a cliff, some cats, and domestic artifacts

April 12, 2019 ~ TRISTA ~ 1 Comment

I’m happy to report that things are humming along at Carrot Condo in spite of The Rest Of My Life interrupting every which way it can. This seems to be one facet of living a creative life–the rest of life gets jealous and pushes back, frequently and rather roughly. Again and again, I’m forced to the edge of a cliff named by Yoda fans: Do Or Do Not. Standing at the edge, I see that I can keep pursuing creative work in spite of everything else, or I can stop. Simple as that. And, though I occasionally hesitate, I’m here to say that I keep choosing the creative path. This is partly because of you all, of course, following along and encouraging me … and shopping for that matter! I’ve nearly sold out of a few things–thank you!

So, some updates that might interest you.

I committed to doing 100 days of practice again. For 100 days straight, I’m drawing an image from my domestic/homemaker life and posting on Instagram. You can follow at carrot.condo or #carrotcondo #domesticartifacts #100domesticobjects. This daily practice is helping me clarify and develop a creation for Carrot Condo that I’m really excited about, but it’s proved more complex (and interesting) than I’d realized at first.

Also, while grumbling on Instagram about my failed Altoid tins for my teeny-tiny stationery, I took a leap and reached out to a few professionals. I may have hit the jackpot with one print shop run by artists who understand what I’m trying to do with my illustrations and tiny stationery. So, I’ve got some work to do, but I’m feeling optimistic that I’ll have a new version of tiny stationery to show you in a couple of months…probably with teeny-tiny stickers!

Lastly, my friend Robin Vada and I will be teaching our Opening Creative Minds workshop at Compose Creative Writing Conference on Saturday, May 18th. We combine gentle yoga, guided meditation, and writing prompts to unlock creativity and a feeling of confidence and optimism about creative work. Come see us in person at Clackamas Community College in Oregon City.

Thank you, as always, for following along and for your encouragement. Carrot Condo’s Etsy shop will have full “shelves” in September displaying all of my 2019 creations. Until then, I’ll have more success-and-failure stories for you!

–TRISTA

she flies with her own wings

February 28, 2019 ~ TRISTA ~ 1 Comment

My good friend inspired this card because of the hard work she devotes to making life better for everyone she meets. I’ve become convinced that our daily actions contribute as much to the world as the Big Actions reported in the news, and I wanted a card that acknowledges this.

March is women’s history month, and Oregon’s state motto and the Silverspot butterfly featured here are perfect for the strong women in your life who could use some encouragement, congratulations, and love.

This card commemorates the daily effort of my friend, myself, and others like us who try–moment by moment–to be kind, generous, and accepting. This can be taxing and difficult, and the Silverspot butterfly featured here represents the resilience we acquire as we try each day.

The Silverspot also symbolizes the power of the small–both the resilience of the delicate-seeming butterfly, but also the early-blooming violets it depends on that grow along the Oregon coast. The habitat for these violets (and butterflies) is shrinking and changing. And yet, the Silverspots burst forth each year, continuing their journey even as it gets more challenging.

After coloring my line drawing, I took it to a local printer for a fine-art-quality print on smooth paper. Then I hand-stamped each envelope with a design I carved and inked in green that compliments the hill of violets in the design.

These folded 5×7 card, blank inside, available in my Etsy shop if you are interested in purchasing some.

Thank you, as always, for following my Carrot Condo journey of creativity and cheer. Happy Women’s History Month!!

–TRISTA

i lava you a lot

January 25, 2019January 25, 2019 ~ TRISTA ~ Leave a comment

It all started when my kiddo gave me a homework assignment:

After drawing a lava monster, he set out paper and a crayon on my desk for me to draw my own. As usual, I was focused on the tasks I wanted to accomplish that day, but something made me slow down enough to appreciate his assignment, and I drew a lava monster for him.

The rest of that week, the three of us kept saying to each other, “I lava you … THIS much!” in monster voices of varying pitches.

So, I decided to print my monster as a risograph at Outlet PDX, the studio and print shop run by Kate Bingaman-Burt, and turn the lava monster into a valentine’s day card.

Risographs are like silkscreens, every color you want to print needs to be a separate drawing. Then, each drawing/color has to line up (register) just right, or intentionally overlap. I have no technology to do this for me, plus I had fun doing it by hand, but it took patience and multiple drafts. I could feel my brain rewiring itself as I tried to think of each color as a black shape or line.

I cheered when the first color came out–magical to watch the monster go from black shapes on white paper to fluorescent orange and pink on pink paper.

The final results made me so happy, I thought there must be others who will want to give this card to a loved one, a friend, a mom or grandma, or for Valentine’s Day. Now I have enough cards for my kiddo to give to classmates and a few to sell as well.

Truthfully, and as some of you know, I don’t really love Valentine’s Day. I feel like it puts too much pressure on couples and singles. However, embracing it from a kid’s point of view and expressing exuberant love/lava has made it more fun. So, Valentine’s Day or not, I hope you have many people in your life who lava you a lot!

As always, thank you for reading and following me along at Carrot Condo. Your interest in my work keeps me motivated and happy.

–TRISTA

tell me what’s ahead

January 4, 2019 ~ TRISTA ~ Leave a comment

Happy new year to you. I hope 2019 is off to a good start. Do you celebrate the new year? Make resolutions? Or is the 1st just another day?

Sometimes the new year doesn’t feel like anything special to me. Other times, it feels good to step forward into something new. This year I’m feeling optimistic, which is nice, so I’m holding onto that feeling for as long as I can.

For Carrot Condo, 2018 was a good year. I had fun making things, I learned a lot during the making-process of each product, and I managed to stay patient enough not to give up due technical challenges. I built up some tenacity in 2018 that has already helped me out in the new year as I continue to tackle technology.

So, what about 2019? What do you want to see at Carrot Condo? What should I create?

I have ideas. And I’ve already started a few projects. But it helps me to hear what others think. At recent craft bazaars, I got a lot of requests for cat illustrations. Also, my tiny stationery tins nearly sold out (only two left). And my monsters made a lot of people smile and chuckle.

I know I whined about how labor-intensive the tiny stationery sets were, but …… I’ve decided to do more. A few anyway. Maybe a few more owls. Maybe cats. Maybe bats.

What else? And what are your plans for 2019? What are your thoughts for the new year? I’d really like to hear. You don’t have to leave a message here, if it feels too public. Email, or send me a message in FB or IG.

However your year has started, I sincerely hope you have plenty of days of cheer, friendship, and adventure in the year ahead.

Thank you, as always, for reading.

–TRISTA

a flood of books

December 14, 2018 ~ TRISTA ~ Leave a comment

On Sunday, December 30th, at Nordic Northwest in SW Portland, I will have a table of Carrot Condo creations at Portland’s first “Jolabokaflod,” which means: Yule Book Flood.

Jolabokaflod3

Margaret Pinard organized the event and explains that Jolabokaflod is an “Icelandic national holiday where people exchange books as gifts on Christmas Eve then spend all night hiding away and reading them over mugs of hot chocolate (spiked or not!).”

This is my kind of holiday! Books, reading all night, and hot chocolate? I’m in! For us in Portland, it will be near New Year’s Eve rather than Christmas. In addition to an impressive line up of authors selling their books, there will be Nordic music and fairy tales performed.

You can get the full schedule here on Facebook or here on Instagram.

I’m excited to be a part of this inaugural event, and I hope to see you there!

PS: I finally made business cards!! (And I’ll have the last of these magnets at the Yule Book Flood event.)

Screenshot_2018-11-07 Trista Cornelius on Instagram “After a great experience at the All Saints Holiday Bazaar Saturday, I [...]-1

introverted monster sells crafts

November 8, 2018November 8, 2018 ~ TRISTA ~ 1 Comment

It’s craft-show season for me at Carrot Condo! The next one is: Llewellyn Holiday Market on Saturday, November 10th from 10am-5pm at 6301 SE 14th Avenue in Portland.

Image result for llewellyn holiday market

Then, on Saturday, December 1, from 10am-3pm I’ll be at the Lewis Holiday Bazaar and Tree Sale at 4401 SE Evergreen Street in Portland.

Image result for lewis holiday bazaar

Last weekend’s bazaar at All Saints in NE Portland was great!

I sold a lot of Carrot Condo creations–the tweet-sized stationery is going fast!! (See previous blog post.)

Friends stopped by, and I caught up with a bunch of lovely folks I wish I got to see more often. Hearing about career changes, new puppies, creative projects, and so much more was so inspiring!

I met new customers–one is named Trista! We’re about the same age, and we both said we’ve only known two other Tristas in our lives, so we’re each other’s third Trista. That was pretty cool.

And a man in his late 70s or very early 80s stopped by and admired my biking monsters (I have some framed originals as well as this card). monster on bike My illustrations sparked some memories for him, and he told me about “The Vegetable Man” that came through his neighborhood with a cart and mule when he was a child. The gentleman remembered the vegetable seller’s name and admired his Italian accent as his mother negotiated prices each week. I can tell you this for sure: when I drew my goofy, but determined, biking monsters, I did not expect them to deliver such great stories!

These craft bazaars can be a long day for a quiet introvert like me, but I am grateful for the chance to catch up with friends and meet such lovely new customers and fellow vendors.

I’ll hope to see you on November 10 or December 1st! Thank you, as always, for your interest in Carrot Condo and my creative work.

color owl card

b&w owl card you can color

tweet-size stationery: hoot hoot!

October 5, 2018October 4, 2018 ~ TRISTA ~ 5 Comments

A collection of empty Altoid tins inspired the most painstaking and rewarding project I’ve made yet: tweet-sized stationery. These tins are too sturdy and useful to send straight to recycling, so how could I re-purpose them?

I attended a meeting of the PDX Correspondence Coop, a group of people who gather every month to revere vintage typewriters, postage stamps, and old-fashioned letter writing. A co-op member demonstrated how to make tiny envelopes. —-Bing! The idea came together in my head but took weeks to figure out.

I did the whole thing analog, meaning: all by hand with a wooden ruler, measuring and testing and folding until it fit perfectly. Then, I took my drawings to the printer, then I hand cut every single page of stationery and envelope, THEN folded and glued.

I also painted the tins, cut out tiny pieces of felt, and patiently glued them to the top of each tin. One fun fact: visiting the “googly eye” section of a craft store is great fun. I turned the corner, saw the dozens of different sized and colored eyeballs staring back at me and started laughing so hard I could not stop. Definite pick-me-up.

These tiny owls leave you just enough room for messages that get straight to the heart of the matter, like: “I hope you have a good day. I love you. –Mom” or a haiku!

I’ve got these in my Etsy shop: www.etsy.com/shop/CarrotCondo: 12 sheets of stationery all with different owls, and 6 self-sealing envelopes also with different owls, that fit inside the re-purposed Altoid tin. They cost $18.50 plus shipping.

If you like these, I’d love to hear your thoughts. I have at least one more design in mind (monsters, of course), but I’m not yet ready to commit the time and energy. So in the meantime, I’m taking notes on anything I’d do differently. Ironically, I may not make the tins again. Still deciding.

Thank you, as always, for your interest in my creative endeavors! I’ll be in some craft shows soon and would love to see some of you PDX folks in person. More about that next month.

–TRISTA