PLYWERK.

darlings, remember when I first created this collage, You Are my Family, and said I wanted to see it on canvas? well, i've done something even better: i had the good people at Plywerk print and mount it on maple-birch-alder. it came with a keyhole slot on the back for easy hanging. so perfect!!

{this piece is 4 x 4 inch, and heading to my shop right now
{if you see any photos or collages here and would like them printed on Plywerk, shoot me an email at kelly {at} kellyloveswhales {dot} com for more information.
peace. & LOVE. always.
k

happy happy friday.

dears, you know i love an experiment, right? well... i do. and lately, i have been experimenting a lot with digital collage. i'm smitten. i made these two this week using those copyright-free images & good ol' photoshopery. what risks have you taken lately? what experiments have you undertaken?

this weekend could be the perfect time!

xo

{adventure.}

{the story of the ghost-- this one has a bunch of Phish sheet music in it, too. you know i love that.}

Lotus number one.

dears, happy, happy friday! i have a few new pieces in the shop... Lotus No. 1 Block prints in several new colors on colored paper. i'll be adding a few more into the mix tonight and tomorrow. they look lovely as a group of three, so i'll be offering a package-deal for three. if you want four, let me know and i'll work out a magical deal! also, if you like the concept, but have different colors in mind, email me at kellyloveswhales {at} gmail {dot} com or via Etsy conversation.

have a delightful weekend, dear ones!
xo
k

{click the image to link to the listing in my shop.}

la la la. shop update!

{check it out.}

new arty goodness in the shop.

happy friday, loves.

check it out.

new paintings.

plus mounting & hardware for paintings on canvas board.

the GEMMY MOLESKINE giveaway.

dears, exciting news: i have a new addition to the Kelly LOVES Whales line of papergoods-- a block-printed moleskine notebook. look for these beauties in the shop starting this weekend. to celebrate, i'm giving away a sample of newest project... THE GEMMY MOLESKINE notebook. to enter, write a comment by 8pm {pacific daylight time}, Friday, October 10, 2008. i'll draw a winner over the weekend, and announce the winner on Monday, October 13.
XOXO

{What the heck is a moleskine? Click here.}

for fall. fresh finds.

darlings, now that my year of no-new clothes has ended, i'm due for a few, well-chosen additions to the wardrobe. however, the year of no-new instilled in me a few new values regarding my consumption: connection to the maker & deliberation with respect to how the piece fits into my existing wardrobe. i care about the origin of my clothes as well as the ultimate destination of these clothes: too many times, i've thoughtlessly purchased some random piece from a big chain store only to donate the same spendy piece to goodwill a year later. well dear-hearts, those days are over.

my new requirements for new clothing are as follows: 1. it absolutely MUST work with my lifestyle and my vision for the wardrobe; 2. it should be hand-made, homemade or small shop-made, ideally with organic or sustainable materials.

etsy is an amazing place to find well-made, well-designed pieces for the modern wardrobe. here are my must-haves for fall made by independent designers. i've decided to highlight a few of my favorites for fall from etsy today as a group. in the coming weeks, i'll show you how each one of these pieces could make it through an entire of year of no-new simply by remixing them into new looks with pieces i already have. enjoy these and keep your eyes open for more-detailed features of each of these pieces and more!

{1. Green Flowered Ultra High-Waist Pencil Skirt, by Tailor Made Vintage.}

{2. Vintage 1970s Floral Tent Style Dress, by Agataga.}

{3. The Tie Up Pant with Wrap Waist (of local organic cotton), by Gaia Conceptions.}

{4. Kaleidoscope LIFE PRESERVER Jacket, by Ruffeo Hearts Lil' Snotty.}

{5. Pale - gold tunic dress with silk ribbon detail, by Holly Stalder.}

{6. The Batwing Tunic with knotted collar, by Liza Rietz.}

Here are a few of my favorite accessories right now.

{1. Limited Edition Bag, by Snowcone Collective.}

{2. Coco Shoulder Bag in yellow, by Ericka Basile.}

{3. Mia Recycled Denim Hat, by Mia Accessories.}

{4. The Mystic Hands Necklace, by Sirena con Jersey.}

happy friday, dear-hearts! i'm off to teach yoga to my elders & make s'mart & tcb.

new in the shop!

dears, i'm adding new work to the shop everyday. i LOVE this! here are a few of the new pieces we are offering at kelly loves whales: the shoppe. i'm making more pieces as fast as i can, so check back often for new prints, t-shirts (yay!) and stationery. for a look at all of these new one-of-a-kind prints, clicky here.

additionally, i've listed a few graphic design services for fellow Etsy sellers. here are two of the personalized banner & avatar kits currently available (swell and penthouse suite). for a look at more graphic design products, click here.

5 really good things.

1. the sun is shining! for the second day straight! let's go to the beach later.



2. i sold more artwork. and i submitted my application for the Urban Craft Uprising.



3. wearables!! i made some.


4. my darling husband may not have to work all day on saturday and sunday! i see a lovely hike through the cascades this weekend.



5. this dress is unstoppable. orange makes me happy right now.

Anjali.

Hello, dears.
This is Anjali. A new painting.


It depicts the anjali mudra.
Anjali means offering in Sanskrit.
Literally, mudra means seal (as in, sealing or channeling one's energy), and the mudra in this sense is a hand gesture-- palms touching in front of the heart (anahata).
The anjali mudra allows one to center, in order to offer all that is good back to the universe. Oftentimes, the mudra is accompanied by the word namaste. Namaste means (roughly) the light in me, bows with respect to the light in you. By coming back to the heart, we are able to offer that blessing to each other.
With that, Namaste, dear-hearts.

peak show.

just a little taste of what's to come.

i call this piece jnana.
jnana means wisdom in sanskrit, and this painting depicts the jnana mudra.
a mudra is a hand gesture that channels and guides energy through the subtle body.

i LOVE today.

mailing out an order.
biking to the store for sunscreen.
trying on my swimsuit.
tackling the laundry.
taking my work-work outdoors.
making some art.
LOVING the sun.
THANKING the universe.
*
peace, kiddos.
and love to you to0.
*
by the way, thirty rocks.

gra-fix.

dears, i have been knee deep in new work all day, and i cannot imagine a happier place to be. THANK you, universe.

*

here are a few of the fun new shapes i've been courting.
for the etsy shop, a relatively new banner

and a brand, spanking new avatar.

for the future, a new poster.

for all of us, a little reminder.

At home in the Emerald City.

Dears, you know how I love school. Well, the drawing class I had planned to take this semester at Pratt didn't quite work out since it meets on the same night as my pro bono commitment to the Neighborhood Legal Clinic. No matter, though, because I signed up for Shimelle's online class called "There's no place like home." The class will play with one's notions and definitions of home and will include prompts for projects, big and small. I cannot wait. I plan to blog about my experiences, and I'd love to hear from any other readers who are also participating.

If you are reading this and want to sign up-- go for it! It is only $20!

xo kel

It's you I'm talking to.

Well, hello there. Thanks for dropping by today. We are in total, crazy creation-mode here, and I cannot wait to show you what has been happening. First, let's talk about what's happening outside: there are crocuses, hyacinth, daffodils and irises blooming; there are rhododenrons budding; and the sun is like a lemon of good hope. Now, for what's happening inside: as you know, I needed a break from convention and it has been marvelous. I'm working on a new series that is making me so happy. Okay, I'll show you a little bit from it, but be prepared to be completely surprised when you see this in its finished incarnation, because there are countless layers involved. LOVE that.

Moving on to technology. We got a new external hard-drive. The old one was 250gigs (I think), and we filled him up to the brim. New guy, let's call him Leonard, holds a terrabyte, so of course we are already talking about what new music we simply. must. have. right. now. And when I write "we," I'm talking about the DJ of the house only... my mister. He does a great job of keeping everythig fresh so I have new sounds to listen to while painting or doing whatever it is I happen to be doing at the moment. Meanwhile, I'm still plotting my purchase of a new scanner. If I sell two bigger pieces by the end of the month, I will buy a new scanner. Got it?

Good.

The studio is in major disarray even though I just cleaned and organized it-- this means I'm working. It's all good. At least BK let's me have my controlled messes in my studio, right?

Oh, and another thing. Does anyone know what's happening astrologically right now? Things seem... different. Dontcha think?

I LOVE tax season.

Dudes,
My 9am appointment with the tax-advisor has turned into an all day event. NO JOKE. I had to ride my bike home at lunch to retrieve some more documents, and I'm going back in for the final round. Ha! I love it! And I found out I have some retirement plan I didn't even know about. Who's in charge here?
Anyone want to do a trade for some book-keeping advice (I know it's imputed income. We'll make a record of it and I'll add it into my 2OO8 books.)
XOXO
Kel