I deleted Instagram...

The download button on the app store already is tugging at me to reinstall. And if I'm being honest, I probably will reinstall it at some point. As much as I hate so much structural and policy elements of the app, and the way it snags you into endless scrolling, it does afford access to a community-- one I've spent over a decade cultivating.

But for all it's positive elements of community and inspiration and sharing art and ideas, I can't help but think about how we as a collective of users of that app have for years complained about how it constantly makes choices that we hate-- from updates to the algorithm that make it nearly impossible to see the folks we follow in our feeds, to their policy changes that greenlight their company being able to steal our content in order to train it's AI on our artwork.

All of this has been slowly unfolding over years, but as I think more and more about abolition and community care, this idea that we have to create what we want to see in the world comes to mind. That can be a world in which we don't need carceral systems to “keep us safe” but it can also mean a world in which we don't need a billionaires app to keep us connected. 

 And the reality is, both of those realities existed before, and can exist again, but it's up to us to build them. I often think about the nascence of blogging, before social media. I started blogging in that era of the 2000's. We built our own communities around our blogs, there were networks we created of audiences, other bloggers we connected with and organized with. We think that same thing isn't possible now because we rely on social media to do the connection and organization for us.

 Anyway-- all that to say, Instagram has seemingly put us in a place where we have to choose between building a community from scratch off of their platform, or opting into their app and all the myriad negative elements that come along with that in order to gain access to the community that already is on there. And for many small business owners and artists that's not just a thought experiment, it has real impacts on their ability to make a living selling their art or goods. 

 So where does that leave me? I know that the access to the community I've built on Instagram is deeply important, not only to my ability to make an income and support my family, but also because that's where my people are. But I'm also tired of living in a way that feels like we're stuck being pawns in a game played by billionaires who only see us as dollar signs, dependent on the scraps they allow us, endlessly complaining about the exploitative platforms they've designed.

And on top of all that, I'd like to model behavior to my kiddo that feels healthy, like not scrolling on social media endlessly. And now that school is out and he's home with me all day every day, I'd rather him watch me being creative than mindlessly opening an app on my phone.

So where will you find me? I think this means I'm going to try returning to blogging, and, you know, maybe actually launching that podcast I said I was going to launch in March 🫣. If you're here and reading this, you're already a part of my community that has detached from Instagram. If Instagram disappeared tomorrow, we'd still be able to connect because of this access via email, which is cool! 

So, where can you find me? 

• One place I'll always be is here on the blog. I own it, I own the content I post on here, there are no dumb algorithms I have to contend with, and it's free for you to access!

• Over on my newsletter. I try not to spam you with stuff in your inbox, but I'll do my best to keep you updated on what I'm up to-- maybe a weekly round up of blog posts or something like that? I'm not sure exactly what that would look like but my mental juices are percolating.

• Local events! Obviously this is only helpful for folks who live in the Seattle/Tacoma/Olympia area, but I am doing some events this summer! I'll be doing a Pop-Up shop at Hive on the 20th of July, and then I'll have a table at Moms After Dark at the CoLab on August 2nd. I also have a piece that will be featured in the Washington State History Museum's “In The Spirit” exhibit this summer starting July 21st, with the opening reception on the evening of July 20th. 

Thanks for being here! In this phase of online interaction where going beyond the easy follow click and scroll routine, investing in community via blogs and newsletters and patreons etc… it really means a lot. 

Tacoma Wayzgoose Printmaking and Book Art Fair 2024

As a printmaker, I’ve always had Tacoma’s annual Wayzgoose festival on my radar. My first time attending, just a few years out of my college printmaking program, was back in 2014. But life started happening, I fell away from my art practice, I got busy, had a kid, and never made it back to another Wayzgoose event. Then, at the end of 2023 I started slowly returning to my art making practice and made a promise to myself to fully give myself over to my art making, and to actually apply for art opportunities— especially local ones.

The first thing I did was apply for Wayzgoose, to be one of the steamroller print artists. When I got the email that they accepted me, I had to read the email like 10 times to make sure I read it right. I was so excited prior to even getting that email that I made a mini version of my steamroller print as a proof of concept.

Wayzgoose is such a perfect event that represents so much about what I love about Tacoma. It’s interactive by design and as a printmaker, I love that it gives a community hands-on introduction to printmaking as an art form. I was only introduced to printmaking in college and once I discovered it, I fell wholly in love and ended up focusing my BA in Art on Printmaking. So for other folks to have this event to potentially discover the magic of printmaking without having to go to a whole 4 year art program, is really incredible.

And beyond that, there’s such a beautiful, thriving community of letterpress and printmaking artists here in Tacoma. I love that this longstanding event celebrates that community every year. And I’m crossing my fingers that I’ll get to be a part of it again next year!

If you’re interested in purchasing one of my Wayzgoose prints, you can shop the full size limited edition steamroller relief print, the giclée reproduction, and the mini relief print below!

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

Print #:

Select Print # 1 2 3 4

Add to cart

Sold out

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.

Add to cart

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How to cut and fold a mini zine

This mini style zine is super easy to make. All you need is a sheet of regular printer paper and a pair of scissors. Follow along with the video below and if you need written directions, you can find those below!

1/ Start by folding your paper the long way (hotdog style).

2/ Now fold this in half so it’s half as long, then do this fold again once more.

3/ Unfold your sheet of paper, then re-fold it the short way (hamburger style.

4/ Grab your scissors and cut along the center fold, but make sure to only cut halfway, to the center, where the fold lines intersect.

5/ Now unfold again, then fold it hotdog style once more. You’ll see a diamond shape form where you cut the paper.

6/ hold the ends of the paper and push your hands towards each other to flatten that diamond, then fold everything along the crease lines you created in step two, and you’ve got your zine!

If you’ve printed off a zine and folded it, your zine is made! If you’re making a zine yourself from scratch, you’re now ready to start filling in your pages with all the info and/or creativity you’re ready to share with the world.

If you want to grab my little creativity zine, click here to download it!

I want fewer followers. You heard me right.

This time last year I believe I had 230,000 followers on instagram. A little less than 200k of those followed me based on one viral reel.

Today my follower number clicked from 222k to 221k and every time that happens I get a little jolt of joy. It sounds counterintuitive— most people want that number to go up, right? 

But here’s the thing, every time someone peaces out and decides my online space isn’t for them, it means there are more folks here for whom my space IS for them.

The internet basically begs you to “niche down” as a content creator. “It’s how you’ll get more followers!” They say. “Make viral content to grow your account!” they say. But when a reel goes viral you’re basically niching down in the most granular sense— you become this one singular piece of content. That one thing is why a hundred thousand people follow you. Holy shit, right?

But you aren’t a single piece of content and neither am I. What you do, or what I do, or what anyone does is so much more than what can be contained in a viral piece of content or a “niched down” account.

So the more I show up in my wholeness on my account, the more people will be like, “oh weird, I’m not here for this” and that’s GREAT. I cannot stress that enough. It’s so so great when people decide you aren’t their cup of tea.

And the truth is, I’m so wildly multifaceted, to the point where I don’t have the bandwidth to pursue and embrace all my passions simultaneously. At least not while being a decent mom and wife and friend. So the things I enjoy and pursue will vacillate and ebb and flow. I’ll get a spurt of ADHD hyperfixation on something and run with it. I’ll rediscover something I loved as a kid and deep dive. I’ll feel a tug towards a different creative expression and follow the pull. And I think that’s all normal and ok.

We’ve been taught that it’s normal to pick a career and then do that one thing for 30+ years and that’s the responsible adult way of being, but it doesn’t have to be that way and I don’t think everyone thrives in that format. I know I don’t.

Watching your follower count go down little by little isn’t necessarily a universal experience, especially if you aren’t a content creator, but the idea of showing up in your wholeness and authenticity, and letting those who aren’t here for it fall away--that totally is. I think we’ve all felt like at times we’ve had to edit or censor ourselves to fit into the mold of what a certain group deemed appropriate. Maybe it was high school. Maybe it was a job. Maybe it was a relationship.

What I do know is that creativity thrives when you allow yourself to show up authentically. Messy and imperfect and joyful and true.  And, you know what? While my overall follower number is going down, while maybe 1500 folks left this month… 500 joined! 500 folks who are jiving with and aligned with me and my art and music vibe and my values. 500 folks who feel welcomed and seen by the community I've created. And that is so much more meaningful than some vanity number.

Your authenticity will cull your audience for you, 

and that's a good thing!

Your screenshot folder is waiting...

I used to do these annual bucket lists where I'd make a list of, for example, 27 things to do before I turn 28… 28 things to do before 29… 29 before 30. You get the idea. I think I probably stopped doing this around 29 because, well, the list does tend to get longer each year. I was reading back through old blog posts and saw a mention of my 27 before 28 list, and how on that list I'd put “create new art and submit it to a gallery for exhibition.”  I definitely didn't accomplish that one, and now here I am realizing that ten years later, at 37, I've got the same thing on my *unofficial* 37 before 38 list. Sometimes having a blog for a decade and a half is cool, and sometime it reminds you of all the goals you never actually accomplished. But in a way, it feels nice to know that this dream is still percolating inside me. I'm still wanting to be a “real” artist, even though I've put it off for a decade.
 

In the past six months I've screen-shotted dozens of calls for submissions from galleries, magazines, and journals. Of course, most of them have just sat in the graveyard of my screen shots album on my phone, but I've dubbed 2024 the year of submitting, so I'm dragging that album out and actually submitting my work-- whether its poems to a local literary journal, a mural proposal for the city, an article for a magazine, an application for an artist residency… I'm actually doing the thing instead of just thinking “oh, I want to do that!" then screen shotting it and forgetting it forever. You miss 100% of the shots you never take, right? And at least I don't have to compete against all the other people out there who just screen shotted the call for submissions and then left those photos to die in their phone, right? 

So whatever the thing is that you've been screen shotting and thinking about doing, but never taking the leap… hey, maybe now's the time! Maybe 2024 is the year you resurrect your screen shot album and start taking action on those little dreams sitting in there.

One of the things that I took action on from my opportunity screenshots… Tacoma Wayzgoose! Wayzgoose is an annual printmaking event here in Tacoma, and besides having tons of printmakers hosting booths as vendors, they also do giant linoleum block prints that are printed using a steamroller. So cool right? I’ve always wanted to do Wayzgoose, so this year when the application opened, I threw my hat in the ring. And guess what? I was picked as one of the steamroller print artists! So for the next month I’ll be feverishly carving away at this absolutely gigantic sheet of linoleum. I’m so so excited. Jack took this photo of me after picking up my sheet of linoleum and I’m not intimidated in the slightest by the fact that it is nearly as big as I am. Nope. Not at all…

All that to say, if you never ask, the answer is always no. So don’t give yourself an automatic rejection by never putting yourself out there in the first place. Now excuse me while I get back to carving…