The previous post on this blog dates to 2015.(!) Four years ago I thought it would be cool to start a blog about trying to be an artist and a mom. I thought it would be a great way to chronicle my own work, to hold myself accountable, to be ready with something to actually show people when asked “so what do you do?”

I’ve never stopped believing that, but it’s taken four years for me to sit down and actually write a post. Why??? Well, there just wasn’t enough time — I have two busy kids who needed to be driven around a lot. There wasn’t enough space — my “studio” was a small room that functioned more as storage for accumulated supplies for future projects than as an actual work area. And, if being honest, there has not been nearly enough confidence on my part that what I’m doing is worth doing, much less sharing.

Now my life, as life tends to do, has shifted. My girls are growing fast — the oldest drives herself and they’re both in high school. I have more time. We’re in the same house but it’s much bigger. Now I have a large, well-lit work space. I’ve been making more — exploring my ideas and techniques for expressing them, and valuing the exploration for the journey it is. And I’ve become more aware that stumbling blocks like lack of time or space are often just a cover for fear.

Fortunately, I’ve also been reading and listening to people who have many inspiring things to say about how to nurture creativity and overcome blocks, especially fear. So thank you Elizabeth Gilbert, Danny Gregory, Marion Parson, Austin Kleon and others, I’m sure, for helping me understand that a journey naturally involves wandering, taking a wrong turn now and then, stumbling some. And there is nothing wrong with dropping something and picking it up again and then repeating the process until you’re able to carry it or let it go.

I can’t let making go, it’s woven too tightly into the thread of me. And I can’t seem to let go of the drive to share what I’m making, and the why and how of it. And the internet is perfect for that. So here is my blog, again. This time I mean to stay the course and document the journey. I invite you to follow along and hope that, along the way you’ll be inspired — maybe to make something, to explore something, or even to pick up a dropped dream and try it again.

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Working in a limited palette — black and cream