father's day

to all the dads out there, happy father's day. it takes a special person to be a daddy....and i think my boys scored on getting a good daddy. (i also scored on getting a good daddy).  so caleb and i put our heads together and made something pretty cool for both of them. i often roll out a a long piece of craft paper and let caleb scribble or paint on it. we've ended up with these accumulated drawings from over the last 10 months or so. my way of keeping them is to cut them down and scan them in so that when he grows up, he can see his little boy artwork.  i took several of his scanned scribblings, layered them in different transparencies in photoshop, and created a little abstract painting. i then printed them and mounted them on wood blocks for josh. so now josh has 3 small, original abstract paintings by our very own artist in residence. these were his father's day gifts:

{they look really handsome on wood!}

and to continue on with my recent obsession with using caleb's energetic scribblings as backgrounds, i made a digital collage for my own dad as well. this is the front facade of the home we are building, about which my dad has been very excited and supportive. 

thanks for being such great daddies!

the moon followed her

in all of these collages, i'd like to add more hand done elements, but am enjoying creating a kind of base or foundation with photoshop. i have lots of ideas for getting these off my computer an onto a final format, but i am also wondering what i'll do with them once they get off the computer. give them away? man i'd love to be selling artwork again...it's kind of the tree falling in the forest question. if i don't get it out of my hands, does the artwork exist? does my artwork need to matter to someone else to be important?

caleb's bird

i am loving having fun with some of caleb's scribbles. he loves pencil and pen the most, while he prefers eating paintbrushes and paint. some days we roll out a big piece of craft paper, scatter some art supplies on the floor, and he scribbles until his canvas veers onto the wall, baby brother, or the floor.  i cannot imitate the kind of urgent, energetic mark of a small child, and yet i love it. with my hand it looks too contrived, so instead i use the real deal.  i used to have my nieces mark up up a piece of paper to prep for a collage or painting, and love seeing their marks come through.  i don't think this collage is entirely finished as i want to add my hand to it, but for now it exists in photoshop!

{collaboration #1: by mommy & caleb}

it's that time of year...

after having taught or worked in schools for a decade, there are two times of year that get me a little nostalgic. early august when school buses roll out of hibernation, new shoes are broken in, and stores are littered with notebooks, three ring binders, back packs, and lunch kits.  and then early june when places like Jones Hall, UH pavilion, and even Reliant host back to back to back graduations.  i think about all the kids i know or have known who may be the first in their families to be handed a diploma or the first to head off to college. or they may be the 8th generation to do so, but nevertheless it's a time of excitement and relief. sadness and newness. anxiety and nostalgia. it's when i feel so happy to know the teenagers in my life who are glorious blends of confidence and self consciousness. it's when i miss teaching the most and the opportunity to shed a few tears over the kids who left a little handprint on my heart.

today i got to honor a beautiful young woman i've known since she was 7. i left her life for a few years when i moved to boston, but sandwiched around those years are memories of eating ice cream on hot days at the chocolate bar, when she first got into soccer, picking her up from school with her beautiful and talented mom....then moving back to houston and gradually back into her life and feeling stunned by the gorgeous and gracious young woman she's become. congratulations my young friend! you are loved, and though  it may not be the coolest gift in the world to an 18 year old, let this be a little talisman that marks the beginning of a journey.

{the little girl in the collage is actually my aunt judy as she embarks on one of her first journeys}

hiatus from everything except babies

hi. my name is holly, & i fell into a baby filled hole for about 6 months.
between bringing cole home and then learning i am pregnant {what?!? yes. pregnant.} with apparently boy #3 {my lucky number....think i'll stop here}, i haven't created much. well outside of designing/creating a vision for our new-under-construction home with some fabulous architects i haven't. oh, yes, and of course creating baby #3. but i won't write about that.

but all of the sudden i am on a collage rampage and it feels good. i am talking like a week long maybe shorter rampage. there's a lot to show, so i'll spread it out over many posts so as to make sure the next 6 months don't fall back into a blogless hole.

starting with this one i made for perhaps one of the most gifted women i know. she is moving to london with her family, so her naturopathic business is in the hands of some of the other most gifted women i know. {seriously - if something ails you, give heights of health a shout. i think they are responsible for getting me pregnant twice over.}

tracy, if you happen to read this trying-to-climb-out-of-a-baby-filled-hole blogpost, i will miss you. but i am sending you lots and lots of love and energy and adventure wishes. xoxo