Sunday May 31, 2026
Moving in May
The past month has been one of big changes.
The major update is that we’ve moved the contents of my house into my boyfriend Derek’s house. The transition involved many carloads of cardboard boxes and weekend trips back and forth in a borrowed pickup. On the 18th—which obviously happened to be the hottest day of the month— I hired movers to handle the rest of the big furniture.
I felt bittersweetness taking down the studio and home I made over the last five years. At the same time, I’m happy and so excited seeing this next chapter as it comes into focus!
During this transition, I’ve been allowing my artwork to take a backseat. I’ve had one main project, which has been painting a violin for the Children’s Concert Society fundraiser auction happening this summer (post for that incoming). Working became progressively less convenient as my studio got disassembled and subsequently reassembled in its new location. By the time my laptop was on the floor and I was painting on a desk fit for a child, I was ready to wrap up the move as quickly as possible.
Organizing, curating, and putting items away in my new home helped to ground me. I enjoy being the “visual merchandiser” for my bookshelves, arranging items so they tell a story.
I incorporated small framed pieces I had on the walls of my old place into my new bookshelves. This piece is an embroidery Elly Dallas made for me in 2021 after I moved into my house. I love that it will always remind me of where I was.
Moving also means coming across items in storage, reflecting on the passage of time.
Going through a plastic tub, I found a sweater my aunt made me when I was about eight. It still fits! It’s just a cropped sweater now with three-quarter sleeves.
Here are just a few photo memories from my days living by myself at my old house. I was in the thick of marbling production when I moved in. I had so much fun with gardening and using the house as a staging environment for photos.
The front porch
Early fridge. Aloe needing repotted
My white fridge became a canvas to display my memories and store magnets.
Later fridge!
Worktable <3
The old picnic table in the backyard became a great textured backdrop for marbled paper.
That time a critter chewed a hole to get into one of the compost bins!
Irises were the first plants to go in (courtesy of Mom's garden). They bloom every May.
A lesson in not putting cantaloupe seeds in your compost pile. These all came up volunteer in random parts of the yard! None of them were edible.
Adventures in sheet mulching
I’ve had a little time playing in my sketchbook this month. Mainly I’ve been messing around with scrollwork and filigree.
With my living situation in flux, all I’ve wanted is to have my space settled and to get a routine back. I’m getting better at trusting myself and having faith in a time of change. Knowing that it’ll be alright. Derek is good at helping me with that.
How is Claude with the transition? He is doing very, very well. Between his bird TV (a.k.a. the neighbor’s bird feeder) and plenty of new comfy places to nap, he’s living his best life.
