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

Moments in Time magnets
Originally uploaded by m.Lee New in my shop are a new collection of totally different magnets and buttons/ badges to collect. These go well on their own or paired with my earlier woodblock print sets. They can all be found here along with my Gocco printed sketchbook journals.

Things are okay. My friends surgery went alright. No miracles but no disasters either. Honestly I am still in shock by it all as it unfolds I can't believe it is happening.

We had decent weather and it is looking like good weather for the rest of the week and I am going to focus on that.

Peacock
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Is new around here. Little blee is still pretty sick and needing to be held/ carried constantly. This is wear my baby carriers are coming in extra handy. Especially two shouldered. I wouldn't have anything done if it wasn't for them.

I'm feeling a total creative block at a very bad time. I really want to make some new pieces for my show but I am just not feeling it. I did manage to list this piece and this one
from last month in my Etsy shop

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.

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.

stamping thank you cards
Originally uploaded by m.Lee For being so wonderful. Please bear with me while I deal with a teething baby that fusses all day and doesn't sleep well at night. I'm trying hard to keep up with everything and am struggling. Right now my online activities including blogging, Etsy and blog reading are suffering the most. Since I end up wearing her most of the day I generally need to keep moving. I try to catch up on reading blogs at night but am often too fried to comment. I'm a bit of a lurker these days.

now this is my kind of bouquet!
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comHope the mother's reading this blog had a great day and that the sons, daughters and partners were able to appreciate the mother's in their lives.

This was my first mother's day, even though last year while I was pregnant I did get a mother's day blessing from a gas station clerk while driving back from Brooklyn.

It started on Thursday when Jon surprised me with this incredible bouquet of fruit flowers. He told me later that he basically could have had the whole thing dipped in chocolate for an additional fee if he had clicked a button but I am glad that he didn't. There were more than enough chocolate dipped strawberries to keep me happy for days. Yum!

framed reproduction!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Wish me luck! My heart is racing from it, I finally opened up a second shop for my reproduction prints. High quality archival prints in various, easy to frame sizes. I am going to stick to selling reproductions of my more expensive pieces and never in the same size as the originals. My 4" x 4" block prints and ACEOs will not be reproduced.

Bitter Pills - ACEO
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com I can't sleep so here I am making a hopefully quick blog post after dusting off the Wacom tablet and doing a little sketching. A sketch that I added to my sketch collection on Flickr.

Both blee and I are still a bit sick so I am going to try and get back to sleep and take it easy today. Getting back into the swing of things slowly.

Done this week:

1) Made this new ACEO/ ATC
2) Finished carving
3) Hung art at cafe
3) Cleaned studio
4) Sketched with Wacom tablet

Things to do:

1) List ACEO/ ATC
2) Print
3) Finish hanging art

Delicate
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Good night and good morning. I am off to bed as soon as I post this. Blogging before bed seems to be the best time for me.

In case you missed it yesterday I am running a Studio Sale in my Etsy Shop in honor of spring cleaning. Clean up my studio and clean up my shop to make room for new pieces like this one and of course plenty of collages and other fresh goodies. Nothing is over $50 so if you have been coveting a piece for awhile it is worth checking out.

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

Monotype Fun!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Awhile back I got some Akua Kolor waterbased monotype inks along with some special application tools. So far I have played around with them twice.

The first time didn't go well at all. And the second was heading that way until I switched from the excellent bright white Arches 88 that is recommended to some paper bags. Suddenly the same images that looked terrible on the paper looked great and filled with life, on a cheap paper bag. Funny how things work out. This was about a month ago. Some of these bags I cut up for collage. Some I drew on before using them in collage and some I saved.

duckie shows what the mirror can do
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

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.

mmmm smells like milk
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Cultivating the eclectic
Originally uploaded by foftychel I was feeling pretty stressed out and awful yesterday, then I saw this and I smiled and then laughed for the first time in awhile.

Check out the statue next to it. Squirrel headed bride! Just another reason for me to love BirdNerd! Not only is she a talented artist, a sweet person but she is cute and funny. And of course she has great taste as well.

Thank you my dear!

rearranged print corner
Originally uploaded by m.Lee First thing this morning I did what I had been thinking about the night before and rearranged my print corner so that the drawers faced out in a better direction. They had been facing toward the press and the top ones would bump up against the paper rack and not open all the way.

But it could be more productive. Like right now instead of being at the computer blogging I could be finishing up cleaning my studio so I can do two things.

flower behind fence
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comI don't take what I would call exciting photos during my nature walks. I take snapshots of things that catch my eye, usually with the camera from my phone as it is a decent camera and is simple to use while wearing a baby!

I take in the images and then go through them later looking at the colors, shapes and general ideas for work. Here are some of my quick snapshots from today. I didn't have a lot of time to stop and gaze at the flowers because we were on our way to see the pediatrician for blee's nine month visit but I caught a handful of interesting images.

I like how this flower is growing in a tiny yard behind a fence so almost nobody can enjoy it unless they look for it like I did. I like seeing the dug up lawn with what looks like a Maple tree sapling springing out of the ground. And then there are the gorgeous colors all around.

Dead Tree v.3
Originally uploaded by m.Lee I almost never have sales, and have never had one this big. But my collages are taking up a bunch of room and I am a busy bee with lots of work. Time for some of the older pieces to go. At unbeatable prices! Think of it as spring cleaning.

Check out my Studio Sale section of my Etsy Shop to see more of what is available. Nothing is over $50 and some are as little as $5! Maybe you will find something you have coveted for awhile! I will be adding to the section as I go through my studio and see what I find.

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.

Printsy on the Etsy Homepage!
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.com Something that I have been thinking about but never getting off my butt to do for about oh two years now has finally happened. Printmakers on Etsy finally have their own street team named Printsy. I came up with that one half as a joke and it took.

Are you a printmaker that sells your prints on Etsy? Would you like to get together with other printmakers to get the word out about original prints versus reproductions? Help show that there very much is a difference between the two and that they can co-exist. Then please consider joining our group.

You can contact me or sherisdesthelion via Etsy convo to find out more information about this growing group of artists.

Pfau
Originally uploaded by m.Lee

Woodblock prints are back, my first of the year actually! Not that I am anywhere near done with collaging and gocco. In fact I made a collage that I am quite proud of just last night. But I had a chunk of time and was in the mood so I made about ten prints. Not a lot for me but it was what I was feeling. The peacock is my favorite.

Mysterious Stranger
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comAnd goodbye. I'm going on a much needed vacation.

But don't be sad I will still be around but I just need to give myself some more time off the computer and away from the constant creative pressure that I put myself under. It can be quite overwhelming. And since we are going away to Ohio for a funeral in two weeks anyhow I figured I might as well take the whole month off.

I will try to blog once a week, keep my shop up to date and even continue to sketch. But mostly this month is about enjoying nature with my daughter, sitting down and reading (and finishing) a book for the first time since becoming a mother and playing some silly video games like Mario Kart for the Wii.

I'll be a quiet presence while I take this month to regroup and hopefully re-cooperate from a bunch of emotional setbacks. Mmmmm I can smell the flowers already.

So glad to have my phone back!
Originally uploaded by m.Lee Didn't get too much accomplished on the art front yesterday, because we were too busy out playing outside. I don't know how mom's with strollers manage. Wearing blee around the city is so freeing, I don't have a stroller to lug around, get in the way and hold me back. It was a gorgeous day and today is looking to be one too. Luckily for my art my feet hurt a bit from all the walking I've been doing and my new comfy shoes won't be here until Monday at the earliest.

I hope everybody enjoys their Friday and their weekends. I think we will go walking around an area we are interested in moving to in a couple of years. There used to be a very cute toy store around there.

Quiet Playground
Originally uploaded by mlee.etsy.comThe new street team for Etsy Printsy is up and running with me doing the first artist interview. Check it out over at the Printsy blog. Printsy Interview : Fustian

Last Thursday and Friday I was finally able to get some printing done, first time since March I believe. It felt very good to be printing again and even better having new prints like these. I was able to use my latest block, but only with this one for now but I know I will be bringing it out again in the future. All of my latest creations will be making their way into my shop in the next week or two. With new pieces in the works this week my shop will stay current for a good long time hopefully. Check it out!

Winter Light Shines on Ginkgo Leaves

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.

Poppies at Nightfall - ACEO
Originally uploaded by m.Lee