delicious & nutritious

April is National Greyhound Adoption Month! 🩶 This little one was submitted to Greyhound Pets of America – Houston for an upcoming fundraiser auction. Greyhounds & Cuddlepillars are a combo like peanut butter & jelly! 🩷 🧡 💜 💚 💛

A needlefelted gift for Jamie of her cat Bean (short for Jellybean)! 💚

She's a cute lil' Japanese Bobtail, often called "Grandma" since she's getting on in years… so of course I had to add a little shawl & spectacles to complete the look. It's so heartwarming to see the Real Bean next her needlefelt counterpart! 🐾💕

Bonus Beans under the cut! 🫘

I recently had the bittersweet pleasure of crafting a (dead) puppy for Houston Grand Opera's production of "Of Mice & Men". 🥀

Handmade. 🙌 Materials: paper, tape, rope, quilt batting, faux fur, felt, glass cabochons, and a lil' polymer clay nose.

WIP photos under the cut!

It’s opening day for Open Dance Project’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”! Here are the designs of the fairies (Moth, Mustardseed, Peaseblossom, and Cobweb) and their real-life counterparts for the show.

It was a fun challenge to create characters that were a bit more abstract, but still full of colorful personality; It’s an honor to be included in such a whimsical project! ⋆ ˚｡

The show is running from Jan 30 to Feb 8 at MATCH Houston - Tickets are available here

(I did not take many WIP photos--however, these were primarily sculpted with cardboard + wire + masking tape, then covered with fabrics and decorated with trims, jewels, etc...)

I've always wanted to visit the original Meow Wolf in Santa Fe, but never had the means, so I was excited to learn that they had a location opening (Radio Tave) in Houston! Little did I know that I would eventually be part of Afsaneh Aayani 's build team for her room & diorama! It really was a dream come true, and it was hard work!

“I often design to tell someone else’s story, to make what others want/need. But this installation was what I wanted, and was my story to tell. Ava (“Hum” in Farsi) is a room where you can take a moment, sit under the pomegranate tree, listen to the music, and forget about all the crazy that is out there. When designing this project, the woman, life, freedom movement was in full swing back in Iran… and although everything seemed dark and gloomy, the movement was filled with hope, color and beauty! So every painting, sculpture or anything in the room is a symbol of that hope, color, and beauty. Every flower, color and shape comes from the Persian miniature paintings."  -- Afsaneh Aayani

We often admire the finished product and overlook the many hours of blood, sweat, & tears that it takes to get there. The process can be downright frustrating & challenging at times, but that's where the growth happens.

I'm grateful for the experience and to further learn from the incredibly skilled people involved with these projects. 🤲💕

If you're in the Houston area and enjoy surreal art and immersive experiences, be sure to check out the Meow Wolf location there!

(Behind-the-Scenes & WIP snippets under the cut)...

A few WIPs of a "Fury" character from Main Street Theater's production of The Lightning Thief. My studio-mate sculpted a second head, and the actress wore them on her shoulders.

I recently crafted a set of "dead" rabbits & pheasants for an upcoming show at Houston Grand Opera! The production is Wagner's "Tannhäuser", which runs April 25 - May 11! 

Working on these animals gave me a lot of practice in hand-sewing, which has been a goal of mine this year. I was also able to implement some previous pattern-making skills to create the pheasants (they even flopped about appropriately!) Certainly a lot of work, but I knew I could handle the challenge. I'm pretty pleased with how they turned out!

There are some WIP photos under the cut!

A recent memorial commission of a dearly departed companion, Tyrion. 🐾💕

"Trussst the Processs" photos of a snake mask sculpted for The Big Swim, a Lunar New Year Opera, last year. 🐍💕

(The rest of the masks can be seen in this post!)

If the Mari Lwyd should appear at your door Be sure to entertain with words galore Lest the beast shall win And then shall begin An almighty feast on food & drink forevermore!

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April is Adopt-A-Greyhound month!

Greyhounds are often referred to as "The World's Fastest Couch Potatoes". 🥔💕

I made this design into a sticker for local GPA Houston Meet & Greets. 🩶They are also available for purchase here!

Sighthounds have been my most recent subject of hyper-fixation lately; particularly retired racing Greyhounds & Silken Windhounds!

While Greyhound racing has mostly stopped in the US (I believe WV still practices), many rescues have started to accept greyhounds from overseas, where racing is still prevalent.

A birthday gift for my Aunt in Alaska. She sends smoked salmon to the family during the holidays, so I made a salmon-themed catfish to honor the tradition!

A little Haikyuu/Nekoma-centric appreciation post; getting to watch The Dumpster Battle in cinemas was such a treat! ฅ^ﻌ^ฅ