She Speaks to Nature
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Where is it going to? Because I seem to be losing all sense of it. I completed this piece on February 21st, five days ago tonight. Yet it feels like it was something I did ages ago.

I'm tired, so very tired. And I am sick with a cold round two just after recovering.

I was waiting to write the perfect post about what went into this piece but life just kept pushing it aside. Now nearly a week later and it still hasn't been written. But I love this piece too much to ignore it and not share it here in my blog. So much of myself went into the creation. Images taken from various sketches, block printing, gocco, collage and even some drawing and painting all dancing together on the stage of the canvas. They work together to hopefully create a vibrant and complex yet well balanced piece. Collage challenges me in a totally new way.

Masks
Originally uploaded by m.Lee This is one of my first woodblock prints. At the time I was still pretty into doing self-portraits and masks are a theme that have come up in my work on and off for many years.

This piece was made for the class I took at Mass Art called "Print into Books" taught by the inspiring Annie Silverman. She's a printmaking not a bookbinder and the book part was a bit of an afterthought. And I am cool with that because she and that class changed my life.

Overgrowth
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Hello, it's me. Marissa. I used to fit pretty nicely in an artistic box and I was comfortable with it. I mean, I may have only done printmaking for the past two years but I did do unconventional printmaking. And I really enjoyed going back and doing it again on Wednesday. It felt fresh again now that I have many other things to feed my artistic spirit.

my hair is dark
Originally uploaded by m.Lee My friend's cancer has spread, we don't know much more than that. Right now it seems like the best we can hope for is stage two. Stage four is very bad. Thirty-eight year old father of three young boys.

I'm having a friend over for lunch today because I could really use the company. He works from home so can bring his laptop and work in the living room. There is a great sandwich place about a ten minute walk from my place. They have popovers and lots of veggie options. They are much better than the hipster place down the street five minutes from me.

I am going to get back to drawing with my Wacom tablet before doing some light cleaning before my friend comes over. It isn't easy to use, but that is part of the fun.

365 Sketch - 12/365
Originally uploaded by m.Lee First, I would like to thank everybody who participated in my little Valentine's Day contest. I gave everybody who commented or wrote me a number and then picked a number at random.

The winner has already been sent her lovely prize.

I have a lot of information to go through as there were so many great suggestions. Apparently I need to get started carving some monkeys and Ron Paul along with using more metallics, bringing back monotypes, and working in black and white.

#9 - Collage Challenge

Collage #14 - Collage Challenge
Originally uploaded by m.Lee That I am done with the collage challenge . The original challenge the creator Magic Jelly set up was two weeks. Well I of course decided in a manic fury that two weeks was nowhere near big enough so I would go to the end of the month. Heck maybe until my birthday next month!

Winter Light Shines on Ginkgo Leaves

365blee - 22/365
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I have a very pretty daughter. She's sweet and smart too. And I am able to spend as much time as I want with her and get lots of snuggles with the babywearing. She's happy, I'm happy and Jon is happy.

I did a drawing for the 365 Sketch, but I really disliked it and couldn't bring myself to photograph it. I know that it is about the act of drawing not making masterpieces each time. But the camera battery was still being charged and this drawing just didn't feel worth the effort. Sorry!

It is rainy and grey today so I am not sure what we are to do. It isn't super cold so as long as it stops raining a bit we will go for a short walk. Our walks are important to us.

what I did with my day (while blee sleeps)
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Brown Ginkgo Leaves
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I've been doing this self-representing artist thing on Etsy for nearly two years now. It has been a great start and really has helped me push myself and build my confidence as an artist. Enough that I am less driven by number of sales as I am by getting what I feel my work is worth. Now, I still haven't figured that part out but I am working on it. Prices may fluctuate for bit while I think things over. But they won't be going any lower than they are now.

June 2nd Sketch
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comHere is a little sketch of a plant I saw during one of our walks today. Since I didn't have my camera or even my phone on me this was done from memory (I try not to pick the flowers no matter how tempting they are). Drawing from memory is a good exercise for me to get back into.

Night Falls on Two Trees
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comMy normal Wednesday plans have been canceled and I am going to try and made the best of it.

Things aren't so good. My friend's illness is not getting better and my cat seems to have a problem with his eyes and I need to call the vet today. I might end up putting him in the carrier and pushing him in the stroller while I where blee down to the vet today. Good times. I also need to call a woman about pet sitting next month while we go to a funeral in Ohio.

But if I have some time I will use it to print and not jerk around and waste time. I still have a bunch of paper printed in various stages of completion. And while I have a fair amount of work from last week I would like to have more, in different colors.

Redwoods
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Hey all.

Been feeling very much a slacker lately. The weather has taken a turn for the worst and I am just generally feeling upset. My friend is having his cancer surgery on Tuesday and it is hard to focus on anything but worry. I want it to be Wednesday so it can be over with and he will be fine. Well not fine as he will still need chemo and everything so the battle is far from over but I want this first huge step over.

I'm putting up art from March now and might get to drawing or something but honestly the muse isn't speaking to me these days.

It isn't even 8pm and I just want to go to bed. Maybe I will. Haven't had dinner because my appetite is terrible and I have not been getting the activity that I used to. Blee is well but a little bit fussy during the day.

I'm sewing!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Sewing can be very calming as it requires a lot of focus for me. It worked once before and liked it, I just kept forgetting to bring out the needle and thread and do it again. This time I had my composition all laid out without it but something was missing. So I dug around for my monotype printed and drawn bags and cut out a strip from it and then got out some thread and a needle. This time it is on an 8" x 8" gallery wrapped canvas. Once I stitched the strip to the backing woodblock print. From a woodblock print that almost worked but not quite, but I knew I wanted to keep it mostly intact like a stage for the rest of the image to come. Then I got out a brush and some gel medium and got to collaging.

The Smell of Pine - ACEO
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

She Waits in Darkness
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Yesterday sucked, but first the goodness.

don't tip over!

Art Cards from today
Originally uploaded by m.Lee From yesterdays printing session. Here are some of the strongest art cards I have made in awhile. Sure, they might induce an acid flashback in some but I love the colors. Not really what I had in my head but that is half the fun! I never can anticipate exactly what I am going to end up with. Expect these and more working their way into my shop in the next few weeks.

determined - SPT
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comHas been following me around mentally. But not today. I'm not going to let my negative thoughts get the best of me today. Today is going to be different. This is the face of somebody that is determined to feel better!

I've been sketching daily using the Wacom tablet every day. My goal obsessed brain needs to turn this into some sort of goal to suck out the fun and I am fighting that urge. But I am going to do thirty of them. They don't have to be one a day every day. But I want thirty by the end of June! Some days I will need to double up because I am going to be out of town for five days this month and won't have my tablet with me, nor will I have the time regardless.

I'm trying not to get hung up on the quality of them and just enjoy the time to doodle for fun.

mmmm smells like milk
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

washiwashiwashiwashi!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I won the paper fetishist lotto tonight.

This incredible gift of washi and other beautiful papers that I recieved tonight has pulled me out of my hole to blog a bit. It is just spectacular and I haven't even gone through it yet. I need to find a good place to store all these pretties. I have some pretty wonderful, thoughtful and generous friends.

Speaking of friends, we took a little drive down to RI to see HeatherJeany, meet her husband and her precious new baby boy. Packed up all our gender neutral clothing along with the much loved but sadly outwiggled Moby Wrap and we took to the road Saturday morning after a sudden warmup after a bad storm. We had a great time. She's the best, her husband is very sweet and her baby is adorable and so tiny!

Here they are! All of my six inch square collages. And I am quite proud of all of them. But I am officially out of all my canvas panels. I have one 8"x8" gallery stretched canvas and I had better make it good as those aren't cheap. If I get into using stretched canvas I am going to start doing it myself. I did it in art school, even high school all the time. Even going as far as making my own stretcher bars. That part I won't be doing.

theme for the day - Day 1
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I've started doing these from cards that I wrote and put in an empty drawer. At night I shuffle them up and pick two. Then when I sit down to do some art I keep them in mind. We'll see how it goes. I didn't have much time for art yesterday so all I ended up from these suggestions was this simple sketch, but it was good to get back to my daily sketching.

Today I have:
Change Tools
Read a Page from the Closest Book (that would be Eat, Shoots and Leaves

Progress
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Guess I lied when I said that I would be taking a break. What can I say other than that my moods can change on a dime.

Where?
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I know I am going to make sure that I do! And I hope that you do too. This day only happens every four years. Any of you having a birthday? Also, February being over is a thing to celebrate at the very least.

Looking at these beautiful purchases and gifts that I received tonight makes me realize just how lucky I am. I'm lucky enough to have baby bibs that are so nice they will be passed down instead of tossed aside. Want your own? Check out her shop at Une Petite Etoile. She chooses such beautiful, soft and lush fabrics for little ones that I almost wish I was the baby and not the mom!

No moping. No dwelling. No time wasting, yet allowing myself to relax is important, a tricky balance for sure. No being overly emotional and sensitive. No being angry.

Royalty
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Purple Locks
Originally uploaded by m.Lee