Captain’s Log: It’s August in Texas. Heat. Humidity. Mosquitoes. I sweat off two years of my life yesterday. Today, I stared upon the backyard just waiting for it to spontaneously combust. At the end of each summer season, the unbearable temps are instantly erased from our memories…otherwise this region would no longer be inhabited.

It’s hot y’all. I can’t lollygag under the open sky in these conditions so I painted a place I’d like to explore if it were cooler.

Last month I spent another week drawing from the specimen collection at BRIT’s herbarium which is an experience I treasure big time. Below are a few sketches from those sessions.

ALTARS | GUIDES | AMULETS

June was a month of obsessively embroidering animal guides. It kicked off with pins then veered off into stitching a story.

Over the last few years we’ve seen several dillos in the backyard but recently I saw one curled up sleeping the day away under the studio. Will she dig a hole the size of a small swimming pool causing the studio to sink into the earth? Maybe but I am delighted to have her aboard. I haven’t seen her since that initial sighting but I see signs of her presence - tiny bulldozer-size dirt ruts meandering around the garden beds, a hole under the gate just big enough for an armadillo body, and imprints of a swooshing armadillo tail left in the sand.

I love her so I embroidered her a dream land to live in complete with a tunnel from the studio to a thriving garden filled with delicious grub and a roomy nursery to raise a family. Did you know that armadillos always give birth to identical quadruplets?? Magical beasts I tell ya.

This month’s Studio Shop feature…Stay Feral T-shirt in green and red because “Things would’ve been better if we had just stayed feral.”

In addition to the online Studio Shop, I now have an Etsy shop. Over ten years ago I sold on Etsy and had a pretty good run. It’s a far different experience these days but worth a shot. Check out Yonder Way Art Gallery!

(Fun fact: If and/or when I ever have a brick and mortar storefront /studio it will be named Yonder Way Art Gallery and you have an open invitation to visit.)

There are a few in-progress projects in the world of Lolly. I’m making a Lolly gallery way in our home to display the heap of Lolly art collecting dust in the studio. Above are hand drawn frames on cardstock. I’m not sure what direction they will take but it fits the budget perfectly.

This sweet little coin purse was a mere $3 at an antique mall. Soon it will have Lolly’s pal, Dutch the Deer, embroidered on the front and given to my favorite kiddo - Emmie Bean. I can’t wait to see what tiny trinkets she will keep in it.

Documenting my landscape through paintings and storytelling.

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