Hi, Hello! Looks Like I need to Introduce Myself Again

I am notoriously terrible about updating anything, but I’m nothing if not unpredictable except when I’m not. So here is proof of life While I don’t like doing personal updates, I’m once again making an exception, because it has been forever. A lot has happened since 2022. I’m starting there, because there’s a bright line and a complete change of my circumstance that began in spring of 2022. First of all, I moved out of my turret after 18 years. That was the nightmare that came to a head at the end of my cloistered pandemic life. I was not in a good state when I finally got out of there. I don’t want to go into all of the awful that happened with what led up to my flight to NE Portland. I did land on both feet, shaky and traumatised. But then things took a turn. The day I picked up the keys to my new place I was offered a job; which I took. I jokingly call it my retirement. It is a tailoring job where I alter formalwear. The sewing studio is within walking distance from where I live. I’m still sewing, but it is wildly different from what I was used to doing. I had pretty much zero experience with commercially produced clothing. I had to learn an entirely different skill set with entirely different sewing techniques. It’s not that what I already knew didn’t apply, it was learning a new skill set. Luckily, I am a curious person, and am always interested in learning new things.

I haven’t given up my business entirely; I am just allowed to be really really picky about what I take on. Truthfully, I am so sick of making ribbon flowers. I made 1700+ garters and at least triple that in brooches and hairpins, not to mention all the dresses I applied flower embellishments. I am not ready to sell the ribbon store that lives in a giant drawer under my bed quite yet. For now, I’m not doing that. I do still have so much stock left that is slowly getting fed into my Etsy shop.

So what have I been up to? The picture at the top of this post is the first in a series that is making up a story I’m tentatively titling “Adrift.” I’ve been chipping away at it in my “spare time” in between researching East Asian folk tales, and Yokai. I am also slowly slowly trying to learn Japanese. I need to learn to read all of the giant pile of art books from Japan. That’s mostly what I’ve been up to. I’m trying to see friends I haven’t seen in years. I came in today to start the process of updating this website. I haven’t kept much of a social media presence, mostly because everything is so stuffed with ads, AI thievery and a lack of real engagement. I miss all of you, but I just can’t with the social media world. It feels like I only log into Instagram to lock things down, so they aren’t stealing my photos for AI. I turned off my comments on photos, it was a bit of a bummer to have to do that, but I had to monitor comments, and I just don’t have the wherewithal to do that anymore. A few people ruin things for everyone! I haven’t checked my DMs there for at least 4 years. I ran screaming from Twitter (my platform of choice), and I quit Facebook back in 2010. I have tentatively been on Bluesky, because a lot of my fellow twitter refugees are there, but I am trying not to be there like I was on Twitter; I’m tired of screaming online. For now that is where I show most of my artwork, and random outrageous work projects. I have to alter some wild things. I have been really hesitant to post my original work online. I just have been disgusted my the turns the internet has been making, but if I don’t post things, I don’t exist. Such is the way of things. I am struggling to find that balance, and to hopefully do things in a way that don’t make me feel like I’m compromising my soul.

I came back to my website to clean some things up, pare down a bit, and put up some work in progress photos. This project is a long haul for sure. Each of the main pieces are 12 x 16 and 8 x 8, and since most of it takes place at night they are very involved. The skies have at least 4-6 layers of ink to get the effect I want. The water gets at least 5 passes for fill and blackening. I have the concepts in mind, but I am also having to learn as I go along. I’m not sure the scale yet. At the very least it will be a gallery show, if I can produce enough work, and if I’m not working on this up until I die, I could be a graphic novel. We’ll just have to see what happens.

I promise nothing. I’ve been intending to post here more often, while not actually touching anything in years. My grand goal in posting here, is that this website is mine. I own it outright, and whatever I post here is also my own. I don’t run the risk of being disappeared after putting so much energy onto a platform that doesn’t belong to me. If I manage to follow through remains to be seen; hence me making no promises I may or may not be able to keep. But for now I am still alive, still sewing and drawing, studying and my trusty cat companion is still here, and she still loves to bite.