Episode 108 of the CMP is recorded... and will be live in another day or so. End-o-summer has complicated the way I fit these things in! But, Episode 109 is already underway... I'll be hinting about it at the end of Episode 108. I got to spend time working with (and learning from) someone I very much admire from the CMP circle... and I can't wait to share with you how it went, show you photos of the first project we've collaborated on, and so on. But... that's next week. This week... it's all about "change."

But, some things... remain the same... like bird art... and bird pillows. It's never too late to discover what you love. I'm realizing that... and so... maybe change isn't all bad. There's a lot of change going on... and I'm feeling a bit like this:

But, I'm trying to stay balanced. And... I guess... finding my birds last year... was "change"... at its best. It's all about perspective!

As you heard me mention on the CMP, I sold almost all of the pillows I made this summer at an art show... but I'm back at work, and things are going up at Etsy for the fall. I'll be announcing the availability -- and showing a sample -- of custom-order photo pillows soon... very soon... thinking holiday thoughts... My mom wants one... forget my art... she wants a photo of the boys... and so... an OAmyOAmy patchwork strip pillow... is underway.

I've been quiet, but step by step, I'm finding my way.

Posted by Amy at 10:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As I talked about in Episode 105 of the Creative Mom Podcast, I recently discovered the work of Charles Harper through a gift copy of the recently reissued
Birds and Words. His screenprinted birds are simply amazing. I was surprised tonight to see that there's a calendar out for next year as well as a large etrospective book on his life's work.

Posted by Amy at 8:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We are back... just barely... from vacation, and things here at home are out of sorts... much going on and a visit with my mom, too, and so I'm going to end up almost unbearably behind. But, I agreed months ago to do a piece for Karen at Creative Therapy... and it was due this week... So, I came home and had a few days to try and pull together my thoughts on my favorite spot in the house. Today it's live! I'm thrilled to have been invited to be a part of the site, and I hope you take a look!

Posted by Amy at 1:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

UPDATE: Most of these are now gone. The ones that remain are at Etsy. Thanks for looking. And thanks to those of you who purchased some of the first of my original art bags!

If you are interested... in any of these or in something specific in terms of color or pattern, let me know. You can reach me at oamyoamy AT gmail DOT com

Posted by Amy at 5:04 PM | Permalink

As I mentioned on the 2-year celebration show... Episode 100... of the Creative Mom Podcast, I have a small set of pen pouches to list. I'm not posting these at Etsy in part because I'll be leaving for vacation and also because some of these may go to an art show instead of to Etsy later this summer.

I'll post these this evening ... I do sort of hate the "first come first serve" approach. Sorry!

All of the ones I'll be listing are visible at Flickr.

Posted by Amy at 10:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a reminder that the CMP Postal Letterbox Ring is starting June 1 (or thereabouts). We're sending letterboxes through the mail... with log-books and hand-carved stamps on the theme of "Spring." When you receive a box, you stamp your book (at home) and then stamp your own stamp into the letterbox book, and mail it to the next person. If you're interested in finding out more, Kris has posted some excellent information on the CMP Postal Blog... to read the blog, or to sign up, contact Kris at jehmen@sbcglobal.net.

See you there!

Posted by Amy at 2:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Well... I'm off on this "birdhouse" tangent... you've likely heard about it. I thought it might just be two weeks... rounding out April... but I'm still there. And yet... I keep searching for great birdhouse photos... I mean great ones... interesting... not cute birdhouses... but realistic ones... natural ones... ones with good texture or unusual lines but still good for birds...

I don't have a birdhouse. I don't know that there's ever been one in any yard of any house I've lived in...

But... do YOU have one? I'd love to see photos... provided you realize that I might sketch from them if you post them. If you've got great birdhouses in your yard or near you, take a photo, put it at Flickr, and let me know. I'd love to see!

Posted by Amy at 8:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, everyone... it looks like I have been quiet here... or not here... again. Spring... is upon us... already, April has moved in... so quickly...

I posted Episode 93 of the CMP yesterday. And... I've started pulling things out and working on some updates... maybe for Etsy... I'm getting ready to try a bit of a new spin on what I was doing... and that's exciting... so... I'll be showing what I'm doing soon... in the interim, more pen pouches and "nest" cards are underway. It's that initial process of doing the central patch that is the most fun... for sure... I just love that part.

A few books caught my eye recently... have any of you read any of these?

You can tell summer is coming... for some reason... it brings books like this into my realm of focus!

Posted by Amy at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, it's the last day of February! Since I typically sketch in the morning, that means I've wrapped up my 'daily' sketches on shipping tags for February. And... yep... I'm not done with this process yet. It's certainly a bit addictive, and I love how it keeps me focused even when I have only 30 minutes or so to devote to a morning sketch. I think there will be some changes in March... color, maybe... but I'm definitely continuing!

Posted by Amy at 1:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, I'm still doing what I'm doing... as you can see above. The shipping tags are continuing and really it's a good thing. It's a good bit of structure for me in some odd way... without that right now... I'd probably not be "doing it" at all. So, while sometimes I look at them and think... total "rut".... each morning I grab a blank tag... and when I finish it, I'm typically content with it and with having "done" it... I smile at whatever bird has taken shape. And I file it in the green plastic box behind the ones from the days before. So, it works.
Episode 86 is short... but it came out yesterday. A bit on "small" Moleskines in that one...

Posted by Amy at 9:16 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well... tomorrow morning, I'll be on I-80 heading north... but right now... lots of you are having problems getting to EP85 of the CMP.

I've repushed everything... so... hopefully all will be right. But, for some of you, you'll end up with the file twice... but... just listen once, okay? The final file you're looking for, if you haven't been able to get your itunes to realize I fixed this yesterday is Episode 85BB.

I gave everything a new name today... and my iTunes found it right away... so... fingers crossed.

Enjoy! And I'll be back here (blog) and with the CMP next week.

Posted by Amy at 10:02 AM | Permalink

Well... I didn't announce last week that Episode 84 went live, but it did. And now, Episode 85 is live... It's February, and I'm on track. This week, I'm finally talking about the shipping tags... feeling that there's something to say about them after 31 days... and seeing in them a process of both learning and evolution. So... there's a LOT of shipping tag talk this week. (Superstitiously... I didn't want to talk about them "during" the process of the month!) But, also, in Ep 85, you'll find links to a number of artists and projects that caught my attention this week, a few tidbits from our week here at our house, and more.

And... as for the tags... I'm continuing them... which means... I've gotta cut some more!

Books reviewed and mentioned this week... as well as a few related titles (or titles in a series...):

We're headed to Tahoe for a few days. So, I'm hoping to see some birds, see some snow (like 20 feet!), and drink lots of coffee.... oh, and sketch... a lot. They can ski. I'm going to sketch. So, we'll see what happens! I'm taking along my little recorder... the quality isn't great, but I think I might do next week's show "log"-style.

Have a good week!

Posted by Amy at 8:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

I will be sending out the newsletter later today, but I just pushed out Episode 82 of the CMP: "Unexpected Wings" (yeah, yeah, yeah... okay, so there are birds in it...). In addition to things that fly, there is more talk about the Word of the Year (from Ali Edward's site), which I know many of you are thinking about. Some of you have talked about your word on the Yahoo! list. Some of you have blogged it already. Some of you have shared it with me in email. I'm glad many of you are moving toward a word. Here's a great list of words others have chosen for this year from Ali's site.

This week... I also talk about these two books, both of which I really, really enjoyed:

Posted by Amy at 11:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's been a while since I've been here, I guess. I'm surprised to see I haven't posted in the new year. I've been busy with a number of things, and the show has remained on track... but no blogging. And so, today, photos I've talked about already (in EP 81), but photos that mark a year of possibility and a year of commitment to my own journey... to the continuation of it... and to ongoing exploration. And, as you can see, the work in progress right now is the first step... ATCs for January.

One "blank" at a time.

Posted by Amy at 3:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Well, as everyone knows, the birds have basically taken over my awareness and so, finally, I found myself at the bookstore intent on getting a copy of the The Sibley Guide to Birds. Everyone agrees I need a Sibley, right? Of course, I do. I've been slow in bringing one home, but it's time. And so, there I was. Both boys had already picked out something (both graphic novel style) and both were in the floor happily reading while I stood in front of the bird books shelf. As my luck would have it, there were no copies of Sibley to be found. I had considered a Kaufman guide, indeed. But I'd decided, in the end, that my first bird book, of my own, should be a Silbeys. So... today was not the day. (I'm really a tried-and-true Amazon.com shopper anyway, but I had a gift card in hand... so, well... there I was.) But, I spent some time looking at what was on the shelves. I finally got to see Letters From Eden: A Year at Home, in the Woods in person, which I've wanted to do for some time, and I think it'll be a great book to read this year. I also found myself enamoured with Robert Burton's The World of the Hummingbird which is brimming with the most beautiful hummingbird photography I've ever seen.

And then, there were the personal narratives... life with birds... Two in particular jumped out at me: Providence of a Sparrow: Lessons from a Life Gone to the Birds and The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill.

Both seem worth looking into.

And, there you have it.... a bird-oriented trip to the bookstore. And... on the way in... as we got out of our car, the sound of birds was intense. The tree in front of us was bare of leaves... and at first, it appeared empty. But, looking closely, we finally found them... several birds... and amazing song.

Posted by Amy at 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)