Thanks to all who came out to the opening of Human Nature at LVA. The show is up through August 27 and it’s a sensational group of work by artists engaging with nature in all sorts of ways.

The shiny lamé in Narcissus/Reflection indulges in 1980s materialism (also a time of loose environmental regulation) through the appearance of garish mixed metals.

This work also speaks to the myth of Narcissus falling in love with his own reflection through the shiny metallic finish. The two daffodil blooms are caught staring at each other, lost in a reflection of themselves. Blinded by vanity, they fail to see nature but desire to possess it.

Both Narcissus/Reflection and Tension Season engage with some earthly divinity. Narcissus/Reflection wears a shiny daffodil crown and appears as a deranged face of vain hunger. Tension Season contains a soft offering, protected by the essence of plants, to a scene that is uncanny and uncertain.

Tension Season includes yarn dyed from Bernheim Forest plants during my artist residency. Check out the show to see it in full. There will also be a panel discussion for the show on August 1 and all are welcome.

In the studio

I’ve been thinking a lot about ~water~ and am currently playing with clay fish & earth pigments in the studio. Here’s a peek into my process:

A dye class offering

I’ll be bringing back my bundle dye workshop on Saturday August 8th at Firstbuild. If you’re interested in an exciting introduction to natural color for textiles (and a lover of experimentation and chemistry), this might be for you! Spots are limited, tickets and information are available here.

I have some other class offerings in the works so stay tuned!

If you’re more interested in the product and not the process, I also sell one-of-a-kind naturally-dyed garments (and zines) at Barret Babes. It’s a sweet spot with lots of local art and vintage, fun events, and good folks. They’re also neighbors of another great friend shop, Grady Goods (I’ve got some things here, too). Support your local artists and shops!

Events

You can also catch me at Zoom Group Carnival on July 25 slinging art and zines in person. It’s a free event with music, games, art and more.

It’s almost time for the opening of Girl Crush at KMAC Museum on July 30. So many great female artists are represented. The show will be up through August 31st.

That’s all for now. But before I go, may I recommend:

Wave to your neighbors, plants flowers for the pollinators (it’s never too many), and call a friend you haven’t spoken to recently enough. 🌻

I wanted to share a recent zine called dust that has some interactive pop-up elements. I made these drawings of space some years back and have been ruminating on how they could become an accordion zine of some kind. It manifested into this (click the play button in the center for a video):

I’ll have this and other new work this Saturday at Kentuckiana Zine Fest, come out and get some small press magic.

Here’s a sneak peak of some other print work I’m making that revolves around grapes… more to come but for now, a sassy puppet (with a rubber grape nose).

Lastly, I have work in two shows opening in July. First, on July 11 at Louisville Visual Art, Human Nature. This work includes yarn dyed during my time as an Artist in Residence at Bernheim Forest.

On July 30, there will be an opening for Girl Crush at KMAC Shop. I’m excited to be showing alongside so many amazing local artists.

Tickets to the opening reception event are available for purchase here and support the Museum.

I’m planning some community dye classes for later in the summer at the moment—stay tuned for announcements.

What I’m reading

Love the mix of comics, sculptures, and journal drawing. It’s fun to see inside someone’s decades-long practice. Plus, Michael McMillan loves to climb and so much of this book shows how much it informs his art practice. Relatable!

Here’s a sneak peek of a piece using the plant-dyed colors I made during my Bernheim Forest Residency. I’m really excited about how it is turning out! This work will be included in the Human Nature show at Louisville Visual Art over the summer. Come by for the opening on July 11 from 4-6pm. The show will be up through August 27th 2026.

Currently, I have a few pieces alongside some other excellent artists in Vida Nueva. The show is at Foko which also happens to be my favorite breakfast spot. I highly recommend for the art, the food, and the folks! This show will be up through June 21, 2026.

My larger piece in this show, Polyester Estuary, is an homage to the legendary Kentucky fiber artist Alma Lesch. It has a lot of different materials but my favorite parts are the painted frame gradient details and ribbon roses made from plastic bags.

I’ve gotten to swim a lot recently; one of my favorite things to do. In doing so, I stumbled across an mysterious object and consequently learned about the fascinating journey of sea beans. I found this hamburger bean on a beach in Florida but it came from much further away!

You can catch me, lots and lots of my zines, and Spidertown (a collaboration with the esteemed writer Sean Rose), at Halftone Zine Fest in Lexington, Kentucky this Saturday May 16. It’s free, all ages, and always a great community of zine makers.

What I’m reading

The Good Rain reveals many fascinating layers of human history with the pacific northwest. Very informative, sometimes heartbreaking, and super engaging. A reminder of the multitude of happenings in the same place, across different moments in time. The land remembers.

I’ve been doing lots of sketching and planning in the studio. Appropriately, I’ve been working on this pair of daffodils I’m affectionately referring to as Multichrome and Monochrome. They are part of a series about flowers and myth.

I’ve had this mirrored vinyl for years; waiting for it to tell me what it should become. It has some fascinating patina/degradation. The daffodil on the left, Multichrome, is made of varying colors of silver and gold lame. It also has multi colored rivets. It reminds me of the very jazzy 80s mixed metals and I’m tickled at this connection.

As I’m finishing up this piece about Narcissus*, I’m planning for my next flowers: violets and iris.

I’m also finally getting around to archiving some of my pigment collections and here’s a scan of what I found in West Texas/Terlingua area last December. Now this is some beautiful earth.

What I’m reading

Book of Earth by Heidi Gustafson. I’ve followed her work for years and have had this on my list since before it came out. Now that I’m in the middle of it, I’m enjoying it even more than I anticipated. Part natural science, indigenous wisdom, creative practice, and all earth. Written for the curious.

Upcoming!

Our local community art gallery, The Redbud, is having a show hosted by Preston Art Center. I’m excited to be included. The opening is March 28 from 3-5pm and the show will be up through the end of April.

This summer, I’ll also have some work in a show, Human Nature, at Louisville Visual Art. I’m finally using my catalog of plant dye samples from my time as an Artist in Residence at Bernheim Forest. Stay tuned!

*From Wikipedia:

According to the best-known version of the story in Ovid's Metamorphoses, Narcissus rejected the advances of all women and men who approached him, instead falling in love with his own reflection in a pool of water.^[1] In some versions, he beat his breast purple in agony at being kept apart from this reflected love, and according to Ovid turned into a flower bearing his name.

Tender / Tether is a folio set of 7 block prints I created with caretaking & appreciation in mind. I made a reel about it and it’s also in my shop.

These plants existed in my yard (decades) before I moved here 5 years ago. They remind me of resilience, renewal, and the simple joy of flowers. How lucky we are to witness the perennial beauty of plants.

I have been working on some pieced fabric projects in the studio I’ll share soon but in the meantime…

Moviepotmos! is a collaborative stop-motion film I’ve been working on. It’s full of cut-paper insects & flowers combined with the heavy tones of human emotion. The source of the project is a renaissance poem, Muiopotmos, by Edmund Spenser.

Since I work between analog and digital, lots of layering happens in post-production: environments, characters, etc. Here’s what that tends to look like:

Here’s our main dude, Clarion, on a poppy.

Lately, I’ve been inspired by the breadth of style and ideas in this books, Japanese Quilts. I love the detailed descriptions from the makers on their approach to each project. It’s an excellent read.

Lastly, some appreciation for my hardworking studio assistants:

They work hard sitting on everything in the studio and I commend their commitment.