Fresh Cut Tulips

Give your momma some flowers this Mother's Day! Introducing fresh cut tulip greeting cards. Here's a look at how an idea becomes a print:

Step 1. Inspiration. These sweet little gals popped up around the mailbox and I fell in love. I started out by drawing some observational sketches to get the creative juices flowing.

Step 2. Refinement. Experimenting with tracing paper to find the right composition. 

Step 3. Transferring the image to the block using pencil and carbon paper. 
Now we can get carving!

 Step 4. Printing a proof to see how the plate looks inked up.
It's darker than I'd like, so I decide to do a bit more cutting.

Step 5. Printing the finished plate on card stock using water based ink.

And that's how a print is born!

Should have these lovelies for sale on my Etsy shop by the end of the week! 

Valentine's Day Linocuts

The past few weeks have felt so stressful.  

It's been 3 months since I packed my things and flew across the country to make a new home in Virginia.  I'm really in love with where I live, and feel so grateful to be here.  But it's definitely proving to be an adjustment.

My life has undergone so many dramatic changes over the past few years, I think it's easy for me to underestimate sometimes just how challenging these big transitions can be.  

So when the adrenaline from the move has worn off and I still find myself struggling to find work, make friends, get my life together! - I sort of freak out and get down on myself for not being more adaptable, self-sufficient, completely perfect and awesome in every way...

It's good to pause and take a step back to notice these things.  Especially since my tendency to expect super-human performance from myself can really hinder the creative process!

Last night I was able to let go for a few hours and just surrender to the flow of creation.

 I love carving block prints.  It's such a meditative process.

These cards and more are available for purchase at my Etsy shop!

Drop by sometime and take a gander :)