do the mess around

had a fun photo shoot last night for the bless this mess piece (and prints! see below.)

the first part of the fun was creating the mess:

poor b got home from work only to discover that i'd turned our bedroom into a disaster area and i was itching to get these photos done (which he'd need to take for me, of course) while the light was still right. i didn't even give him any warning.
but, he was a great sport and, as with our last collaborations, b got so many great shots that i'm having a really difficult time narrowing it down to top picks!

(oh hey, looks like i'm nude under this one; i'm not!)

this piece was inspired by life; i have ALWAYS been a bit of a mess. growing up, i was constantly getting in trouble for my messy room. i have a very distinct memory from when i was very young, of laying in bed the night after we'd had fire safety day at school. i was thinking in my head about how we children had been told that it's important to have a clean room so that we have a clear and easy access to all escape routes. that night, i got up and cleared a path through the barbies and strawberry shortcake dolls from my bed to the door. the rest of the floor remained covered in toys and clothes.
to this day, although i can't stand an unswept floor or a dirty kitchen or bath, i am incapable of keeping a table, desk, floor or bed free and clear of my belongings for more than an hour or so.
i dug up this photo of my old brooklyn bedroom to illustrate my point:

messy bessy. it's pretty much always that way. i've gotten a little better, though. maybe. or maybe it's just that i've learned to contain my mess and fortunately have my studio/girl room to do that... heh-heh.

so, in addition to the original stitched piece, i've got prints of the bless-this-mess piece; and i'm really happy with them! since my last post about prints, i've had even more trials and tribulations. i think i'm finally figuring it out though. i found a WONDERFUl digital print shop with which to work (they were able to do these ones for me with great results) and soon i'll be teaming up with masthead print to try some screenprinting. the fun continues.

here are shots of the digital print:

other than the frame vs no frame, you can't really tell the difference between print and original from this distance, right?

i'm really happy to be able to offer these prints as an option. they're now listed in the shop and ready to ship! if you're one who prefers a one-of-a-kind original, though, that is listed there in the shop, too.
have a great weekend, friends! remember if you're PA local, clover market is on sunday and it's the last of the season, so stop by if you can!