haircut

Gave the little one a haircut because he was starting to look like shaggy from scooby-doo.  As soon as I started the project solo I remembered how he hates having his hair cut. It was a difficult job, and it didn't turn out as I had hoped. It is quite choppy as you can see.

I guess I was overconfident. When I cut Lili's hair I just snip away, and somehow it always ends up looking cute. Strangers are always coming up to her and telling her they wish they had her haircut.
I am discovering that boy hair is a whole different thing.

Seo still looks cute... just in a homemade sort of way. At least it will be a looong time before those bangs are in his eyes again!

tree of life

tree of life design for Seed & Sky

I have been spending a lot of my time making new jewelry designs for Seed & Sky. It has been a lot of fun. It is going to be a lot of work to bring them to fruition, but I hope to have them up in the shop soon! Also exciting is the addition of necklaces coming soon as well! :)

Mr. P

Mary & Mr. P

My childhood elementary school custodian passed away in a house fire yesterday in my home town. I feel surprisingly shaken up by it considering how long ago our lives crossed paths, and how often I thought of him (almost never).
I grew up in a very small town of under 2,000 people. Our school, grades 1-8, had 400 students. Mr. P was the custodian for decades. He was always there, sweeping the floor with one of those wide brooms, or up on a ladder fixing a bulb. He was humble, extraordinarily kind, a jokester, and was in so many ways a guardian angel of my existence inside that building. I have a lot of bad memories about school from those years, but when I think about Mr. P I have nothing but a warm heart.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/01/20/beloved-couple-dies-in-andover-nh-house-fire/

process

Section of a 30" x 40"  (76 x 101cm) painting that is slowly creeping along. 

Thank you on the well wishes. They make me feel a little more sane. 

Rainy days, with a sick person taking up one of the two rooms in our house, and two whiny, conjunctivitis-infected children with colds in the other... well... there were times when I felt very crazy indeed.

There was a moment when our whole family was downstairs today, all in one boogery, coughing, cuddle (or sort-of cuddle: there was a lot of wiggling and fighting about lap territory mixed in) ~ and Alex and I looked at each other and giggled about how pathetic all of us looked.  

And that is when you know you are on the upswing. 

First thing this morning before the sun came up.

Awake and eating a Popsicle: 9:30pm. 

Rough day for the boys in our household. 

Alex has a horrible bout of the flu (which doesn't feel fair since he just had the stomach bug). 

Seo has pink eye and two very painful molars breaking through. 

Hopefully all will be feeling better tomorrow. 

xxx

barred owl art

Barred Owl art design for Seed & Sky

lilikoi

Sitting out in the hammock in my sister's yard. Just sucking her thumb and looking out at the world for a long, long time all by herself.

freebie :: printable valentine's day cards

I was driving to town the other day in the rain and I stumbled across a mix that my sister made for me awhile ago. Now that my music is all on our mp3 player the "mixes" are in a weird category, and they get lost. So, as I was feeling all mushy on my sister for picking out such fun songs~ I got sentimental about the mix tape itself.

These-days, someone hands you a USB with a hundred million songs on it and says, "Here, take some of my music."

One of my boyfriends made me a mix tape before we started dating. It had The Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" on it, and from that... I *knew* he liked me.
You know what I am talking about? Are you with me?


Although to be clear for the generations that missed this 20-year-or-so window, the mix tape wasn't just for romantic purposes. It was for BBFs and others who wanted to spend hours picking out just the right songs, hitting play and record, rewind, and pause~ just for you.

In honer of that nostalgia, I made you a free printable sheet of mix tape valentines. Print the top photo for just one, or the multiples as an 8.5" x 11". Simply save the photo as a jpeg, print & then cut out. I recommend using a heavyweight card-stock paper. If mix tapes aren't you thing: stay tuned for some more free valentines day stuff soon :)

Do you have any mix tape stories?

Seo

Watching his Dad chainsaw out the window. 

ginko

new ginko leaf design for Seed & Sky


Excerpt from an article by Mat Gleason entitled "12 Art World Habits to Ditch in 2012"

Rules 
There are too many of them. You do whatever you want. You can even be so great that you actually achieve a complete and total failure. Then you can make art. But you never have to follow any of the rules and anyone who says you do... well he or she just hasn't failed enough to realize this.

Experts
Art is subjective. There inherently cannot be experts.

Series
Artists are told to work in series. It is one way of doing things. To posit that it is the only way or the best way is as dumb as saying every painting should be 40 percent earth tones. Huh? Yeah, that dumb.

Reading Graffiti Art 
Street art is the best abstract painting of the past 60 years. Rationalizing one wall as somehow better because of individual authorship (instead of innovative composition) misses the whole point. Let's not take the people's medium against the power of property and make it into another celebrity manufacturing game. Enjoy abstract vandalism at its most beautiful without obsessing over who authored the specific letters on the wall. And what is closer to the bottom of the barrel: Street art gallerists, street art curators or street art academics? On what sad date did aerosol spray paint become synonymous with cotton candy?

Artists As Their Own Manager 
You gotta do this, and you gotta do that, and most of all you have to buy the art advice book on how you can make it on your own as an artist by doing all of this stuff on your own. Advice is now an industry. Just make the art and sell it for whatever it takes to get it out of the studio and make more. Don't buy the book. It is probably rehashed if not flat-out plagiarized from the other books. There is no blueprint for a masterpiece and there is no blueprint for a successful art career. Like Gandhi said, "What you do will not be important but it is important that you do it." he didn't add "...so buy the overpriced book and DVD series on how to succeed at doing that unimportant important thing."

process

A great day.

Coffee, kids, wood chopped, studio time, simple dinner & family dance party before bed. 

luna moth design

new luna moth design for Seed & Sky. 

Seo woke up at 4 am saying "Owy" and couldn't fall back asleep. As I was rocking him in the dark downstairs he threw up. He got sick a few more times during the day, but he still managed to dance with Lili and play normally~ kids are amazing like that. One barf for me and I would cry and be down and out for the day. As it was, Alex and I took turns feeling like zombies from the lack of sleep today. I am hoping all will be quiet on on the home-front tonight!
xxx
Kelcey

pretty gosh darn lucky.

I got to have my day today.
I wrapped up some loose ends, packaged some orders, and worked on a special project creating a logo for a client's doula business. It was a lot of fun. I hope to find more fun and challenging jobs such as this in the coming year. :)

Journal page #2   2012

I also read THIS post today & it made me smile. It is long, but she captures the complexity of life with little ones so well. Perfect timing, since yesterday I felt very challenged by the job of motherhood. Not motherhood itself, ( I love being a Mom) but the day-in, day-out job is the hardest thing I have ever done. When I get to have a work day such as today, it feels so fluffy compared to parenting.

I feel pretty gosh darn lucky to be able to straddle the fence between being a stay-at-home Mom and working doing something I love for the rest of the time. 

kids, work, art, farting

In my mind, January started with me in the studio, having time to paint and create. However, Alex has worked every day this week instead. Financially we need him to work when it is available since it can be unpredictable in the winter. So painting has not come to fruition just yet. With the little ones at home it is always a balancing act. Some moments I feel lucky and blessed beyond words, and some moments I simply feel frustrated and restricted. It just depends.
I do love being home with the kids though. How many moments during the day I wish I could capture forever... but they pass through like water. The kids will say something profound and before our conversation is done I already can't remember the sweet inflection of voice or the sequence of words that made me giggle.  As much as I want to be selfish and go in my studio and paint for days on end~ I want to be present to witness my children grow more.
As I said, and as many of you know firsthand, it is always a balancing act.

In other news, Lili and Alex are trying to convince me to put a shiny "Who Farted?" bumper sticker on the front bumper of our car. The sticker is compliments of my Mother-in-law, (typical) and it evokes peels of laughter from Lili every time it surfaces.
We shall see. 

seed & sky feature

Here is the Seed & Sky feature/interview
from the online style magazine Fashion Ledge :: December Issue. 

Pretty sweet. :)

happy first monday...

first journal page of the new year

I am not of follower of Sai Baba, but A friend of mine posted this on facebook and it spoke to me:


"HAPPY NEW YEAR ....2012
Do not waste time speculating over what would happen in this New Year. If your actions are good, your future is bound to be good. The future of the nation depends on your actions. God is a witness; He neither protects nor punishes you. Each one is responsible for their pleasure or pain. In this New Year, develop new and sacred feelings and make everybody happy. Do not struggle for money; strive for love. Once you develop love, there will be no scope for evil qualities like anger, jealousy, etc. If your thoughts and actions are good, your future will be good. Then the whole country, nay, the whole world will prosper. Pray for the peace and prosperity of the entire world. Peace can be attained only through practice of human values."

- Sai Baba