To celebrate and honor Mother’s day this year I am auctioning original ink drawings on Instagram. The auction will benefit Break the Cycle, which is the only national non-profit working exclusively on preventing dating abuse and promoting healthy relationships.
Auction ends each day at midnight. Thank you for your support.
After working five weeks non-stop it feels very good to be home. I will be traveling a lot this year and working on new projects that will be announced sometime soon (I hope). My time for personal art is minimal. This image has been floating in my head for weeks – our daughter absolutely loves barish (rain) just like me.
I will be speaking on a panel this Saturday through CAAMfest about Pashmina and storytelling along with some stellar folks – Thi Bui who’s beautiful graphic memoir just released, The Best We Could Do. Innosanto Nagara who wrote the essential kids book, A is for Activist. If you’re in Oakland please come by!
I will be in Cleveland in April as well as Juneau, Alaska. You can always see my upcoming events here.
I hope you have a wonderful week!
I am inspired by the women choosing to march this Saturday. Due to my upcoming schedule (I will be away for 5 weekends in a row) I am choosing to spend the day with my family. However, I created a poster for free download.
You can grab it in 3 different sizes:
We will get through this – with love.
Another watercolor inspired by my daughter, who can be soothed out of most any bad mood with the lullaby twinkle, twinkle little star.
I will be vending at the Sunset Mercantile holiday show this Sunday in the Golden Gate Park along with 75 other makers. This will be my last show of the year before our pop-up opens at Stonestown mall from Dec 16-24th. I hope you will come by and visit!
***
Watercolor available for $100, please contact [email protected] to purchase. Sized 3.5×5.25 on watercolor paper. I will update the post once sold. Prints are available here.
At one of my shows this year, a fan told me that it was unfortunate that I couldn’t produce as much art as I did prior to becoming a mother. I nodded and tried to absorb what she was saying. It wasn’t offensive, it was merely her expressing her wish for more art.
In 2015, our family grew by one. Our tiny human consumes and directs our life. She also brings joy, light and laughter into our home every day. She changed me as a person, as an artist. So when she fell ill this weekend (don’t worry, she’s very slowly on the the mend) I cancelled my trip to DC. I had a fleeting thought about my work and about my conversation from earlier this year.
I love my family and I love my career. They overlap, sing together, sing apart, and occasionally have friction. My days are scheduled and my art making hours are restricted. Multiple times a day, my daughter comes into my studio, sits on my lap and asks for one of my pens. Every so often, I drop by her room to sing a song with her and our nanny or distract her while we sneak a jacket on for their morning walk. I welcome these forays from my work.
I do produce less art. To think that I could be the same artist and produce the same quantity of work would be foolish. To say that parenting changes you is an understatement. I chose to cancel my trip and take care of my baby, but I will still raise money for causes I believe in. All proceeds for the sales of the print below (past and future) will be donated to the ACLU.
Finding the balance between my family and career has made me sharply aware that my power – our power – isn’t merely in our ability to stay persistent in our work – it is our ability to change, adapt and continue to do good work.
Original watercolor sold. Prints available here.
For the daughters who have difficult relationships with their moms,for those who never had a loving mom, for the women who are cat moms,dog moms, office moms, for those that are moms of one, two, or seven –tired, under slept and overextended, for those who tried and tried tobecome a mom but couldn’t, for those who had a being to care for andlost them but never stopped being “mom”, and for those who will neverpursue motherhood and that’s just fine… for all those women Ithought of you as this image came to me one night.
Love comes in many forms. I truly believe it is all around us. Sowhether you are celebrating mother’s day or tucking yourself in the
covers and staying away from social media – I wish you a wonderfulweekend, surrounded by the love that’s within reach.
<3
We’re having a sale through Monday. Enjoy 15% off our entire shop and order in time to get your gift for Mother’s Day! Meanwhile, Iwill be at Trickster in Berkeley for aMother’s day live drawingevent on April 30th. If you’d like a custom drawing for mother’s day or just because, come by with a photo (on your phone is fine). Limited number of slots will be available. Have a happy weekend!
we’re having a valentine’s day sale on our shop – 15% off til friday with the code: LOVEBUG have a great day!
it was my mom’s love for books that led me to love reading. because of her i know i can always find great hope, adventure and emotion in books. when i read i can imagine another world. when i read i learn to appreciate this world. most of all when i read i remember days and nights sitting beside my mom, reading.
happy birthday to my favorite person to read with ^_^
