December Monsters: Taste the Holiday!

May your holidays be DELICIOUS!

December Monsters: Merry & Bright

May your days be merry and bright this season!

December Monsters: Warm & Cozy

I don't think Santa will be getting his mitten back.

We're doing our best to stay warm and cozy this season.

December Monsters: Candy Cane

Never stand between a monster and its candy cane!

It has been quiet at work, so I've been drawing and little monsters have been filling my sketchbooks. I've decided to follow their lead for the month of December. 

I have it on good authority that little monsters firmly believe that candy canes belong in their own food group.

New Work: Sunbursts

Some of my newest work in three different color ways. 

I've discovered that a few motifs always seem to surface in my work: daisies, circles, and stripes. And, as of late, the more simple the design, the more appealing.  

My Pinterest boards are full of  Scandinavian designs and Mid-Century Modern influences. Rather than resist, I'm following the inspiration where it leads.

I've been thinking about kitchens and sunny, happy art that promotes a cheery atmosphere. These pieces were created with that light-heartedness in mind.

(you can find these prints on Society 6)

Birthday Weekend

Annika turned 18 this weekend. That means I'm a parent of an adult(!) 

We moved her into her dorm three weeks ago and she has already built a whole new life for herself on campus. She's attending a small liberal arts college about 45 minutes away. Close enough for us to visit and take her out to a birthday lunch, but far enough away that she's isn't tempted to come home every weekend. She's made friends, kept busier than she ever has and has even navigated her way around the town surrounding the college. 

Homesick? Nope. Not Annika.

We were texting a few nights ago, she was at the library and she asked if I wanted to see something lovely:

Stack after stack of art and art history books. 

It has quickly become her favorite place and is where she spent part of her Friday evening. 

She's in art-nerd heaven. 

People have asked if I miss her. And, truthfully, I do a little. 

But I'm also so excited watching her live this new life she's found. It fits her. 

Isn't that the moment parents hope for: when our children discover they can survive without us.

I really am such a lucky mom.

Welcome Back.

After two years of trying other things, I've come back to this simple little blog.  Since I've been gone I've joined Twitter (Hello!), Pinterest (So many things!) and Facebook (keep up to date here).  You'll find me on Redbubble (Howdy!) and Society6 (right here!). Most recently, I've joined Nuvango.com (something new!).

Maintaining a website/blog in addition to that wasn't terrible, but once I started layering in creating artwork and working overtime during last tax-season in an un-art-related job last spring, everything seemed suddenly complicated.

So I stopped.

Here we are in September and after a busy spring and summer, I have my days off to myself again. My daughter is comfortably settling into her college life and my son is settling into his high school schedule. And I don't have to think about working full time hours again for several months.

Now I can think about creating. And keeping things simpler. I'll go back to a website eventually. Right now, though, this seems right: just me and the Rumpleshark. (and the internet).

My most recent creations:

(available for sale on Society6)