always thankful. all 365 days.

The other night, I let my paintbrush lead me and this is what I made. I let my heart write for me and this is what I feel.

When I think about all the things I'm grateful for this Thanksgiving, I think about this: I'm always thankful. I'm always aware of this beautiful life. Even when it is really hard. I never waste it. I soak up every baby giggle and perfect breeze and cup of tea. I memorize fleeting moments and I allow myself the time to reflect on and process my incredible experiences. I'm always doing the best I can to love each day and the people in it.

So for me, this is simply a day to be with family & a day to acknowledge all the gratitude I feel all year. (I don't really get that excited about the food; gluten-free vegetarian Thanksgiving is anti-climactic. But I do love mashed potatoes & I make a yummy dessert).

I hope you have a very sweet holiday.
xo, Michelle

wandering the Getty Villa.

Missed a blog post last week because I had round 2 of the flu. It really put a dent in my productivity. Thankfully I seem to be better (finally- it's been 2 weeks of being sick). Yesterday I got to explore the Getty Villa in Malibu for the first time. I've been wanting to go for years, and I'm so glad I finally did! It's so ridiculously beautiful and the weather was sunny but slightly chilly. Perfect. I've been in love with Greek and Roman art and history since I was 11 years old and I've studied it so much since, so it was so cool to see a local place with such a huge collection, in addition to the architecture and the gardens. I was totally in my element.

Here are some of my favorite photos from yesterday:

xo, Michelle

Apparently it's November already.

It feels like this year has gone by so much faster than any year before it. I feel like I'm constantly playing catch up. I had my 2nd art show!

I participated in the monthly Santa Ana Art Walk on November 2nd. I did the September one too, and it was a great experience. This month was much different. Last time, so many friends came and bought things, it was busy the whole time. This time, I was less busy and got to talk to a lot of the other artists around me. While I didn't sell much, a few people really loved my work and hopefully will visit my Etsy shop. I figure it's still a good thing for me to get out there and have my work seen.

The artist next to me has been doing art professionally for a long time, and she was talking to me about how if you get discouraged, you just have to remember that everyday your work is being seen. By the people who have bought from you, by the people who see it in their homes, and by the people who are seeing it online, whether you hear about it or not. You just have to keep doing it. That was so helpful and encouraging to me.

Family pumpkin painting:

My parents, sisters, and I started a new tradition a few years ago of painting/carving pumpkins together. One year we did a Harry  Potter theme. This year we did a Big Bang Theory theme but we painted them as minions from Despicable Me. (We're big fans of both). My character is Penny on the far right. Kelly's is Howard, Lisa's is Raj, Mom's is Sheldon, Dad's is Leonard, and then my dad & I made the carved atom logo pumpkin.

I also painted this lovely literary quote by Andrea Gibson onto a huge white pumpkin:

Now I'm onto my next tasks! I have a custom painting in the works, I'm doing a holiday boutique at my dad & sister's office later this month, and I've got a whole bunch of administrative tasks to catch up on! I lost a couple days being sick, so I'm trying to get going again!

xo, Michelle

Let the holiday season begin!

I have some new fun little things available! Christmas cards and 5x7 matted Christmas prints are here! They won’t be in my Etsy shop until next week, but I want to share them now! First let me tell you how very strange it was to design Christmas stuff before Halloween… I had to put on Christmas music to get me in the right mindset and now I don’t even know what day it is. But I love how they turned out!

So here they are: my first little holiday collection for Mary and Luna!

The cards come in packs of 4 cards + envelopes. $14. (Cards are sized 4.25x5.5, and packaged sweet and simply, tied up with string)

These small matted Christmas prints are 5x7, (the design itself is 3.5 x 5.5). Perfect to set out in a little frame for the holiday season. $9 each.

And don't forget that this Saturday, I’m participating for the second time in the Santa Ana Art Walk! Come visit if you live nearby! I’ll have a table with all my art on display. See all the details here.

xo, Michelle

Fall is about letting go.

I cut out these words from the leaves I collected and pressed. It was a simple truth that flowed from my hands.

I watch how effortlessly trees let go of their leaves, and I wish I could do that so gracefully. Letting go is so hard. Letting go of unrealistic expectations, perfectionism, the way things used to be. It’s all a constant work in progress. But I’m realizing how much lighter I feel when I decide to let go of heavy things. Life gets a little bit easier that way.

I've been thinking about this lately, but this post came from my decision to cut about 6 inches of my hair today. It’s a small and silly thing to be so influenced by, but I’ve had my hair really long for 5 years: the 5 most turbulent years of my life so far, the first 5 years of my adulthood. I needed a change, and it’s amazing how much lighter I feel. I grew very attached to my long, wavy hair, but I need something different for a while now. It’s like a new start. So I’m letting it go, and I’m letting go of some of the deeper things that are heavy. The things that make me hesitate to keep going and keep creating. I need to let those things go.

I hope you can let go too.

xo, Michelle