Sneak Preview: more new work

I've been busy getting ready for Holiday Market at Cheverly Community Market this Saturday, and thought I'd share a few of the new items I'll have this weekend.

 There's a lot more, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you on Saturday if you're in Cheverly, or on Etsy very soon!

pricklygirl art+craft at Cheverly Community Market on December 13

I'll be returning to Cheverly Community Market -- as a vendor for the first time -- at Holiday Market, 8am to noon on Saturday, December 13. I have been part of Cheverly Community Market since it began in 2008, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing the Market from the vendor's side this weekend.

I'll bring unique, handmade modern accessories, including one-of-a-kind decoupage under glass plates and bowls, handknit items for all ages, and small matted photographic prints of some of the gorgeous produce you’ve seen at Cheverly Community Market over the years. pricklygirl art+craft has been featured in galleries in Chicago, suburban Philadelphia, and Silver Spring, as well as art magazines and private collections throughout the United States. My knitwear is a treasured gift and is frequently used in photo shoots, so I'm glad to finally share it with people in person! 

I'll also have some of my award-winning produce photos, which have been shown in Washington, DC, and have been featured in magazines and on websites celebrating the intersection of food and art.

Hope to see you at Cheverly Community Market this Saturday!

More new stuff in the works...

More new plates coming to pricklygirl art + craft in the next few weeks... I've got two finished (posting on the shop next week), and a bunch in various states of completion. Anything you'd like to see in the shop? I'm always open to suggestions (in fact, a few years ago, I even made a baby in utero plate for a friend...)

Really, if you are looking for something specific, let me know!

There are also lots of new hats in the way for LuckyKid HandKnits, as well as some kid socks and, possibly, a few other items. We shall see...

In the meantime, it wouldn't be Halloween without the return of one of my favorites, the skeletal conjoined twins. This is a very special piece and it takes hours to cut the images, so I don't offer this one often.

Happy Halloween!

More Etsy news: I should have done it this way all along :)

It's really hard to explain how skeletons on plates and hand knit baby hats make a cohesive shop, so I've finally decided to split the two parts of my work world into two Etsy shops. I should have done it that way from the start. I didn't. Live and learn.

Anyhow, I hope you'll visit my newest place on Etsy -- LuckyKid HandKnits -- and see the hats I've been working on when I'm not working on those skeletons and owls and fish and flowers at pricklygirl art + craft. More coming to both Etsy shops soon!

At long last: New work up on Etsy

I'm very happy to announce that, at long last, I have new work up on Etsy! Handknit hats are coming soon, but today, it's all sorts of good stuff for Halloween and Fall giftgiving!

Road trips and reunions and renewal.

Midwestern Rust

That's what I've been doing. Kids go back to school in just over a week and I'm looking forward to moving back into plate work -- I don't like to have kids around when I'm spray painting, sanding, etc. because they might like to be adults with fewer neurological issues some day. I have all sorts of things cut out...

 They're coming back :)

I've done some regular stuff, too.

We had a great road trip to the Midwest for a family reunion -- mostly smaller roads. I have a fantasy about opening a small restaurant locally that would only do midwestern foods. Name it Dubuque or Duluth? I have a rich inner life, I suppose...

Anyhow, Autumn is coming soon (not soon enough for me, maybe too soon for you)... I'm ready to get back to work!

Slowly getting my act together...

With the events of the past nine months, my act has been derailed, but I'm finally getting back on track. We just celebrated Cheverly Day -- I ended up doing all the communications & identity work again this year. Even though I initially didn't want to, it was a great experience and got me out of my head a bit. Not an easy task these days...

I have started working on plates again, and will start getting these and some others up on my Etsy shop by the end of the week.

They're a bit of a departure for me -- living things and only a few skulls and skeletons... Change can be good, right?

 I'm not abandoning skulls.

On to happier things.

I wrote this morning about two major changes in my life, both of which happened in December. Since I don't want to bring you down, I'm going to share something exciting now. DC band Tone has just released its first new recording since 2012's album Priorities. It is so good, and it really captures the way this band sounds now -- formidable stuff. Take a listen here:

Tone and Black Clouds share headlining duties on February 1 on the main stage at Black Cat...can't wait! More information here...

Everything changes.

The past few months have been life-changing, and I'm very much in a bubble right now. I'm sure I'll leave something out, but here's what's in my head now...

In December, my wonderful dad, Gerald Greenwood, passed away after a long illness (you can read his obituary here). One of the greatest things in my life is knowing that he died the way he wanted to -- in his own bed at home, with my mom, my sister and me surrounding him. He was very much at peace. The funeral was perfect -- everything he wanted -- and we were surrounded by so much love and compassion. I'll never forget the many kindnesses, great and small, that have come to us during this time. I've discovered that there are all sorts of wonderful gifts -- stronger relationships with family, real friends out of acquaintances -- that are totally unexpected yet that you can't imagine living without that blossom in times like this.

I've also learned that, until you experience the death of a parent, you can't possibly truly understand what it's like. I always thought I did, but I was wrong. To all my friends and relatives that have lost a parent, I am so sorry. There's just nothing else to say. I get it.

Without a doubt, these months have been the hardest of my whole life. I never thought I could be so sad for so long. I keep hearing that it won't get better, just different. That the waves of grief aren't as sharp or as frequent, though they're always with you.

The other big change in December -- though I guess I really haven't processed it yet -- is that I left Cheverly Community Market. I have been with the Market (except for one season) since its start, first as web designer, then as online coordinator, and finally as communications manager. I'm very proud of the great things the Market has accomplished and I'll always treasure my time and experience -- and the wonderful people who make it so very special. In coming seasons, I'll occasionally be there as a vendor, but I'm really looking forward to sitting under the tents and enjoying breakfast and friends. I'm also available for work -- design, communications, photography, you name it.  Visit my site for more information.

So those are the two big things that have happened recently -- it's going to take time to reconfigure my life to reflect these changes, and I honestly don't know how long that will take. I feel like I'm saying "I don't know" a lot these days -- the one thing I am sure of is that I don't really know anything. I hear that's a good place to be.