Here’s a detail of a wood block carving in progress that will be printed hopefully by the end of the week. Stay tuned on my artist Instagram and/or Facebook channels to see the final result.

The last days of spring and first days of summer have been such a gift of creativity this year: I’ve been developing textile and wallpaper designs, sewing art-pillows for home decor, added pyrography designs on handmade wood products and now I’m in the process of creating my very first wood block print…and it’s BIG! This print is going to be 16 X 20” which is a pretty ambitious size for my first time carving a wood block. It’s based on a new repeat pattern I’ve been working on for a while now. I’m grateful to have experience carving linoleum because it informs this wood carving process which has been a goal of mine to learn for quite some time. This was the year that the opportunity arose at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and my 7th time to attend the school!

So much of my side hustle work informs all the other aspects of my design work. It keeps my thinking fresh and I truly love the diversity creativity calls out of each process. It’s thrilling to work on and to share it. Follow along on Instagram and my Facebook page to see what’s new.

Here are a couple of the pillows I’ve just sewn. You can see others on my Instagram and/or Facebook social channels.

The Appalachian Center for Craft’s Gift Shop/Gallery will offer several of my products at 20 percent off during the months of July. You’ll find my handmade items like bags, bandanas, bibs, greeting cards, prints and wall hangings. If you’d like to see more of my illustration work, follow along on my Instagram illustration page and/or on Facebook .

Better yet, stop by the Appalachian Center for Craft’s Gallery/Gift Shop to see it in person. You might just find the perfect gift for that perfect someone (or yourself) there. The gift shop/gallery has so many beautiful items by so many different artists, all crafted with love and care. I’m honored to be among those who display work there. And I’m especially honored to be the Artist of the Month in July where they will be offering a 20 percent discount on my pieces. It’s about 5 miles off of I-40 in Smithville, TN so whether you’re heading into Nashville or otherwise, it’s not far off the beaten path.

Have a wonderful summer and I hope you’re also able to do what you love!