New prints now available

My new prints for 2013 are now available at my Etsy shop!

You can also see them in person through the end of January at the Early Girl Eatery in Asheville, NC, on December 1st at the Big Crafty in downtown Asheville, or on December 15th at the Crafty Feast in Columbia, SC. Happy holidays!

Gearing up for the Fall

I just found out this morning that I'll be vending again at The Big Crafty on December 4th! This is one of my favorite craft fairs, both for vending and shopping, because of the variety of handmade stuff, the friendly faces, the party atmosphere, and of course it's all right here in my neighborhood. I never take it for granted that I'll be in because of their jury process, so it's always exciting to put it on my calendar.

But before December comes along, we still have November to contend with, and this will be one my biggest Novembers yet! As some of you already know, I moved into a new studio space this past summer, but I haven't yet invited anyone to stop by, or opened it to the public, because most days I'm either still fixing it up or just too gosh darn busy to have people wandering around in here. I'm now working on the invitations for the big Grand Opening and Open Studio, scheduled during the River Arts District Studio Stroll on November 12th. Check back here for details, or sign up to be on my mailing list to get a personal invitation (including a raffle ticket to win a free Heavens to Betsy print!).

New print - Information Desk

Finally, after being pushed to the back burner many times in the past few months, my latest installment of Heavens to Betsy is finished. I'm titling it "Information Desk", but sometimes I refer to it as "Librarian Bear". The little sign on the bear's desk says "Information" and the text says "Can you tell me how to live without fear?"

Now available at my website or stop by my table at The Big Crafty this Sunday to see them in person!

well that's a crazy week

It all started with the Big Crafty last Sunday (I guess the craziness also includes the week before, when I was prepping stuff for it). Had a great time, and met some new (and old) friends, including these favorites: Sew Ono, Monkey & Squirrel, Beth Schaible, and Margaret Couch Cogswell.

Then I spent the rest of the week finishing a new commission binding, a bound book of letters written to the patriarch of a family for his 100th birthday. It includes silver birch bark (on the cover) and leaf prints (on the endsheets) from an area in western NC where the family often gathers at a summer cottage, plus custom calligraphy by Cheryl Jacobsen. The cover is handmade paper by me, dyed a rich dark brown with natural walnut dye.

Along with this book, I was also prepping like crazy for my week-long residency at Studio 150 in Gordo Alabama, where Jessica Peterson and Amos Kennedy live and work. I'm here now, and gonna go set up a press as soon as I finish this post! I'll post more during this week.