June Studio Recap

Summer Markets, A Doodle Wall, Exhibition Pics, & More!

Jul 01, 2025

Hi friends! Happy happy July! I hope you’re having a summer that’s so good you could make a movie about it. It’s been either incredibly hot or incredibly rainy all month here in Des Moines. I’ve been trying to keep myself busy inside, including a little project to start learning about Sashiko embroidery / visible mending! I had a few pairs of jeans in desperate need of patching, and am having so much fun fixing them up. I think the stitching looks so cool!

Makes me laugh a little bit how even in my free time I can’t get away from fiber projects… Hmm! Something really interesting happening in my brain. Anywho! Shall we take a look at what I’ve been up to in the studio this month?

June Market Recap

I did two lovely markets in June! First was Lucky Star market in Ames:

Had a real blast at this one. Thanks for the warm welcome Ames!

And second was DSM People’s Pride:

It was so hot this day but I was super brave about it

A big highlight was doing live doodle portraits for the first time ever at People’s Pride!!! Which I def want to do again, it’s so much fun to draw people <3

Just being honest all the drawings on this sign are of people I made up in my brain! Just being honest!

The only event I have on the books for July is Northside Market here in Des Moines on the 13th! Come say hi!

Doodle Wall!

Had so much fun being part of a “doodle wall” installation for Art on The Avenues this year! Each artist got to doodle on a big blank panel, which was then built into a community coloring wall that moved around town for the week. Here’s what mine looked like at the beginning:

vs after the first day of coloring lol:

You can check out some of the in-progress coloring on their Instagram!

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Iowa Exhibited 2025 Pics

I grabbed some quick pics of my SQEEZE! sculptures at the Heritage Gallery before this show closed last week. Was so fun to see the guys in such a beautiful space!!

WALK! Rug Series Update

Getting so so close to having these rugs cleaned up and ready to finish! It’s kind of funny / kind of frustrating that as I’ve gotten better at this medium it’s actually taking me longer and longer to finish work. lol! I think it’s because I’ve realized how much you can do with the cleanup process, which has made my standards higher. Trying to remind myself that there’s no need to rush! It’s much better to take the time to do things right. That being said, I’m very much hoping to have them off the frame in July. Wish me luck!

5 Things I Loved This Month

1. Watching: Fantastic Mr. Fox

Was shocked to realize I’ve never seen this movie?? Anyways it’s completely perfect, I couldn’t have had more fun watching. This Letterboxd review made me realize what I love most about it:

2. Eating: Green Desserts

I had two incredible green desserts this month: matcha amaretti cookies (another from Jesse Szewczyk’s book), and pistachio ice cream. Made them on the same day because the cookies only needed egg whites, and the ice cream only needed egg yolks. I’m still riding the high of that perfect symmetry!!!

3. Reading: Cathedral by Raymond Carver

I’ve actually been doing double duty Raymond Carver reading this month between this short story collection and a book of his poetry (All of Us). I think I prefer his short story writing, but really love his work overall!! He has such a straightforward way of writing that I find very charming.

4. Shopping: OXO Kettle

Love love loving this kettle… It’s so nice to be able to set specific temps! Kind of a total game changer

5. Listening: Cameron Winter / Geese

I’ve been listening to Cameron Winter’s solo album Heavy Metal, and his band’s album 3D Country, sooo much this month. Such a crazy cool voice, and his songwriting is incredible??