I know it’s early, but I’m already thinking about the Hwy 62 Open Studios Tours. It’s not until October, but I didn’t realize how much work there is to do to prepare. Not just making artwork but organizing and arranging stuff too. I find that I’m getting busy again.

I’ve been mostly working on little watercolors in order to keep the price point down. I’m sharing a studio with two other artists, Teresa Watson, and Lili Todd. I have concerns about bringing in anything too big or too expensive. I only have a small bit of wall space and a desk, so a lot of the work is going into portfolio books. The rest I’m putting in poly envelopes with a chipboard backing. I can hang those on the wall from binder clips, and it shouldn’t look half bad. I’m not sure if I will bring any oil paintings yet.

I’ve also been a bit sidetracked with making a new Artist’s book, Queersition. Well, I don’t yet know if it’s really an Artist’s book or a fancy zine. It’ll depend on how long the covers take me, as they will have a bit of hand stitching. The rest of the book will be printed ink and watercolor drawings. I still have to create thirty-two pages, which could take a super long time. The book will also be handbound. I’m already exhausted thinking about it.

So far, all I have are the rough sketches, the layout, a raw dummy book, and some of the materials. I haven’t made one permanent drawing for it yet. Believe it or not, it takes a lot of time to lay out the pages. It’s taken me a while to figure out what I’ll be creating on each page. And I’m still trying to find the most economical way to print everything. Lots of research for that.

I originally wanted the covers to have the title letter pressed into the handmade paper I’m using, but it’s just not feasible for me to do that. It’s highly expensive! Now I’m thinking about making a rubber stamp. Another option is to embroider it like I did Outlander. I just haven’t decided. I don’t want it to look like shit either.

So, this weekend I had a wonderful studio visit with Compound Yucca Valley, a kick-ass non-profit gallery here in the high desert. They put on some amazing exhibitions and performances. I am so honored that they’ve offered me a solo show for their 2024-2025 season. Sounds like a while from now, but that’s how booked up they are, and come this fall, they will come back to my studio to discuss the new trajectory of my work.

And I have a bit of other great news, but I will save that for another time because I’m not sure if it’s official enough to announce yet. I’ll know soon though.

Lastly, I’m going to have a few pieces at HeyThere Projects‘ summer show next month. I’m excited about that! And I have one piece in a show at the Torrance Art Museum that opens soon (July 22nd).