Find my stickers at REI and more!
I am now selling locally around northern New Mexico–including at REI Santa Fe, Valles Caldera National Monument Gift Shop, and PEEC Nature Center (Los Alamos). I hope you like them!
Sticker designs by yours truly!
I love, love stickers. Some people have t-shirts, some people get tattoos, but the thing that reminds me of my adventures is stickers on a water bottle, laptop, bumper, or my favorite, on our camper! door!All our adventure visually logged in one happy spot.
The problem with being a sticker artist is you are selling a print of your art for SO cheap! Which, makes it accessible to everyone, but not very sustainable not only for a small business but also a business that has a small niche of local-themed designs. And, it’s expensive! To make the stuff i do, I need an iPAd, a Mac, a stylus, cost of the stickers (which I get vinyl high quality ones!), and the thing we all want more of: time.
So, why do I make stickers? I love capturing a place or a mood or a personality–solving something visually–and a sticker is a small enough canvas that , with three kids and a FT job, I can complete each project. Really, the same way someone would solve a crossword puzzle or a video game, art can be that sort of brain candy.
And it really makes me happy when others are so happy to get a sticker. Or when I get pictures from people having a sticker on their water bottle or something like that. Stickers are just cool! So, forget about getting a Zia tattoo next time you’re in New Mexico, just get a sticker! You can find mine at Samizdat bookstore, Bradbury Science Museum, or Valles Caldera Gift Shop. You can find my designs at my print-on-demand store too, where you can get stickers, but also t-shirts, mugs, notebooks, sweatshirts–you name it!
My Oppenheimer Obsession
Okay, so maybe I drew J. Robert Oppenheimer a bit too much this last year. I made stickers, an online t-shirt shop. It’s gotten a little out of control. As an artist, he is just really interesting to draw…
Recently, my husband and I got the opportunity to meet Kai Bird, author of American Prometheus–the book that Christopher Nolen’s movie, “Oppenheimer” is based on. I gave Kai some of my stickers, and my colleague blurted out, "I actually think she has a crush on Oppenheimer."
I went on to tell Kai that I might have mentioned once or twice to my husband "Can you have a crush on a dead person?" while sketching Oppie.
Apparently Oppenheimer's magnetism lives on... ha.
I introduced my husband to Kai, who is a physicist, and Kai signed my book:
To Ian and Brenda,
Who know the physics and the men!
Kai Bird June 20, 2023
Now, it’s the day before the movie comes out. I have been in Oppenheimer mode for months now, and looking forward to seeing how all once again, this figure is once again portrayed and interpreted!
New Mexico Starry Nights
I’ve totally been on a creative high lately. It’s been awesome–I’ve been designing decals, and writing a children’s book series, and making comics–its been a blast! I’m riding out my creative high as long as it lasts, but I decided after too many days with blood-shot eyes, I need a creative outlet that isn’t on a computer!
After going to a music festival and seeing all sorts of up cycled art, I challenged myself to come up with a non-computer project where I wouldn’t have to buy anything. I concluded to making wood-disc ornaments out of a dead apricot tree branch and a bunch of unused oil paints I have sitting in a closet.
I have painted Starry Night a few times in my life–and well, it’s just fun to paint! So this time I decided to do my own “New Mexico” version of Starry Night.
Colors of Hawaii
I recently went on a trip-of-a-lifetime with my family to Hawaii. Flowers, whales, beaches, jungles, lava, tribal art, colorful paintings, hand painted signs, manicured gardens, hula dancers, and mural art all were so inspirational and recharging to my design work.
At an intensive language school in Zacatecas, Mexico, an instructor once told me, “You have to have input to create better output.” This applies with language–but also with design. Experiencing what the world has to offer allows me to create a better output.
Since Hawaii, I have been inspired to use color and personal touches more in my visual communication output. Stringent grids, modern type, and stock photos offer a quick way to finish a design project and make it acceptable to a customer, but tend to lose the human to human voice that is so important in actually engaging an audience.
Here are some pics–first set of pictures are from Maui, second set of pictures are from the Big Island. And, below is a quick jot of my favorite things to do in Hawaii!
Hawaii favorites
We did a total of 12 days, roughly spending half in Maui, exploring beaches and snorkeling, and the other half on the big island, in the jungle with volcanos and lava sight-seeing. Below are my notes to remember for next time… !
Maui: Stayed on beach just North of Lahaina
Baby beach–awesome snorkeling, clear water, great sand
Lahaina–Amazing tree park down town, Hawaiin French toast (out of this world!)
Steve’s Whale Watching Adventure–2 hours on a raft checking out the incredible whales and learning about migration, babies, etc.
Atlantis Submarine–such a cool way to explore a reefs, and a ride on a submarine! Saw puffer fish, reef shark, sunken ship, fish galor
Leona’s pies: pick up and take to beach–Well-worth the trip wherever you are on Maui
Big Island: Stayed in jungle near Volcano National Park
Volcanos National Park–Lava Tube hike and viewing real lava at night
Lava museum in Pa’hao/spending time in Pa’hoa–talking to locals about 2018 lava flow
Panalu’u Black Sand Beach–first sea turtle I ever saw!
Manau Kae–stunning, crescent moon shaped white sand beach that has a hotel bar on it where you can grab a cocktail
Kikaua Point Park Beach–tiny little sandy nook surrounded by lava rocks that block the waves. Akaka Falls–stunning waterfall jungle hike near Hilo
Photo Essay: Trinity Site
I put together these historical “then and now” photos after visiting Trinity Site for the LANL magazine, National Security Science. Trinity Site, located in southern New Mexico, is where the first atomic bomb, Trinity, was detonated on July 16, 1945. Credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory. LA-UR 21 25571
Ground zero is viewed from the top of Compaña Hill (also called Compania Hill or Cerro de la Colorado) in 2021 and 1945.
Manufactured in Ohio by Babcock & Wilcox, Jumbo was originally 25 feet long, 10 feet in diameter, and weighed 214 tons. Scientists planned to use Jumbo to contain the Trinity test but then changed their minds.
The Trinity test was detonated atop a 100-foot tower, perhaps to help ensure clear photos of the expansion of the fireball. These photos were used to help determine the device’s yield and other blast effects.
Jennifer Talhelm, of the Lab’s Public Affairs group; Nicholas Lewis and Alan Carr, both of the National Security Research Center; and Mark Chadwick, of the Weapons Physics directorate, leave the McDonald Ranch House, where the Trinity device was assembled in 1945.
The Compaña summit (elevation 5,700 feet) provided a good spot for scientists to watch the Trinity test in 1945.
Epic camp trips 2021
Bitsi Badlands near Chaco
Ah, so the time has come. It is time to winterize our camper. The warmth of summer is encapsulated in the my tears that fall as fall falls upon us. :D!
And here’s where we went! Juniper Campground (Bandelier, NM), Columbine Campground (Red River, NM), San Antonio (Jemez, NM), Field Tract (Pecos, NM), Peak One (Frisco, CO), Elephant Butte (NM), Pine Point (Vallecito, CO), and Chaco Canyon (near Farmington, NM).
Chaco and Bandelier are so historical and stunning; Columbine, San Antonio, Field Tract are great mountain-y destinations with water to play in; Peak One and Vallecito are our alpine lake spots and Elephant Butte is like a hot, sandy beach in the middle of the desert–so yeah, they are were all really different and amazing in their own ways!
Creating fall mantel art
Inspiration was this evening pic I took this fall of Wheeler while staying in Red River.
End result! Gesso’d a pre-framed canvas from Ross and just went for it. Second time using oil paints, and my girls helped so we got it done over a couple hour-intervals. D1 did the sky–and I love the end result. D2 helped me fill in the trees–here she is adding back some texture. Love it!
Creating Spoonflower fabric out of my kid's art
This project was SO fun. I used my kids Adobe Fresco to digitize my kids artwork to make these fabric patterns (prototyped on Spoonflower). It is a great way to showcase their individual artistic styles (and avoid putting more artwork in a file cabinet!).
Below are a couple of the pages I traced–I had about five different desserts drawn on separate pages of a little notebook. They were so cute (love the donuts with whip cream tops!). My other daughter learned a technique like this one–where you trace your hand and curve lines coming from horizontal lines–and she took it to a whole new level with these little people she created (I think the influence came from learning about pictographs at Bandelier combined with Minecraft?) No idea, but they are so original and super cool.
Summer fun drone photography!
Fourth of July party peel-out.
Little ones scurrying across a bridge.
Rafting Lower Flathead, MT.
Painting the ski hill with oil paints
I finally faced my fears and used the oil paints I got as a gift a year ago. Absolutely amazing, and far better than acrylics! I haven’t painted in ages and the colors, working with oil, getting high from all the fumes (ha, kidding)–loved it.
For this painting, I really wanted something in my living room that was winter/ski themed, and my husband LOVES ski maps, and we can just barely see a little corner of the Pajarito Townsite Tun if you stand in a specific spot in our living room sorta (haha)–so this concept was perfect. I drafted it from our ski map as well as an aerial shot I saw of Pajarito and with my own knowledge of the runs (I took some artist liberties on the accuracy of the runs, i.e., don’t use this as a map haha, but my favorite runs, the “fab four”, and Townsite Run are definitely defined). The tree in the corner was actually a little Christmas tree we had in our living room, and it posed nicely while I painted it! Fun project, looking forward to when I get a chance to paint again!
10 best camping gift ideas! Must-haves for teramping! (Terrific-camping)
Camping outside of Sipapu, New Mexico.
*Update: I have to add the Ooni Gas pizza oven. I just got it for my husband for Christmas, and we have already used it nonstop. Its a portable gas pizza oven, and we took it up for a day trip up in the mountains, made a fire and pizzas after sledding. We also took it up to Angel Fire, NM and made pizza for all my family. So easy, and SO YUM.
Kelty Low Loveseat Camping Chair
This chair is amazing. We initially got it for music festivals where ‘low’ chairs were required. I thought that might mean a little uncomfy for us tall-folks, but this chair is AMAZING! Probably my favorite piece of camping equipment. Why you ask, am I so obsessed with this? Well most of camping is outside, cold, and to cuddle right up next to your loved ones while camping is the best.
2. Insulated French Press
We’ve done all things coffee while camping. Aeropress, bike-pump espresso, and well, an insulated French Press is the best. We actually bring two–one for regular coffee, and the other for decaf. For those lazy camping days where you just want to read and sip mug after mug of coffee, a French Press makes a big pot and keeps it hot.
3. Hammock
Hammocks are so relaxing. Except when you have kids, then they all the sudden become amusement rides, or Amazon river rafting or whatever their imagine gives them… Either way, lots of entertainment (and a bit of having to yell at them to NOT try a 360 with their two-year-old brother), but again fun for all.
4. Mini Guitar
I feel like most of us people want to learn a couple chords on the guitar, or at least pretend to know something while belting out Kumbaya. I’m lucky enough to be married to someone who can actually play the thing while I read a book and drink wine. Our daughter plays it and makes up songs. Overall, entertaining and bonding. This coupled with a simple song book makes a great gift. (Or if you’re me playing, a painful interruption to camping, but at least I’m having fun!)
5. Awning
I can’t count how many times we went camping and it rained. Which, rain while camping is actually quite nice when you have an awning. You can hang out underneath, cook, whatever. And, if your in the southwest, you have shade.
6. Waterproof Rug
Okay, okay. My #1 reason for loving the rug is because they make your campsite so cozy! But really it’s nice to have a place to sit that’s not in mud, or the kids can play.
7. Katanaboy or Pocket Chainsaw
The men on my last cam-trip (my husband and a family friend) tapped into their manliness by competing the Kitano Boy and Chainsaw. They ultimately decided the Kitano Boy and the Pocket Chainsaw did an equal job , after working up a sweat and appetite for beer, and creating a nice pile of firewood. We had quite the bonfire that night.
8. Floatie and Pump
This feels ridiculous saying you need this, but wow, they provide so much fun even if you camp in New Mexico like us and every campsite we’ve gone to has had a tiny-weeny little creek. Just pump up the raft and the kids just play in and around it for hours. Or I sit in it. One creek was so small, the kids spent hours building a dam, and then the raft had a little pool to float in! Playing in a creek is such a good way to cool off, especially if you have a floaty to relax on.
9. Pocket Knife
Nothing like the classic Swiss Army Knife. The kids have spent hours whittling and carving sticks with a pocket knife. It’s really a good skill to have, and they really enjoy creating their little weapons or marshmallow sticks or what have you. I’m not gonna lie, my favorite tool is the wine bottle opener.
10. Rubber-soled slippers or Uggs/Emos
Camping with cozy warm shoes makes all the difference on whether you want to actually go outside each cold morning. Love these shoes.
Summer 2020 Camping Review! And other adventures..
Santa Cruz Lake
And so here we are, at the end of the summer <tear>. I love summer. It’s by far my favorite season. Sunshine, water, green trees–I love it. And got outdoors a lot this summer so here is a review of the spots, starting with my favorites.
Fawn Lakes Campground; Red River, NM I LOVED this site. There was a little creek running through the campground, gorgeous pines, and it was only 2 miles from the town of red river that has an amazing coffee shop (Steam) and a candy shop (win-win for mama and kids–maybe fudge and giant lolipops) . We played for hours in the creek (adults included!), had campfires, I read an entire book–ahh, this place was a great experience.
The creek at Fawn Lakes campground was so fun!
Chama RV park; Chama, NM I am not an RV park person, but this place was beautiful. It was right off the highway nestled in a magical forest of cottonwoods. The place was so clean, and right on the river and there was a train track right there in the campsite (major perk for my 2-year-old).
Train tracks for a 2-year-old? Totally awesome.
Redondo Campsite; Jemez, NM The Jemez is just gorgeous–Valle Caldera, Las Conchas–you can’t beat it. We only stayed here for a night, but it was just a no-nonsense beutiful forested site that had a lot of loops so yeah, bringing the bikes next time!
Hike to Lake Gregario during our stay in the Jemez.
Hopewell Campground; Between Tierra Amarilla and Tres Piedras, NM This site is beautiful and has a lake right next to it. The reason its toward the bottom of my list is that someone poached our reserved site, and we got a pretty crummy site on the side of a really windy hill–but the place is right near a beautiful little reservoir that made for some great paddle boarding. The loop was also really nice to bike the babe around. There is some trails too around here that are quite pretty.
Cimarron Campground; Colfax County, NM This might of been one of the most stunning drives–you drive past a place called Valle Vidal and its just a gorgeous mountain valley. The down side is 14 miles of really rough washboard road. and then once we got to the campsite, there was a chorus of generators all weekend. Someone put their generator in our site so they didn’t have to hear it, and started it at 7 am. It is a horse site–so I think it attracted some pretty massive trailer-folk that wanted their movies. on a projector. at 12 am.
Driving out to Cimarron campground. Not to be confused with the one in CO, or the town of Cimarron which is actually quite far from this place.
This is Rio Grande–amazing picnic/floaty spots near Pilar, NM.
That’s all the camping I remember! We have 1 more camp trips planned, and a yurt bike trip–so maybe I’ll update this blog. Other note-able adventures was going down to the Rio grande to paddle board and just cool off, visiting Angel fire to hike and paddle board, and visiting Santa Cruz lake which is about an hour from here and totally worth the drive. We also did a trip to Lake Tahoe which was quite amazing to isolate on a lake–best memories being kayaking with the girls, river rafting, and drink margaritas on the paddle board on the lake. And of course, just being in Los Alamos–the trails are so gorgeous this time of year, and I did quite a bit of mountain biking thanks to all the winter Peloton training. So yeah, totally ready to sit down at my computer for the next 9 months and let my sunburns get a chance to recover…
Hiking in Los Alamos with this guy.
Why I love camping with my tear drop camper (with THREE kids!)
If you can possibly see beyond this adorable bed-head, this is our camping setup.
I love our teardrop camper. It is tiny. The inside is literally the size of a queen bed on wheels, with a hatchback kitchen space. Last year we met some people at a campsite who got a major kick out of how many kids crawled out of our teardrop camper–one, two, “wow, three kids in there!” Yep, three kids plus me, and my husband.
Our 2014 Little Guy Silver Shadow 6wide. Love it!
Here’s why I love it.
You don’t have to spend days packing. I love camping. I love outdoor cooking, I love hearing birds and breeze and reading and playing guitar and watching the sky change color. You get my drift. But with three kids it takes HOURS to pack. There is so much stuff! If it’s just me, then I can pretty much camp with just a sleeping bag and a hefty bag of trail mix, but my family of five needs SO MUCH STUFF to keep them well fed and clothed (mostly) and to well, just survive.. And there are so, so many things that if you forget your camp trip could be a total disaster. Like a pot for cooking, or children’s Tylenol, or a pacifier, or shoes (yes, those have been forgotten…)–we have a list of about 75 items that we need for a stress free weekend–anyways, the camper is stocked with all that. Its ready to go! Everything stays organized and accessible (versus having an avalanche of stuff fall out your car every time you need to grab just. one. thing.) Just fill the cooler and grab some clothes and diapers, and um, shoes, and well we are ready to rock!
Hard walls means the camper is warm and you are safer from bears if that happens to be a concern (some national parks require them). We have an attached tent for summer nights and some of us spill out into that. But on cold nights, it is so nice to have a hard walled, warm place to sleep. Its also nice to not worry about bears eating you (because again, hard walls), especially if someone sneaks fruit loops in their sleeping bag.
It’s really easy to haul and easy move around (you can move it by hand). I like the fact that I can confidently park it just about anywhere .
It fits in our carport and works as a storage place for our camp stuff. We don’t have a garage, or much storage in our home, so this is a major bonus for us.
It can go just about anywhere our car can go–so we can do dispersed camping more easily than if we had a bigger trailer.
It’s super cute. I’d like to say this doesn’t matter to me, but there’s something about tear drop that just makes me want to hit the road and go explore.
We cook outside. This to me is one of the best parts of camping. The hatchback kitchen area has all the cooking stuff ready to go.
It’s high quality compared to larger trailers. The few times I’ve been in a new larger trailer, they feel like they are about to fall apart. There is the fake wood trim, fake granite–and this serves a purpose, it helps make the trailer lighter. But, I love how we have birch cabinets, wood interior–everything feels solid and is going to last a really long time.
There is pretty much nothing to maintain. No bathroom, plumbing, plumbed in stove–after we had a cabin this was super important to us. We just want to enjoy wherever we go and not spend time fixing anything. Even if that means peeing in the woods.
It’s just fun! Cuddling with the kids, the memories we are making–it’s awesome. I love it. I love raising my kids in the great outdoors and watching them play outside and learn how to use a pocket knife or cook weird things on the camp stove, or hangout with friends by a fire.
There are cons. The obvious one being the size of it makes for sleeping to be a hit or miss experience–the main issues being a.) making sure its well ventilated with 5 people and b.) the fact that I have a two-year-old that literally spins like a pinwheel all night, which has lead to me having a foot in my face more than once. Also, not being able to stand up inside is not great–I know that’s a small thing, but putting on pants is quite challenging, and its not really a space you would hang out in. The side tent has addressed these problems though–we have more sleeping room if we want it (even though we still usually all end up inside!) and a place to change and keep extra stuff, and with New Mexico monsoons, a place to go inside while its raining has been pretty nice. So, in a nutshell, we love the tear drop with the side tent included. It’s made for some pretty epic trips this summer–we’ve gone out about every other weekend, and I don’t think I would have done that if I had to pack. every. single. time.
But hey, it is small, and maybe the putting-on-pants thing will get to me, and we’ll upgrade to a 40 ft RV… Stay tuned ;)!
My first professional podcast and what you need to know to make one
One of my ‘interviewees’ for my podcast that focused around ‘kid’s thoughts’ during the COVID-19 pandemic.
I just did my first podcast, and yep, it was quite fun!
I did take an audio/video course, and more recently a three day intensive podcast course from NYU. But, I learned, pretty much anyone can do a podcast.
I just completed two podcasts–one for my class, and the other for my job. For my class, I did a lighthearted podcast in which I interviewed my kids about the COVID-19 pandemic. For work, the podcast was a bit more serious–a day in the life of a B-2 bomber pilot.
Why did I start a podcast? Well, while I am writing this, we are in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its been a whirlwind of work and taking care of my kids and never, ever having any time to sit and relax and well, read. I am the art director for a magazine, and for the longer feature stories, a podcast seemed like the perfect solution to give our audience an easy-to-access and digestible format: audio. Luckily my team had a lot of support from managers, and the B-2 bomber himself, who read the story. I hosted the podcast, and the editor helped with the wording of the introductions, and another colleague, who had experience with NPR helped editing the music and ‘bed music’ (or the music playing under the audio). My husband actually made most of the music using his band-in-a-box gizmo and guitar, and I just threw a comforter over his amp and recorded it! It was totally a result of the pandemic–working remotely while sending files to each other, getting feedback, and recording and editing using what we had to work with–but the end result was really awesome! And totally a great, accessible format for those of us that don’t have time, or if your like me, find audio a really engaging way to listen to a story.
To get started making a podcast, you really only need three things:
Something to record your voice with (I used the iPhone voice memo app),
something to edit audio and export an audio file (Mp3). I used Adobe Audition for my work podcast, but for the one I did in the NYU intensive course I used something called Hindenburg–both have free trials, and
a hosting site to upload your audio file that can feed it to podcast platforms like Apple podcasts and Spotify. I used Simplecast for work, but there are other (free!) options like Podbean.
For my interview with the kids about the COVID-19 pandemic (posted below), I used the Ira Glass (from This American Life podcast) ‘narrative’ style. The kids totally picked up on this, and I got quite the laugh when my daughter–trying to get my attention–tugged on my shirt and said, “I tugged on her shirt and then I kept asking her to go to the pond,” and then whispered to me, “ I’m doing a podcast!”
The biggest thing I kept hearing again and again when asking for feedback was to write for the ear–write the way you talk–so it sounds natural. Also, cut that audio down! In my NYU course we had to keep our podcast to five minutes, I learned you can cut the audio a lot more than you think–and really focus on those nuggets of audio that can stir emotion while still getting the message across. Audio is a format that can capture emotion in ways that written-word never could–with podcast you literally are in someones head with headphones, so it can be intimate and powerful, especially when when the podcast has a clear, concise message. The NYU course also focused a lot on the storytelling aspect, history of radio and how-to use the Hindenburg software–I highly recommend this course to get started and to also get some professional feedback.
A lot of how-to podcast tutorials focus on the mic equipment, and frankly I used the iPhone Voice Memo app–under a comforter to absorb outside sounds (kids playing outside, cars driving by, etc.), and the NYU instructor thought that I actually used a professional mic for the hosting portion of the B-2 podcast–so that shows you that well, the iPhone mics are actually quite good. As soon as I get back to work, I hope to get a more professional setup, but for now the iPhone gets the job done well.
Overall creating a podcast was a great experience. I thought this would be such a great thing for our magazine, but I was hesitant to getting into one. more. thing but I am glad I did–taking the time to learn to do something new, in a way, can be self-fueling. I also have my sister to thank for encouraging me to find a way to squeeze in a three day course in the midst of everything else–it was a great experience!