j o y

the important things

2008-09-20T13:39:00.002-05:00

mermaid for maelea

2008-08-10T10:36:00.008-05:00

my favorite commission for my beautiful friend mandy and sweet baby, maelea.

*acrylic on found cupboard door

(detail)

happy lucky 8.8.08

2008-08-08T10:24:00.010-05:00

only 3 months from today...

new little shoes

2008-08-02T19:01:00.004-05:00

$30 or 4 for $100

"at the fair" 5.5x5.5

"belted kingfisher" 5.5x5.5

"on the farm" 5.5x5.5

"yellow finch love" 8x4

green apple girls

2008-07-27T09:27:00.006-05:00

24 x 15 ink + acrylic illustration/collage on found cupboard doors
$125 or both for $225

(detail)

(detail)

little shoes for robin

2008-07-22T11:32:00.008-05:00

5x5 ink + collage on wood
*sold*

interested in little shoes commission? just give me a background idea and/or theme that you're interested in seeing behind the little shoes and i'll take care of the rest. i usually cut the wood to 5x5, but it can be any size you choose up to 8x8.

$30 or 4 for $100

how many blondes?

2008-06-04T09:09:00.004-05:00

somewhere in between

2008-06-04T08:20:00.005-05:00

9.5x16.5 acrylic and collage on found wood

created this for kathy's garden party, an annual charity auction hosted by the grace foundation. this year's event is titled "way beyond the sea." i loved working with this theme. it's a simple meditative piece. it's everything i see when i listen to aerial by kate bush.

daddy rabbit

2008-05-17T09:43:00.005-05:00

made this for my littlest cousin jack.
it's his very first b-day today.

4x8 collage and acrylic on found wood

is solace anywhere more comforting than in the arms of a sister

2008-05-06T09:08:00.005-05:00

bethy and me

wolf girl + lamby

2008-05-05T11:12:00.003-05:00

7.5x5.25 acrylic, ink, origami paper on wood

5.25x5.25 acrylic, ink, origami paper on wood

2008-04-30T07:56:00.004-05:00

walkerart.org

hey, i won something!

2008-04-21T17:27:00.004-05:00

my logo won a design contest for the Adobe 2008 Creative Transitions Conference. milwaukee never looked so badass.

little shoes series

2008-04-13T18:22:00.004-05:00

5.25x5.25 ink and collage on found wood

big blue sky, little red shoes

2008-04-11T12:52:00.004-05:00

5.5x3.25 acrylic, ink and collage on found wood

*this piece reminds me of my beautiful friend nikki

sketchbook

2008-04-11T10:29:00.003-05:00

i call this little sketchbook experiment "ms. bowles on faux bois."
it's acrylic and collage on what is usually the atrocity known as wood patterned contact paper.

I create best when I stay in my pj's all day and mess up my whole house

2008-04-11T07:55:00.015-05:00

today's blog title is a quote i found on poppytalk this morning by little black rabbit, and it couldn't describe my life any better.
-------------

as you might know by my mass email yesterday, --which in turn several of you little love birds gave props to by replying all on:)-- it's official, i have finally opened shop on etsy. now i have a little extra motivation to continue doing what i love to do; living design and art.

last summer, a beautiful family friend named kate (who will marry ben and i in november) did my numbers for the first time. what i came to understand was the following....

2007 was the year for planting seeds and 2008 would be the year these seeds would grow--and i kill plant life like nobody's business, so you can easily translate this metaphor as a tremendous life success for me.

so here we are, 2008. freelance is building, the paint is flowing, relations are grounded and the past is behind me. this is a year of plenty and i am blessed.

girl

2008-04-01T07:05:00.002-05:00

12x12 collage on found wood

hank's '64 olds

2008-03-31T07:10:00.006-05:00

12x12 collage i finished last night.

i love photoshop and illustrator, but i get so tired of using it for work-work that i have a deep fascination, love and respect for the good old fashioned cut and paste of collage... or as i like to call it, doing it the long way.

web design

2008-03-02T08:45:00.006-06:00

web design for a class reunion site.
inspired by reform school... and jon bon jovi's hair.

planting seeds

2008-02-26T13:26:00.008-06:00

self promo part one

self promo part deux

good day

2008-02-24T10:44:00.012-06:00

yesterday, kristopher and i had an art date at the m.a.m. to see the latest exhibit, foto. i bought a postcard of a piece from the exhibit below. i love it!

we were surprised at all the photomontage. it hit me that i have no history on my beloved art form. anyways, we were inspired. afterwards we tended kristopher's house sitting duties on the east side, pet the cats and took pictures. i will soon get to be one of his peoples. thankfully it was a good hair day.

later i drove out to pewaukee to visit jackie and her family. she was in town from az. driving in to town floods me every time and has a way of making my soul feel heavy. even though i didn't grow up there, it's where i painfully grew up the most (high school). jackie and i agreed that somehow it doesn't hurt to go back like it used to though. more proof that being over 30 is useful. we sat around the kitchen table for hours. mother, sisters and friend. i love them. i miss jack already.

bon iver

2008-02-24T10:32:00.007-06:00

anyone who goes to a cabin up north alone for 3 months to find clarity is good people to me. i'm so happy this album is finally here in my hands. listen here. read here.

boston terrorist

2008-02-21T07:20:00.006-06:00

this is how we DO WORK

but DO NOT let her fool you...

she'll drink your coffee and steal your favorite pen.

SO NAUGHTY

2008-02-18T19:45:00.010-06:00