pottery painting adventure! August 2025

There is power and magic in going on dates with yourself. As you all know by now, I love doing creative things. In August, I went to an "adults night out" pottery-painting party at the Color Me Mine studio near where I live. I was slightly worried that I would not do a good job at painting the pottery piece. However, I decided to go for it, regardless. The project was a gingham and blueberry plate. I chose to make the smaller of two sizes of plates because it is a bit expensive. The class is only 8 dollars but the price of the smaller plate was 30 dollars. The teacher was nice but to be honest, they could have been more attentive. There were only six participants so I am not sure why the teacher was so hands-off. That being said, I had a lot of fun! I painted the gingham stripes and six blueberries. I realized I should have put a seventh blueberry. I was, however, running out of energy towards the end of class. The plate was ready to pick up two weeks later. I was so excited to pick up my completed plate! I think it came out alright, especially for someone who does not paint on pottery often. I hope that you enjoyed reading about my pottery-painting adventure! As always, if you want to support me and my work, please check out GreenOwlCrochet, my Etsy shop. I also accept crochet commissions. Thank you!

a poem for this day

New Year’s Eve

The new year’s

hazy night sky 

is upon us

and we think 

to ourselves 

what beauty

the future 

could hold.

Of course

we are scared 

of the many 

atrocities in the

great-big world,

yet we know

we must survive.

So we give 

each other 

Mona Lisa smiles

and go to bed 

with exhausted minds

and hopeful hearts.

December 31, 2023

Internal/External (drawing on postcard)

PS- You can support me by leaving me a tip on PayPal or by visiting my Etsy shop, GreenOwlCrochet. I also accept crochet commissions! Thank you.

Chaos Inside and other fun stuff

    Hi there, buddies! I hope that you are all doing well. The days have mostly been cool and sunny here in New Jersey. I'm enjoying the lack of heat and also having the window open. My cat, Grace, loves "open window season", as well.

    Last week, I doodled on a fake white pumpkin I bought from Amazon. It was fun! I'm not thrilled with how it came out, but I'm glad I had a good time while making it. I have more pumpkins and other gourds that I can doodle on at some point in the future. 

    I made six postcards while I was babysitting one night. The postcards were made in the span of maybe twenty minutes. The kiddos I babysit love to draw and color, so I figured I would join in the creative session with them. The postcard below, Chaos Inside, is my favorite postcard of the bunch. 

    On a whim, I painted my nails. I used a cranberry red nail polish from Ulta. My cousin gifted me the nail polish last year for the holidays. I love the way they came out. It's not bad at all for a DIY manicure. 

    As always, thank you so much for reading. I now accept donations via PayPal. I have an Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, where I sell items I make. I also accept crochet commissions. Ciao! 

Chaos Inside (marker and colored pencil on a postcard)

my manicure

my doodled pumpkin

cozy season is almost over

The cold weather here is almost gone. Spring will come soon enough. In other words, the seasons of coziness are almost over. I'm looking forward to the longer days and then trips to the lake during the summertime. The kids I babysit got me sick again, unfortunately. I have been able to crochet a lot and also get in some art-making and writing sessions. I just adore this picture of my sweet cat, Grace, modeling a lap blanket I made. As always, if you enjoy my work and would like to support me, please check out my Etsy shop, GreenOwlCrochet. I also accept crochet commissions. 

Yellow Flowers, Teal Stamp (collage on canvas board)

Grace modeling a lap blanket I crocheted

Amoeba Madness (drawing on a postcard blank)

seven paintings I made at the end of February 

in the splendor of the summertime

June and July have been fun! I have been able to crochet a lot and also work on some other crafty goodness. I found inspiration in this painted rock tutorial that I saw online on Saturday. On Sunday, I drew a geometric design on a rock and then painted in the colors using paint pens. I think the result is great! Yesterday, I finished crocheting a jellyfish stuffed toy for a friend of mine. If you would like to buy a crocheted jellyfish or another item from my shop, please visit my Etsy shop, GreenOwlCrochet. I also accept commissions. Thank you!

This is the painted stone I made on Sunday.

This is the cute jellyfish stuffed toy I made.

I was not very creative as a kiddo. However, I found this painting I made as a child. I was probably six years old when I made this painting. Sweet!

cute llama magnet

A few weeks ago, I went to a bargain store called Five Below to hunt for some treasures. I bought a few gifts for my neighbor's child, since I know she loves to do arts and crafts. I also bought some things for myself. Among my haul was a ceramic llama magnet painting kit. The kit was only one dollar. Despite its low price, it provided me with much joy. I was having a restless time before bedtime one night. I decided to try painting the llama magnet, just for fun. Although it only took me a few minutes to paint the llama, I'm so glad I did! I also used a black permanent marker to add the eyes and mouth. I used gloss Mod Podge to seal the paint. Okay, readers, I love the way this llama magnet came out! If you are so inclined, please tell me what you last bought to make yourself happy. I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. If you would like to support me and my work, please consider ordering something from my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I also accept commissions. Thank you!

January update

Hello, all! I have been having a rough time with my fatigue, pain, and sadness. In November and December, I was able to crochet a lot of tree ornaments. As I stated before, these tree ornaments are for an upcoming yarn bomb. Also, in the past few months, I have been able to make art, and write a bit of poetry and such. I am happy to share some of my work with you all. Please don't forget to check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I also accept crochet commissions. I hope you all are having a lovely winter!

Mushroom Lore (collage on canvas board)

Zone 3 Butterfly (collage on canvas board)

crocheted tree ornaments 

still life December 2021

November happenings!

Hello, dear readers! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. I have been working on crocheting more tree ornaments. I crochet covers (aka, "cozies") for pre-made plastic bases I buy online. I am planning on hanging the ornaments somewhere in our yard at some point in December. Last year, I did a similar installation called Holiday Cheer 2020. In fact, I may incorporate the same tree ornaments I used last year, along with the new ones I am making. I have also been making some collages and writing a bunch of poetry. I will, of course, share some more poetry eventually. Ciao! 

Green Stamp Gold Insect (collage on canvas board)

So Much Depends Upon the Bird (collage on cardstock)

two of the tree ornaments I made last week (crochet)

Happy Fall!

I hope this blog post finds you all doing well. I have been struggling with my pain and fatigue, as always. I injured my wrist last week and have not been able to crochet for a few days. What a bummer! On the plus side, I have been able to make a few collages and write a bit. I have been enjoying the cooler weather. I love to sleep with my window open. I hope you all are doing well!

My sweet baby, Callie, modeling a bandanna I crocheted

three crocheted pumpkins I made

Blue Butterfly 15 (collage)

Red Bird Ghana 500 (collage)

Black Butterfly (collage)

Thank you for visiting my blog! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe. I am having a rough day due to my pain, fatigue, and PTSD. I was, however, able to sit outside for a bit and make a collage. I have also been working on crocheting items for Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. If you would like to support me and my work, please consider buying something from Green Owl Crochet or commission me to crochet something fabulous for you or a loved one. Ciao!

desks, studios, hope

     Despite my pain, fatigue, and headache, I was able to pull out my art supplies and make some art today. I'm beyond happy that I was able to have an art-making session! I must say, I'm proud of myself. 

     My current studio space is problematic. I simply use a desk to make art. This desk is in my bedroom. In addition to being an art studio space, it is a craft studio, a writing space, and an office. I have to do a whole lot of preparation to be able to make art. I also have terrible lighting in my bedroom and my chair is uncomfortable. 

     I consider it a chore to have to pull out all of my art supplies, clear off my desk, and set up my supplies on said desk. In fact, I consider it such a chore that it has become prohibitive to my artistic practice. Often, I will settle on just taking out a few collage supplies and go from there. That is, I will settle on working with a glue stick, some ephemera, and some supports (which are usually postcards and canvas boards). This is not necessarily a bad thing, per say. However, as an artist, I feel it's unfortunate to be limited like this. 

      This, of course, leads me to explore what I can do to prevent myself from being burdened with these preparatory tasks. I know that I need to have a better studio set up for myself. I have, in fact, known this from early on in my art career. My dad has suggested in the past that I put a desk in the basement of our home. 

      In the past, I deemed myself unworthy of having a better studio set up. I thought that it was unnecessary and perhaps selfish to take up more space for this little hobby of mine. Now, I believe that I have finally reached a place in my life where I am no longer ashamed to ask for a better studio space.

     I will talk to my dad about setting up a studio in the basement tomorrow. If all goes well, he can help me get a desk, a chair, and some good lighting there. I'm hopeful that having a dedicated, functional studio will help me expand my art practice.

     I would love to hear all about your art studios, past and present, in the comments below.

     

addressing the Inner Critic

Hello, all! I hope everyone is doing well and staying safe and healthy. I was able to make fifteen collages in the past week or so. According to my friend and fellow artist, De Villo Sloan, I've had a creative breakthrough. It has been fun being able to make some art! I made most of the collages while sitting up in bed and watching TV. I find that watching TV while I make art helps block my Inner Critic. Another thing I do to try to avoid my Inner Critic is work quickly. I enjoy gluing things down with wild abandon and only briefly stopping to plan and critique. Plus, I have always felt that it is better to make bad art than to not make art at all. What are some tips you all have that help you overcome your Inner Critic?

watercolor class and crocheting my heart out

      My public library hosted an online watercolor class last week. The class was taught by Swetha Shenoy of The Paisley Corner. The class was a lot of fun! We started out with practicing some brush skills. Then, we made shapes like flowers and leaves. We concluded the class with a final project. The final project was a freehand-style bouquet of flowers and leaves. I did not like the way my final project came out. However, I will share a picture of me doing the preliminary work (such as the brush skills). It was a delightful class. I highly recommend Swetha's classes.

     Of course, I've been keeping up with crocheting. I made a bunch of hats and scarves that I mailed to my friend Kai back at the end of December. Kai lives in Rochester, NY and distributed the hats and scarves to folks in need. Below you can see a picture of me crocheting a scarf while I watch YouTube on my laptop. Also, I have been crocheting more hats and scarves, and slowly but surely been working on a yarn bomb. Below is a picture of some yarn scraps from the yarn bombing project I am working on. As always, if you would like to support me and my work, please peruse my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I also accept crochet commissions! 

Happy September!

Ahoy! I hope you all are doing well. My dad's parrots recently had two chicks. One chick hatched on August 30th and the other on September 3rd. We feel blessed! I have been crocheting a lot lately and doing some writing. I was also able to have a painting session a little while ago. I sat at the Ridgewood Duck Pond the other day and wrote some letters and took some pictures using my Fujifilm Instax camera. How is your September going? What are some of your goals for fall?

painting on cardboard August 2020

still-life photography August 2020

our two newest chicks!

close-up of a cat bed I crocheted

writing letters are the park September 2020

something is better than nothing

I have gotten four orders for various crocheted items in the past six weeks. Because of this, I have been busy crocheting. However, in addition to crocheting for my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, I have been writing letters, making a few pieces of art, writing a few poems, making some postcards, and writing in my journal. Yesterday, I woke up feeling like I  wanted to make some art. I knew I didn't have much time or energy to spend on it, but I still wanted to make something. I ended up completing the front page and working on a two-page spread of a small booklet I made. Voila! Small bursts of creativity are great!

rainy day in January

Howdy! It has been dark and rainy all day today. Boo hoo. I dislike rainy days. Do you? I worked on crocheting a hat for an order I received via my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I took a break to make some collages. I will share one of the collages below, along with a close-up picture of a cat bed I made and another collage I made last week. How do you like to spend rainy days? Ciao!

close-up of cat bed

Owl Doodle January 2020

Rainy Day Blues January 2020

winter update 2020

Happy New Year! I hope your year is full of wonderful goodness. I have been busy crocheting some orders for my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet. I have also been making some paintings and collages. Do you have any goals for the new year? Or any wishes? Please let me know in the comments. Ciao!

Blue Mood/Winter Blue

December 2019

One of our hyacinth macaw babies!

Feather Blitz

January 2020

printmaking adventures!

Back in October, I went to a printmaking class at the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey (USA). I was nervous about going to the class because I had never made art in front of other people before. I was able to relax and enjoy the class, though. In fact, I had a ton of fun! The class was six hours long. We spent the first three hours working on a gelatin plate. The second half was devoted to making designs on a thin plate and then passing through a letter press.  But the fun did not stop once the class was over. The class inspired me to have a few more printmaking sessions using my gelatin plate. Have you ever taken an in-person art class? If so, please tell me about it!

Spring 2019 update

It's mostly been a cold, rainy spring here in New Jersey. We have had a few nice days, though. I went to the park one day to read and write in my journal. It was fun! 

Our baby birds have gotten so big! In exactly one year and a day, we had six babies. That's virtually unheard of for hyacinth macaws. We feel incredibly blessed. 

Speaking of blessings, my dad finally helped me get a book shelf in my bedroom. Finally! Now I can display some of my books, which makes it much easier to peruse my collection than if they were in boxes. Can you tell I love books?

I've still been crocheting up a storm and making art, of course. I made a few paintings this month. I also crocheted a bunch of cat beds, a mason jar cozy, a headband, and some other items. 

It would mean a lot to me if you would check out my Etsy shop, Green Owl Crochet, where I sell some of the items I crochet. I also accept crochet commissions. Thank you!