Yay for colorful art!

Yay for colorful art! 

 I read this sweet article about the impact of colorful art on our well-being. I was immediately pulled in to it because it featured artwork by Jessica Poundstone, whose colorful artwork I've long admired. 

Colorful artwork can trigger the release of dopamine, 
a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward,
leading to feelings of happiness and well-being
- Dr. Shivani Khetan

If you want to make some colorful art to improve your well-being… Come to my virtual art making session! Every Thursday I host a (free!) virtual art making session called Studio Time!  If you're in need of accountability and creative community - this is a great place to find it. We are a friendly bunch and everyone is welcome! Drop a comment if you want to be added to the weekly reminder list, or visit this link for more info. It would be fun to see you there!

100 Days of Rainbow Play

This year, I decided to do #100daysofrainbowplay for my The 100 Day Project. Today marks say 12 and I've already covered digital and analog designs, played with patterns and did one fun photo piece with a beloved family photo of their grandmother 😂 

Looking for Rhythm

It has been such a long stretch of grey days here in Buffalo, but the sun came out for a stretch and it's a welcome change. That lovely lady on the right is a sneak peek of a cool project that has consumed some of the past few weeks. (more about this summer)

 January has felt like the longest month on record in a strange way, but I think I'm seeing the light at the end of the holiday reset / work-week-lost-to-snow tunnel. I'm trying to see if I can find some sort of rhythm. I've been making an effort to spend 10-30 minutes in my cozy front studio window working in my sketchbook, or – just being present. Feels good, and looks like this:

Another thing I'm trying to get back into the practice of…writing! For the past few years I've carved out roughly an hour a week to write. I flip between introspective journaling time and other writing, like newsletters. I'm a huge fan (and highly recommend!) my friend Stella's Show Up and Write group as my anchor for this practice. I need all the help I can get having some sort of routine for my week, and this is a wonderful part of that routine. If you want to learn more, or request an invitation to join in here (scroll down – it’s two thirds of the way down the page) ;)

I'm knee deep in the planning headspace for 2024 – I have some big plans for the year ahead. I'm applying for some mural opportunities, spring pop-up events, and hoping to work on some new product offerings for 2024. Oh, and carving out time each week to create some new artwork. I always want to do all the things! That said, I'm also trying to put some boundaries in place to protect my creative energy and help focus my attention.

Spinning Plates

Me & Dad! Note the rainbow sleeves on my shirt…

My dad is an architect and was the design partner in his firm when I was growing up. Occasionally, I would go to work with him on early release days or days off of school. I remember playing in the back of his office with all the tile samples and giant sets of prismacolor markers. I would build little worlds on the shelves where they kept office supplies. There were walls covered in tile and counter samples, and binders full of carpet and fabric swatches. I was a kid in a candy store. 

One of my favorite things to do was play with the electric erasers. I realized that if you turned them up so the eraser was pointing up, the clean white eraser became a little potting wheel that I could use to make miniature dishes. I would carve out little bowls, plates and cups with exacto knives and then color them in with the markers while the makeshift electric potters wheel was still spinning. It was always so much fun… until I got caught chopping the clean new erasers up into little bits by someone in the office. It was harmless fun, but from what I remember they weren’t too pleased with my creative waste of supplies, lol. It is fun to think that those little eraser dishes were my first taste of product design!

Electric eraser, in case you aren’t familiar.

Modern studio reproduction of a tiny plate and bowl.