And I forgot to sign them :(

You guys. It's done. I broke my brain on this project a few times, but I think I will make a full recovery.
Someday when I look back at this time in my life, I think I will laugh at myself for being so tightly wound about the whole thing. It was hard, and I loved it.

If you find yourself in Las Vegas after December 15, I would love it if you paid these bad boys a visit. They will be on view at the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, which is a new hotel on the strip. I have never been to Vegas and have always said I would never go unless someone else was paying for it, but maybe I will go for entirely vain reasons.

Now to put this day and this project behind me, I am going to sleep for 8 hours, minus the 5 times I will get up to pee and the 4 times I will wake up to move Nori out of my way and then readjust the four pillows that surround me. I swear it takes me 7 hours to get really really comfortable, and then that last hour of sleeping time is awesome. Except this morning, when my hour of awesome sleep was sorely disrupted by a dream about being mad at Tom for installing a pocket door in our baby's bedroom closet. I have a long, sordid history with pocket doors. We'll save that one for another time though.



Argh. You guys. These are all packed up and ready to go, and I just realized - I didn't sign them. Do I unwrap?
EDIT: I did unwrap, signed it, and it is now shipped and on its' way! Yay!!

sneak peek

Here's a peek at where my head has been lately....

funday

hello everybody,

I have some pretty exciting things to share this week, as well as some pretty lofty goals to set and accomplish this summer. Let's start with the announcements, and save the goals for later.

ONE

I landed a commission! I will be creating some pretty gigantic papercut murals that will be installed in a hotel in LAS VEGAS BABY. I have never been there, but I am thinking that once this gets installed, I will have to make the trip. I will be sharing my process along the way, and all I can hope for is that I don't melt down with anxiety and start over five times. We are talking 64 square feet of me and an Xacto blade (or 60 blades, or more). 

TWO

I feel odd announcing this so publicly, but it is pretty much the center of my universe right now so here goes: I'm pregnant! Knocked up! With child! Baby makes three! 

I don't want to turn this into a baby blog though, so I am considering starting a new site for that purpose. I don't know about that yet, but I will certainly keep you posted. If I do start a new site, it will NOT include letters to my fetus or anything too gooey. It will be about cool baby stuff.

This is our first child, and he or she will arrive in January. I'm feeling pretty good, aside from sleepiness, irritability, and lack of motivation in the studio. I am overcoming all of that though, and have been told that in a couple of more weeks I will experience a burst of energy and vitality that I have never seen before. Part of me wonders if that is due to the complete detox that comes with pregnancy, but whatever it is, I'll take it. Also, holy cow I can not get enough fruit. I don't have weird cravings, unless you call my loss of a former cookie obsession and a new found need for fruit 24/7 weird. I don't - I call that a miracle.

Hooray for babies!

We'll get to the "goals" portion of this braincloud later. I need to get this pregnant ass to the gym before Netflix and the couch suck me back in.

shipped

Some fun samples of paper cut patterns sent to a potential client yesterday. Can you imagine these as giant wall coverings?

red, red, red

It's beginning to smell like spring. The sun is up early and stays out past dinner, I am wearing a lighter jacket, smiling more and feeling the urge to run around outside. Soon the crocuses will poke their heads out and begin the transition of my backyard from snow-blanketed tundra to a place I would like to hang out all day. I need to figure out how to be paid for that on a weekly basis. My daily responsibilities would include reading books while laying on a handmade quilt in the grass, clearing out the wood pile and hanging a hammock, planting a cutting garden, and why not build a second floor on the garage for the studio expansion? Also, I want a swing and an ice cream machine. And tiny horses. Chickens. Koi pond.

...

welcome

GIANT spike in readership yesterday!
Thanks to the person who posted on ffffound.com. If you are new to my work, I encourage you to take a few minutes to browse around and if you are so inclined, let me know what you think!

For those of you who are fans of my papercut, I am planning a new set in the next couple of months. I need a space to show the new set though - do you have a great space? I would love to hear from you....

good old paper cut$

So after analyzing my blog stats, I have discovered that my Paper Cuts installation post is STILL the most popular post that people are searching for. Which is awesome. I wanted to let you know that I am working on more! But these babies are huge and my house is not - so if you think you might want one of your very own, please get in touch! The original three are for sale, and although I would miss them, I would like to make room for the next big thing.

Have a happy weekend - Tom is going to embark on a long motorcycle trip to Minneapolis, and I am going to focus on getting a lot of things done and maybe beachin' it.

Opens Tomorrow:

Opening Reception Friday, July 10, 6pm - 10pm
2375 S Howell Ave (former Paper Boat space)

I am showing 2 of 3 paper panels in this show, but all three are available for purchase. It's kind of an odd space and there are many participants, but I think it will be a lot of fun! Hope to see you there....

coming soon

gallery night

brrrr...it's -10 today! i am in my cozy studio for the day, getting ready for Gallery Night (which is tomorrow!):

cheap thrills 2

Come in from the cold on Gallery Night and treat yourself!

DWR Milwaukee will be featuring some of the
hottest local artists around, all featuring art around $100.
Friday, January 16th 2009 5-9pm

Featured artists:

Amy Soczka
Chad Edwards
Erin (fox in the woods) Paisley
James (Jimbot) Demski
Joy Harmon
Kristopher Pollard
Louigee (Strider) Faustino
Matt Cipov
Pamela Anderson
Rob Hickey
Tasha Tatro
The Little Friends of Printmaking

stay warm today!

french connections

well, this marks a first for me - I was just made aware that my work at Urban Outfitters was covered by a French website called The Trendy Girl. I don't speak French and the english translation was not quite there, but the thing that I find so exciting is the fact that people all over the world are responding to my work! If you know me at all, you would know that my saying that is not out of boastfulness, but absolute awe. The other side of that coin is that posting so much work and works in progress online leaves me and other artists vulnerable to use of images without permission. I don't mind at all in this case, but there are so many opportunities for work to be used and abused without the artist's knowledge and without proper credit. I would never have found this article if a kind reader hadn't filled me in, and I often wonder what that might mean for us artistes...
(told you I don't speak the french)

presenting....

my installation at Urban Outfitters in Milwaukee!
It will be up for at least the next 4 weeks, so make sure to stop by and check it out!

I would love to hear what you think of this installation...

EDITED TO ADD:
a big thank you to everyone who has sent me sweet messages about my installation at Urban.
Grace at DesignSponge posted a lovely link, as well as Erin at Design for Mankind. Thanks so much!

One more big stamp of appreciation to my great friend, Laurel, who helped me unfurl the big scrolls without letting them get damaged, and for constantly pushing me to keep working. thanks, lady :)