Some Of Their Best Friends Were Birds

"They wore hummingbirds to show they were looking for love."

"Trapped between thought and memory."

Dissolving the Blocks

Breathing The Night

I've been struggling with another round of creative block and finally realized it earlier this year. It's funny how it can sneak up on you! You go through daily life and weeks or months go by before you realize that it's been ages since you came to the page (digital or otherwise) to create and play and dream. BAM! You're blocked! How did that happen?

The last time it was this bad, I went through Julia Cameron's "The Artist's Way" and found it effective in pushing the walls down for a while. Eventually they grew back. I'm probably always going to have to fight this – always have to keep an eye out for blocks and walls creeping up on me.

So, I'm going through The Artist's Way again, writing morning pages, doing exercise, repeating creative affirmations, mocking their mystic woo-woo-ness, even as I marvel at how impactful they can be. These two collages are the first full-blown digital art I've made in months. And I just now, putting them together on the same page, realized how night and day they are!

The hard work of being an artist continues. It's not all in the making of the art, either, but in the making of the person who makes the art. Stay tuned...

Balancing The Sun And Moon

Beginning, Again

Just like life, very much a work in progress

Happy New Year! I'm trying to find my way back into blogging and art-making, after a long hiatus full of busyness and work, depression and inner-demon-fighting, friends and travel and good things and bad things...all of it. You know, life.

I made three very special New Year's resolutions:

1. Be active.
2. Be brave.
3. Become.

I'm wishing for magic and change and growth this year, although that last is something I try to work for almost every year. Awakening my inner Crow girl. And along the way, being braver about sharing stories and adventures and makings beyond my artwork. But lots and lots of artwork.

Come with me for the journey?

The Crowgirl 2016 Calendar

The 2016 Crowgirl Studio calendar is just about ready to fly! This is a spiral-bound wall calendar on heavy, glossy paper; 11" wide. Prepayment is greatly appreciated.

If you're interested in placing a pre-order, it's $20 per calendar*, which will include shipping for those pre-ordering. I'll be placing the order sometime between now and early December, with delivery in time for Christmas. Please drop an email to crowgirlstudio (at) gmail (d o t) com for payment info. And my thanks to everyone who has asked about it!

* I may or may not have extras. Extras will show up in my Etsy shop, but shipping will not be included. 

The Show Goes On

My work is up at the Azure Gallery in Corvallis, Oregon! Come see it through October 10, 2015.

Deb, the amazing gallery owner, suggested that we arrange one wall as a collage of images, which I think turned out wonderfully. I got locked into a design viewpoint where I wanted to make (and break) a grid and that made me rather freeze up, but Deb just started placing things at random. She created this amazing arrangement, which suits the nature of my work so very well.

The other wall has a more formal arrangement. I added the soft netting drape to help to capture the ethereal nature of my collage work. Sometimes I picture all of it hanging in a mist of clouds and starlight.

I added a few things throughout the gallery's lounge as artifacts from the world where my artwork lives and comes from. As I ramble through the world, I tend to pick up rocks and feathers. Sometimes, I find it so comforting to cradle a good river rock in my hands, with its smoothness and solidness.

Visible Light, one of my favorite pieces and a highlight of the show.

Her Journey, another favorite, my love-letter to the new year.

The Painter Dreams of Spring, in print for the first time! I reworked the piece a bit to show more of his wings, which is why I love working digitally – that ability to go back and make the piece grow or change without fear of destroying the work. 

Me! With Visible Light. It was such a great event. I must have spoken with at least a hundred people. As a natural introvert, it was a bit of a challenge, but everyone was so kind, and so fun to chat with. Barret (my other half), Deb, and the artist with whom I'm sharing the space, Rinnee Merritt (a really nifty glass artist and graphic designer, so you can imagine we had a lot to talk about!), made the evening so pleasant that I almost wish I could do it again next month.  Ah, but in the next months, there will be other things coming up, and I'm looking forward to them.