Ever since I read about the relationship between the Yellow Passionflower, (Passiflora lutea) and the tiny Passionflower Bee that is completely dependent on it as a host plant, I've been dying to get some for my garden.  Imagine my surprise this year when it popped up on its own! It bloomed for the first time, and each bloom is about the size of my thumbnail.  I am smitten. Prepare yourselves for a million illustrations of this gorgeous native wildflower. 

Speaking of Passionflower, I want to take a minute to show y'all the progress I've made when it comes to pulling prints off my Maypop block. This Maypop was one of the first designs I carved when I started my business in late 2019. Like most of my blocks, I had planned for a black and white, and color version of this print. I had a vision for how I wanted the color version to look, but I couldn’t quite get it right. (Scroll down and you can can see my earliest attempt on the far right 😬)  However, I kept working at it, making a series of full color artist proofs, and developing the techniques I needed to get the color and shading effects that I wanted. I was getting some nice proofs, but I still wasn't consistent enough to make an actual edition out of them. But now, 3 years later, I’ve dialed in my paper, my inking techniques, my ink itself, and my press (which was a game changer) and I’m pulling the most vibrant, clean, and consistent prints off this block. I finally have the confidence to do a color edition, and I’m going to make 30 of these beauties! As I look at these 3 prints together, it tells me how much I’ve improved as a printmaker. I’m feeling so proud of this one!! Click here to order one of the new prints. Cost, $109.  Size 13x19 (includes custom cut acid free matboard and backing board.) 

Left: Color Edition of 30 (the new ones),Middle: Artist proofs (me practicing my skills), and right and the earliest proofs I pulled (nowhere near what I was trying to achieve :))