The Incoming Tide

 

Goodness, this summer has completely flown by. I was hoping to get so much more down, but lots of projects (some related, some not) have dropped into my lap. But I'm really excited about them! One is an album cover design for a local Seattle rock band named Service Animal. This will be their first EP and all (band mates and myself included) are stoked to get the album released to the public. It's been a while since I've tackled a design project--and never have I done an album--but this has been an utter joy to work on. The release date will be later in the year, and I'll link to it for you to check out (their music is really good!).

Second up, I was notified last month that I was accepted into a very well-known marine research program with a scholarship up at the UW's Friday Harbor Laboratories in the San Juan Islands. It's one quarter long and I'll be living in the blissful idyllic environs of Friday Harbor on San Juan Island  for 2.5 months until December. Part of my time will be spent conducting intertidal marine research and part will be spent in a class/lab setting with courses on fish (which will be a nice change in between my studies on marine invertebrates) and also ocean physics. Needless to say, I am very, very excited. And nervous. But mostly excited. I'm frantically packing things away and getting ready to move there in less than two weeks.

What this also means is that I'll need to put the shop on "vacation mode" while I'm away, as I won't have easy post office access. The shop will close Sept. 23rd won't reopen until mid-December, so if there's something in there that you've had an eye on for Christmas, now's the time to get it!

Up above are some more spreads of paintings and souvenirs from my art journal. Included are: a favorite quote by Rachel Carson from her book "Edge of the Sea" (which I read and loved); a painted crab wallpaper design; lichen I collected while snowshoeing earlier in the year; a ticket stub for Moonrise Kingdom (saw it twice in July and was completely smitten); a polaroid I took on top of my unfinished 2nd quilt; and a painting of a cedar waxwing I came across while on a walk over the summer (first time seeing one in the wild!).

While these next couple of months will likely see more marine science material on the blog while I'm away doing research,  I hope you'll stick around! Learning about and researching our salty sea friends is my biggest artistic inspiration.

Cheers!