Something

Little Daisy

2013-05-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

I found these on my backyard poop watch this afternoon.

Houses on high

2013-05-19T12:10:00.005-07:00

On Sunday Morning today, a great segment on Tom Burke's custom birdhouses. Amazing! His portfolio page here.

Anno Domini customs designed birdhouses.

Kurt Goldsmith Birdhouses. Beautiful!

Quick change artist

2013-05-18T16:15:00.002-07:00

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Mutual love society

2013-05-18T15:59:00.005-07:00

My Pebbles is having some stomach troubles and I have been bathing her once a day. It breaks my heart, because she always think she is in trouble, but I give her lots-o-kisses and tell her everything is okay.

I love music and I forgot how much

2013-05-17T14:21:00.003-07:00

This music came on the other night and jolted me awake ... I said to David (who was watching Jay Leno) "Who is this, I love this song!"
Drop City Yacht Club - Crickets

Matt and I were talking about the kind of music I like ... the sunlit summer, breezy kind that you would listen to driving the open road with all the windows open. I listen to too much NPR and not enough music (that is what I have decided). More fun, less serious talking news.

Which made me start thinking about my other breezy faves.

Edie Brickell. She has a fun Song of the Day section. Remember Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - "Air Of December"?

Edie Brickell & New Bohemians - "Air Of December" from john doe on Vimeo.

Remembering the open road

2013-05-10T10:06:00.000-07:00

As I get deeper in my work and life here in Edmonds, I almost forget that a mere two weeks ago I was on the open road in Texas. We dined at my favorite landmark Mexican tourist restaurant in San Antonio, Mi Tierra.

We hit the road to Corpus Christi, where I got a quick visit with my friend, Amanda at the restaurant at the Art Museum of South Texas. Then off to Rockport to see the beach and laughing gulls. We stayed at a great B&B, drank mucho beer, collected sand, shopped, walked around the town, and then a cold front moved in with rain, the temperature dropped about 30 degrees and we were off the Blanco.

This beautiful 5-foot cross made out of all kind of recycled goodies. I fell in love with it. Found it at The Flying Pig Emporium in Rockport, where the owner was originally from ... Seattle. Small world.

Getting blown away by the beach view. Then off to dinner.

Faith set my up to feed these cute little Laughing Gulls and they attacked my hair. She laughed a wicked laugh while she had her camera all set to capture the mayhem.

Then the cold front moved in while we were leaving town.

Blanco is the cutest little town with the perfect town square. I designed the Blanco Fun Run T-shirt and was there for the event. ;) Got to visit with my buddy, Irene, who has started an antique business. We didn't get to visit enough!

Then we headed to Waxahachie to visit my dad, Lisa - my sister. My friend, former neighbor, Rita ran over for a quick visit as well. Visited with my brother and saw his amazing garden he is creating. Drove the Historic Waxahachie to see the sights with Faith.

Then we were on the to Blanco, via Glenwood Cemetery in Alvarado, where I had a quick visit with my grandmother, great-grandmother and aunt.

Then Glen Rose (got sand and saw wonderful rock formations), walked around town for a minute and spotted these great tiles!

Then Hico (fell in love with that town) where we shopped at this amazing store, Homestead. At Homestead, discovered this amazing artist, Jerry McAdams. Ate more Mexican food. I could not eat enough Mexican food or drink enough Dos XX. Got to see my second daughter. ;)

Jerry McAdams art, would have bought them all!

This is what I miss most about Texas ... the open road, and open spaces, big starry skies. Seems those open spaces are disappearing and that makes me very sad. I guess I am a Texas-girl at my core.

Saw lots of wonderful birds in Faith's backyard in Blanco that backs up to the Little Blanco River (dry now). Got sand. Watched birds. Listen to the Live Oaks sing. And hung out with my favorite Texas dogs, Henry and Ollie.

And then I was back on a plane heading north. Without seeing everyone I wanted to see and visited with. I think that would require at least a month or more.

I still managed to work thanks to my Sprint HotSpot, listened to my Audible books on my laptop falling asleep at night.

The Plateau Effect

2013-05-01T11:17:00.002-07:00

My friend, Bob Sullivan, has a book coming out tomorrow. I am so excited for him. This is a departure from his normal subject of technology scams and frauds. Duane and I made this little video about his book some time ago.

Back in my groove

2013-04-30T21:14:00.002-07:00

Trying to do major catch up after being gone for 8 days. Work, work and more work. Finished an illustration today for The Herald. And a website for my friend, Bob Sullivan over the weekend. He has a book, The Plateau Effect: Getting from Stuck to Success coming out on the May 2nd. Can't wait to get my hands on that book and get myself unstuck. ;)

After 4 years of being belittled and degraded about what I didn't' know about building websites, it feels so great to build a website in ONE day. Yeah, to Rick! He has helped me in so many ways that I could never fully thank or repay him.

Rick and Wally returned after a 3-month absence from Edmonds, and we are so glad to have them back. Wally has Photinia blooming (as well as a bunch of other stuff), but the Photinia buds (pink, light green and dark crimson) caught my eye today and made me giggle with delight.

So for tonight, getting my clothes put away. And for the next few months, start "summer cleaning" the house. Weeding, painting, deck restaining, Brantlers made ... the list goes on and on and on and on. And returning phone calls ... Maggie, tried to call you today ;)

Fly type!

2013-04-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

The weather was colder in San Antonio than Seattle! Which was a blessing for me! My friend Irene insisted I purchase something in fiesta colors and we went to Fiesta.

I gathered up sand and bought home lots of it.

I gathered up some Texas twigs and bought them home in a 48x15x15 box. As I was checking it as baggage (only an extra $20), I told Faith ... this will be the story told about me for years to come. "Remember the time when Kim shipped home a box full of sticks!" And everyone laughs.

Got home and go busy catching up at work. Catching up with family and the dogs needed some extra pets. Found this wonderful post to at creativegreed.com. Guusan, a 25-year old graphic designer and illustrator recently designed species of butterflies using letters. Isn't that brilliant?

A coastal hello

2013-04-18T08:39:00.001-07:00

Just finished a delicious breakfast at Anthony's by the Sea Bed & Breakfast in Rockport. You should definitely stay here your next trip to Rockport. Faith and I drank cold beer and walked around town last night, had dinner and a good, long visit. Catching up for a couple of years of being apart.

This is a 250 year old Live Oak tree in the courtyard of the B&B. The main branch is horizontal to the ground. It is wonderful! They have some really large Live Oak trees here.

We are heading back towards San Antontio, then to Maypearl, close the where that terrible fertilizer explosion happened.

Hey, look at the new swimsuits Faith and I found here in Rockport. ;))))) The new bodies came with.

Had a minute to finish up a couple of Brantlers

2013-04-07T17:16:00.001-07:00

I have sold out at butterhome! Had a few started and took a minute to finish them. And to update Brantlers website. I also was very busy with mom and at the Everett Herald.

Update: Brantlers hanging at butterhome! Sent from Claire.

So far, this is my favorite. It is fragile but oh, so, pretty!

$4.99 worth of joy

2013-04-07T11:44:00.004-07:00

I splurged the other day and bought TWO bunches of Ranunculus at Trader Joe's. I will never forget seeing them in mass at Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco. They took my breath away.

I would love to visit The Flower Fields at Carlsbad Ranch®.

Creative Paper

2013-04-04T20:42:00.001-07:00

This makes me so very happy. Creative Paper - THe Creative Self, Carol Gearing's creative world

Stolen moment

2013-04-01T18:21:00.001-07:00

Thank you, Maggy ;) xoxoxo

Happy Easter!

2013-03-31T10:07:00.001-07:00

I have had such a crazy last two weeks. Work, book, more work, made these crazy eggs spelling out EASTER EGG HUNTS for the A&E cover. I spent 3 days (after watching Martha on the Today Show talk about these decal and making her eggs) trying to find the decals, (no one had them) ... then looked for temporary tattoo decal paper. None. Finally, found decal paper at Galaxy Hobby for car decals. It turned out pretty good, but not something I think I would do again. Spend hours photoshopping the shiny decal edges out of the photo.

Since I need to be illustrating feature stories again, signed up for a SKILLSHARE class by Brad Woodard - Digital Illustration: Communicate with Color, Pattern and Texture. It was good, but I ran out of personal time to work on it and ended up throwing something out there. There were some wonderful concepts and art in the class. Mine was titled Quiet Mind in a Big Space.

After weeks and weeks of not feeling like I had a day off, yesterday, I cleaned up a month's worth of clothes collecting on the chair in our bedroom. A convenient place for the cats to sleep. While I was cleaning ... I watched 2 seasons Shameless on the watchathon. The father character you want to kill ... the mother is a mess, it is train wreck you can not turn away from. If you like incorrigible, reckless, deeply flawed characters that make you feel better about your life ... then this is the show for you. Unfortunately, we don't have Showtime ... so I will have to wait until the next free watchaton to catch up on Season 3.

So, now to go catch up on the rest of my life, like Brantlers and cleaning house. Have a great Easter! xoxox

Let's not forget

2013-03-23T09:56:00.000-07:00

It was not that long ago that we witnessed one of the most haunting, horrific events live on television. Nature is bigger than us and we sure forget that sometimes. My heart has been broken for that region of Japan since the tsunami. "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom" by Lucy Walker is a beautiful tribute to them: the living, the lost, nature and Japan's more beloved flower. I watched this on HBO today. Rebuilding goes on.

Taking a look

2013-03-22T11:21:00.001-07:00

What happen to those days I would go to Sky Nursery and spend hours looking at flowers? Waiting for my life to settle down ... I want to do that again in the near future! I stopped by my favorite abandoned house on the on my way home. ;)

Beautiful Buffalo

2013-03-17T12:15:00.001-07:00

It has been a long time since I was on Ebay but this morning I was purchasing more bottles for my sand collection and happened upon this, white fiberglass buffalo.

Wouldn't that be great, just as is, white, as backyard art? Then I found The Spirit of the Buffalo website. Loving the Picasso buffalo and this Indian headress, below.

These two beautiful sculptures below by Emily White.

"Standing Buffalo" by Carl Kauba

Let's not forget the wonderful Buffalo Nickel.

Dumbarton Bridge Buffalo

The making of The Buffalo Trail by artist Richard Loffler

Some Buffalo statures on AluminumYardArt.com

Oaxacan Wood Carving Damian Morales Buffalo

Springing up

2013-03-16T13:57:00.002-07:00

In one day, every little thing seems to be sprouting new leaves and flowers are popping up in dead leaves.

Secret ingredient

2013-03-09T19:22:00.001-08:00

Well, I am not going to Texas tomorrow. Instead, my friend has a publisher for her book ... and we will be spending the week putting that together for a 3/15 deadline. ;)

Before I am off into InDesign-no-man's-land ... I have been working on Brantlers, on and off the last 2 days.

The secret ingredient. ;)

Painting branches red and recycled metal leaves from Goodwill (painted my favorite green).

Trying to get two branches that match up is a real challenge. The reason I have so many in my garage. Tell my husband that. ;) One is perfect ... will have to go out and get another matching one.

In print (again)

2013-03-07T10:47:00.001-08:00

I have been creating some logos for Ron Hansen but I have not had any work printed for a long while. Yesterday, my first piece in the Everett Herald. Woo Hoo.

Visual illusions

2013-03-05T21:22:00.000-08:00

A new one from a friend!

More visual illusions here.

Purple Passion!

2013-03-03T18:28:00.004-08:00

Great to be home. Lots of work to get caught up on. VistaPrint has been having some promotional sales, and when they do ... I take advantage! I am making a Purple Passion card set. I really, really love to see my flower photos in print! Isn't it fun? Putting them up on Etsy soon.

Stopped off foraging for branches on my way home from North Bend. And found this wonderful weed and some branches (hidden from my husband in the back on my truck.)

This is my life

2013-03-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

It’s Your Life, So Make the Most of It

My FB activity increases whenever I am dog-sitting. Which is where I am this weekend. I just documented some details of my surroundings while I walked the dogs outside, followed them around the house and watch them, watch me working on my computer.

For a the last 2 weeks, I have been employed part-time at The Everett Herald. It feels great to be back in a newsroom. Hoping I can remember how to *work* in the newsroom again. Have done a few illustrations and maps. I feel so lucky.

Still compelled to search out jobs every week. But I have discovered in the last two years, every 3 months, the same companies advertise the same jobs. Makes you wonder what kind of job it is that they can't keep an employee for more than a couple of months. And I have applied several times to many of those places. The last 3 months I made a decisions NOT to apply with those companies. Not that I am bitter about either my having application being ignored or after an interview being passed over for "a candidate that meets our needs more closely" ... :} --- more of the thought that I really don't want to work for those companies. I know those companies well. I know lots of people who work for them and are required to work 50 hour weeks, long commutes, longer meetings full of corporate crap. I finally came to my senses, corporate life is not for me. My curmudgeon, introverted personality does not do well in an environment where I have to smile and sit through long meetings that have no meaning (for me) but to add to the layers of bullshit.

In my last position, this night owl was given the 430a shift that required several meetings during the morning. Two things on my list of things I DO NOT do well. I was always the one that volunteered for the overnight, late night gig because everyone knew I was better for late, late night than at 430a in the morning. My response to the art director was that "if I didn't know better, I would think you were setting me up for failure, cause for firing". That did not go over well with him, but it was the truth and I saw that coming for 4 years. That's businesses, I am aware of that. I just don't think I want to subject myself to that on a full-time basis.

I feel so free, so relieved! I have made it over the "I-have-to-be-fully-employed-by-a-giant-company" hurdle. I have been doing some freelancing, dog-sitting, now part-time job. I can just keep doing lots of odd jobs instead of one (uncertain) secure one while i get my other art interest off the ground. I am decorating my life.

I sold two more Brantlers at butter home. I tried to get to the studio last week. My band saw came back from being repaired and David cleaned up a big mess we had both made. Ready for me to get back to work and make some fun!

It is frightening how much TV/online I watch when I am out here. I watched Parade's End on HBO (thanks to the heads up from Maggy) (on my HBO to GO). It was a terrific series, just too short. I caught up on all of my shows I like, Project Runway, the teenager inside of me loves to watch Beauty and the Beast, some new stuff on Netflix. Of course, I am also working as watching ... I am very good at multi-tasking.

This is my six word memoir: "he has always believed in me". More Six Words on Twitter.

I really love Becca Stadtlander illustration style. Prickly Pear below by Becca Stadtlander ... so see more of her terrific work.

I have started following The Reverse Wine Snob.

Can you believe these paintings by Karen Woods? Yes, that is a painting! Via Lost At E Minor

I am in a remote place this weekend with bird calls that I am not familiar with. Yesterday at dusk, I heard these distinct "whistle" calls. Long, strong, whistles, many of them out there in the thick of the woods. I started searching bird calls and with the help of my FB friends was able to figure out it was a Varied Thrush. How exciting. I thought at first it was a Cedar Waxwing.

Mega Brand Mandala

2013-02-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

In Houston, the Swedish artist Gunilla Klingberg treads the same ground with an installation called Wheel of Everyday Life. At Rice University’s Rice Gallery, Klingberg has laminated the floor with a massive black mandala--the Hindu and Buddhist iconographic tradition -- that explodes from the white-walled gallery into the arcade outside of it. Via Fast Company and Rice Gallery. See more work by Klingberg here.