little people, big dreams: mary shelley

a couple of spreads from little people, big dreams: mary shelley available now in spanish, catalan and english!

romeo y julieta

out today! romeo y julieta, the spanish edition of william shakespeare's classic tale of doomed teenage lovers, from barcelona-based editorial alma's clásicos ilustrados series. it features twelve illustrations (in greyscale with a single brick red pantone color), illustrated endpapers and some hand-drawn elements on the cover, which i will share once my copies arrive from spain.

domestic study II

another piece for the enormous tiny art show, opening this friday, september 6th at nahcotta gallery.

enormous tiny art no. 26

one of six tiny paintings from my new collection for the enormous tiny art show.  all six are already available for sale online, and will be up for in-person viewing from september 6th - 29th at nahcotta gallery in portsmouth, NH. acryla gouache and colored pencil on paper, each is approximately 3.5" x 5.5" (framed to 7.5" x 5.5" x 1") and retails at $160. show opening next friday, september 6th, 5-7 pm.

when the world didn't end - out today!

out today! when the world didn't end, the follow-up to light filters in by caroline kaufman (@poeticpoison on instagram). both books feature an illustrated cover and black & white interior spot illustrations.

letters to myself

full page and quarter page illustrations for "why i write letters to myself" by kassondra cloos, in flow magazine issue NL0519. acryla gouache and colored pencils on paper.

map print for figo fabrics

this is one of the prints (shown in three available colorways) in my upcoming collection "away we go" for figo fabrics. i have all summer and fall to keep working on my machine sewing skills so that when the collection ships in december and i finally get my hands on some yardage, i will hopefully be proficient enough for a few basic sewing projects like tote bags and pouches.

licuala cordata

acryla gouache and colored pencils on paper. i know there are many out there who are interested in original art over open edition prints, so i'm considering working on a series of small paintings to be released for sale every 1-2 months in the $100 - $300 range. i will close my etsy shop on july 15th in order to focus on this new endeavor, but you can still catch all prints at 20% off until then!

summer sale

before i close my etsy shop for good (see my previous post), please enjoy 20% off all prints by entering code JULY4 at checkout, now through the 14th. thank you so much for all of your support over the years; it's been a pleasure making, packaging and sending out prints of my work to homes all over the world! stay tuned, and sign up to my newsletter in the sidebar on the right for news of future plans.

moving on from etsy

opening an etsy shop made sense for me in 2009 when i was still a student, but as my shop turns 10(!) years old, it feels like now is the right time to move on to something new. i’d like to explore a different way of sharing my work, and that includes offering larger, perhaps limited edition prints as well as affordable original artwork. as i take this leap, i’m going to close my etsy shop but before i do, i will have a 20% off sale on all prints starting tomorrow and through the 14th of july. thank you so much to my friends all over the world for a decade of support; i hope you will be open to more limited edition and one-of-a-kind artwork in the near future.

(the cup pictured is a treasured piece from a bygone collaboration called keep company between shayna stevenson and jen collins)⁠

spring sale

now through may 8th, 20% off all prints in my etsy shop!

"away we go" for FIGO fabrics

my first collection for FIGO fabrics is here! it will ship to stores in december, but in the meantime you can view the full spring 2019 lookbook here and if you see something you love, let your local quilt shop know to place an order.

(photos courtesy of figo fabrics)

FIGO fabrics

over the winter i had the pleasure of working with toronto-based figo fabrics on my first-ever fabric collection! it's called "away we go" and will ship to stores in december 2019. there are other patterns and colorways in the collection - more previews to come!

(photo courtesy of figo fabrics)

green tea and cookies

i tend to put off personal work all of the time because "i don't have a good idea for a painting." after another inspiring visit to joshua tree national park last weekend, i was suddenly struck by a so-obvious-it-sounds-dumb realization: personal work is painting anything that i like, even if it's just a cool cactus i saw in the desert. it doesn't need to have a background, or a story or any meaning at all other than being a response to seeing something beautiful. after having this ingenious new idea i made two small paintings in one day, and i resolve to make it more of a habit between client projects.

prickly pear on indigo

"when the world didn't end" cover reveal

cover for when the world didn't end - the follow-up to caroline kaufman's light filters in - out august 20th and available for pre-order now! 

"LPBD: mary shelley" cover reveal

i spent most of my artist residency working on the interior illustrations for this book, little people, big dreams: mary shelley by maria isabel sanchez vegara. i have admired this series of books for years and finally got my chance to work on one, and about such an interesting person! the book will be published first in spanish and catalan by alba editorial, and comes out in english on october 1st (available for pre-order now). i can't wait to share the illustrations inside!

hand building with clay

after trying the potter's wheel at still life ceramics for the first time last spring, i decided to give hand building a go and, as i had suspected, it turned out to be much more my speed. i felt more in control over the clay in my hands, which resulted in a handful of objects that were shaped more or less like i intended, whereas on the wheel i seemed incapable of making anything other than one type of chunky bowl. i also found that hand building feels very therapeutic for the mind as well as the hands, so i think i will be taking another class when i get a chance. i can't have enough tiny vessels in my life! (the kurinuki carving method (the two sake cups seen here) was probably my favorite, so satisfying.)

p.s. boris and i made a little stop motion featuring them!

tora-chan

a portrait of the resident housecat (boatcat? houseboatcat?) tora from my residency in sausalito. this painting will remain on the houseboat as a part of varda residency's private collection.

the disappearing apartment

a new illustration for tablet magazine. in "the disappearing apartment," and excerpt from boris fishman's new memoir savage feast, a family of soviet jews prepare to leave for america. this was an interesting job to research, especially since i could tap into my own memories of what a soviet-era apartment feels like. a closer view:

the happiness passport: WÚWÉI

WÚWÉI (traditional chinese, from taoism): “effortlessness, letting nature take its course." from the happiness passport. 

shibori

i finally tried indigo dyeing this weekend. i checked out a few books on shibori from the library, pinned a ton of inspiration and techniques, bought this indigo tie dye kit online as well as a few cotton dinner napkins with different textures. it was easy and fun and i can't wait to do it again, except next time i will use a pair of long rubber gloves instead of the regular latex ones that come with the kit; one of them leaked and now my left hand is freakishly blue and shows no intention of going back to normal for a while.

respire magazine

my illustration from pets at home has been reincarnated on the cover of french magazine respire, (issue no. 13).

varda artists' residency

happy new year! it is a great pleasure to share that i have been accepted to participate in a very unique and special artist residency through the entire month of january. i am living and working on an old and storied houseboat in sausalito, california with a cat named tora sleeping in my lap. it's so quiet here; just the typical, peaceful sounds of a marina: metal clinking against metal as the tide rises and falls, crying seagulls, the occasional passing conversation carrying clearly across the water. i can feel that i will be able to get a lot of painting done once i settle into the rhythms of my new home...

happy holidays

wishing you and yours a cozy evening. this illustration is from a birthday calendar that i am working on which will come out with flow magazine's book for paper lovers 2019!

the happiness passport: KEFI

KEFI (greek): high spirits; merriment; mojo; love of life." from the happiness passport, out now!

the happiness passport: MELMASTIA

this character is a personal favorite from the happiness passport; the word is MELMASTIA (pashto): "hospitality and profound respect to all visitors regardless of race, religion or economic status, without hope of anything in return." when i was doing my visual research about the pashtun people of afghanistan and pakistan, i noticed a flair for beautiful, muted color combinations and artfully casual drapery in their style of dress. 

"winter" print, fundraiser for LA's homeless shelters

i just added this print to my shop, and will use 100% of the proceeds from its sale to purchase much-needed items (personal hygiene products, baby items, etc.) for two los angeles organizations via their respective amazon wishlists:

downtown women's center is ending women's homelessness in greater los angeles through housing, wellness, and advocacy." /// LA family housing (LAFH) "helps people transition out of homelessness and poverty by providing a continuum of housing enriched with supportive services. since 1983, LAFH has become one of the largest comprehensive real estate developers and homeless service providers in los angeles and a regional leader providing solutions to end homelessness."

holiday sale

a holiday sale in my etsy shop, now through december 14th! no code needed. sale includes everything except greeting cards and prints intended to raise funds for charities and organizations. 

the happiness passport - out today!

the happiness passport by megan c. hayes is out today! i'm really happy with the design of the book, especially its not-too-big, not-too-small size. it's fully illustrated and also very carefully researched, so i think anyone with a love for languages will find something inspiring inside. 

starting small

it's a challenge to re-adjust after two weeks away; i tried to jump right into painting my impressions of japan, hated what i was doing and became immediately discouraged. so now i'm trying to take it easy, start small as i process what i saw and felt. here, a painting of a tiny ceramic teapot by natsuko morino that we brought home from hakone.

japan

a few moments from our trip. it's been a long-harbored dream of mine to go to japan; i don't know how much longer we'll be living on the west coast, so it seemed like a good idea to explore that part of the world now, while it's relatively easy to get there. it was really something. tokyo can be both an overwhelming assault on the senses and a place of gentle quiet, coziness and magic. walking through peaceful residential neighborhoods, past worn but lovingly cared for homes, i knew that my younger self would long to live there. but then i thought of tove jansson's words: "you can't ever be really free if you admire somebody too much," and realized that at 30, i am happy to take in all this beauty and learn what it has to teach me but not idealize it too much. there are wonderful things here, and not-so-wonderful things, just like everywhere else. instead of being disappointing it was a freeing, grown-up feeling and i felt lighter for it. i hope to return someday soon. 

bijin-ga + travel news

two more for the enormous tiny art show, now available for pre-sale online along with other pieces still left over from the previous show. in other news, my shop is closed until september 4th because i'm across the pacific ocean! boris and i are in beijing for a few days, and then we’ll be headed to japan for an entire week, for which i am especially excited.

enormous tiny art show no. 24

my latest series of tiny paintings for the enormous tiny show no. 24 (september 7-30th at nahcotta gallery in portsmouth, NH) was inspired by my recent interest in japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, particularly those of the bijin-ga (pictures of beautiful women) variety. 

all six are about 5.125 x 5.125" round, with circular mats and framed to 9.75 x 9.75" and available for sale online and at the gallery (show opens friday, september 7th 5-8pm)