Quiet City

tiny changes/ big announcement!

2010-08-25T15:15:00.005-04:00

My husband gave me a copy of Frightened Rabbit's Midnight Organ Fight for Christmas and it whole-heartedly sucked me in. I know it came out a couple years ago and I cannot account for why I hadn't heard them sooner, but the first weeks of listening to them nonstop in the car was like embarking on a new relationship: it was really exciting, heart-skipping, breathless. The songs consumed my mind like I might think of a new lover in his or her absence-just wanting to be near again, wanting to nestle into those new warm arms, and trying not to giggle when we kiss.

(I am absolutely writing this with a straight face.)

It's actually a break-up album full of sadness, anger and brutal heartbreak- yet there's something so sexual and passionate about it, even hopeful. Scott Hutchison's voice and words will tear you to shreds and then stitch you up gently, ALL AT THE SAME TIME.

Their latest release, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, really does live up to its predecessor. The lyrical content explores the wild world that exists outside of, and in spite of, broken hearts while staying true to the personal and inner-workings nature Frightened Rabbit lovers have come to adore.

I traveled to Boston to see them in April, and I'm totally serious: my life changed. Remember, I'm married, I'm a mom, I'm an artist, I live in one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen,; I've been moved, I've experienced profound changes, and sometimes wonder what else could possibly move me. The answer? Frightened Rabbit live. That's the truth- pure, whole, open- three words I'd also use to describe the presence of the men themselves and how I felt on the four-hour drive home after the show, singing at the tops of my lungs through New England's overnight fog.

Now that you know exactly how I feel about Frightened Rabbit, it is with absolute joy that I tell you I've spoken (via e-mail) with Scott Hutchison himself and he has granted me permission to create Quiet City art inspired by his songs.

(That sound you just heard was the quiet thunder of my heart beating twice at the same time.)

Much like the music of matt pond PA drew pictures and painted scenes in my head, Frightened Rabbit has done what little other music does to me: inspires, consumes, creates. I plan to spend a great deal of time this fall using Mr. Hutchison's lyrics to build illustrations and collages, so new postcards, prints and originals will be popping up in the coming weeks.

I just can't wait to see what happens!

Picnic Festival, this weekend!

2010-08-23T22:02:00.002-04:00

Don't forget, my friends! The Picnic Music + Arts Festival is happening this Saturday, August 28, at Lincoln Park in Portland.

I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself!

Quiet City will be offering postcards, note cards, stationery sheets, art prints, photography prints, original mixed media canvas panels, and tree ornaments! Make sure to come see me at Booth 55. My brother Ian will be helping man the booth, too. My day is going to be awesome!

While you're there say hello to my friends Mandy of Grandma June and Katie of Gertrude Knickerbocker.

See you this weekend!

lately

2010-08-16T18:41:00.002-04:00

It's summer, so I've spent a lot of time outdoors. I did a little running and bicycling before it got hot and humid, and I take a lot of walks with my son to fill these long, bright days. On the weekends my husband and I pack up for our small-family trips to the beach or we'll go on a local hike. Picnics on the lawn are quite common. My son and I planted a beautiful garden that is producing tons of grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, red lettuce, zucchinis and summer squashes.

Outdoors is just where I like to be, and that's been reflecting in my recent artwork. (I've also been listening to the new matt pond PA album, The Dark Leaves, and Frightened Rabbit's Winter of Mixed Drinks. Everything sounds like the forest and oceans.)

Here is one of the pieces I hung at Verbena over the weekend:

"WILD" is acrylic paint, ink drawings on magazines and a paper grocery bag, plus sealants on 8"x16" canvas. See it in person at Verbena between now and October 15- it's located at 103 Ocean Street in South Portland, Maine. (You'll also find really delicious food and coffee there as well as Mandy, one of the cutest baristas you'll ever see.)

hello.

2010-08-13T22:06:00.003-04:00

Oh my!

Seven and a half months with no updates. This is partially due to the fact I forgot my login to Blogger until it popped into my head tonight, and also because I've not completed a whole lot of work until recently.

Ahem.

I hope someone, anyone, still reads this. :)

I am pleased to inform you that I am actively working on new projects. On Sunday I will be installing some of my mixed media pieces at Verbena in South Portland, Maine! My artwork will live there near beautiful Casco Bay for two months.

Coming up on August 28 is the 3rd annual Picnic Music + Arts Festival in Portland. Ahhhh, I am so excited! I was a vendor last year and I feel like I learned a lot- mostly, what to do differently and BETTER- and I am really looking forward to sharing new work with the people who wander over to my booth.

You can view what I've been working on here. Happy mid-August to you and yours!

Happy New Year!... (cough cough threeweekslate)

2010-01-26T22:30:00.006-05:00

I realize it's a pretty bad idea for me to leave this blog so deserted when I'm using it, technically, for my business. But friends! The holidays were crazy! I had several custom orders for tree ornaments, and that made me so happy. It kept my hands so busy, all caked in Mod Podge and tiny flecks of paper. I had a table at the Captive Elements holiday show and my Etsy shop was a-bustlin'.

I even had a custom mixed media order from a woman I went to school with from first grade until we graduated from high school (which was nearly a decade ago)! The wonders of the internet (more specifically, Facebook) reunited us and we found we live just a couple blocks from each other now. Back when we were teammates in elementary school softball, I never would have imagined our adult lives intertwining in such a way, but it's a sweet surprise.

She asked me to create a piece as a Christmas gift for her boyfriend. All she wanted was artwork depicting the two of them and she gave me artistic freedom. I panicked and paced for a while but eventually was quite pleased when I stepped back from the canvas to see this:

"John & Vanessa," December 2009

It's acrylic, papers, ink and sealants on canvas. Paper sources included clippings from a vintage ledger, antique encyclopedia, a French novel, a German hymn book and a map.

I have new projects in the work but I'll keep it under wraps until everything is shiny and finished. Don't you forget about me.

Cyber Monday

2009-11-30T09:49:00.003-05:00

I've extended my free shipping offer until today because, DUH! I almost forgot about Cyber Monday!

So, any order placed before midnight tonight tonight qualifies for free shipping. Simply enter code FS1109 into the "message to seller" box when you check out, and you'll be refunded via PayPal for the shipping charge.

Also, I'm giddy with anticipation so I can hardly contain myself! Yesterday I placed an order with overnightprints.com for some note cards for my shop! I printed my postcards with them last year and was (and am still) SO thrilled with their quality. My new note cards will feature a selection of my photography and I'm anxiously awaiting their arrival to my doorstep!

Right now I'm in awe that it's already the last day of November. ALREADY! Unbelievable!

I would like to gently suggest avoiding the crowds this weekend and shopping online instead...

2009-11-27T09:54:00.003-05:00

... and buying and giving handmade for the holidays!

From today until Sunday, November 29, shipping for your purchases from the Quiet City Etsy shop is FREE! This applies to everything except items from the "collage and mixed media" and "prints" sections- shipping for THOSE items is half off!

Type in code FS1109 in the Message to Seller Box when you check out. The shipping discount will be given via a PayPal refund.

(Please contact me with any questions about this discount!)

I hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving with your friends and family. Let this be a Bright Friday! Stay home this weekend, eat leftovers and support handmade! :)

Quiet City stationery

2009-11-24T20:11:00.000-05:00

I do use a lot of e-mail and other electronic forms of communications. With friends and family throughout New England and Texas, and now a few in-laws based in Kentucky for the military, text messages and Facebook are quick and easy ways to stay in touch.

Despite this, I have always loved handwritten notes and letters sent through the mail. Ever since I was little and my family moved from Massachusetts to Maine, I've had pen pals. Opening up the mailbox and seeing an envelope with my name handwritten on the front has always been a thrill. On my end, I love folding up a card or a letter, neatly addressing it and sending it off with a little stamp in the corner.

I have almost every letter or card I have ever received- thankfully they don't take up a TON of room- but I have shoeboxes full of correspondence from elementary school until now. I LOVE writing letters. In fact, one day a few years ago when I was sorting them all out (yes, I actually did that) I found that the most letters I have ever received are from my best friend Laura, and most of her letters were sent when we lived just four miles apart.

My heart is so warm when I think of that.

And now, Quiet City visitors, I present to you illutsrated stationery sheets.

They are 8 1/2" x 11" sheets with illustrations along the edges, left in black and white so you can color them yourselves. The set includes envelopes. I have three designs available now, and more to come!

Please check the shop for my stationery sheets! And don't forget I have postcards too for the quick and sweet correspondence.

xoxo Courtney

ornaments, take 2

2009-11-23T21:54:00.002-05:00

I have the photo-to-blog problem figured out (I think?) so I'd like to share with you a few pictures of my ornaments.

The first two have found happy homes, and the last one is still up for grabs in my shop.

You can also find my new gift tags in the shop, and lots more photos on Facebook.

baby art

2009-11-11T19:00:00.003-05:00

An old friend of mine is having a baby soon and for part of her shower gift I made some wall art for her daughter. For some reason it did not occur to me to take a nice photo of the finished product before I gave it to her, but I can share the almost-finished-image.

It's paint and paper on an 8"x8"x1" wood panel. I've done a couple other pieces on this same size wood, and I love the way it feels and looks when it's done. The size and texture seem perfect.

new and newer ornaments

2009-11-08T20:05:00.006-05:00

I've just updated my shop with a new selection of tree ornaments!

Won't you take a look?

(Sorry, but I am unable to post photos on my blog right now!)

PICNIC

2009-10-01T15:49:00.003-04:00

On September 12 I took part in my first art festival!

The Picnic Music + Arts Festival was held in Portland's Lincoln Park on a rainy and chilly mid-September day and I love, love, LOVED being a part of it.

The Picnic folks will be having a holiday festival (I won't be a vendor but I'll surely be attending!) so please check it out if you can!

A Yo Gabba Birthday

2009-07-16T11:07:00.007-04:00

My son turned two in June, and I had planned a fun Yo Gabba Gabba-themed party with awesome handmade decorations and a big awesome Plex cake.

Something happened the week before his party though, which I'll talk about later, and I was sidetracked and unable to make the decorations or the dream cake. I settled with a yellow tablecloth, a smaller cake and I drew the game the kids played with a dry-erase marker on the front of my washing machine. *shakes head*

My son may not have had the perfect themed 2nd birthday party but he and his friends had a ton of fun, and no one seemed to mind the lack of construction paper Brobees or Munos. :)

We played Pin the Antenna on Plex! The kids made antennas by coloring short Popsicle sticks and gluing glittery pom-poms to the top.

And they "pinned" them to my impromptu dry-erase art. The kids were totally cute and luckily too young to judge me!

The won stickers, bubbles and slinkies for doing such a good job.

I made a chocolate-banana cake that ended up smaller than my original plan, so I had to compromise Plex's actual features- but that didn't make him any less yummy.

Lesson learned: make decorations and plan cake two to three weeks in advance.

In this photo, I am showing my son the artwork I made for him.

Once I add the jellyfish, it's going up on the wall over his new big-kid bed, which he's getting this weekend. It says "Everything you want to be/ I can't wait to see you be," which is from the matt pond PA song "Everything Until the East Coast Ends," from the 2007 If You Want Blood EP.

Close-up of the finished version coming soon.

Happy happy birthday to my sweet, awesome son- I can't even explain how excited I am that I get to spend my life being his mom.

gardening update

2009-07-16T10:56:00.002-04:00

I started my garden almost three months ago now, and we've been enjoying some homegrown peas for the past week or so.

They are sweet and snappy and perfect.

I've had some mishaps in gardening though, which I expected since this was my first garden and our weather has been very strange this year. Because of the weather and uncontrollable indoor climates, the seeds I started indoors failed twice, so that leaves me with no tomatoes, peppers, carrots or spinach this year. I also learned to plant my pea seeds further apart, which I'll keep in mind when I plant for a fall harvest. In the garden, the cucumbers and lettuce are taunting me with nothingness.

The broccoli, summer squash and cantaloupe seem to be thriving, though, so that's a good thing.

I can't wait to find new vegetables waiting for me.

July already

2009-07-15T13:44:00.002-04:00

It's been nearly two months since I last updated; my apologies for such a delay. Life has been throwing a good deal of distractions at me (both good and bad ones), such as migraines, swimming, a death in the family, a weekend trip to Brooklyn, my ability to concentrate again on reading novels, gardening, bike theft, my son's second birthday and the party associated with such an occasion, his blossoming vocabulary and conversation skills and a great need for housecleaning.

I need to get back on track in order to whip my Etsy shop back into shape and start making art a habit again. I did start making a collage for my son for his birthday, which is almost finished. As soon as it's done you'll be able to see it here. My mind is brimming with ideas for new work, and I'll be cracking down soon in order to share it.

More posts and pictures to come soon! Thanks for checking back in after all this time!

I missed the fiddleheads.

2009-05-20T14:17:00.003-04:00

I've been seeing them unfurling on the roadsides, spreading into great green ferns. I somehow missed the point when they are still tightly curled and edible.

Fiddleheads remind me of my paternal grandparents.

Specifically: ten years ago this spring, my parents and my little brother and I went to Bethel one Sunday to visit Grammy and Grampy. After lunch, my mum and Grammy stayed in while I went with the guys to pick fiddleheads. Grampy led us across the street to the farm his friends owned. We passed the house and the barn, following an overgrown path cleared by farm equipment to the great sweeping field. Squinting across the green, the field stretched perfectly flat until it met the foot of a strong gray-blue mountain.

I watched my dad and Grampy gathering the tight green coils into their folded paper bags. They looked so much the same- tall, serious and quiet, but warm, too. They stood and bent in the same manner, almost like watching a man and himself stand side-by-side, a comparison of his ages.

We went back to the house when Grampy grew tired. My dad held onto his arm as we slowly made our way back to the house, where Grammy cleaned the fiddleheads in the sink.

Grampy passed away later that summer, and Grammy followed him five years later.

I see them in the glowing green fiddleheads.

.Photos by Courtney at Lake Andrews, Bates College, Lewiston, Maine.

chills

2009-05-19T23:05:00.000-04:00

This trailer is magical, just like the book the movie is based on.

Anyone else counting down the days until October 16?

(Hmmm. Is there a way for this video window to be smaller?)

Memory Lane

2009-05-18T19:48:00.006-04:00

My very late teens and early twenties have been haunting me lately, but in a good way.

*********

First, my brother found a mix tape I made when I was 19. I don't know where it was buried but he found it when he was visiting my parents. He listened to it before bringing it to me, and he laughed about New Found Glory and Showoff- bands we loved almost a decade ago but try to pretend now that we didn't. For about a week straight, I listened to it on my little stereo in the kitchen that I use every time I cook, clean and wash dishes. I cringed a lot. I chuckled. I got a little misty-eyed.

It's amazing how my 19-year-old self is still sleeping somewhere deep inside of me, awakened by the songs that used to always be in my head and in my lungs. Laura and I would sing at the tops of our voices on summer nights, driving with the windows down past gas stations and shadowy cemeteries and under overpasses. I thought about the things I used to worry about, the things that kept me up at night, the things that made me cry- and also the things I laughed about, dreamed of and the people who made me smile.

The tape contained songs I still love and always will, for one reason or another, even if it may be considered un-awesome to admit (Saves the Day, Thursday, Get Up Kids). There were songs I didn't even remember until someone started singing. Lyrics came back to me in fragments, my voice skipping over the words, fumbling. Some of the lyrics, though, are tattooed in my memory and in one case, tattooed on my arm (literally).

It had the Juliana Theory (eeek!) song that I used on my audition tape when a band in Ohio wanted me to sing on a few of their songs. It never happened- I think they broke up?- and I can't even remember their name now or how we ever got in touch with each other in the first place. The tape had a handful of other songs I'd sung at the Yellow Dog Cafe when I was 18 and a new student at Salem State College. My heart fluttered a little to remember the open mic nights and the smiling faces of my friends watching me the last time I sang there.

I wrap myself almost completely in the music I listen to now- in my car, in the kitchen, when I have living room dance parties with my son- but when I was 19... man. Reliving that was INTENSE.

********

For the past two weekends I've been excavating the clutter/memorabilia that has been building up across five or so apartments over the past six years that my husband and I have lived together. (I'll take responsibility for like 95% of it.) In donating eight boxes to the Salvation Army, setting aside six boxes for the consignment shop, filling two recycling tubs and three giant trash bags, I have been sifting through my early twenties scrap by scrap, box by box. It's been really freeing- feeling like I can finally let go of random, mostly meaningless things that were really just amounting to less livable space and dead weight every time we've moved.

(Age 21, complete with lip ring, self-cut and dyed hair, and a shirt I actually still wear but am ready to set free.)

I found photos I had forgotten about, love letters and cards from when my husband was still my boyfriend, aging mix tapes from Laura, concert ticket stubs and show flyers, embarrassing poetry, old artwork, my hospital bracelet from surgery at age 22 and forgotten craft supplies. I only kept the REALLY important stuff, photos and letters and ACTUAL keepsakes like ultrasound images.

(Age 22, in my Portland apartment.)

I'm still not finished but we just gained several square feet of floor space in the bedroom.

spring green

2009-05-16T19:10:00.001-04:00

It feels like it was only last week (although it was nearly one month ago) that the bare trees were showing small, budding signs of spring growth. With the rain, everything's exploded- the leaves are now open and stretching like ceilings, casting bright green shades on everything. Even the lilacs are blooming and some of my pea plants are four inches high!

(same trees)

There's a reason that green is my favorite color. And this is it.

Today is a very good day.

2009-05-06T20:28:00.003-04:00

The three best things about today:

1. My pea seeds have rooted and are poking up through the soil! Thanks to two days of spring showers.

2. Governor Baldacci signed LD 1020 to establish marriage equality in Maine. !!! I'm so proud to live here.

3. My son said "I love you" for the first time WHILE I WAS EATING SPAGHETTI, making the moment so unbelievably perfect. My favorite person, my favorite food, verbally declared affection from my toddler. Sigh. Nothing better.

xoxo Courtney

grow your grass in bottlecaps

2009-04-27T20:39:00.006-04:00

I almost didn't ask because I was sure the answer would be no. My heart ached at what might be, so I asked anyway, just in case. Much to my surprise! My delight! The answer was yes- my landlords are letting me grow a vegetable garden!

I started digging up the grass this past Friday and have spent the three evenings since trying to expand. It's slow-going. But after I laid out my perimeter and shoveled up my first chunk of soil, I breathed in the earthy smell and wanted to lay down in it.

My son, who will be two years old soon, has been very interested in my outdoor activities, mostly the bugs and worms I am finding underground. He doesn't like to touch them but he will stay near me and crouch down when he knows I have found a little wiggly treasure. He uses sticks he finds in the yard to poke around in the dirt I'm loosening, and he picks up little roots and clumps of soil, tossing them into the pile where I collect the grass I'm removing.

Yesterday I planted the pea seeds and I CANNOT WAIT to pick my sweet sugar snap peas! I started the tomato seeds in an egg carton in the kitchen, and have to do the same for my peppers soon. Once I get more of the soil cleared I'll add my rows of different seeds- broccoli, lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, squashes, cantaloupe, radishes, carrots and more. Always more.

I've wanted to plant a garden for years now but I've been in apartments since I was twenty and I haven't had adequate yard space. In our current apartment we're lucky to have a really generous yard to enjoy and for our son to run around in- and there's more than enough room for one small household's garden. Because this is something I have been anticipating for so long, I am incredibly excited but also really nervous. I know I'll be crushed if my garden fails. BUT if it doesn't, I know that eating what I have grown myself is going to be unbelievably satisfying. I'm probably going to be giggling the first time I prepare it and serve it to my family.

As I've been getting into the dirt I've been finding little surprises, like a cracked acorn with a thick white sprout reaching for the sunshine. I felt bad about uprooting it at first but then remembered if I hadn't done it, the lawnmower would have done it in eventually. Today I found a rusty cap from a beer bottle, with roots coiled up neatly inside of it. If I were only as tall as the grass I would build my home just under the roots, where tiny gifts hide forgotten.

I probably have the day off tomorrow from the garden as we're expecting thunderstorms (and 85 degrees- I can't believe this April weather!) and I hope to report in a couple months of my first crop.

Cross your fingers.

the sky on Sunday

2009-04-26T22:14:00.000-04:00

If you live a love, live it like your last.

2009-04-23T22:49:00.003-04:00

In Texas, I worked in a bookstore with a wonderful woman named Stephanie. Then I moved to Maine and she moved to New York. She commissioned me to create custom artwork to adorn her new bedroom walls.

"I fell running through the fields and you fell with me," is from the 2007 matt pond PA song "If You Live." (The lyrics are protected under copyright and are used with permission. Thanks, Matt.) Papers (tissue, magazine print and sketchbook), ink and decoupage glue on 14"x17" canvas.

Stephanie- I hope you like it.

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

Spring Art

2009-04-18T00:35:00.003-04:00

Just in time for the upcoming Captive Elements show, I completed two new works.

This is "Spring Fawn"

Acrylic paint, paper and aluminum foil on 11"x14" canvas.

Closeup of the pussy willows:

This entire piece was built around my random urge to make tin foil pussy willows, and it's too beautiful outside lately not to honor spring in art.

The second piece I finished is actually a commissioned work for a dear friend, and I'll post photos of it after I ship it to her. But first, it will be on display at this weekend's art show.

Come to the art show if you're in the area!
Sunday, April 19 from 5-9 pm
at Holly's Own Deli and Restaurant
84 Court Street (corner of the intersection at Court and Mechanincs Row/ Turner Street) in Auburn, Maine

Live music will be performed by Mike Krapovicky, and the bar will be open to complement Holly's free hors d'oeurves. The University of Southern Maine Leadership Program will be present, hosting a silent auction to benefit their campaign to Costa Rica.

Spring Things

2009-04-01T21:55:00.002-04:00

Here's a small collection of some beautiful Etsy finds that sparkle of spring. Happy April!

First Bloom ring by The Ardent Sparrow

Meadows Beauty Ponytail Holder set by Baubles-n-Bows

Urban Baby Bonnet in green Alexander Henry designer fabric by The Urban Baby Bonnet

Two Spring Lambs linocut greeting cards by Anthea Art

Vintage Linen Embroidered Flax Linen Heel from Dear Golden

xoxo

*All of the photos and their rights belong to the individual shop owners.*

show!

2009-03-31T21:36:00.000-04:00

*
Captive Elements Art House Spring Show
Sunday, April 19, 2009
@ Holly's Own Deli & Restaurant
84 Court Street, Auburn, Maine
5:00 pm- 9:00 pm
*

Out like a lamb.

2009-03-30T11:51:00.003-04:00

It's been raining. Raining! Spring began officially last week, and since then we've been outside without our jackets. Last night was our first thunderstorm of the year, and although it was brief, it was a relief nonetheless to have more signs of a new season moving in. I stood with my husband and son in the window of my studio, watching the rain pour and the sky flash. My son tilted his head to the thunder. I guess he doesn't remember those epic thunderstorms from his home state of Texas.

We've been back in Maine for a year now. One year and three days, exactly. Last year at this time there was more than a foot of snow waiting on the ground, with still another snowstorm ahead. There were still dirty snowbanks sitting stubbornly in May because of the above-average volume of snow that fell that crazy winter. The snow is already receding from our yard; the crooked edge moves further and further from the trees every day. Rivers are springing up from under shelves of crusty snow, flooding the sides of streets and pooling in the low parts of people's yards.

My first bit of spring cleaning was yesterday, in my kitchen. I straightened up the corner where we keep the recycling, moved the heavy coats into the closet, and cleared off the table that's been impossibly cluttered for months. There's still more work ahead of me, and a lot of rearranging to do. I look forward to when this apartment is in top shape, and I can fill my kitchen and studio with houseplants. If I can't have a garden, I still want to dip my hands in soil and watch things grow.

*

"The spring provides
reminders through your life
when branches scrape your pane
they call you out again."
-matt pond PA

anniversary

2009-03-08T23:19:00.002-04:00

Tonight was the anniversary show for Captive Elements Art House, held at Fishbones American Grill in Lewiston. The night was a success for the gallery, and there was a great turnout! (And if you're ever in the area, Fishbones is a great place to eat and drink, just so you know.)

Two of my friends who I've known since middle school were there- one of whom I've seen a few times since moving back to Maine last year, and another I haven't seen since around the time of our high school graduation. Thanks so much for coming, Jordann and Heather! It was lovely seeing you. I even made a new friend. Hi, Vanessa!

Great news on the Quiet City front: I sold all of these. Holy moly, right?

And now I am ready to sleep really really hard until after the sun comes up or my son wakes up. Whichever comes first.

In like a lion

2009-03-05T11:16:00.002-05:00

March has given us another major snowfall, which is true to March's reputation. Luckily this time the snow was light and wispy, unsuitable for snowmen, and our upcoming weather is supposed to be rain and snow mixed- including freezing rain this Sunday, which is unfortunate since I have plans. This month brings the official start of spring though. Oh, spring.

Frosting in Androscoggin County

2009-02-28T09:45:00.005-05:00

Earlier this week, we had an all-night snowfall made of heavy, wet flakes that stuck to everything it touched.

The next morning, my yard looked like this:

It almost looked like some kind of dessert, like icing.

I had errands to run, appointments to keep, even though the roads were not properly cared for or fully cleared yet (except for maybe two or three roads in all of Lewiston/Auburn). From my doorway to my car, the snow was almost up to my knees, trying to sneak in the tops of my boots. I would have much preferred to stay in that day.

On the Longley Bridge connecting Lewiston to Auburn, I tried to take a picture of the river valley but all I got was the snowbank.

That's because I drive a Camry and the snowbank was very tall.

Up Court Street from the Longley, it could have been a little postcard-y, had there not yet been mud and brakelights and if it wasn't already the end of February.

One of my favorite things though, about these cloudy winter days that try to be bright, is the way the sun shines through what looks like milk, spilling muted colors onto the clouds.

Back at home, the parking in the lot was all amiss and I couldn't park where I normally do. I had to pull in under this tree.
Which worried me that when I left again to pick my husband up from work, my car would be reburied in the snowfall from the branches. Luck was with me though, as a great deal of the sticky snow was STILL perched in the trees, almost a week later. That is, until it rained last night.

It's almost March now.

all shiny

2009-02-27T22:40:00.003-05:00

Today I had a custom mat made for an enlargement of New Hampshire. After I purchased a frame it was complete:

It's an 11"x14" frame and the image is 6 1/4"x 9 1/2". You'll see this, and more, at the Captive Elements show next weekend.

Don't forget:
Captive Elements Art House anniversary show
Sunday, March 8
7:00pm - 11:00 pm
Fishbones American Grill
70 Lincoln Street, Lewiston

I am 27, I swear.

2009-02-26T15:26:00.000-05:00

Today I was asked to show ID when I bought a lottery ticket. That hasn't happened in four years!

I was going to name this entry with our "prom song" but I don't remember what it was that year.

2009-02-22T16:48:00.004-05:00

Right now I am wishing I still had my prom dress from senior year. It was a beautiful shade of blue, but the wrong size because somehow, at the age of 18, I still didn't know how to buy things to properly fit my body. I walked around in high school wearing clothes that were way too big for me. No wonder I didn't date until college! But if I still had the dress I could snip out a swatch and use it in my current project- a shadowbox. I need that exact shade of blue. I guess I will have to flip through magazines and catalogs until I find the color I need and just stick to paper materials.

*Edit: for my mum. I am being playful about my high school self. My clothes were bad, but so were most people's in the 90's. And my prom dress was literally about three or four sizes too big. I was holding it up all night! :) I love you too.

results

2009-02-22T14:12:00.003-05:00

Thank you to all of you who have let me know which postcards are your favorites! It was really helpful, it's sweet of you to have taken the time, and I think you're all really neat.

I've had to amend my plans according to my gloomy finances. If I am still able to afford the enlarging/framing, I'll make an 8"x10" of New Hampshire, which is my favorite favorite and a lot of you seem to agree.

I saw a frame while I was out and about yesterday that holds three photos, and I hope to use one of those to showcase your next-favorites: Promise the Bite, Giving It All Away, and Locate the Pieces.

I was tickled when some of you chose designs that I didn't expect anyone to mention. Thank you ALL again, including those who chimed in on Facebook.

xoxo

CHOICES!

2009-02-16T21:41:00.008-05:00

For the upcoming Captive Elements anniversary art show, I'm thinking of enlarging and framing two of my postcard designs. I am already kind of sure which ones I'll use but I wanted some feedback from people who aren't so close to the project like I am. I have favorites but I also know each. and every. flaw.

There are ten designs. Please choose your favorite two and tell me which they are in a comment on this post. Keep in mind, choose not just what you think looks good but what you might also seriously consider putting up on your wall.

*Ok, I just spent a really long time struggling with image sizes to fit this blog and I don't know. No luck. Because I can't post the images here, please just click this link (or the titles listed below) and look through the designs there. (Sorry!)

The choices are:
1. Giving It All Away
2. Grave's Disease
3. Last Song
4. Locate the Pieces
5. Measure 1
6. Measure 3
7. New Hampshire
8. Promise the Bite
9. The Butcher
10. The Moviegoer

If you've taken the time and given your opinion (THIS IS OPEN TO EVERYONE), thank you very much! :)
xoxo Courtney Quiet City

the perfect tee

2009-02-15T20:48:00.003-05:00

I picked up this shirt today at Forever 21 in South Portland, and I am thrilled with it.

I am a sucker for t-shirts made for women- they are perfectly soft, they have narrow sleeves, a flattering neckline and are appropriately long because it's not 1999 anymore and the Dawson's Creek style is no longer IN style.

Sorry, Joey Potter.

Don't forget to enter yourself in the giveaway!

***

You'll see, next summer there could be something so much better.

2009-02-13T22:18:00.006-05:00

I haven't been posting much because not a lot has been going on. My son and I are just waiting out the winter, aching for the walks on our neighborhood streets that we've stopped taking because of the cold and the snow. My husband and I are just swelling with ideas for all of the fun things we can do and places to go when it's warmer- feeding ducks by the pond, the coast, the Maine Animal Sanctuary, Range Pond, Storyland and/or Funtown and definitely the New England Aquarium, Davis Mountain, Mollyockett Day in Bethel, the 4th of July by the river, picnics and playgrounds, Screw Auger Falls, the list goes on- all things that, since he'll be two this summer, our son will be more able to enjoy and participate in.

In the meantime we're doing a lot of window shopping, visits with aunts, uncles and grandparents, and Yo Gabba Gabba and Sesame Street. This is one of my son's favorite things:

And this is a close second:

>

We also like drawing with crayons, and I'll post a picture soon. He is quite the artist/scribbler and he doesn't even try to eat the crayons. He just sticks the tips up his nose sometimes.

In these last weeks of winter, with the snow coming in spurts and the temperatures rising to the near-tropic 40s and 50s (!!!) on some days it's hard not to ache for spring even if you appreciate the coldest season. To pass these long days we want to check out the Children's Museum in Portland and the Discovery Museum in Augusta. We may also do one of the Free Fridays at the PMA- I'd love to see their rock & roll photography exhibit.

And did you know that stores stop carrying sleds around Christmastime? Seriously. That's when winter is just beginning! And we didn't make the cutoff this year so we don't have anything to play with outside. My son won't play in the snow otherwise because he's distracted by how many layers I dress him in and the snow getting stuck to his mittens.

Note to self: next time, buy a sled before Thanksgiving.

win win win!

2009-02-10T14:46:00.002-05:00

I have something special for you!

I've decided to give away a gift-filled box to one lucky Quiet City shopper. The box will be filled with Quiet City goodies as well as some non-Courtney items, with a total approximate value of $20-25.

All you have to do to be entered to win is make a purchase out of my shop's postcard section between now and midnight EST, February 28, 2009. On March 1 I'll draw a name at random from all of the buyers and ONE LUCKY WINNER will receive the special box from me by mid-March.

Break up the monotony of mid-winter! Get yourself a postcard or two and some springy sweetness could be coming your way.

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

upcoming art show

2009-02-09T14:21:00.001-05:00

Some of my art will be featured in the next Captive Elements art show. It's their first anniversary and the show will take a look back on the local artists who made up their wonderful first year.

DETAILS:
Captive Elements Art House Anniversary Show
Sunday, March 8, 2009
7 pm - 11 pm
at Fishbones American Grill
70 Lincoln Street, Lewiston, Maine

Also, please become a fan of Quiet City on Facebook!

Valentine season

2009-01-27T16:42:00.004-05:00

While it can be argued that Valentine's Day is little more than a marketing ploy for companies that sell cards, flowers and candy, something is to be said for sending something from the heart on any day of the year- Valentine's Day is just one of the more obvious days.

It's no coincidence that my new cards are friendly towards romance AND are available now, right before Valentine's Day, but I'm keeping them in the shop year-round so you can celebrate your love any time.

For me, February 14 holds a lot of importance in that it marks the day I met my husband and our relationship began. Next month makes six years.

xoxo

quick update

2009-01-26T10:39:00.000-05:00

In addition to Captive Elements Art House, you can now see my artwork in person at Holly's Own Deli & Restaurant on Court Street in Auburn, Maine. I'll also be taking part in the Captive Elements one-year anniversary show at Fishbones on Lincoln Street in Lewiston in March. I'll update with the details on that soon.

xoxo

Andrew Wyeth, 1917- 2009

2009-01-18T18:53:00.003-05:00

Andrew Wyeth, one of my favorite artists, has died at his home in Pennsylvania.

In honor,

remember these, and more, always.

xoxo

new and newish

2008-12-28T12:10:00.003-05:00

In the shop, you can now choose any five postcard designs in any combination, including multiples of your favorites, and save a couple bucks off the usual single postcard price. Choose and buy here.

Also, my hand stitched fruit ornaments are available again at a reduced price. Sure, they look great on your tree but their colors and design are suitable for all seasons. You an use them to spruce up any cozy corner of your home or workplace. Find them here.

There are three days left of the deepest discount ever on my postcards. I normally sell my set of ten (one of each design) for $12, which is a savings of $3 from the individual prices. Right now you can get the set for $10, a total savings of $5. Don't miss out! Shop here.

I have had a wonderful weekend here in Quiet City, visiting with my brothers and spending time in Portland. I hope you are all relaxing and taking deep breaths after the chaos of Christmas. xoxo!

gift tags!

2008-12-27T11:14:00.004-05:00

Just in time for those after-Christmas gatherings with your friends and family who couldn't be with you for the holidays, I present to you... All Occasion Mix and Match Gift Tags!

The card stock these tags were cut from is upcycled from what was left after I made my wedding invitations. I have been keeping that paper all this time (almost three years!), and I am so happy to be sharing them in another form with you. There are so many vibrant colors and they don't lend to any particular occasion or holiday- they go with everything. Ribbon ties are provided but I left the tags unattached so you can match or contrast however you'd like them.

These tags are now available in the shop!

And don't forget, until the very last second of the year 2008 (EST) my set of 10 postcards is just $10.

my favorites

2008-12-21T19:04:00.003-05:00

For the solstice, my birthday and Christmas I'm making a post of my favorite Etsy finds for you to use as a last-minute gift guide (for yourself or others!) and/or drool-fest.

*Please note. All photos used here and their rights belong to the shop owners. Some of these shops are on vacation for the holiday, but that shouldn't stop you from hearting them, and saving them for later! <3

Squirrel Nook Notebook from You Be and I'll Be

Elk Twins Necklace by Crave Jewelry Design

Queen print by Bad Bird

Recycled Poppy Bobby Pins by Foundling

Sea Treasure Pearl and Shell Rose Ring by Star of the East

My Captain... We've Reached the End of the World print by Hide n Seek

Scoop Neck Deer Tee by The Full Spectrum

Ocean Creatures card set by The Frantic Meerkat

"Scrolls" polymer clay post earrings by Miss Fickle Media

Morocco handmade vintage barrettes by Satura Kitty Creatives

xoxo!

Winter Solstice Sale!

2008-12-21T16:39:00.002-05:00

In honor of the winter solstice (winter officially began at 7:04 this morning!) I'm having a sale in my shop.

From NOW until the clock strikes twelve to usher in the New Year, I am offering my set of 10 postcards for $10 (reduced from $12).

I hope you'll be able to take advantage of this for yourself, or for a friend or relative who loves stationery, writing notes in the mail, small art, and/or matt pond PA.

Happy Winter! We're in the middle of a snowstorm here in Maine. Stay safe and cozy and warm!

xoxo

Last weekend's art show.

2008-12-19T23:19:00.003-05:00

It's taken me a week to post about the art show, which means I have simply been catching my breath, going to bed at a reasonable hour, and hanging out with my son. But here are some of the photos from last Saturday.

This is in the last twenty-four hours before the show, tending to the details of my small items:

Gift tags, cut from scrapbook papers upcycled from the leftovers of my wedding invitations. (Yes I have saved that paper for almost three years.)

I also labeled 200 hundred more postcards, just in case. This is my list of songs and their dates, so the labels go on the right cards.

This is twelve of the 19 ornaments I displayed at the gallery, all tagged and ready to hang on display. They are decoupaged in upcycled gift tissue paper, illustrations from vintage and foreign children's books and National Geographic maps.

Then, at Captive Elements Art House:

Being a featured artist for the month means I got this whole wall for my stuff, PLUS a table, PLUS my tree!

And I took a better picture of my cello than the last one I posted.

In this picture, my little (much taller) brother pretends he wants to be in a picture with his dorky big (significantly shorter) sister.

That's better.

Ornaments on the tree in the gallery.

The ornament my parents bought.

Later, at home, my husband took pictures of me in the most relaxed state I had been in for weeks.

And I was finally able to let my hair down.

Quiet City will still be at Captive Elements in the "Bringing It All Together" exhibit until January 15! You know, if you don't have any other plans. Hint, hint. Wink, wink. Call the gallery for hours: 207-786-3606.

ALSO, on Saturday, December 20, Captive Elements will be offering all of their archive art at 25% off. Five days before Christmas, this is the perfect opportunity to surprise someone with a meaningful and local gift for the holidays, at a more affordable price.

ALSO SQUARED, on Sunday, December 21, I celebrate my birthday! And the first official day of winter. We're doin' it up true Maine style with a Nor'easter and everything!

Thanks for everyone's support and kind words about my show. I appreciate it in the truest of ways.

xoxo

Don't Forget!

2008-12-11T11:05:00.001-05:00

"Bringing It All Together"
@ Captive Elements Art House
opening night:
December 13, 6 pm - 10 pm
25 Landry Road, Suite 3
Lewiston, Maine
FEATURING BOB GRAY AND QUIET CITY

the sky yesterday

2008-12-10T16:41:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was dark, gray and snowy. I had the blinds open in the kitchen as I gave my son his snack. I looked out the window to the grayness I expected. A minute later, the kitchen seemed brighter and I glanced up again to see pink in the clouds. Upon further inspection I found this:

As with the last photos I posted of the sky, these have not been altered in any way aside from sizing for the blog. The images you see are exactly as they happened in the sky. Holy moly, right?

the fruit of this weekend's labors

2008-12-07T17:50:00.003-05:00

I finished three sister works this weekend in preparation for the Captive Elements exhibit, which is just SIX DAYS AWAY.

As you all know by now I need to strengthen my skills in photographing things on my wall. I'll work on it. At some point. In the meantime come see these in person! They'll be up until January 15.

These are original sketches and collage on canvas:

Tambourine.

Accordion.

Cello.

xoxo

Oh, December

2008-12-06T20:59:00.003-05:00

As I am working on more Quiet City goodness for the art show, I want to share with you a few pictures I've taken recently of the sky near my home. One of my favorite things about this time of year is the sky. When it's cold there are colors you can't see because the heat mutes them. The stars are so close. I know it's not officially winter yet, but it's coming.

"I saw a star fall from a green sky
I saw you laugh, your eyes were open wide
I saw your skin uncovered in the night
Uncovered in the night..."
-matt pond PA, "Amazing Life"

"New Fall"

2008-12-03T23:32:00.004-05:00

Phew.

I just finished the largest piece of artwork I have done since high school, sophomore year. TEN YEARS AGO.

This is acrylic paint, ink and paper on 16"x20" canvas. (I photographed it on my wall; please pardon the quality of this photo.)

"These small towns have ways of making you feel sorry," is from the matt pond PA song "New Fall," which is on the 2000 album, Measure. I want to thank Matt Pond for giving me the ok to continue drawing inspiration from his lyrics and using them in my artwork.

The drawing in the bottom corner is a print from a charcoal sketch I did two years ago. My husband was the model. I have been wanting to do something with that sketch this whole time, and I finally found its purpose. The rooftops are cut from pages of various books I've collected for the purpose of collaging- an old religion book, a home improvement book, a 1960's university yearbook, and a 1970's children's reading textbook.

This piece will be on display at the Captive Elements Art House December show in a week and a half. I'm getting really, really excited.

The Official-ish Announcement

2008-12-02T10:56:00.004-05:00

Captive Elements Art House December show

December 13, 2008
6:00 pm - 10:00 pm
@ Captive Elements
25 Landry Road
Lewiston, Maine

This is QUIET CITY's first art show! My offerings include collage and mixed media art, my matt pond PA-inspired postcard series, and tree ornaments. I hope to see you there if you are in or can be in the area. This is a family-friendly gallery. Tell all your friends and we'll see you all there!

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

too much

2008-12-01T20:21:00.007-05:00

Headaches don't subside when all you can think about is your headache. And when you are hosting your family's Thanksgiving dinner for the first time ever, and you've never cooked for more than four people at a time.

This week has been intense but now I get to sit and breathe. But only while paint is drying on a canvas next to me, because the art show at Captive Elements is in two weeks and WHOA.

I just put my boxes of candy up in the cabinet so I would stop eating them while I wait. This is no time for excess, as the November holiday has just passed, and ninety per cent of the leftovers found their way to my fridge. This has never happened before as I was always a guest. With my belly still feeling full of cranberry relish, mashed potatoes, honey glazed carrots, steamed broccoli, rosemary bread, vegetarian shepherd's pie and three varieties of dessert pie, there's no room for candy- especially since I went to a movie over the weekend with my brother, sister, and her husband, where we ate a lot of it.

Speaking of excess, the movie we saw was Twilight. Why is this excessive? Because I am twenty-six years old and I actually liked it. More than what feels right. My cheeks redden at the thought. It's just too much.

My excuse: I still remember very tenderly my early and middle teen years and the vampire stories I was writing by hand in spiral bound notebooks instead of doing my homework. I didn't realize how vividly I remembered that time until I saw the movie.

Oh, excess! Oh, blood and immortality!

Onto business: I am fresh out of decoupaged tree ornaments, so I'll be making more this week using maps and books and canceled postage stamps. My hands itch in anticipation, although I am quite excited about the show and the work I am completing beforehand.

Also exciting: matt pond PA has released a free EP that you can download on their newly-redesigned website. Please hear it.

Paint's dry, or dry enough. Please forgive my randomness but I had to do something other than eat the candy. I wish you a happy December. IT'S DECEMBER!

Saturday

2008-11-22T12:52:00.004-05:00

Headache all week- I would say headaches but I am pretty sure it was the same monster in my skull for five days in a row, roaring and raging and making my eyes blur. I have a lot of work to do today to catch up. A lot of sewing, a lot of decoupaging. I have in my mind merry images of five or so completed ornaments by the end of the day but I know that might be pushing it.

I also have some work to do for the art show I am doing at Captive Elements in three weeks, a custom order for my friend Stephanie, and my son's Christmas gift. Lesson learned: start on Christmas stuff in April.

I found out about the Holiday Art Sale by MECA and SEA, and I am really excited about it. Once I stop hiding under the covers, shivering, pretending we aren't having Thanksgiving at my house this year and I don't really have all. that. cleaning. to do, I'll be very ready for a wonderful handmade arts and crafts event. If you live in Maine, or plan to be around Portland for the first week of December, this is surely an event that will be well worth your time.

pears

2008-11-17T01:17:00.001-05:00

Pears have joined apples in the shop! Take a look.

xoxo

sweet and sour apple

2008-11-16T02:20:00.003-05:00

I've been working on a new ornament design, and last night I was downright giddy about it. After an encouraging test run I had a "THIS IS IT" run, and it's up in the shop now.

It's a Sweet & Sour Apple double-sided tree ornament! Stitched entirely by hand. Oh yeah, entirely. As in, my eyes and hands hurt so I don't know how many of these will be available. :)

This is the easy part.

It's sewing the felt back-to-back over the batting that's tricky and ever time consuming.

And as you can see by my templates, a pear design is also in the works!

xoxo Courtney

Not French Enough

2008-11-12T21:53:00.001-05:00

I have a new piece of art available in the shop tonight.

I am work, work, working.

xoxo

colors of rust

2008-11-09T22:10:00.003-05:00

Yesterday the low clouds and misty air were whispering sweet secret songs to me so after the craft fair I went home for my camera and headed back out to the towns where I spent most of my childhood.

It's a delicate thing, taking photographs where people are passing, likely wondering why there's a girl standing on the side of the road with her camera pointed skyward. More delicate still is wondering if that house is occupied- it doesn't look so- and wanting to stop and aim the camera at the sagging roof, half-existent barn, and rusty bicycles, but not wanting to intrude.

And standing in the quiet of a warm, wet November day, leaves falling soundlessly around my boots, the damp making my hair wonder if it was born to be curly (it wasn't). The trees stand, black silhouettes against the heavy gray sky and I expected at any moment for a deer to step softly from the woods and look me in the eye. Not wanting to intrude.

A barn in Turner, Maine:

On the right side of this stream is the very wooded yard that was mine from 4th until 8th grade. I played at its edge with my brother:

It feeds into the northwest edge of Allen Pond.

This is the railroad that passes through Greene, heading into Lewiston:

We're in this stage between fall and winter where the trees are all bare, black and gray, and the ground is shades of tan and brown and hay. When you squint on a cloudy day, it's nearly all one color, and I never thought it attractive before. Not until yesterday. November has its own way of being vibrant; it's just being quiet about it.

this season's tree ornaments

2008-11-08T18:23:00.002-05:00

You can get a closer look at this Marcel Proust tree ornament and others NOW in my shop!

Good thing Adam put the little tree up because there was a constant mist or drizzle in the air today, and I could not have photographed my ornaments in the dewy bushes outside. The plastic tree by the window had to do.

I also went on an impromptu tour of the town where my high school is, finding places in the fog to take pictures. I'll post some of those soon.

xoxo

light

2008-11-07T23:53:00.002-05:00

With the clocks turned back last weekend I am still in an adjustment period about the amount of daylight we have. It's been warm here, warmer than usual, and wet. The clouds are low and wispy, and chunky and heavy. All at once. The light is different in so many ways, even at noontime.

I neglected to get outside in natural light with my camera before the early darkness crept in, so I couldn't photograph my ornaments yet (but I did dry the laundry and bought toilet cleaner and lottery tickets, so at least there's that).

My husband did set up our little Christmas tree in my studio though so that in case the light keeps slipping away from me, I'll have a nice spot for photos. I'll just have to turn on all of the lights in the room, maybe. There's four of them. We rent, so don't ask me why there's that many.

I'm excited to share though, and to list them in the shop.

Tomorrow I am going to the annual craft fair at the high school I graduated from. I don't think I've attended it in at least ten years, even though I went nearly every year before that because my grandparents always had a table in the gym. I hope the music boosters still keep a table there too. As an alumni of the school's extracurricular music program and recipient of a scholarship upon graduation, I have a special place for the music boosters in my heart.

O for Obama

2008-11-06T23:47:00.001-05:00

When I saw this pop up in the corner of the TV screen at 11 pm on Tuesday night... I was finally able to let out the breath I have been holding.

It's good to breathe again. I can't wait until January.

I don't have a subject title.

2008-11-06T15:04:00.002-05:00

I know, it's boring with a capital B around here lately. I am currently drying the first layers on my new tree ornaments, and they'll be ready to show you by tonight or tomorrow. They'll be heading straight to the shop when that happens.

Also, I have the opportunity to do the December show at Captive Elements, and I am really excited about that and also nervous because ...I have a lot of catching up to do to get ready for a show. Yikes! I'm up for it though and it's just the push I need.

xoxo Courtney

Whimsical Stars

2008-10-31T22:55:00.003-04:00

Please check out the blog Whimsical Stars for her interview with me and several other Etsy artisans. She also has an Etsy shop of her own, which you can find right here.

xoxo

new new new

2008-10-31T18:43:00.003-04:00

Happy Halloween!

I have a new piece of wall art up in my shop today! It's called Sea Song and it's loosely based on the big huge deal I am planning on making as a Christmas gift for my son. (His will be bigger and more detailed.)

Sea Song is a girl who grew tired as she walked along the oceanside so she used a nearby boat to lay down and rest her eyes. The sea sang her to sleep, though, and the boat drifted into the waves. She woke up, surprised, but she knew the water would take her safely home.

Materials: vintage wooden plaque, paper, acrylic paint, black ink, decoupage glue, colored pencils, and a page from a German hymn book.

Eat lots of candy, get dressed up and watch scary or magical movies! It's Halloween! This is a beautiful time of year.

We are probably not going to have any trick-or-treaters at our door tonight (which I was wicked excited about but it's nearly seven and no one so far- so it looks like we'll be eating lots of M&M's over the next few weeks) but I did go out and walk in the leaves, which were deep up past my ankles.

Good enough for me.

Michael Phipps

2008-10-29T23:32:00.003-04:00

I want to share with you an Etsy shop I came across tonight. I LOVE IT.

Click here: http://phippsart.etsy.com

I love the images for the t-shirts, and that they even have baby/toddler and maternity sizes.

dreaming

2008-10-29T00:39:00.003-04:00

So yes, I drove to Bethel a week ago Monday. The original intent was making the trip with my husband and son, but I ended up going alone and I am glad it happened that way. I have been trying for over a week now to come up with what to say about my visit but nothing was coming. It's hard to sum up in words. I will say this, though: a couple nights ago I saw my Grammy and Grampy in a dream and I am ok with everything.

I have no photos to share of or in the house but I snapped this in the cemetery up the road from it:

And on a road I'd never been on from the center of town:

The mountains were all so beautiful.

In actual Quiet City news I created something new today, using acrylic paint, a page from a book, and a small original illustration on one of the plaques. I am not sure it's done yet. I may share it soon.

This afternoon (ok, ok, it was actually eveningtime, after dinner) I dozed off on the couch and in those few moments before my son hit me in the face with a cup (lovingly, of course; he was just trying to show me his cup, he was excited) I dreamed that I illustrated and painted some beautiful work for matt pond PA that involved pretty girls sitting in the woods with deer close by.

October is nearly done. Where did it go? We are supposed to have rain and snow showers in the morning. WHAT!

You know you want to...

2008-10-24T23:54:00.003-04:00

I wish I had known about this sooner, but don't fear... October 25th is the cutoff for signing up.

Beki at Pampering Beki is organizing a Blogger Ornament Exchange for the holiday season. Details are all on her blog.

xoxo

Brother love, owl love and Etsy love.

2008-10-24T14:57:00.005-04:00

My big brother is visiting this weekend from Brooklyn so he can go to the Halloween party at Captive Elements on Saturday. He's staying with us so I am cleaning today. My little brother (ok, he's not little- he's 24 years old and he's taller than me) will be spending some time with us tomorrow before they go to the party. I was going to help him make his mask but my mum let me know he already finished it! I was looking forward to working on it but I am also proud that he did something crafty by himself.

My latest Quiet City wall art piece has sold in the shop already. I will hopefully start making more than one piece every three weeks so I can keep up with demand. (That's a joke.) I still have four plaques left and some sketches in mind so my goal may not be too far off...

This is the last one I sold:

Materials: thrifted wooden plaque (sanded the egdes), page from a German hymn book, drawing ink, canceled postage stamps (that's where the owls came from) and acrylic paint.

I also would love to share with all of you what I have purchased from Etsy recently-ish. I am posting pictures I poorly took myself in bad lighting so please be sure to look at each of these shops.

This book is from youbeandillbe, who is actually my good friend Heather. We worked together at Half Price Books in Texas and I can tell you right now she is one of the sweetest and most beautiful (inside and out) people I have ever met. This notebook is bound by hand with an assortment of papers, so it makes a great little item to stick in your pocket in case a brilliant idea strikes you at an inopportune time, or you can use it to make letter-writing even more interesting. She has more available in her shop, so please click her link and check them out, as her photos of them are way better than mine!

Also, she has a shop announcement about her upcoming quilts. She made a quilt for my son before he was born, and it's seriously beautiful. I don't have any photos on hand of the quilt itself but I'll post one soon.

I picked up these adorable hair elastics from CC's Little Boutique. I love owls and I love tying my hair back, so it was meant to be.

She has many more cute little ponytail holders with a variety of designs in her shop. Also, she ships really quickly and they arrived to me in no time at all!

I also ordered a print from Emily of The Black Apple. This girl means business, as she's one of the top Etsy sellers and has been on Martha Stewart Crafts. Martha Stewart, guys. That's intense. Emily's artwork is beautiful and I can't wait to frame this and hang it in my living room.

When this first arrived I had it propped up against its sturdy mailing envelope on top of the radiator casing in the living room. Once it caught my son's eye he would not stop grinning at it and pointing at it, which makes me officially confident in my purchase.

Last but not least I saw these deer earrings and had to have them. I favorited them and tried to stop obsessing but I was drawn in. They just arrived this week and I wore them for the first time yesterday. I LOVE THESE THINGS and you need to go to Passion Flower's shop to see better pictures. Because mine sucks. (I really need to learn more about the camera I use, and I need to take a picture of these on me.)

They are wonderfully lightweight so they don't tug your lobes down. They are just so delicate and perfect.

Ok, I should try to get some more cleaning done (blahhhhhh) and reward myself with a coffee afterwards. I hope you all have a lovely weekend. If you're in central/southern/western Maine don't forget about the Halloween bash at Captive Elements Art House in Lewiston. Visit them on MySpace or call 207-786-3606 for details.

"We're choosing a path between the stars..."

2008-10-20T02:00:00.005-04:00

I recently became a genius when I thought of what my family could dress as for Halloween this year.

Labyrinth is one of my favorite movies and has been since I first saw it when I was five years old. I want my son to be Toby on Halloween.

And I, of course, would be Sarah.

Which means only one thing, and it's brilliant: my husband would be Jareth the Goblin King.

Despite my deep love for Labyrinth and excitement at the idea of creating and wearing these costumes, my husband has declined to make these Halloween dreams come true. I keep asking though, and he keeps saying no.

Recently I thought to ask him why. His response required no contemplation: "Courtney? Maybe it's the spandex?"

Touche.

Tonight, although defeated, I brought it up again. This time he said, "Not to get your hopes up or anything, but where would we even wear these costumes?"

"It doesn't matter, as long as there are pictures," I told him.

Maybe some other year...

Fall Arts and Culture Festival

2008-10-19T23:01:00.004-04:00

Today my son and I took part in the 1st Annual Fall Arts and Culture Festival at Captive Elements Art House in Lewiston. For any of you in the area: keep your eyes and ears open for Captive Elements events. They are doing wonderful things for our community.

And please be patient with me now. I took a couple hundred pictures today. Here are approximately 95% of them. Ok, my math isn't great but you know. LOTS OF PICTURES AHEAD.

There was a karate demo from students and instructors at Pelletier's Karate Academy. Unfortunately I forgot I even had my camera with me until it was almost over.

There was a giant Candyland game set up for the kiddies. This was magical and charming to me on so many levels since it was my favorite game as a kid. I hope they do it again next year when my son will be old enough to participate. Or I might just do it myself.

There was a pumpkin painting contest.

And a scarecrow making contest.

Resident metalsmith Hunter Matthews was set up to show us how he works. Hunter is also affiliated with the New England School of Metalwork.

(This anvil he works with is over one hundred years old.)

Sadie Landry was at her potter's wheel for a demo as well.

(With some help from her son.)

My cousin's daughters and I had some fun with the sidewalk chalk. The oldest, Krysta, snapped these pictures of me with my new chalky owl friend.

And... this is just really cute. Guess which one I think is the best, cutest pumpkin pictured here. (Hint: he's wearing a peacoat and I gave birth to him.)

Please visit Captive Elements here on MySpace. Their upcoming events are:

Halloween Gala (adults only)
October 25, 2008
at Captive Elements Art House*
8 pm - 1 am
$10 cover/ $12 at the door
featured artist: Lena Toth

Art Auction to benefit art programs in Lewiston/Auburn schools
mid-November, 2008 (date TBA)
at Fishbones American Grill (Bates Mill on Lincoln Street, Lewiston)
6 pm - 9:30 pm
no cover charge

Celebration of Youth and the Arts in L/A
December 14, 2008
at Captive Elements Art House
1 pm- 4 pm

* Captive Elements is located at 25 Landry Road in Lewiston. To contact the gallery for hours of operation and more information, email captiveelementsah@verizon.net or call 207-786-3606 and ask to speak with Kerry Landry.

October Leaves- continued glimpses of autumn

2008-10-18T19:57:00.003-04:00

Early last week while I was making dinner my husband took our son outside to run around the yard for a bit. Last year at this time we lived in Texas and he wasn't walking so this was heartwarming for me to see.

He came back inside with a leaf in each hand and gave them to me.

change of plans-ish

2008-10-17T21:30:00.006-04:00

So.

I didn't actually work on the plaques this afternoon. After I ran to the post office and back I got another batch of labels cut for my postcards. Instead of doing them all at once I am doing them in advance as needed... there are way too many cards to do them all at once. I needed some more today because there are two sellers on Etsy who requested my postcards to add to their promo bags for the different events they are selling at this season, like craft fairs and roller derbies. They are located in Pennsylvania and California so this is a great opportunity for me to be marketing elsewhere.

I will work on the plaques early this coming week. I have ideas a-brewing. Tentatively, I am planning on making the drive up and over to Bethel on Monday. As I mentioned in my last post, I am missing that town and more importantly, the home where my grandparents used to live. I just want to go there and stand in the house, and maybe take a walk up and down their quiet little side street like I used to as a kid. Even though my son won't remember the trip, I want for him to be in that house before it no longer belongs to my family- I don't know when that will be. Make sense? And this time I will remember to bring my camera. With charged up batteries. Because it's going to be a gorgeous drive.

Please take a look at Crafty Eye Candy, where my postcards are featured today. I know, right? I thought "Holy cow!" too, when I saw it. Thanks, Traysea!

xoxo

thrift store art

2008-10-16T23:44:00.003-04:00

Today my son spent the afternoon with my parents. I had full intentions of simply sleeping as long as I could while I was alone, but I had an order to ship out. Once I was dressed and ready, I was feeling kind of ambitious and after the post office I went to the Salvation Army and picked up five plaques on which to create new art. Then I went to Craft Mania to pick up sandpaper and paint, and THEN (yes there's more) I finally re-registered to vote because I was cutting it dangerously close. *knee up, elbow down* Yesssss!

I may also have a cup of coffee to thank for my energy level. Coffee gets me pumped.

At the Salvation Army, I was interested in a really fancy framed mirror on which to paint some pretty black silhouette, but when I picked it up I was disappointed (and grossed out) to find the back, once nicely felted, was scabby and grimy. I'll just keep my eyes open for other mirrors.

These are the plaques, now in my ownership, and destined for great (hopefully?) things:

I dusted and cleaned them, and sandpapered the edges of the smallest one, and packed up an order that was placed while I was gone, all before my parents and brother arrived back with my son.

The only bad part about this is that I sandpapered a hole in the skin on one of my knuckles. I am still not sure how I did it but it hurt like mad and it doesn't look pretty, either. I don't have any bandaids. This needs to change. Because, ouch.

While I was sanding I thought (again) about my grandparents' house in Bethel, and how it stands empty now- the house, the garage, the workshops, the porches, the field- and how I wish I could live there and make my Grampy's old workshops and my Grammy's old work/supply room my own. I wonder if they are still covered in the dust from his woodworking and the smell of her fabric and yarn.

Tomorrow my son spends the afternoon with my parents again and I would love to come back and have new things to post! Wish me luck.

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

In the spirit of the Halloween season

2008-10-13T12:32:00.003-04:00

There's a spider who lives on the outside of the window in my studio. She's quite plump and she builds an enormous web that takes up almost all of the upper pane. My son is fascinated by her, and will point and repeat "Bug! Bug!" when we walk by the window. There are a few other spiders who live in the window and out on the bushes, and those are interesting too, but none are as big as the one who owns the top pane:

Close up because, whoa!

One day there was a spider fight, and we never saw that smaller spider again... but the big one only has seven legs now, so you can probably imagine how intense it was.

I really love Halloween and it's just a couple weeks away now. This spider would like to wish you a happy Halloween with her sweet seasonal imagery:

***Please take a look at my last entry for information about my Columbus Day free stuff long weekend, then stop by here!***

Holiday Weekend! (means Freebies!)

2008-10-11T00:26:00.006-04:00

**EDIT: Sorry, the freebie weekend is over!***

Well if Columbus Day is good for something, it's a day off from school or work (unless you work in retail). And you know what that long weekend means? COLUMBUS DAY SALES!

From today, Saturday, October 11 until Tuesday, October 14, when you purchase one or more of the postcards from my shop, you'll receive one more Quiet City postcard of my choosing plus TWO more pieces of sweet stationery (postcard and/or note card) from my personal collection. (I am a stationery fanatic, and I have A LOT of it. I have worked in the gift shop of an art museum and a half-price bookstore so I have had temptation everywhere. And oh, how I caved.)

So, you got that? Buy Quiet City postcards between now and Tuesday, and you'll get one more QC postcard plus two more pieces of stationery FOR FREE.

And whoa, there's more! If you buy a set of my postcards, you'll get three more Quiet City postcards and three pieces of stationery from my personal collection.

Don't forget! Place your orders on or before October 14 to take advantage of all of this free stuff! And tell all your friends! Because we should all be writing more notes and letters with our hands to the people we care about.

(Please pardon all of the exclamation marks. I should be sleeping but I just ate three popsicles.)

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

Quiet City to Canada AND BEYOND

2008-10-08T23:31:00.000-04:00

So far on my stat counter I have not seen a high volume of international readers but I did want to note, in case of any visitors here who've seen my shop, that I recently added international shipping prices and options to the shop, whereas before I only shipped to the United States.

Just trying to spread the Quiet City and matt pond PA love!

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

More fall, so far.

2008-10-07T21:52:00.003-04:00

I have been hit hard with migraines lately, and other headaches of lesser but still-high degrees. The kind where it hurts to blink, or turn my head, or laugh. My eyes blur and squint. I haven't gotten as much done with new art as I have been aiming for recently but I hope that with some ibuprofen and lots of water, I can get back into a good, good habit of sneaking away to make art more frequently.

I have had decent sales in the shop since I opened, which is mostly related to what Matt Pond wrote about my postcards on MySpace and on the matt pond PA website, and also related to some wonderful friends I have. Thank you to all of you who have been a part of it.

Here are some glimpses into what our autumn has held for us. So far.

Nezinscot Farm Store, Turner, Maine- yarn shop

The long way home- Androscoggin River Valley, Turner side

Getting my potatoes ready for Three Potato Soup- special thanks to the late-day sunlight coming in my kitchen window.

Rain falling on a field in Sabattus, Maine- luckily this is the worst we saw of Hurricane Kyle.

In an unfortunate twist, the morning that we left for the Fryeburg Fair, the batteries in my camera were dead and I didn't have time to charge them before we left. It was a beautiful, breathtaking drive- alone, it was well worth the trip into western Maine. There were so many old, old houses and the trees that lined the way were in a perfect state of transition from summer to winter. There were mountains! Lakes! Rolling hills! Oh, Maine!

New Season

2008-09-28T08:32:00.004-04:00

Here is a piece of wall art that I sold in the shop over the weekend. It's called New Season.

(My brother-in-law is the new proud owner.)

It's a paper and pen collage on 8"x10" canvas panel. Types of paper used: scrapbook, sketchbook, magazine, and pages from a 1978 Harlequin romance novel. This weekend I will start some new pieces with more materials, and I am really excited to see what will come.

I've made a few sales on Etsy already, and I am so thrilled.

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

Quiet City store opening

2008-09-26T14:16:00.001-04:00

The Quiet City store on etsy.com is officially open, and stocked with postcards and wall art! Please visit:

http://quietcity.etsy.com

Thank you,
xoxo Courtney

Why I am so attached.

2008-09-25T01:06:00.004-04:00

On the second day of fall, we drove out to a farm in a nearby town to buy our favorite bread and cookies. As we drove down the river valley, we passed fields and reddening trees and farmhouses and white-grey clouds. It was the same on the way home, on the other side of the valley. It looked and felt so autumnal and my heart swelled a bit knowing I am finally home now for my favorite season.

I like all of the seasons, I do. I love swimming in the summer and not wearing shoes and sky-watching at night. I love having my birthday and the holidays in the wintertime, and the first snows that are welcome instead of burdensome and brown, and the smell of the cold and the warmth of bodies and the indoors. In the springtime I love the triumph of the return of green, the volume of the earth waking up and yawning- birds returning, snow melting, mud squishing. Even the sun seems loud in its warmth in those first days. I love the earthy smell of the thaw and the regrowth.

And fall. Oh, fall. I love the rest I know will come. The hot breath of summer smudges into autumn's sigh of relief that we all get our rest over the coming months, to save up energy for celebrating spring and not staying still all summer. Fall means sweaters and scarves, and hands wrapped tightly around warm mugs, and state fairs. It’s the first smell of cold in the air and the sound of leaves falling and crunching underfoot.

One of my favorite things about fall is when you are walking down the sidewalk and suddenly a little wind picks up, and it turns a dry pile of leaves into a tiny knee-high tornado that plays at your feet before disappearing. I love the reds and oranges, the apples and pumpkins, and the celebrations of Halloween and Thanksgiving.

I don’t see fall as an end (except to summer). I don’t see it as decay or death or depressing. We all need to take that breath. That pause. We’ll all spring up again with the green in six months. For now we rest. We get close to those we may get close to, without sweating and sticking to each other. We close our eyes and dream of warmth and comfort.

It’s right next to us.

officially,

2008-09-24T22:54:00.005-04:00

Quiet City is opening on Etsy.com around noon, eastern time, on Friday, September 26, 2008. Postcards and wall art will be available first, with tree ornaments and more stationery to follow.

^ You can click that image to bring you to my Etsy shop, which will have items available on Friday. Thank you to my friend Nicole, who helped me set that logo up. I actually drew that quiet little cityscape over two years ago, and Nicole's photoshop and all-around genius is what got the font and linkage there. (Is linkage a word?)

xoxo Courtney

And the winner is...

2008-09-24T20:08:00.002-04:00

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

10


The 10th comment was left by Bossy!
Congratulations, Bossy!
You have an email waiting for you.

Thank you to all twenty of you who entered the
contest to win my postcards. There were familiar
friends and new faces, and I was happy to see you all.

Today and yesterday I spent some time creating wall art-
collage/ink on 8"x10" canvas panel. I am really
happy with the one I finished yesterday, and the one
I started today is coming along nicely. Come back here
to see them soon, and of course since my Etsy shop
opens on Friday I hope you'll keep your eyes on that
too!

Because I had more comments than I anticipated, I
just decided to give away single cards to three more
readers.

*waves hands over crystal ball goes back to random.org*

Dear Lisa, Malisa, and Martin, congratulations!
You have each won ONE of my postcards- you choose
which design!

Thanks again, everyone! Contests will become a
regular thing- at least once monthly- so remember
to come back and visit me here in Quiet City.

xoxo Courtney

Contest to celebrate the Autumn Equinox!

2008-09-22T19:44:00.009-04:00

*EDIT: The contest has now ended; thank you to all who entered! <3

The wait is over!

Fall is here and the Quiet City Etsy store will open later this week.

BUT FIRST, you can win a complete set of Quiet City postcards inspired by the music of matt pond PA by leaving a comment on this blog entry. In your comment just tell me what you like about fall, and you'll be entered in the contest. Enter before Wednesday, September 24 at 8 pm eastern time. I will use a random number generator on Wednesday after 8 pm to choose one winner. After the winner is selected, I will contact that person to let them know about the win.

If you do win, this is what you get:

One set of ten 4"x6"postcards: the front is glossy and has a thin white border- and the back is suitable for writing. The back has a small label centered at the top with artist info for Matt Pond and myself, and is otherwise blank. Each of the ten cards is different; all of the images can be found within this blog if you are new to Quiet City. The cards are prints made from my original drawn collage works.

The set is packaged with a 2" band of paper cut from an old Parents Magazine publication called The Mother's Encyclopedia, and sealed at the front with a little sticker bearing the Quiet City initials. It's suitable for gift-giving or keeping, and mailing or... you know, keeping.

Good luck to all of you! And make sure to check back regarding my store opening.

Oh and if you don't win this contest, there's still hope! Due to human error (my own with the paper cutter, dang it!) I have some postcards I will not be selling but giving away as well. The images are perfectly fine but the labels came out less than perfect. Those will be given out a few times over the next couple of weeks.

Other than my Quiet City work today I ushered in the new season this morning by eating anadama toast for breakfast and looking up a recipe so I can try to make some of my own bread. I usually buy it from this farm in a nearby town. I washed it down with a nice mug of warm apple cider from this orchard in Auburn. I would have loved to take a walk with my husband and son to take in the beautiful Maine fall sweetness, but my son is fighting off a nasty cold and I didn't want the cooler air sneaking up in his tiny little congested nose! There will be other walks.

I'll be gushing more about fall this week and next (and probably the following few that follow) with pictures and dreamy ramblings.

See what other artistic and crafty bloggers were up to in recognition of the equinox by visiting Lisa's Polka Dot Cottage blog.

xoxo Courtney

Sweetnesses of September

2008-09-16T00:39:00.001-04:00

September is my favorite month. I know I use the word favorite a lot, but please know it still means something when I say it. Sure, I have maybe three or so other favorite months as well, but September is magical. It's the beginning of fall, the marching band season (be still, my heart!), apple and pumpkin seasons, sweater weather, and leaves changing. October might be my second-favorite, for its extension of these things.

I'm on my way again in Quiet City. I had the labels for artist information printed today (Boooo, Staples! Yayyyy, Kinko's!) and I started measuring and cutting them tonight. It's a lot of work. My back hurts from hunching over my paper cutter. I also made my decision about packaging for the postcard sets (It was right under my nose the whole time!) so now that the labels are done, I can start setting those up.

Next step? Money and bank things I'll take care of early Tuesday. Then.... dun, dun, dun!.... I open up shop. I know, it's taken forever.

I want to make it worth this wait.

There's a contest or two coming up real soon. Please keep checking back! Please tell all your friends!

I'm still here!

2008-09-06T13:14:00.002-04:00

I am just working on some packaging ideas and waiting on some information before I set up shop.

Don't you forget about me.

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

If Quiet City were a real city, there would be a parade today.

2008-08-29T12:56:00.004-04:00

This morning was my husband's turn to get out of bed first when our son woke up, and I slept for another two hours. Accidentally I assure you, as it was 11 a.m. by the time I got out of bed. I got up and joined my family in the living room, where our son was happy to see his mom was finally awake. Mr. Quiet City said to me, "There's something waiting for you in the kitchen." My face lit up. I knew what it was.

This box holds the beginning to my Quiet City future.

It holds more boxes, and in these boxes are postcards. Printed professionally and perfectly.

See?

Isn't it all so beautiful?

So you know what this means. My Etsy shop will be opening soon, and these postcards will be available for purchase. Then I will create more things- more stationery, plus things for your walls and things for your Christmas trees, and more more more.

PLEASE STAY TUNED HERE for my Etsy shop grand opening contest(s?) and tell all your friends. Big things are coming our ways.

xoxo Courtney

"Don't get caught out with the temperature going down."

2008-08-24T01:23:00.003-04:00

Ok, I lied a little, but I promise I did not know I was lying at the time.

First, I said I'd do ten to fifteen matt pond PA postcards. Then I am pretty sure I said fifteen. Well I decided on ten. I want to start working on some other projects, and since I feel really good about where I am at with my designs, I am going to stop now.

Which means I have ten cards! I finished my tenth tonight. Or rather, this morning, since it's nearly 1:30 a.m. now. But that it neither here nor there.

My other lie was that this card was going to be my "Brooklyn Stars" design. I swear I had every intention of doing that but I sat down yesterday at my desk- my apartment was empty, as my son was with my parents and my husband was sleeping- and nothing was coming to me. Nothing, at least, that made me continue to be excited about it, from my own artistic standpoint. I had to change songs.

So then I'm all bombarded with the thought that this is my last postcard and suddenly every single word that Matthew ever wrote seems postcard-able and I spent a lot of time trying to narrow everything down and focus on actual possibilties. There are so many. I don't think I can be fully done with making art inspired by his music, so maybe he'll be cool with some wall art in the future?

After much deliberation I chose the song "Grave's Disease." It's another one of my favorites (when I told this to Mr. Quiet City he said to me, "Seriously though Courtney? Are any of those songs not your favorite?") and I mean it. It lies near the end of the Emblems album and its full of winter imagery."This cold here is one of the properties of the elements. This cold here is one of those I wish not to defend." It's followed up by the hint of spring and promises of summer. "Off come the sweaters and who are you to stop it?" The music swoops and words are whispered, and how could I not make a postcard out of it?

It may be blasphemous to spoil the end August with a scene of snow but here in Maine the temperatures have been dipping at night (uncharacteristically early), calling for double comforters and snuggling in bed. Autumn isn't too far off, and we all know what comes after that.

"I want the worth of every day there is to fill." Words by Matthew Pond, copyright matt pond PA 2004. Artwork (paper and ink collage) by Courtney, copyright Quiet City 2008.

I'm going to explain, since the photograph did not translate the image very well onto the computer: that's a girl making a snow angel in piles and piles of snow.

If it makes any of you summer lovers feel better about the nearing end of your favorite season, it's still wicked hot in the daylight hours. My shoulders even managed to darken a bit, as much as an Irish girl can without burning, today in the sun.

There's big news to come in a few days. Please stay tuned. Ooh, the suspense!

future stars

2008-08-16T23:55:00.004-04:00

My husband helped me decide on which matt pond PA song lyrics to use next, as I only have six more postcards to go to complete my goal for this project. He chose the one from "Brooklyn Stars" (Several Arrows Later, 2005) because "it has stars in it."

We were just talking yesterday about how his first word as a baby was star and that the first time we talked, I (mostly-jokingly) asked him to marry me when he told me that.

I am hoping to get some work done on the design tomorrow but seeing as how we were driven away from the Balloon Festival today because of the rain, we'll probably spend some time there tomorrow.

I am excited about this card though! I love the song (are you shocked?) and I used to sing it to my son when he was a wee newborn. It was one of three songs that could calm him down in those early days. One was the silly bumblebee song I made up, one was "No Rain" by Blind Melon and then "Brooklyn Stars."

Happy Full Moon Weekend, dear ones!

xoxo Courtney Quiet City

Promise the Bite

2008-08-16T00:34:00.006-04:00

Over four years ago I had this dream about a tree up on a hill that was set against a backdrop of green and golden sky. I used to keep a dream journal (recording things that sometimes didn't even make sense but just writing down whatever I remembered), and this is how I documented the dream:

"Adam and I were in the countryside to take photographs. He woke me up so I could take a picture of the sunset- the greenish horizon, the blue above, the silhouettes of him and trees. But no! The sky became golden. I had lost time- it was actually the sunrise. I looked through the camera at everything, which was richer and more beautiful than usual. We went into the abandoned house so we could take pictures of the outdoors through the windows... I saw stars even though the sun was coming up and I wished for a house as big as the empty one we were standing in, with such a breathtaking view. I want to see all the empty houses with pretty views and put rocking chairs in all the windows facing east and west. East and west are the same. Boards creaking."

It's interesting looking back on that because when I think of that dream now, what is most vivid in my mind is the tree but when I wrote it down I was more taken by the sky.

For my latest postcard I drew inspiration more from that dream than the music. I chose the song "Promise the Bite," as it's one of my favorites (ok, I have a lot of favorites, I can't help myself), and, out of context, fits the remembered image of that dream. I made sure to include the golden sunrise and the green of the sunset all in the same landscape, and of course the old leafless tree on the hill. I often think of this dream, and that tree, and I am happy to combine it with this dreamy song.

"I've been dreaming. Surprise, surprise, surprise." From the song "Promise the Bite" from 2002's The Green Fury. Words by Matthew Pond, copyright 2002 matt pond PA. Artwork (paper and ink collage) by Courtney, copyright 2008 Quiet City.

It took a few hours to cut all those circles, and I have several extras, which I am sure will end up on another project because I like how they look when layered. I can't wait to see this postcard as a finished product, all printed and neatly trimmed and ready to arrive in someone's mailbox.

Portland Museum of Art

2008-08-14T15:33:00.000-04:00

For those of you in or near Maine, it will be worth your time to visit the Portland Museum of Art before September 7 to see their Georgia O'Keeffe exhibit. It features photographs of and by the artist as well as some of her paintings, which you can read about further here.

Portland Museum of Art
7 Congress Square
(intersection of High, Congress and Free Streets)
Portland, Maine

Last Song

2008-08-11T15:53:00.001-04:00

After missing matt pond PA play in Boston (when I lived in Portland, ME) and Denton (after we'd moved to the Dallas area) for whatever reasons, I got the chance to see them for the first time in Dallas in March of 2006. The first song they played at that show was "Last Song," which is one of my favorites. When I started planning this postcard project I knew I'd have to design something based on that song.

Last night I sketched out my idea for my "Last Song" postcard:

And I measured, cut, hemmed and hawed again, and assembled it today:

"My mind was set just like the sun's red but now the sun is setting." Words by Matthew Pond, copyright 2004 matt pond PA. Artwork (paper and ink collage) by Courtney, copyright 2008 Quiet City. "Last Song" is from the album Emblems.

As you can see, this card is flawed. I worked backwards-ish, from middle to bottom to top, when I should have gone from top to bottom. The wrinkles were intentional although they got out of hand. It'll look much better once it's scanned and printed, I assure you. Really.

As always I showed my husband when I had the paper down. He shrugged about it and said it was a little blah because there wasn't much going on. "I assure you there is," I told him, knowing how much I'd had going on trying to make it work.

After I wrote the lyrics on, I brought it to him again and he said he liked it better.

Me: Is it still blah, though?
Husband: Kind of- for me at least.
Me: What does it need?
Husband: I don't really know.
Me: What would make it un-blah? Like, a knife fight?

Oh, and just in case you're wondering, that black and white pattern surrounding the finished postcard- that would be my jammie pants. Because I am still wearing them. It's almost 4 p.m. Yes. Full glamour, Old Navy stay-at-home mom style.

New Hampshire

2008-08-09T16:30:00.002-04:00

It's done.

The "New Hampshire" postcard:

"In the north we hold our tongues." Words by Matthew Pond, copyright 2004 matt pond PA. Artwork (paper and ink collage) by Courtney, copyright 2008 Quiet City. "New Hampshire" is from the album Emblems. You should listen to it, every song.

Sometimes I should just keep these things to myself.

2008-08-09T13:15:00.005-04:00

It's Saturday, and it's working day. I'm hemming and hawing over my latest postcard, which is inspired by the lovely song "New Hampshire."

I got the background but I am sitting here trying to draw a deer. I'm from Maine; deer are abundant here and my childhood was speckled in the exciting electricity of seeing deer cross streets, chew in fields, and watching their tails disappear back into the woods. They love my parents' yard, which used to be farm pasture, and we frequently saw the tall grass flattened by their sleeping or resting bodies. I've seen my share of deer. I just can't draw the freaking things.

My deer are coming out looking like antlered horses, or horse-cows, or horse-dogs. I'm getting better but this is quite a process. It's hard to draw from memory because a) drawing isn't my biggest strength, b) deer don't stay still long enough for me to really commit their details to memory for drawing later, and c) I am trying to focus too much on details even though all I need is a deer silhouette.

Right now I am taking a break from it, and I have a deer body drawn onto a piece of notebook paper in front of me. (I know, wide-ruled notebook paper is very professional.) I need to do the head next and well, have you ever tried to draw a deer head?

Here's a creepy fact about my childhood: my family lived at my grandmother's house for a little while and I shared a bedroom with my brothers right off the dining room. (That's not the creepy part yet.) My mum's stepdad had apparently been a hunter and was the kind of hunter to mount the heads of his kills on the wall. (It's coming...) Indeed, on the wall of the room where we slept. Indeed, on the wall of the room where we slept, right above my brothers' beds. That's the creepy part, in case you didn't catch that. We thought it was so cool/gross. We'd get brave sometimes and dare each other to stand on the beds and touch the stiff fur. Ewwwww. The biggest dare was touching the eyeballs, which of course weren't real but we didn't know that when we were that age.

I wish I'd repressed that memory. How am I supposed to draw the head of a deer now?

I know. I'm weird. Back to work.

**Update.

This is my final sketch. It's way too big and as you can see I cut my (disproportionate) original to use as an outline for a better result. I ended up barely even using the original lines anyway. And I only need a silhouette. It's not so glamorous, being an artist.

"It's ok, your hair in my face as we both fade..."

2008-08-06T18:14:00.005-04:00

"The Moviegoer" postcard is done.

Almost a month after I even made the sketch, I finally cut and assembled all of the collage pieces to bring it to life, and I actually somehow managed to stick pretty close to the sketch.

See?

(You can if you squint at the sketch or click here and squint a little less.)

And the finished product:

"My eyes close and open to yours as yours open and close to mine." Words by Matthew Pond, copyright 2005 matt pond PA. Paper and ink collage by Courtney, copyright 2008 Quiet City.

It feels good. Sweet and simple.

The song "The Moviegoer" can be heard on matt pond PA's 2005 album Several Arrows Later. Visit their website here and they're on MySpace too.

perfect timing

2008-08-06T13:23:00.004-04:00

This post serves no other purpose than to say how excited I am about this afternoon.

With my husband's work schedule I haven't been able to do very many Quiet City things like I should be (but he's working so, so hard) so I've arranged with my mum for her to come and hang out with my son this afternoon after his nap so that I can work. It's raining again- no, I don't mind- and I had a long drive in it along the river earlier today. Despite the time of day, it's dark under all these rain clouds, and I hear cars splashing by in the puddles. This is a very very good day for me to be working.

I'm one of those annoying people who likes the rain. Sorry, all you sunshine people. These clouds are mine.

I also got a pretty piece of mail today and the timing could not have been better.

Be sure to check in with me later to see the collage that will come of the sketch I posted last week. Until naptime is over I'll be (gasp!) writing some more of my story because I'm going to be an author someday too.

So many hopes. Oh, these dreams.

xoxo

looking at summer

2008-07-27T22:11:00.000-04:00

I'm no photographer, much less a nature photographer, but I am one of those moms who almost always remembers to bring the camera so of course I tucked it in the diaper bag on our recent trip to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray. Here are some of my non-mommy shots from the day.

Maybe I'll look for my non-Mommy shots from Portland and Cape Elizabeth, hm?

**Edit. I looked and there are like two to choose from so... maybe next time! Have a happy last few days of July.

Dear Free Time, Where have you been?

2008-07-27T14:07:00.000-04:00

All I have for now is a sketch to share. It's the idea for my next postcard which I hope will be done before the ball drops on 2009.

xoxo

things

2008-07-06T15:07:00.000-04:00

No Quiet City goodness to update with today, as my husband worked a ton of overtime this week. That left me with my hands full of our thirteen-month-old, not cut paper and glue sticks and Sharpies and high-fiving myself.

I just wanted to say. I love trees. I love the way it smells and feels outside when it's not humid. I love being able to see things in the sky at night other than planes and clouds- stars and the sliver moon and satellites. Clouds too. I like the clouds. I love the curves and dips in the roads here, the ones that wind through woods and the wild. I love the lakes. The love the greenness. I love watching my son walk through grass and laugh that it tickles his legs.

The guys are sleeping right now, so this is my chance to work. Hopefully I will have an update with some new work later tonight.

xoxo

postcard #5

2008-06-30T04:15:00.000-04:00

The first matt pond PA song I ever heard was "Measure 3," from The Green Fury. I remember it. It was December of 2003, right before Christmas and at that time I had a white 1991 VW Passat named Cecelia. She was beautiful and she had a tape deck. It was my 22nd birthday and I was wearing a long sleeve powder blue shirt. Adam was working so I drove north from Portland for an hour and spent the afternoon at my parents' house. They bought me a slice of strawberry cheesecake for my birthday. When I left their place I drove the few miles of back roads to my best friend Laura's house. Amanda and Mandy were there too. They all gave me wonderful hugs (they are my favorite huggers) and we sat in the kitchen. One of my gifts from Laura was a mix tape. The first song was by matt pond PA. I listened to it on the way home. I put it in while I was still in her driveway and after listening to the song once, I rewound it and listened to it again. I was hooked. And here I am.

(I just want to note that while I can remember all these things about my birthday four and a half years ago... there are far more important things that are always slipping away from me. Math equations. Details about being in labor. Names of streets I used to know like the back of my hand. The middle names of my friends. Remembering to return phone calls. When The Office plays in syndication on TBS.)

I made a "Measure 3" postcard this evening. I'm not going to lie; I really like it. And I like it when I can surprise myself. Although it kind of made itself.

I'm not sure which photograph I took of it looks better so here's both. I need a scanner. Yes I do.

"So we know more now than we'll ever know and we're holding back so we won't explode." Words by Matthew Pond, copyright 2002 matt pond PA. Paper and ink collage by Courtney, copyright 2008 Quiet City.

Can I just say- I like it when I envision it one way and then it turns out differently, but better.