*notice*

I've been looking after the boys for two mornings now while C has been out of the house. They are both napping, I've made myself a cashew butter treat, and I'm sitting in the back doorway while the spring clouds move quickly by, creating wavering temperatures, undulating shadows fall on the grass. The baby monitor makes a dulled chirping noise like crickets through a filter, giving the 10 a.m. hour a surreal, misplaced feeling. There should be fireflies, as I equate crickets with warm summer nights of my own childhood. Time settles down.
This is the company of two sleeping babies, one of the most precious of silences.

apples from Cookie Bag photo shoot

Hello again from the week of fleeting rain, fleeting sun here in PDX. Somehow through a miracle of divided energies, yesterday turned out to be a really successful day of testing, printing, and even spontaneous photography around the usual menu planning and in-the-car-day that Tuesdays are for us.

I absolutely love the feeling of on-the-fly printing sessions that are cropping up for me these days because they give the peace of mind to then walk away from production and focus on something else. There was a window in the morning right before naps when I was able to crank out a whole new series of prints, those kind of windows are what is fueling my shop while other, larger, blocks of time are taken up in the job hunt and investigating Portland. In the afternoon there was a break in the clouds and I was able to swoop in and set up some shots. Truly a blessing in the rain this week.

I'll be bringing in Cookie Bag and Bobby tonight, the new Robot card tomorrow, and as-yet-to-be-released items on Saturday. I also have begun a Facebook page for ouou and would love for my awesome readers to come check it out! Facebook will officially be the place where I talk about updates in the future. :D

Bobby Pin on square khaki

I have to admit this is a pretty delicate balance right now. Days like yesterday feel really wonderful, giving me a sort of extension on other, smaller projects to finish up through the week. There is always something more I feel I could be doing, you know?, and that self-inflicted tension of the ill-made plan. Mine is around nights right now: relaxing goes somewhere around 7:30 or 8 pm to 9:30 or 10, and I still have dialogue with myself each night that I'll be working on something or other from 10 pm until bedtime. Maybe once or twice a week those hours are valuable, but otherwise I'm always surprised at how tired I am, how muddy my thoughts are, how often I stay up too late thinking I'm "working" but am on idle, staring at the screen or space with homework falling out of my hand.

A break in the clouds!

I'm thinking back on just how many posts this last few months have been meditations on my uses of time. Amidst the deep and resonant life lessons coming from living with C and her babies, this subject, personally, must be one of the most crucial places for my head and heart to figure out. I look over my calender from March or February and see my struggles at stringing one day's efforts to the next. Thank goodness I no longer feel so stunned and exhausted! Both C and I are making great strides in our individual businesses, this house is creative and motivated, and it feels somewhat magical when that sort of flow starts appearing throughout your days and months. I feel hopeful that I'm learning some footing in both the discipline of keeping to a schedule, and navigating with ease the times spent stepping out of one.

update

Sky layer from Larger than the Sky Gocco print

In taking a moment to pull together new Gocco printed items that need photographs, I realized I've been something of a Gocco whirlwind over here. Should I even bother anymore saying "Well, I live in Portland, so... you know... it rains a lot." golly its hard to find the right day (hour?) to take pictures. Not that I'm complaining- this place has amazing weather. I'm still in the production stage on many of these, back-printing or whatever assembly I've got to finish, but I feel pretty accomplished for the couple of print runs around our home busyness.

One, Two, Three new watercolor aceos now in!

One, Two and Three are in the shop as of tonight. I'm finally willing to admit that my computer is having problems with Etsy - another reason I'm freeing up time from being there is I can't seem to use it. Don't worry, I'm still fulfilling orders and being a good shop keep, lucky for us we have 2 computers in the house. For Etsy, I'm using my sister's computer throughout the day, and brought in these three (finally!) tonight after everybody went to bed. I'm feeling ambivalent about the roadblock since I'm finding I had once spent a *lot* of time on Etsy, time spent mostly...? I hear that's pretty common.
Without a clear channel to it now I find I'm much more focused there when I log in from C's laptop.
Funny, life.

I do feel relieved to bring in new aceo's, though, as they've been finished and waiting patiently for about a month. I've got another Robot themed card (related, but not the same as Land of Cupcakes) that has also been waiting on my desk since April- I'll be bringing that one in toward the end of the week. Otherwise, get your Gocco boots on kiddies cause I've been elbow-deep in printing ink and will be bringing you news as often as the aperture lets in any light at all. Portland, Portland- time for the sun to shine again! Pretty please?

Land of Cupcakes, make room for more Robots.

stay at home Aunt

Gocco silkscreen printer surrounded by newsprint, bib, bottle and... balloon

Welcome May, a new month, the doorway to a new season, and the month before my 31st birthday. I'm working pretty hard at finding a job, so my apologies for the lack of news otherwise. I've also been taking a long time between posts because we've been incredibly busy since our parents left.

Both C and I, in regards to our businesses, have been doubling and tripling efforts to put time into our work. I feel as though some balance has been struck between my shop's production (printing, cutting, packaging, shipping) and the household chores, between spending time with the boys and time spent job hunting. I'm feeling positive about the transition into work, too, but will miss being a stay at home Aunt. I've been home almost around the clock for the remarkable, breathtaking shift from infant to baby. From held-in-our-arms through winter's end to this exploratory, ever-changing stage with so much independence. Okay, I'll save this subject for another post or I'll be writing all afternoon. (wipes tear from eye dramatically) But seriously, although I'm ready for this chapter to close because of the larger picture, the larger picture also shows me how lucky I've been to witness that transformation. :)

recent print session for Butterfly Skies

In between the events that have been going on this past week, I have found a few times to come back to the Gocco and work on my stock. When I said I was stepping away from Etsy, what I meant for the beginning of this month was that I would not be checking in as much, and saving money on re-listing. I'll still be bringing new stuff into the shop all month long, and look forward to those updates, but I tried a re-list blitz last month and didn't really make sales. Right now I'm hopeful that increasing my Gocco products will not only bring traffic back in but provide me with stock for the rotation of craft fairs this city has to offer. Plus, you know, it is practically my very favorite way of making art. ;)

Other projects I'm hopeful for this month involve working more with fabric, though really I have to resolve giving some time to drawing every single day. That's pretty rough right now. I'm looking forward to meeting new people, seeing the friends I've already made, and continuing to explore the area now that the sun (sometimes) is out and the riot of color, petals, green has come to town. People of Portland bloom right along with their surroundings this time of year and the things to do around town get particularly exciting. Right now we are having a severe thunderstorm (I'm typing vigorously before suspected power outages with the soundtrack of thunder) with hail and wind. Reminds me of autumn back home, which I always miss when there is a season to season shift. Welcome May and all the adventures to come!