Gratitude

Thanks for being here

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

That’s baby Hawk as a 3 month old, dressed in his Hawk-made-Turkey costume in a giant pan on the table. Yum. Best turkey we ever ate.

This is the first year in who knows how long that I am not in crazy go-mode with my job. OND, October-November-December in the spirits/alcohol industry has its own acronym because not only is it the final quarter of the year, but it the most brutal. Every bar, restaurant, and whiskey club are having events and my calendar was jam-packed on weekdays and weekends for almost the whole three months.

Not so this year my friends. I am leaning into holiday-making with the kiddo hard. I’m excited to have the time to do things the way I want to do them and not be stressed and last minute about everything and feel like I only did a fraction of what I wanted to do. We’ll be making a gingerbread house (for a competition run by a local winery), baking and cooking, having friends over, my parents are coming to stay, and basically just taking the time to enjoy the season. It always felt wrong to get very speedy and busy when the season wants us to slow down, and I am grateful that this year I get to do just that.

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I’m excited to be in the 510 All-Stars show again this year at Nielson Fine Arts in Berkeley. There are over 80 artists participating and all the pieces are priced to sell for the holidays. I’m loving how my Batterfly is turning out. I’m putting on the finishing touches today! The opening is December 7th, 7-10pm. I’ll see you there!

I’ve personally decided to not buy anything on Amazon this holiday for anyone. There are far too many amazing people making amazing things and supporting them directly is a much better way to support the community. A $50 purchase means literally zero for Amazon (yes, I know there are independent sellers on there, but get real, is that really who you are supporting when you buy fast fashion, etc. No) but it does mean everything for an artist who will use that to buy groceries.

You all get a 20% discount just for being a subscriber in my Etsy shop by using this code on any item in my shop, large or small:

SUBSTACKLOVE

And you can gift my art to anyone of your loved ones or just treat yourself to some beauty in your life. Below is one of my Awakened Mushrooms that are freshly listed in my Etsy shop.

I also recently finished a commission so that means my books are open. If you have a small (6” x 6” - 10” x 10,” that’s in the $250-650 range) idea I could still get it done in time for Christmas so reach out asap.

I want to genuinely thank all of you for being here. I love the ability to connect with everyone this way. Thank you for all of the messages, notes, and comments. I am so grateful for every single one of you in my life.

Blessings to you and all of your loved ones.