dTown Market!

About a year ago I began taking iPhone photos of my beloved, adopted hometown of Durham, NC. Mostly, I took them to entertain myself while driving back and forth to bootcamp in the early morning hours.

I started posting the photos on Facebook under the album name "Hardscrabble & Wondrous Durham." (The title came from a casual description of Durham that my boyfriend wrote in an email. It was perfect and I insantly loved it!)

Lucky Sky, Durham. 2013.

Friends told me they like the photos, so I made little cards from them and launched a tiny etsy shop.

Hardscrabble & Wondrous Durham.

Now I'll be selling them in public for the first time at the dTown Market, this Saturday, 9/28/13, from 12-5 pm, at Motorco in downtown Durham.

If you're in the area, come on out and say hi. The weather is supposed to be beautiful, there will be lots of other vendors and beer. Big yes!

Making merch

Getting happily settled in my new home and getting ready for the dTown Market at the end of the month. I'm making merchandise!

Honeycomb 3, WIP. Watercolor and hand embroidery.
Not selling my handmade work.

Sunday morning newspaper in my happy new kitchen.

Sounds so weird. I've never been that interested in selling what I make and here I am making cards, framing prints and making magnets from my little Hardscrabble & Wondrous collection of Durham photos.

Making merch -- magnets!

As odd at is is to make so many duplicate cards and prints, it's kind of fun, too. And I'm designing a little selling booth on which to display my merchandise. This is an entirely new experience for me.

Painting an old shutter to display my prints for the dTown Market.

And I finally have time to get back to stitching. Working on some honeycombs in different kinds of paper.

Wonky honeycomb experiment on a loteria card.

Feeling super fine.

First selfie in my new digs.  I finally feel HOME.

The eagle has finally landed

Yes, I know that the disruption caused by moving is not the worst thing in the grand scheme of things, but still, it's a beast.

The view from my sofa. With my visitor, Luna.

Spent the last few weeks preparing to move, moving and then trying to settle in. 

The good news: I adore my new place. It's a tiny, duplex apartment, with high, white walls and orange painted floors. The backyard is a riot of mulberry trees and shade. And I'm sandwiched between my dear friend Kate and my new friend Martin, my landlord. I can walk to the shops and restaurants. What a different life from the grim, lonely, isolated, soulless apartment complex I lived in for the last two years!

Detail from Sliding Grid, 2013.

Slowly getting back into stitching. I finished another watercolor stitched grid. I will paint up a new batch of ground paper tomorrow. I received excellent advice from a painter whose work with color is amazing -- she suggested mixing in some more muted hues. I'm starting to experiment with that.

Framed Hardscrabble & Wondrous prints!

I'm also getting ready for my first public sale of Hardscrabble & Wondrous Durham cards and prints at the end of the month at the dTown Market at Motorco Music Hall. Something entirely new for me: Designing a display booth. A daunting prospect!

Sliding Grid, 2013.

And I was so happy to publish my first Inspired to Stitch column for Mr X Stitch last week. I interviewed the amazing Iviva Olenick about her narrative embroidery artwork. 

Iviva talked about her source material in my first column.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed my conversation with Iviva about her process and sources. Please read it and let me know what you think. Is this the kind of piece you enjoy reading about textile artists?

All paws. Luna on a stepping stone in my back yard.

Finally, this weekend has brought the temporary return of precious Luna, the world's sweetest living creature. I've been babysitting her for my ex-husband. She goes home tomorrow and I'm already so sad. I'm trying to just enjoy the little bit of time that I have left with her, but I feel this great crack happening in my chest.  I won't let it overwhelm me. I'll rally. It's just that saying goodbye to her again reminds me of hard times... I don't want to ever feel that kind of pain again, the pain of my life falling apart, the realization of what one can lose. 

Detail from Sliding Grid, 2012.

On to happier things. My new place, my new artwork, my loving friends and family. 

I may be profoundly sad and lonely sometimes, but I can take anything. I'm stronger than I look.