Like the Bees

The view from our living room window

Things have been as busy as my bees are outside. That's right--I got bees! My bee-mentor Cheryl and I removed a colony of bees that had moved into a cable box in the backyard of a husband/metalsmith and a wife/watercolor instructor. We scooped the bees into a box and brought them to my backyard, where they have been happily buzzing for a few weeks now.

We placed the hive right outside the living room window. Dave and I love to stand and watch the little bees coming and going from the hive, bringing nectar and pollen for the colony. I am hoping they establish in the hive well and make a lot of wax for me to use for encaustic paintings (and a lot of honey for me to share with everyone I know). 

StarFox likes to watch the bees too!

Other than my new beekeepin' ways, here is an update of some other cool things I've been creating recently. I'm really sorry--it's pretty long. Like I said, I've been busy.

Last year, two of my closest friends from college got married at the courthouse and promptly went on a grand, international adventure as husband and wife. To celebrate their first anniversary, Makena and Royce are gathering their loved ones to celebrate their love and commitment.

These are truly two of the most giving, supportive, and creative individuals I know. Throughout college Royce was creating board games, writing/directing/starring in plays, writing novels, and illustrating a hilarious daily webcomic. Makena designed and made her clothing, choreographed thoughtful dance pieces and full-length shows, and created endless crafty solutions for our townhouse. 

Makena and I lived together for a year, and while my flatmate family was so loving and supportive, it was not a good year for me in any other sense of life (understatement of what it felt like at the time). Along with our other roomies Spencer and Katiana, Makena pulled me through some of the lowest, most depressing points of my college years with her unending positivity and wisdom, and she has given me far more grace and forgiveness than I deserve. Royce took me on a handful of weird and uncannily enjoyable walk-ventures, suspended me in a state of inspiration with his words, ideas, and acting, and made me laugh in every media known to man. 

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Sun and Moon Roeswood

Flatmates of GLORY (and also Royce) Katiana, me, Royce, Makena, and Spencer

Once they finally started dating, it was obvious that this was a relationship of fierce devotion and undying support of each other.

The spirit of Makena and Royce's union is perfectly captured in this description of their wedding bands, made by Touch Wood Rings:

Makena's ring has a wide band of Golden Koa to represent the sunshine that Royce brings into her life. To her, he will always come first. Royce's ring has a wide band of Greyed Maple to represent the moon and it's change and balance that Makena shares with him. She is the most important person in his life. Each ring has two bands (one of each color) to show that Royce and Makena will always be together, supporting and complementing each other. We enjoy that they are made of a beautiful and renewable resource. Thank you planet!

So this is where design comes in: Makena asked me to create an image for their upcoming ceremony that combines the sun and moon, featured fall colors, and was not too blocky or too ornate. What an honor!

Makena and Royce also combined their last names--"Roesch" and "Wood" into "Roeswood," so I incorporated a rose and wood texture into the design as well.

initial draft in pen

I start out a new design one of two ways: either I start with a straight-pen drawing of the design chock-full of definition, detail, and texture, or I begin noodling on the computer. I find that when creating images with substantial beauty of content (like this one) I need to start more organically that fiddling with the clean, exacting lines of the computer. My hands work far more quickly at drawing with a pen than they do with my laptop. For designs that are more text-driven I tend to start straight on the computer.

If my initial draft is a pen sketch it usually means that the final product is going to be pretty fanciful. YES! I like that. After finishing my pen sketch, I turn on the computer, build out the simplest shapes in illustrator, add what worked from the pen drawing, and subtract what seems unnecessary. This is my favorite way to create new designs as it brings such a whimsical personality to the end image. 

final with wedding date

final with last name

The final graphics are a great mix of playful and bold, much like Makena and Royce. The unified image of the sun and moon with "Roeswood" accents is a lovely way to represent the commitment they have made to each other. Makena's idea of having such an image makes me think every relationship or family should have its own logo!

Brian Ernst: Give Until It's Gone

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Our good friend Brian Ernst is releasing a new album next month, and I am completely elated that I got to put together the album artwork. Brian and his fairy-wife Katie tour full-time across the country in a school bus that runs on waste veggie oil, and they are currently enjoying God's good earth out West. Katie takes beautiful pictures everywhere they go, and Brian wanted to highlight photos from their travels. The inverted triangle was Katie's idea for representing the overall theme of the album, Give Until it's Gone. My role was to simply join the two ideas into something that embraces the spirit of these two remarkable people.

Dave recorded bass and some piano on the album as well (because he is super talented). You can listen to a few of the tracks on Brian's site.

Also, I painted this dresser.

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before

I grabbed this ugly free dresser from the curb at the same place I picked up the chairs I used to make my settee. I hated it, but behind those two doors in the left were three beautiful wooden drawers that I couldn't pass up. You can't tell from the photo but the legs on this thing are super cool. I took out the drawers and painted it with exterior paint. Now we have a spot to store pots and birdseed.

after

WINTER IS COMING

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T-shirt journals galore

Felicitous starts selling handmade gifts for Christmas starting November first, so I have been busy building up inventory for the sale. My t-shirt journals remain a big seller at the coffee shop, and I have have been binding batch after batch of the books in preparation for the gift-buying craziness. I am also going to have things for sale here on my website for Christmas time, so if you are looking for quirky, hand-made presents for the weirder people in your life, keep me in mind.