catching up...

...with sketching :)

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Having lived here for 5 months and not yet investigated the local art store scene (because I work in a supplier for paper and fancy crafting goods) it is high time I do some exploring. I wandered into Art Media on my way home from work last week. I ended up with a bag full of pencils, colored pencils, and pens. I also left with a new find~ Strathmore Layout Bond. I've never seen this paper before and like to try out a new weight every once in a while. It was really a dream. The next day I had the evening to myself and really soaked it up, wedging into a coffee shop corner for hours nursing chamomile tea and sketching. Oh, I'm going to have to find a way to do that more often. :)

Shazam!

When I wake up there is still fog day after day lying over the grass. My apartment is just homes away from a Stumptown Coffee shop, and the smell of roasting coffee drifts in on the breeze. Most of the time I wake up blocks away at our friend K's after staying with their family and my sister, brother, and his girlfriend who are still in town. This morning we are eating waffles and bacon, sitting together in our jammies, while Meet the Press fuels our political discussion.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.

Japanese Garden

Part of the family excursion this weekend was a visit to the Japanese Garden here in Portland. Between the 5 of us we got some nice photos. :) It was recommended to me when I first came to town, and ever since I've been looking for an excuse to get there. In previous visits my mother and brother had made to the state we hadn't really done any exploring (Multnomah Falls and Burgerville were the best we could manage) while the babies were very very new. Not only had my father joined the crew this time around, but we are running out of non-rainy days 'round these parts.

my hobbit house would look perfect right about here.

It threatened to rain, but we spent hours there with not a drop. The whole thing was entirely peaceful and not too crowded. Mostly, the lot of us spent our time and eyes on the twins, but the view in those parts was pretty darn beautiful as well.

Here in Oregon the weather is getting cold, the leaves are changing, and tomorrow we are going to fix ourselves an early Thanksgiving celebration. I'm home (meaning: from work) with my mother, father, and brother who have all been able to converge in Portland to visit myself, my sister, and her two month old twin boys. Our sweet friends (family-by-association) K and R also have family in town, so we decided to throw celebration into the mix. Yay! I get to post some new food pics! :)

It must be something about watching all these debates right around the time when I'm thinking Halloween-ey thoughts, but lately these drawings of grumbling faces have been appearing again and again. They remind me of bookends, or shadow puppets.

October

Here it is! October is here!

I'm so sorry to leave you hanging and take an exit from the blog for so long. I started this blog to talk about my Etsy shop, illustrating, and just general things like books or adventures. Lately, things are in such a heightened shuffle mode (even 5 months after moving it still feels like I just arrived last week) that it's sometimes hard to figure out what's appropriate for the blog.
...I feel like I just used the word "blog" a lot.

Anyway, these changes have been on my mind quite a bit as I go through my first seasonal transition here in my new home on the west coast. I'm working on some sketches and, as ever, hope to keep the primary focus here on artwork. It's my very fondest pleasure to write about family life and *those* adventures, too, but I'll try and do better at re-awakening my blog over this, my favorite of months. Wish me luck, and thanks for coming along for the ride!