Liz Morrow 7/4/13 Liz Morrow 7/4/13

a tradition

Almost as long as I can remember, my mom and I have been making a flag cake for 4th of July. Always with strawberries and blueberries. In the early days, she would obviously bake the cake, and then we'd frost it with cool whip and I'd place the strawberries and blueberries on top. There are many photos of me over the years, holding a flag cake on the 4th, just like the one up top. This year I decided to switch things up a bit and make a cupcake "cake." I grabbed a box of pink lemonade cake mix from the store yesterday and mixed up the lemon buttercream frosting I made for the black tea cake a while back (becuase it's seriously one of the best ~~frostings~~ things I've ever put in my mouth, uuugh). The poor frosting was getting so sad and melty in the heat and fruit kept trying to fall off, but I threw it in the freezer and it firmed up. So not used to these heat related problems!

Liz Morrow 7/3/13 Liz Morrow 7/3/13

head scarf updo tutorial

After posting the outfit where I was wearing my hair up with a scarf, I got a lot of requests for a tutorial, so I made a quick video to share how to do it! It's really easy and very quick, so it's a perfect hairstyle if your hair is yucky, but you don't have time to wash, dry, and style it. I also wear my hair like this to air dry it, so if you have big curly hair, you can also wear your hair like this while it dries!

Liz Morrow 7/2/13 Liz Morrow 7/2/13

midcentury soiree

I love dressing up for parties. Like... a lot. Like, I spend hours getting ready. I mean, if it's a bring-a-12-pack-and-yourself type of party I don't, but if there is any sort of theme... oh baby. I get fancy so rarely that I love the excuse to take that extra time. I'm glad my hair is long enough now to do more fun hairstyles. The beehive has returned! I've gotten a few requests for my scarf updo from the white dress post last week, so I think I might try to photograph that this week. It's super easy and has been my go-to hairdo during this little heat wave we're having. It's also how I dry my hair, so I do that hairstyle after I shower and have to go out in the world while my hair is still wet.
But anyway, back to the party. Our friend Ruthy turned 35 and threw a fun Mad Men party at her new midcentury modern home! They bought their new house around the same time as we did, and have also been in the grips of home renovation (they've redone their entire kitchen so far!). And yes, they have a pool. I think they are as confused as I as to why anyone thinks installing an outdoor pool is a good idea in the PNW, but on weeks like this past week, it sure does sound magical! Unfortunately their pool isn't in working order at the moment otherwise that's where you'd find me every day this week.

dress (similar)/courtesy of modcloth :: shoes + brooch/vintage
Despite the heat wave I decided to wear my "Joan" dress. This is honestly a much more winter-party friendly dress, but I have so few opportunities to wear it that I decided to deal with the heat and wear it anyway. Out of the five options I had it was the only one that wasn't real vintage, but oh well (and I've actually worn this exact same outfit on the blog before). Dan actually was mostly vintage, wearing his grampa's shirt and tie! There was a martini bar and candy cigarettes, so everyone looked very Mad Men indeed.

photobooth photos by LMR Photos

Liz Morrow 7/1/13 Liz Morrow 7/1/13

OUR HOME // exterior before + after

I was hoping to write this post much sooner, but hey, house projects always take longer than anticipated, right? Honestly, our garage still doesn't have any siding on it after 6 months, and you can still see the scaffolding up on the left (still finishing some trim paint), so we're definitely not done, but it'll happen. Someday. But! For all intents and purposes, we're basically done with the hard stuff.

When we were looking around for a house, we were looking for a project, mostly because we wanted a cheap house. Like, really cheap. And in Tacoma's housing market, that's not too hard, especially if you're ready to put in a little elbow grease to get the most out of your cheap house. We had looked at the house behind the one we ended up buying, but the interior was awful. It needed to be completely re-done. The exterior was fine, but the interior was pretty bad. We decided to pass on that one and as we walked home, we saw the house we ended up buying. It looked like a dump. The exterior was in sorry shape. We didn't even bother looking at it because we figured with an exterior like that, there was no way the interior was decent. Well, we were wrong, and the interior had been completely remodeled. Unfortunately someone had done a terrible job of keeping up the exterior shingle siding and had done the worst paint job I've ever seen on a house. they barely even masked off the windows and doors and sprayed a thick coat of paint right over paint that was already peeling.

So in January, we ripped it all off. After looking into some construction companies around town and getting some estimates, we ended up just doing it ourselves. My Dad and Uncle came down from Alaska, along with my brother, who was heading back to college after being home for Christmas break, and then my cousin and other brother drove up from Portland to help as well. My Dad and his brother worked with my Grampa for years doing construction on houses, so it was almost a reunion tour of my Grampa's old construction business, Auke Bay Builders! It actually felt really cool to be able to work alongside my family like that. Anyway, Dan & I did all the demo before they showed up, so when they arrived we got right to the siding... after hauling 600 lbs of old shingles to the dump.

It took about two weeks total. There were a couple snafu's to fix after taking off the old siding. The front porch had some weird off-kilter-ness to it, so my Dad squared it up. But many hands made light(ish) work, and I was so thankful to have the expertise of my Dad and Uncle available. Replacing the old shingle siding with new shingle siding would've been too expensive, so we went with HardiePlank Lap siding, which is nice because it's not actually wood, it's fiber cement material. This makes it fire-resistant, among other things, which is nice. Plus, you only have to score with a knife and then snap in order to cut pieces, rather than sawing each one, which saved a ton of time. I love the look of shingles, and it fits the style of our house, so we decided to do cedar shingles in the gables, which I think looks super sharp.

We decided to paint it a dark charcoal. After seeing some darker colored houses around town, I thought it looked both modern and classic. I figure there are so many houses painted "safe" colors like beige, I wanted to do something more unique and bold. We tested a couple shades of charcoal and ended up with a near-black shade, but after painting the whole house, I'm in love with it. I feel like we've got the snazziest house on the block!

Since the interior of our house isn't in need of immediate renovation, our next project (well, other than finishing the siding on the garage to match the house...) will probably be fencing in our side yard in front of the detached garage to give us more enclosed, private yard space. I got

these patio tiles

at Ikea the other day from the As-Is section (35 tiles for only $1 each!!), so I'm excited to start installing them soon! I'd like to make some more raised beds to expand our veggie garden, too.

I'm so proud of the work we've done in less than a year. I always get sad seeing all the run down craftsman homes around town that obviously used to be so beautiful. When we were looking for a house, I wanted to be able to revive one of those homes back to it's former glory, so it's been really fun actually getting to do that. Our house had sat vacant for years before we moved in with no one taking care of it. Thankfully the interior hadn't fallen into disrepair, so we've been able to focus all our energies on fixing up the exterior.

Liz Morrow 6/30/13 Liz Morrow 6/30/13

my fitness routine // the results

I was really bad about taking before pictures when I started Insanity. I took some in November, but they were mirror iPhone pictures taken at night, and weren't that great. But I did want to see the difference in my body, and I figured since I do take daily pictures of myself, it would be relatively easy to find some before pictures. I didn't plan this, but it turns out I took these pictures exactly one year apart! So the "before" is actually a few months before I even started working out regularly, but still probably an accurate representation of my "before."
I never felt overweight or anything, and that's not really why I started working out, but I definitely feel better, both in terms of my physical fitness, strength, and cardio, and also in how that's manifested in the way my body looks. I feel more "me." I was always a very active kid and teen, doing track & field, basketball, and riding horses. And in college I really loved being able to take fitness classes regularly, such as pilates, weight training, ballet, and ice skating. But after college, fitness wasn't something so easily accessed. I started rock climbing, which does provide a good workout, but doing more regular, longer, intense workouts is something that I needed to return to the level of fitness that I had when I was in my teens/early 20's.

For the most part, my body has always been relatively the same size and shape. I haven't grown much since 8th grade. So weight and tone fluctuations are really hard for me to perceive in my body. I have swung between ~110lbs and 125lbs at different times since 8th grade, but since I don't weigh or measure myself consistently, it's not something I really paid that much attention to. But seeing these photos I can definitely see a difference, and I see why taking before & after photos is so important when you're trying to make a change. The day to day changes are almost imperceptible and you can start to feel discouraged when you don't see a big leap in fitness, ability, or body shape. But just putting your head down and plowing through the work, and then taking the after photo, you definitely can see it! I've never seen visible results before (okay, granted, I've never really stuck to a workout plan before either), so I'm pretty excited that I can actually see the work paying off! And I'm seeing results in my strength through rock climbing too!

Hi, I’m Liz

I'm an artist, writer, designer, DIY renovator, and … well basically I like to do all the things. If it’s creative I’m probably doing it. I’ve spent over 30 years voraciously pursuing a life steeped in creativity and I wholeheartedly believe creativity and joy are inextricably linked.
Read more…

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Featured

Women's Work Wayzgoose 2026 Steamroller Print

$350.00

Lino relief print created during the 2026 Wayzgoose Steamroller Print event in Tacoma. Each print was pressed using a 1.5 ton steamroller. See the entire process here!

The Wayzgoose theme this year was Tacoma Works, a celebration of the labor history of Tacoma, labor solidarity, Tacoma industry, and what work in Tacoma looks like.

As I thought about the theme, I realized I wanted to highlight the unpaid labor that women do, all the work that doesn't get acknowledged as “real work" and goes uncompensated but quietly forms the backbone of society. Care work, cooking and cleaning, household management, pregnancy and child rearing, carrying the emotional and mental load, etc.

I wanted to use the imagery of a quilt because this devaluing of "women's work" has extended into the art world by deeming mediums historically associated with women as merely "craft" - lots of fiber art, quilting, embroidery: highly skilled and artistically incredible work that wasn't considered "fine art."

Women's work is the thread that stitches everything together. It's the thread that goes unnoticed and under appreciated, but without it, everything would fall apart.

When I say “women’s work” I don’t mean that only women engage in these types of work, but historically these types of unpaid labor have fallen vastly upon women. I also don’t mean that women don’t or haven’t engaged in paid labor and industry throughout Tacoma’s history, they obviously have. To me, “women’s work” is the phrase that embodies how we devalue certain types of labor typically associated with women, and can extend into forms of paid labor— why is it that teachers are so underpaid in our society? Could it have anything to do with teaching having been a workforce of primarily women historically?

So when we talk about women’s work we’re talking about things like care work, elder care, feeding a family, procuring groceries, household management, keeping a home clean and stocked, rearing children, pregnancy, birthing and breastfeeding, emotional labor, mental load, community building and organizing. Without these forms of “women’s work” our society would unravel.

Women's work is work. The labor and industry history in Tacoma could not have happened without the women in the background supporting it all with the work they did that wasn't considered real work.

Tacoma Works because Women Work.

—

Due to the nature of printing outdoors, on the ground, with a steam roller, there are variations and slight imperfections from print to print.

Prints ship rolled in a cardboard tube.
Local pickup is in Central Tacoma.

Paper size: 30.5 x 44 in
Print size: 24 x 36 in

Sold out

Mutual Relief Print

$65.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

When we live mutually we support one another, live in community, love one another.

—

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 12×18"
✸ Signed, edition of 15
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Talix̂tas Relief Print

$70.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

Unangax̂ dancing has seen a beautiful revitalization in the past few decades, and this piece is dedicated to the dancers who spent their lives reawakening Unangax̂ dancing, and to the dancers in the coming generations who will carry it forward.

50% of the proceeds of this print go towards disaster relief for the devastation Western Alaska is experiencing from the impact of typhoon Halong.

—

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks on Arnhem Warm White 245gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 14×20"
✸ Signed, edition of 50
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Flock Together Relief Print

$70.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

On the last day of my artist residency in Sitka, my kiddo’s homesickness hit its peak. We’d been away from home for almost a month and they didn’t want me to leave that morning to go to the museum. So I invited them to come with me and told them I’d draw them a goose— sometimes I call them “goose” which I think was initially a shortening of “silly goose” but now I just use Goose.

This print came out of that drawing. Two hugging geese— mom and child, lovers, friends. For me, this is a depiction of me and Jack, but for you? Who is your goose who needs a hug that feels like home?

—

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 12×18"
✸ Signed, edition of 25
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Fucus Distichus Relief Print

$30.00

Hand pressed original linoleum block print.

Inspired by the beautiful seaweed teeming on the shores of Sitka Sound.

✸ Handprinted on a lever press with archival inks on Arnhem Stonehenge Warm White 245gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 6×8"
✸ Signed, edition of 50
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Kith Relief Print

$65.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

We are not separate from nature, we are a part of it, despite the capitalist and religious values that have convinced many that we are set on earth to dominate, extract, and conquer her. We are one part of the circle.

—

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks on Arnhem Warm White 245gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 16×16"
✸ Signed, edition of 20
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Sea Kin Giclée Print

from $17.00

Giclée print reproduction of the original linoleum relief print. This is not an original relief print. Because size and pricing can be prohibitive on a larger print such as the original print, I wanted to offer a reproduction giclée version in a couple sizes slightly smaller than the original.

You can see the original steamroller print here.

—

This print was inspired by a dream I had shortly before leaving for Sitka. In the dream I swam all the way from Tacoma to Sitka, then upon arriving in Sitka I was out on a spit of land across the water from town and a huge tsunami wave tossed me into the sea. I was tumbling underwater, the ocean was opaque from the wave kicking up silt, and I realized I couldn’t tell up from down to find the surface and was going to drown, alone beneath the waves. I woke up in a start— it was one of those almost-too-real dreams that had you wake with your heart racing. Later that day I was ruminating on the dream and realized that while I felt alone underwater because I couldn’t see anything, I wasn’t actually alone. I was surrounded by kin: Salmon guiding me to the headwaters of a stream, kelp growing towards upwards to guide me to the surface, seals who could pull me along.

I spent the first week of my residency carving the linoleum, then we got our steamroller rental delivered and printed! The steamroller was a little smaller than the ones we use for Wayzgoose so I wasn’t sure if it would be heavy enough, but it worked perfectly and we ended up with nine prints. So many people came out to watch and it was such a blast getting to do another steamroller print!

—

Prints ship rolled in a cardboard tube.

Sizes available:

12×18 and 16x24 in.

What is a giclée print?

Giclée printing (pronounced zhee-clay) is a type of inkjet printing, but not all inkjet prints are giclée prints. The intention of giclée printing is to produce a product at a higher quality and with a longer lifespan than a standard desktop inkjet printer. For a giclée print, the paper must be of archival quality. The biggest difference between a standard inkjet print and a giclee print is that giclées are printed using pigment-based inks rather than dye-based inks that are found in lower-cost inkjets. Pigment-based inks have a longer lifespan: they can last anywhere from 100 - 200 years without significant fading.

Sold out

Sitka Swirls Relief Print

$45.00

Hand pressed original linoleum block print.

Inspired by the beautiful kelp teeming in the waters of Sitka Sound.

✸ Handprinted on a lever press with archival inks on Arnhem Stonehenge Warm White 245gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 8×10"
✸ Signed, edition of 100
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Haanux̂ Lessons Relief Print

$55.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

The sockeye salmon—Haanux̂—is the ubiquitous presence in the Alaska Native subsistence life. My family has spent generations harvesting haanux̂ from the icy waters of Bristol Bay, and wrote this poem while reflecting on the wisdom of a salmon’s instincts. A salmon lesson.

I know when to swim
upstream
pushing through
the current
called by an invisible
siren
home

and I know
when to let my body
be carried by the waves
weightless
and effortlessly
gliding

—

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks on Legion Stonehenge White 250gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 11×14"
✸ Signed, open edition
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Qanglaaĝix̂ Relief Print

$55.00

Hand-pressed original linoleum block print.

The raven is a creature of myth and magic, mischief and majesty. These talkative and playful corvids punctuate my time spent in Alaska, croaking to one another as I pad through moss-filled ancient forests. This print connects the Raven to her habitat— Kelp strewn on rocky southeast beaches, salmonberries and ferns tangled beneath pines, and the punctuation of bright fuchsia fireweed against grey skies. They talk to me and I talk back. Qanglaaĝix̂— Raven.

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks on Legion Stonehenge White 250gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 11×14"
✸ Signed, open edition
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

Raven Sticker

$4.00

Matte Die Cut Sticker

Dimensions: 2.2" x 3"

Vinyl stickers are the OG multipurpose sticker. This material is strong, reliable, and versatile, perfect for indoor or outdoor use. Stickers made on our vinyl material will withstand any kind of weather, will hang on through the dishwasher, and are UV protected so they will stay shiny and vibrant for up to 4 years.

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Home Sweet Tacoma Relief Print- Small Version

$55.00

Hand pressed original linoleum block print.

This ode to the salty and sweet city we call home is a small version of my 2024 Wayzgoose steamroller print, which will be pressed live on May 4th at the Wayzgoose event at Moore Library here in Tacoma! Grab this small version, and come check out the 2ft x 3ft version get printed with a steamroller at the event!

Want a sticker version? Grab a sticker too!

✸ Handprinted on an etching press with archival inks on Legion Stonehenge White 250gsm (100% Cotton Rag, Acid Free)
✸ Linoleum Relief Print
✸ 11×14"
✸ Signed, open edition
✸ Ships flat

Due to the handmade nature of these prints, there is some slight variation between each individual print.

Sold out

LIMITED EDITION: Halfway Somewhere Screen Print

$40.00

6 color hand pulled original screen print, including shimmery gold ink on the sun which catches the light beautifully.

Size:
11 1/4 x 14 in

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ORIGINAL You'll Like Tacoma Wayzgoose 2025 Steamroller Print

$300.00

Lino relief print created during the 2025 Wayzgoose Steamroller Print event in Tacoma. Each print was pressed using a 1.5 ton steamroller. See the entire process here!

The Wayzgoose theme this year was Make Some Noise, a celebration of the music of Tacoma, bands from Tacoma, songs about Tacoma, and music venues in Tacoma. It was so fun seeing all the different interpretations of the theme. Here’s mine:

“Where’s that confounded bridge?” Led Zeppelin’s The Crunge’s final lyrics ask. What is a song’s bridge? A musical change of pace, intended to provide contrast to the rest of the composition. Here in the Northwest we’re the bridge. We’re not the fancy metropolitan city of Seattle, we’re not a densely wooded small town or coastal hamlet, and we aren’t rolling fields of agricultural land. We’re something different. Something gritty and creative. We’ve got a little bit of funk to us, and I’m not just talking about the aroma. We strut to the beat of our own rhythm. Blue collar, grunge, and art all steeped together under the watchful eye of our namesake peak.

And then there’s the bridge, or should I say bridges. We’re perched on our peninsula jutting out into the Puget sound, anchored on west and east by bridges— Tacoma Narrows, Murray Morgan, and the E 21st St bridge.

In this piece I wanted to share a poem about the music of Tacoma, it’s people, it’s land, the interweaving of everything we hear when we close our eyes in the middle of the city. Tacoma has birthed many amazing artists, some nationally known, like Neko Case, some with cult Tacoma followings, like Girl Trouble— but I like to think we are all a part of the song of Tacoma, being sung throughout the ages as we build our lives between bridges in this little gritty city, “a dusty old jewel on the south Puget Sound.”

—

Due to the nature of printing outdoors, on the ground, with a steam roller, there are variations and slight imperfections from print to print.

Prints ship rolled in a cardboard tube.
Local pickup is in Central Tacoma.

Paper size: 30.5 x 44 in
Print size: 24 x 36 in

Sold out

ORIGINAL Home Sweet Tacoma Wayzgoose 2024 Steamroller Print

from $275.00

Lino relief prints created during the 2024 Wayzgoose Steamroller Print event in Tacoma. Each print was pressed using a 1.5 ton steamroller. See the entire process here!

The Wayzgoose theme this year was Sweet and Salty. There are so many ways in which Tacoma is both Sweet and Salty. Her people are the salt of the earth. She's nestled within the salty waters of the Puget Sound. Folks here feel a little salty about Tacoma changing— "Keep Tacoma Feared" is the refrain to maintain a Tacoma that’s an underdog, a sweet secret that only her residents could truly appreciate.

For those of us who call Tacoma "home," it's a sweet place filled with a vibrant creative community, balanced against the contrast of a salt-of-the-earth blue collar community often symbolized by our bustling seaport.

That's what this piece represents. Gritty Tacoma, sweet and salty, arts and labor, a little rough around the edges, but a sweet treasure we call home.

—

Due to the nature of printing outdoors, on the ground, with a steam roller, there are variations and slight imperfections from print to print. Prints 2 and 3 have some slight smudging (shown in the images).

Prints ship rolled in a cardboard tube.

Paper size: 30.5 x 44 in
Print size: 24 x 36 in

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