the antidote to feeling like shit

misprints & new originals

Hi my summer loves — soon after I wrote to you three weeks ago I had an ‘off’ day - it was nothing big and I swung back toward center but found myself tipping over the opposite direction the next day, and have watched myself swirl and flap around, increasingly out of balance ever since. I make art about a kind of painful inner world that has felt securely set on the other side of a line that separates then from now until now: now feels like then.

But there are differences, a lot of them actually if I’m looking. For one, I know everywhere in body that this won’t last forever. Second, I used to think that the antidote to feeling like shit was to behave like everything was cool and I would throw myself into doing just that: working, smiling, & “functioning”-highly 🙃 which truly just made a mess. Now, I drop off for three weeks. I reach out to a couple of the right people so the effort counts. I don’t get out of bed, for a while, and then I go on long sad walks and tell the parts of me who have come to the surface to show me what they’ve been through that I am here with them as long as this lasts. I tell them I’m ready to really listen. And then I do.

a quick, recent sketch. The marks on the left are labeled “the hard time then” and the one on the right is “the hard time now.” I scratched in the note: “similar, but not the same”

I don’t have any new art for you, besides this little sketch, but I still wanted to say hi. Danielle has been running the shop for the most part while I’ve been doing the bare minimum each day. She collected up all of the misprints from the last year and it turns out we have quite a big stack. They are (like me, lol) a little smudged, but still themselves. Instead of just throwing them all away we thought we’d pop them up in the shop at a super discount in case any of you wanted to give them a good home.

a stack of misprints

The imperfections vary, but for the most part they are either off center or have an ink stain on them from our printer’s roller. Here’s an example:

They will be available to Patreon members tomorrow at 8am and then to everyone at 10am. Each is one of a kind, messed up in its own way 😝 MISPRINT SHOP

The other thing that is happening with Danielle’s help is releasing my new original paintings. I have a collection of studies and stand alone pieces that I intended to post the first week of July. I love these paintings— I painted them during easy times and they are peaceful and full of that contentment. But, if brushing my teeth seems hard when I’m face-down depressed, turns out photographing and listing paintings, however lovely, is, like, impossible. Now it’s not though. Danielle and I are doing it together, and having a plan is giving me some flow. If you’re interesting in collecting one of my works, save the date: this Saturday July 22. First dibs will go to Patrons at 8am and then they will become available to everyone at 10am. ORIGINALS SHOP

Ok, that’s it for now. Thanks for reading and for being here through the vibrant and the quiet times. I hope you’re doing well, and am sending you a little hand squeeze if you aren’t. And in all cases, I hope you feel connected to things that spark your flame and have a soft place to rest: you deserve this and more.

love,
Brit