...

Remember when I said I'd be back in January?  

HA!

Well I'm back now.  I can't promise I won't go into hiding again.  Many many many things have happened since my last post.  One of which is a complete denial that I actually have a studio.  You may not be able to tell by the crappy phone photo but my space is a disaster.

Step 1: cleaning and organizing!

Here's a few things that have happened/are happening.

(1)  I moved.  I have 5 roommates, 3 of which are dogs.  I absolutely love it.  I've lived on my own for the past 4 years because I hate (living with) people.  I have no idea why that's suddenly changed.  My new bedroom is smaller than half of my freshman dorm.  It's perfect.

(2) I have a new job as a designer/custom framer at this rad framing shop.  Which means I'm working 3 part-time jobs plus pretending to run this beeswax artsy fartsy business.  I love all of my jobs and hope to actually care about my business again.  Like now.

(3) One of my family's horses had a baby.  I went home to play with it.

(4) Harper had a birthday and I didn't post about it.  I'm a shitty dog mom.

(5) I've decided to plan a road trip.   I don't know where I'm going (south or Canada?).  I don't know how long I'll be gone (I have jobs... can't be too long).  But it's going to happen.

(6) I'm learning how to roller blade.  I have wrist guards.  And knee guards.  It's the most attractive activity I've ever participated in.

signing off for a bit

I have a LOT to get accomplished in the next month and continually find myself drowning in work.  I'm gonna have to take a break from the blog for a bit so I can focus and make my creative energies more productive.  But I'll be back in January with (hopefully) much to tell and show!

Enjoy your holidays.

with 3 dogs in the studio Harper had to find an alternate bed

cheers. jen and harper

dreaming of trucks

Happy Monday!

I know this is well off the beaten path of my usual blog focus... but I've been drooling over 1950's trucks recently.  For the past few years I've had a minor obsession with the beautiful rounded body of these trucks and for some reason they've been taking over more and more of my day dreaming.  

So I've made myself a little deal... once I pay off my credit debt (my card is currently frozen in block of ice next to the brocolli in my freezer) I will open a special account solely for the purpose of purchasing my dream car.  And then Harper Marie and I will roll the streets of Rochester listening to bluegrass and trying not to stall... such a beautiful dream.

courtesy of

courtesy of

color scheme

I've finally settled on a color scheme for my ... business?  I don't know what the right word for it is, especially since I haven't sold anything yet.  But nevertheless I have a color scheme and that's exciting.

white, dusty aqua, mustard yellow and gray!

My nerdy love for color combination means I spent days perusing magazines, old sketch books, photographs and design websites to figure out what I was looking for.  Yellow and gray is my absolute favorite color combo but I wanted to get a softer vintage/antique feel.  So I added the aqua and white!  I'm half-way through printing my business cards with these colors.

My studio mates have printed beautiful invitations for the opening of their shop, Pistachio Press, letterpress + local.  November 4th, don't forget!

And of course what would a Beeswax and Horse Hair post be without a picture of my studio mascot, Harper.  She got to play with her best friend Dolly last night.  

Harper and Dolly

new studio. new product.

Surprise!  I've moved into a new studio... and it's going to have a retail space!  My studio mates and I recently moved from our 4th floor studio in Anderson Alley down to Booksmart Studio on the first floor.  Our space is gorgeous!  I'm working on designing my work environment and will post more about that when it's closer to completion.

The most exciting aspect of the new space is that my studio mates are going to be opening up retail space for their letterpress business in the space.  It will be called Pistachio Press, letterpress + local... and I get the chance to try and sell some of my own products!  We are having the grand opening on November 4th, 6-10pm at 250 N Goodman Street.  Stop on by!

I've been working hard to get my creative butt back in gear.  I just finished designing new business cards and will be personally letterpressing them this week.  There are a few new bags and I've also been making these tactile garlands out of collected paper.

In non-studio news:  Harper is almost a full-grown dog.  We've been having weekly adventures to various areas of Rochester.  Yesterday morning we ventured out to Lake Ontario and spent a few hours running around on the beach.

been busy

My posting has been less than prolific recently.  Although I've FINALLY been spending more time in the studio (5 times in the past 2 weeks, that's a record for me).  Things are looking good at the moment, but I can't let anything slow down lest I lose my creating/life organizing momentum.

There's been a bit of fun sprinkled in amongst the work.  Here's a picture of me and my boys dressed up for a pirate festival!  Harper has a plastic knife tied around her waist.

learning to swim

Harper and I visited the dog beach at Ellison Park.  She was a bit afraid of the water but once I rolled up my pants and jumped in she got the idea.  So far she's only splashed around with her front paws but I have high hopes of her becoming a water loving dog that will one day join me on sail boats and surf boards.  Of course this is after she learns to run next to me while mountain biking and can retrieve beers from the fridge.  I'm not kidding.  She's going to be perfect.

The map drawings are so close to being done!  I just need to do a final scan and clean on Wednesday.  Then its onto the color portion of the process.  Which I have promised myself will take a quarter of the time the drawings did...

coming home to a mess

this is what i came home to today

Harper seems to be having separation anxiety issues.  She whines and barks at the top of her lungs once I leave the apartment.  I've tried kongs filled all sorts of goodies, bones, plush toys, a thunder shirt, a ridiculous pheromone plug-in thing, covering her crate, exercise, ignoring, 3 hour drills where I leave for increasing amounts of time, and so on.  I live in an apartment and I'm sure she's driving my neighbors nuts when I'm not there.  I finally decided to let her out of her crate while I'm gone.  It went okay for the first two days (at least that's what I assume... she wasn't barking when I got home), but today I came home to find shredded paper ALL over the apartment and my carpet peed on...

She's sleeping under my desk at work since I didn't have time to clean up her mess during my lunch break.  I'm at a loss.  Leaving her 'free' when I leave seems to have worked the best so far but I've been told that her separation anxiety will only increase if I continue to do this.  Fabulous.

updates

The meeting for my map drawings went well!  I'm going to be giving them 2 separate final versions this weekend.  It looks like I may be doing more commissioned drawings for them after this!

chillin' under my desk

Harper's been spending time with me at work.  She's pretty good about staying under my desk and snoozing away the day.  Unfortunately I'm having some major problems keeping her quiet when I leave her at home!  I've tried just about everything.  My next attempt will be leaving her 'free' in my bedroom with her crate door open and seeing how that goes.  She hasn't destroyed any personal items yet (although she does enjoy collecting my shoes into a pile and cuddling with them) so I'm hoping she won't chew up the mattress or walls.

before the rain

it's bike season!

Friends know that out of all the strange obsessions I have there are two that top the charts: dogs and biking.  Especially pit bulls and mountain biking!  The sun is out and even though my stomach is still a bit queasy it is high time to hit the trails.  Tonight I'll be joining some friends at one of my favorite mountain bike parks for the official first ride of the season.

my dog matches my bike.  i planned that.

I used me lunch break to pull the bike out of the closet, pump up the tires and collect my gear from various corners of the apartment.  This summer will be even more exciting as I'm planning on doing a couple MTB race series.

As you can see Harper was very interested in what I was doing, especially in my shoes and gloves.  Once she gets all her shots and is cleared to leave my apartment I'm going to start working with her to become my biking companion!  I've always been jealous seeing fellow mountain bikers with their dogs happily running along with them as they ride the trails.  It's time to start looking up some literature on how to properly train her!

i feel like crap

I've been sick since Friday.  At first I thought it was a quick stomach flu but now I'm thinking its probably related to the crappy way I've been taking care of myself.  My body used to not care what I put it through, but now its starting to get persnickety and is fighting back.  Damn.

waiting for something exciting to happen

This weekend was spent moving from the bed to the couch, then back to the bed.  Harper and I took a few well needed porch sessions where she chased bees and tried to prove she was a tough girl by growling at people walking down the street (she was quickly reprimanded). 

In the real world I'm starting a new work schedule, 8-6 every Monday through Friday.  It's going to take a while to get used to.  The biggest pain in the ass is going to be making sure I plan more carefully with packing lunch, prepping breakfast, packing the bike (I'm gonna try that riding thing again), and waking up early enough to get ready and take Harper for a long morning walk.  I realize this is much closer to a normal work week for the rest of the world so I should just suck it up... but my 9-5's were so nice!

another card

My apartment is getting cleaner.  The map is starting to come together.  Harper is still adorable.  And it's actually sunny today.  Yes!

I created another snail mail card.  This one's for a friend who's feeling a bit under the weather.  

The plan for tonight involves the studio and a glass of wine.  I've got most of my source images printed out and ready to go for continued map drawing.  Although before I head over to work-land I need to purchase another sketch book as I've filled the most recent one (I love that feeling).

introducing... harper!

our first cuddle session

I am completely in love with this wrinkly girl.  About 2 weeks ago my rescue group sent me a picture of a little gray and white pit that was staying in a Kentucky shelter.  I didn't have to think twice about taking her.  I picked her up on Saturday - she is so tiny!  My heart was beating like crazy when she was handed to me for the first time.  And I kid you not, a little tear squeezed out when she looked at me with her clear little eyes and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

chillin' in the kitchen

She came with the name Ferrari (ew...) but has recently acquired the much cuter name of Harper.  I'm still working on her elaborate full name, I think Cotton will be in there somewhere.  She's slept curled up under my left arm for the past three nights and has accompanied me just about everywhere.  She still needs another set of shots before she can start to tear up the public parks but that will happen soon enough!

Tonight she's going to help me work on a goal from last week, these map drawings!  She's joining me at the studio where she will meet the infamous Casey, Pancake Sue, and Dolly.  Hopefully they will be besties!

And yes, she's technically a foster dog.  No... I do not plan on giving her up.

new puppy!

Today at 6pm Allie is going to her new home.  We are having dinner with the family, getting her situated with new toys and a new collar, and then I will give my sure to be tearful goodbye.  I bathed her on Saturday, and have a pretty blue ribbon ready to tie around her neck for her final departure from the apartment.  She seems to know something's up.  All she wants to do recently is curl up in my lap and get her belly rubbed.  Damn I will miss her... Fortunately the new family has assured me I will get to visit and possibly dog-sit for her.  This will not be the last we see of Miss Allie!

And now ... drum roll ... I am getting a new puppy!  Possibly tonight!  The rescue group has been going back and forth on whether I'll foster a little puppy or an adolescent dog next.  Last I heard I was going to get a 10 month old full-bred pitty on April 19th.  Then this morning I get an email asking if I can take a 3 month old as early as tonight!  Of course I said yes.  The pups are pit/rottweiler mix so I wasn't expecting anything over the top adorable like my Allie... They sent me a picture... and lo and behold I am smitten!  Check this out.

You see that wrinkly thing second from the left?  The cutest puppy you've ever seen?  Yeah.  She's gonna be mine for a while (forever?).  AND  I get to name her!  I'm thinking she deserves a good southern name so I've been compiling a list of favorites.  Bayou, Harper, and Cotton are at the top so far, but I'll have to wait and see what her personality reveals.  

Oh man... what a life.