Shredddmasters

J.T. works at one of those old-timey outfitting shops that has a rental zone.. which means having access to a personal (and free) arsenal of XTREME SNOWSPORT gear. So, with a little gentle coaxing, I found myself at White Pass wearing a mish-mash of winterproof clothing and facing down a mountain with a glorified sled strapped to my feet.


Justin had never hit the slopes, I hadn't gone since maybe 1995, so we were a good team. We quickly mastered the bunny run and then I decided that we just needed to go to the very top and take the long way down. And you know what?


I got totally PUMPED! I really forgot how fun whizzing down a hill can be. Justin did really well, although he took some nasty first-timer spills that landed him with a serious case of sore ribs. But he gets the prize for totally going-for-it! And the prize for most awesome apparel:


Victory!!

Polar Bunnies

Snow Burglar.


Happy.


Cozy.

Fluffy Fluffertons

It is so crazily beautiful outside my window right now. The biggest, downiest snow-feathers are making their descent onto the already blanketed white bluff, and beyond that the steely grey of Totten Inlet winter waves lap at our shores. That said, this is still a problem:


Lil' Dusty is hanging tough, tucked in for the duration of this strange blizzard us Puget Sounders rarely see. However! I did catch an early ride into town yesterday in J.T.'s Man-Truck©, which temporarily lifted my cabin fever (seriously, I was beginning to grow a beard and have a strange glint in my eye much like a prospector). I finished some super-secret holiday projects, and brought home a batch of letterpressed cards to do some silkscreening upon. Gotta stay busy, especially if I'm going to be socked in for another 3 days. Where's that cognac?

Snowed In: Day 3

The Saga Continues: the forecast for this weekend is snow mixed with showers of mysterious and foreboding 'Ice Pellets', so who knows how long my rural confines will continue! But, we find things to do.. instead of sledding down our impossibly steep driveway on garbage can lids, we opted for a more sound adventure: I channeled my inner Yeti through snowshoes, and Justin worked on his x-country moves. A jaunt through the woods behind our house on a unbelievable sunny, snowy day:


Yeti Feet.


Snowtis.


Ok, this is actually a picture of one of the peaks above Ross Lake from last summer's canoe trip, but doesn't it look RAD with the pola-droid treatment? I'm a little obsessed.


Rosebud likes to bury her entire head in snow. She is a very special being.


Another special being. And now we are back at the cozy chalet, toasting the afternoon with Hot Mexican Chocolate Cognac toddies, apres-snowshoe/ski style.

And, because said chalet is a wee bit on the messy side (the occupants of Camp Kamilche are not known for their neat-freakness. Nor are they 'totally gross', they are just distracted artist-types that tend to make piles of paper wherever they go, and also cohabitate with four hairy individuals), instead of an interior shot, you will get another pic of a dog:


ADORBZ.

Shake It Like A..

I just found this rad online photo thingy! POLADROID.. it takes any photo file and converts it in a few seconds to a very accurate polaroid-style version, complete with white frame. I do miss the days of 'Roids. Check it out:




Snow day is getting more fun. Thank you, mighty Computron.

Cozy Times at Camp Kamilche

There's a monstrous blizzard outside of these walls, and I'm snowbound. I tried mercilessly to maneuver Lil' Dusty (my old toyota) up our steep steep driveway, but to no avail. It was pretty exciting; I felt like I was taking place in a special challenge at the Stuntdriving Academy of Burbank! But after much slipping/sliding and a shoveling workout, it was clear my situation was hopeless. And so here I am, inside our warm little snow-globe, worrying about a million projects I want to finish at my studio by xmas when I should be enjoying all the beauty right outside the window.


We did take a nice walk in the woods this morning, myself all bundled up in a gigantor puffy-jacket. Looking not unlike a human marshmallow mixed with some sort of waterproof pirate (nothing says 'cutting-edge fashion' like rainpants tucked into rubber boots). There were little bits of color, like these rosehips:


And Rosebud was ready for action.. 'Hurry up! Down the snowy roads we go!'


J.T. went x-country skiing in a parking lot last night! I love his dedication to all things outdoors. And here's the No. 1 Snowbuddy, Otis. Special freckleness and all.

Today's Obsessions

These vegetables,


and this man:


And also Ibizan Hounds wearing jerseys.

Dogbloggin'

SHHHHHHH...


..Genius At Work:

Geometrix

I stumbled upon these beautiful hand-screened cards during my Friday jaunt through the interweb. I've been getting into silkscreening a bit lately; Community Print is my winter hangout!


Each card was made with old-fashioned care and love by Esther Ramirez aka Essimar Papel.


From Esther's shop page: Send a gentle Kiss or Hello through paper.


Communicate your color with a card or handmade delicate collage.


Yessss. Communicate your color.

Delicious and Proud

It's supposed to SNOW this weekend! Craaaaaaze. It hasn't been this cold in 20 years; I heard the radio man say it this afternoon. For some reason I am still gallivanting about town in a sweatshirt? It just doesn't seem that frigid.. yet. But what better way to warm up your frosty torso than with this new sunshiney t-shirt I made for Buyoly? Behold: Lion Fever.


Goes excellently with mulled wine, hot spiced cider, and stroopwaffels. Let the holiday pig-out begin!!

Process/Progress

Bad blogger! Disappearing like that for weeks with no explanation.. I've just been hunkered down at the studio, which is totally looking Mass Rad these days with special office carpeting scraps and a big sturdy work table courtesy of my friend, Young Chad the builder. I kind-of helped with the building: I nailed nails.


This is Scott (human) and Bela (feline). Scott operates Olympia Screen, our town's little silkscreening hive complete with a robotic press that reminds me of the Octopus ride at Lakefair. I paint a portrait of Bela, Scott helps me with screening projects. Olympia is the town of the mighty barter!


This is the process so far: photos, tracing paper sketch, letterpressing, then blocking in the key parts. The best part comes later, in the details.. whiskers and catttttitude!


And P.S.. the Clever Fox shirts are now available in my shoppe, complete with awesome glow-in-the-dark eyes!!