints made of my work, so soon they will be available in my shop. 

I love looking at  illustrations from seed company packaging from back in the day. Back when advertising, signs, everything were created by hand, by a real artist. There are still farms and seed saving companies that do this.  Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company is one of note.  They have one the largest selections of rare and heirloom seeds available, husband and wife travel the world preserving seeds that are now going extinct due to industrial agriculture. I recommend ordering one of their catalogs, even if you don't garden. I drool over the beauty of all the varieties...rainbow inca corn, red dragon carrots, moon & stars watermelon, blue potatoes... yum. Biodiversity at its best.

Baker Creek has also been a big part of helping small farms fight Monsanto and the rise of genetically modified veggies. If you haven't heard much about Proposition 37 yet, read up on it. If passed, it would simply require the proper labeling of any genetically engineered foods (plants and/or animals that have had their DNA artificially altered by genes from other plants, animals, viruses, bacteria, etc...in ways that would never occur in nature) Shouldn't we already have the right to know whats in our food? Care or not about GMO's, it should be something we have a right to choose or not. There haven't been enough long term studies on their ill effects on our health, but they are definitely cause to many other environmental problems. I hate preaching to the choir, I always tell people to do their own research & share what you learn. Sometimes makes me worried about the future.