First Rainbow Slug

Yesterday afternoon I made my first rainbow slug. It’s a surprise for a friend who prefers her snails without shells! I had a lot of fun working the design out and especially loved painting it. I started with a rough print of just the body part of one of my snail stamps just to get my guidelines going, then I planned out the rest in pencil and finished it up in ink. I gave it 'rainbow' status by adding watercolor. I have to say that the more time I spend with watercolors the more fun I keep having with them!

Groundhog Day!

It’s Groundhog Day!

I hand drew and sent my first Groundhog Day card to my mom when I was in high school and I've kept that tradition going sporadically over the years since. On years when I missed sending out cards, she always asked about them! So it’s a pretty cherished tradition around here.

Earlier this week I was delighted to pair up with Benjamin to do a quick short-run of Ghog Day postcards. This lovely critter is a Hoary Marmot. They live at our beloved Mt. Rainier and have made our hikes more exciting with their prolific appearances! This sweet critter was carved from a photo we took on one of our hikes a few years ago. So this is a marmot we actually met!

As they are our own backyard “groundhogs” here in the PNW, this marmot was the perfect fit for being featured on this year’s card and I'm delighted his smiling face got to go out across the world to spread some seasonal cheer.

Reflections on 2017

I’m grateful for 2017. And as I’ve rang in the new year in Texas and am waiting to ring in the PNW new year via text with my favorite human, I’ve taken some time to look back on 2017 and consider how I’ve grown and all I’m grateful for. Here are my 2017 highlights with my art:

> To begin with, I started this IG this past year as a means to give myself accountability with my creativity and to have a place to track my progress and not forget the pieces that keep adding up to increase my skills and confidence.

> This year was a year of trees and snails. All through springtime I got to know the trees in my neighborhood and was forever snapping reference snapshots for my drawings. I was enamored with their changing beauty from pre-spring into summer. I sketched trees: both realistic and highly stylized. However, few of those snippets ever saw the light of day because I met Parsley and detoured straight into snails.

> Meanwhile, I launched my first postcards out into the world with mine and Benjamin’s original photography. I also recommitted myself to my love of photography: shedding the insecurities that I’d let build up due to being married to a professional photographer. I recaptured the passion of my youth, dove headfirst into my own interests and style and got back into film photography with 3 new-to-me film cameras of varying sorts.

> I took Naomi Bulger’s Beautiful Letter e-course and was inspired to take long-desired steps with letter-writing: both in art and audience. I have an address just for pen-palling now so that I can expand my reach to others who need the gift of caring mail.

> I grew in skills and confidence in my illustrations. I applied all that I learned in the few classes I took in 2016 and kept practicing. Towards the end of this year I began a self-paced at-home course that is helping me even more with skills and confidence.

> And all the while, snails. So many snails. Benjamin and I dedicated ourselves to shared creation of art this year, and nowhere has that been more apparent than with snail art. He’s carved stamps from my drawings, and he’s done photo shoots for me to use the images as subjects for my drawings.

> I’ve used the stamps for making watercolored postcards and stationary sets. Both of which I’ve been sending out as my stationary of choice through this season.

This past year held so much richness, beauty, bravery, and learning. I hope for more of the same in 2018. I have big hopes for 2018 and look forward to seeing what unfolds. Here’s to the new year and the adventures that await us. May we all find daily blessings to be grateful for. 💛

Snaily Thank-Yous & Nibs

I sent some snaily thank-yous out yesterday evening. I busted out my nib and ink for the first time in almost 2 years and not only addressed the envelopes with it but wrote both notes with it too! I'm pretty pumped about that. My ink-cup was all dried up, so I had to clean it out and refill it with lovely, silky new ink. My bathroom sink looked like a squid threw a major tantrum in there and inked all over the place!

I recently ordered several new nibs and a new nib-holder and they arrived yesterday. I'm excited to start playing with them later this week. I’m using them as my reward for finishing up one more pencil drawing (which I haven’t started yet. I’m in major procrastination mode). But my old nib and pen weren’t part of that deal, so I could play with them all through the evening without any internal conflict. (Heh, heh. :-D)

It felt great to be nibbling again. So I'm sending more snails out this evening by the light of my desk-lamp. Even though it's only my second evening back with the nib, I felt so much more at ease with it. It’s coming back slow and steady! I haven't used my mushroom stamp in a while and was perplexed to find that it and my original snail stamp have aged weirdly (they’re all speckled in the recesses where they shouldn’t even have ink!). So that’s concerning, but fine, because they still stamp no problem. It’s just part of the learning process as I get more into handcarved stamps and work to understand what they need to be happy.

These envelopes feature a couple of our latest snail stamps! As per our usual routine, Benjamin carved them for me from my drawings.

New Snail Stamps!

There's a new snail stamp! Actually, there are four new snail stamps ready to go for upcoming projects. I’m spending the evening brainstorming project ideas and putting stamps to paper to see where it takes me. I'm thankful for Benjamin and his awesome carving skills! We are having a blast on this collaborative project.

A Very Snaily Evening

It’s been a very snaily evening. After finishing the mushrooms, I finished up a first draft of the next snail drawing. I’m pretty sure I chose the most challenging pose to start with from last weekend’s photoshoot. But even though it was hard, it was a great reminder about focusing on shape and scale and drawing what I actually see instead of drawing what I assume a snail looks like based on preconceived observations.

Anyway, it was tough. But I’m pretty pleased with it. I’ll be tweaking and refining it before it goes to the carving stage, but it’s a great start!

I started a warm-toned watercolor snail to wind down afterwards and I'm really digging its look so far.

Meanwhile, Parsley has woken from his slumber and has been snailing around and is a delight to hang out with while I work.

We’ve also welcomed two new snaily houseguests! They are both still snoozing away. It’s always a lot to adjust to a new home, so I expect they’ll take a couple of days to adjust to their temporary digs. I’m just so delighted they’ve come to stay a while and can’t wait to get to know them better.

Rainbow Mushrooms & a Sleeping Snail

I’m completely in my relaxed and peaceful happy place when I’m sitting next to Parsley.

He lives right next to my seat at our kitchen workbench. So when we eat dinner or play games, I’m sitting by him and being with him. Whether he’s sleeping or gliding or munching, I love being with him. I can feel myself relaxing when I’m near him.

Benjamin most often uses the workbench for his creative projects. I have two other desks that I split my work between. But when I’m hanging out with Benjamin I sit at the table with him, in my spot next to Parsley. This evening, I brought my paints. It’s the first time I’ve painted here. I always opt for the floor or my desk instead. But this evening has been a revelation.

There is nothing like painting rainbow mushrooms next to my sleeping snail. I felt such a deep contentment and found myself reflecting on how grateful I am. How I feel like this is what it feels like to be living my best and most ideal life. And how lucky I feel to be able to experience such deep and profound contentment in that.

New Stamp: Mushrooms

Mushrooms are in progress because snails need colorful wonderlands in which to roam.

Hand-carved stamp + micron + watercolor.

A Zany Tropical Leaf-Eater

I had a zany tropical leaf-eater in mind when I conceived this critter: a snail that could easily enjoy the safety of camouflage in its leafy home, but also totally rock it on its own with its awesome vibrant hues. I'm very happy to have snails to color until things calm down and I have time to draw more. This daily snail is a stamp with watercolor pencils (and a water brush).

Tomorrow we have a photo shoot planned with my snail, Parsley, and I’m really looking forward to it! Here’s hoping he offers lots of lovely poses to use as references for my drawings! I know he will love the outing and enjoy the adventure of having so many fun things to climb on and explore. I can’t wait to spend some quality time with him.

Bridging the Gap

Another day another snail!

I have a whole range of ideas for more snail art. Since I don’t have the time to make them all come true right now, I’ve been coping by journaling my ideas during my breaks at work in conjunction with stamping and coloring snails in the evenings. It helps bridge the creative gap until I have the time to put more things into action. This critter is a stamp with Prismacolors.

An Edgy Rainbow Snail

Another day another snail.

This time it's an edgy rainbow snail! Colorful but roughed up a little. Cheerful but with some gritty texture. I guess it’s kind of how I feel about life. Lovely and awesome but also messy and imperfect.

Also, the expression marks around his head make it feel like he’s startled or exclaiming about something which I love. Snails keep quiet, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have feels about stuff!

This hand-carved stamp features water-color, prismacolor, and ink.

First Snail Stamp!

Wow! I dreamt of my latest snail drawing being a stamp so I can use it on all sorts of things and Benjamin made my dream come true!!

We just did our first test print to make note of all the areas we want to touch up on the carving and then he'll finish it up for me. I'm so excited!! I already have a couple of projects I can't wait to stamp up with this lovely creature!