Old Blue Is My Home
An old blue van may not look like much, but it holds everything one girl’s family needs. There’s an outdoor kitchen, a hammock-closet above the family bed, and a cozy library full of favorite books. But sometimes living in Old Blue makes her feel like she’s from everywhere—and belongs nowhere. When those feelings take over, Mama reminds her of the love inside Old Blue’s walls. This story was inspired by my own childhood experience with housing insecurity — it is a story of a family who hopes for a forever home; but until that day comes, Old Blue will look after them.
Dogs: A History of Our Best Friends
This illustrated history of dogs explores how humans’ partnership with dogs changed our lives and theirs
Of all the animals on the planet, dogs have the widest range of roles in our daily lives. They’re protectors, helpers, lifesavers—but most of all, they’re family.
And they’ve taken a fascinating journey to get to this point. Long ago, early wolves evolved from fierce predators into trusted partners. They became dogs! While we know dogs to be lovable and full of personality, they have also historically improved our lives in many practical ways, like guarding livestock to help humans form the first settlements, cleaning out infectious wounds, and finding food. Covering over 50,000 years of history, from cave-dwelling to the present day, Dogs chronicles fascinating scientific details and the history of how dogs learned to live cooperatively alongside humans.
Creative Process Videos
The Wisdom of Trees
Mary’s Monster
When You Need Wings
When You Need Wings
is now available!
The Making of When You Need Wings
Only one week until Dave and I throw open our doors and invite everyone to our Monadnock Art Open Studio tour. This Oct 10-11, from 10Am-5PM, we look forward to welcoming art lovers from far and near. We`ll have my children`s books, prints, original paintings, and carvings for sale. There will be sculptures, gardens, works in progress, and fall foliage to explore. It`s our favorite weekend of the year and we hope you can join us. Follow the link in my linktree to find out more about the tour and the 64 other studios that will be open. #studiotour #studiotours #whimsicalliving #carving #arttour #whimsicaldesign #maker
Oct 3
Dave and I got the trim up on our Nordic stave shed! My favorite part are the two ravens holding the full moon above the door. In Nordic mythology, 2 ravens, Huginn and Muginn, fly over the world and tell of what they see to the god, Odin. I`m honoring my Norwegian grandfathers, but I`m no viking. So my ravens are carved in a courtship pose, representing the life long bond Dave and I share. Creating together is our love language, and this project has been one long labor of love. Dave did all the construction, I carved the trim and cedar shakes made to look like raven feathers. Next up, we have to make a door before the winter snows come! #uniquecabin #fairytalelife #whimsicalliving #reliefcarving #folkart
Sep 27
HI all, the mural I`m creating inspired by the birds and plants in my garden is almost done. A lot of people messaged me to ask how I carved and painted them so I thought I`d share a little process video. I can`t believe this is the last of the 15 panels. It will be such a delight in the winter months ahead to have this glimpse of my garden on the wall. I`ll share pics of it installed soon! #Folkart #reliefcarving #whimsicaldesign #Whimsicalart #whimsicalliving #fairytalelife #muralartist
Sep 24
This is getting exciting! I have 6 more carved panels for my stairwell mural and I can`t wait to mount them to the wall. Thank you all for all the encouragement during the many months of this project. For those new to this endeavor - it all started with drawings, and then LOTS of carving, painting, carving some more, and then the best part - mounting panels to the stairwell. I`ll have these 6 new panels up in time for our open studio tour Oct 10-11. You can follow my linktree for more info on the tour. More soon everyone! #Folkart ##whimsicaldesign #muralart #Whimsicalart #reliefcarving #whimsicalliving #folkart #fairytalelife #muralartist
Sep 20
Hi everyone! I wanted to say a huge thanks to my followers, new and old. I`m blown away by everyone`s kindness and support of my work. I`ve spent the last 20 years writing and illustrating children`s books, but very recently taken up hand tools to carve in wood. Now, rather than writing stories, I`m attempting to create a space where people might feel as if they can walk into and through a story. Whether it`s the Nordic stave we`re building to honor my Norwegian grandfathers, the stairwell I`m carving to capture our garden, or the fireplace and doors that honor the critters who share our land, I want to create a space that holds memories and love. I`m thankful to my husband, Dave, who is a talented carpenter, creating my wooden panels for carving and constructing all the foundations to these projects. We hope to share this place we`re making, here on instagram, and in person with open studio days and future offerings. So it means everything to me that you are following along and sharing words of encouragement. I can`t tell you what a boost it is that we can share our art and lives here. Thank you. #woodworker #reliefcarving #whimsicalliving #folkart #fairytalelife
Sep 16
I finished carving the trim for my Nordic inspired Stave shed! Dave and I filmed this little preview a week ago to see how it`s going to look. Now all we have to do is cut everything down, raise the two large ravens and the full moon to go above the door and attach everything!! We also hope to build a door before the cold weather sets in (this door is just a temp to keep out summer rains). Hope to have everything done by our open studio tour this October 10th and 11th. Only one month away now. Follow my link to #Monadnockart in the link tree to find out more. TNext summer, I`ll carve a roof cap, and window trim while Dave puts in an oak floor. #woodworker #whimsicalliving #fairytalelife #reliefcarving
Sep 12
4 new panels that I relief carved for the stairwell mural are up now! So exciting to see this coming together. 7 done, 8 to go, (but I have 6 more nearly done) so I feel like I`m on the homestretch. I`ve been working on this project since March so it feels a little surreal to see it`s actually coming together as a mural. We will put trim over the seams to match the skirt below when I finish all of the panels. And fingers crossed, I`ll have it done before our open studio tour this October 10th, and 11th. Follow my link tree for information on the Monadnock Art tour! #muralartist #whimsicalliving #reliefcarving #woodworker
Sep 6
I have 4 more relief carved panels ready for the stairwell mural (here is a sneak peak at two of them.) Dave is mounting all 4 to the wall today. Hooray! I`ll share a pic of them on the stairwell tomorrow if all goes well with construction. I can`t believe our open studio tour is just over a month, Oct.10th and 11th from now. We hope to have all the panels up by then. see more about the Monadnock Art Tour in my link tree. #Monadnockart #reliefcarving #woodworker #artandcraft #woodcarver #mural art
Sep 5
The fourth relief carved wood panel for my stairwell mural is DONE and ready to be mounted to the wall! I think my parrot, little Bea loves the new birdie companions that will adorn our home. Several more panels are now in various stages of completion so there will be a lot more coming up soon on this project. Fingers crossed, I`ll have most of it completed to share with everyone who comes four our Open Studio tour this October. #reliefcarving #woodworker #artandcraft
Aug 23
Come carve with me! I`ll be teaching relief carving again at the HatchSpace in Brattleboro, VT on November 14 and 15th! You don`t need to have picked up a gouge before. We`ll provide all the tools you need in a small, intimate class designed to introduce the wonders of carving. I`ll share how to work with wood grain, what basic tools are needed to get started and good simple technique that will get you well on your way to creating beautiful relief carving. So excited to share my passion for this wonderful art form. You can find it at @HatchSpace or follow the link in my linktree.#carving #reliefcarving #artist`s woodart #woodworking #woodworker
Aug 16
I love the sound of quiet banging and slicing as I relief carve. I`m nearly done with another panel for my stairwell mural. This one features a Rose Breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, a Yellow Warbler, and a Mourning Dove, all birds that frequent our garden. And one of my favorite plants, Virginia Creeper for it reminds me of summer days at my grandparents home. Nearly ready to mount this panel to our wall! #reliefcarving #woodworker #artandcraft
Aug 9
I`m carving the ravens out of Mahogany for my Norse inspired Stave structure. Can`t wait to mount these two large ravens above the door. Once the relief carving is finished, I`ll cut away the background and then carve a moon to sit above them. The flower motif will tie into the door trim - will show that soon! This has felt like a sacred project every step of the way, unfolding slowly but steadily. I know it will take several more years to complete, but I think the patient labor is part of building up the sacred feeling to our shed. I`m grateful this project has led me into carving and discovering a medium that feels so wonderfully perfect for me. #reliefcarving #woodworker #whimsicalliving #fairytalelife #artandcraft
Aug 2
The relief carving I carved, inspired by a medieval cloister I saw in Paris, is mounted to our bedroom wall at last! It`s the last thing I see before closing my eyes each night and I feel like my dreams can disappear into this whimsical, but sacred place. It takes up nearly the entire wall and gives me a place where I can find peace for a moment and a place to reflect. The carving is almost 7 feet across, too large to capture the details in a photo, so I made a short video to share the textures and patterns I carved into the wood. My favorite places to create were my kittie`s, Pulina and Willow, the dresses patterns, and my initials that I carved as if they were illuminated letters. And the protecting dragons, of course! This piece took endless hours to create, but every slice of my gouge felt like a labor of love. So happy to have it on the wall at last. #whimsicalliving #reliefcarving #fairytalelife #woodworker #artandcraft #muralartist #muralart
Jul 26
The trim I`ve been carving for our special shed is going up! So excited! After two summers of work, it`s finally taking shape. Dave put all the rake boards I carved up. I designed a repeating pattern of two ravens in a courtship pose with one another. I`m carving a pair huge ravens for above the door next, and trim to go around the door. But for now, I`m so happy to see these first trim pieces in place. #reliefcarving #whimsicalliving #gardenshed #woodworker
Jul 19
Yesterday was our anniversary so Dave and I celebrated by making a frame for my relief carving of a medieval cloister! So excited to have this nearly ready to hang on the wall as a mural in our bedroom. This piece is massive so it took us awhile to figure out how to spline it together into one piece. You can see one of my muses supervised as well. Look closely in the bottom left to see Willow in the carving. I`ll share a pic of it on the wall soon. #interiorart #homedecor #reliefcarving #woodworker #woodart #muralart
Jul 8
