Melissa Washburn Illustration

I’m actually getting into the holiday spirit a bit! Here’s a polar bear and mums I drew last year that was kind of a re-do from a long ago sketch for a project that didn’t happen.

Just 2 weeks left to get your holiday orders in at melissawashburn.com ! Greeting cards, art, blankets, tees, and more!

Sneak peek at a little something I’m working on!

All framed and ready to go for the member show!

Fall Fun and Holiday Shopping: the pre-holiday newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/melissawashburn.com/july2023-6209062

I just stumbled into the Grabadolandia Print Fair at Chicago’s National Museum of Mexican Art today. Some AMAZING artists there, and I got to try out lego printmaking on a little tabletop press. So fun! Here’s my little bug.

Happy gotcha day to this weirdo! One year of figuring out all her quirks and enjoying her gentle, affectionate personality.

I’m reposting some things because suddenly it seems like you all are seeing me again here on the Instathing? In any case, in case ya missed it, I made some fun bird sticker sheets this summer. Some of these birds are featured in the 2024 bird calendar as well!

More moths!

Apologies, but a November newsletter is not happening. Giving myself some grace and space this month. But rest assured I have calendars, greeting cards, and other things for your holiday needs ready to ship (shop link in profile). Last day to order for the holidays will be Dec. 15 (which I will remind you of in my December newsletter!)

Today! 9-4 at the Center for Visual & Performing Arts in Munster! It’s the Festival of Owls!
See live animal ambassadors, learn cool stuff about owls, and shop some great vendors/artists, including me, and !

I almost completely forgot about this pumpkin I drew 2 years ago. Some atypical whimsy from me… Happy Halloween Y’all!
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Next step in my process; figuring out the blacks and whites to translate my drawing into a linocut. Once I’m happy with the digital drawing, I’ll print it out to transfer to the linoleum.

Added some oak leaves to the raven and started blocking things out to maybe make a linocut. Next I’ll scan this and draw on the ipad, where it’s very easy to go back and forth additively and subtractively to figure out the right way to cut the lino.

Some quick marker sketching of a raven for warmup today.

It’s always coffee weather, but especially these chilly fall mornings!

Hybrid goose I see very often around town. Canada geese will hybridize with several other species, including snow geese, white-fronted geese, and domestic geese. Not sure which this critter is, but I’m told could be a white-fronted goose. We shall call them Muttley.

Fall findings and upcoming events https://mailchi.mp/melissawashburn.com/july2023-6204298

If you pre-ordered a 2024 Birds calendar, the wait is almost over! They are currently in production and I hope to start shipping orders early the week of 10/16 ❤️🦅

Some creepy blossoms for this rainy Thursday. Fleurs du Mal… still sharing older pieces but there are things in the works!

I need to make some room for new inventory, so for a limited time these Purple Scarab Tees are 50% off! Sizes XS-3XL. Screen printed on super soft Bella + Canvas 100% cotton tees, crew neck. Photo model is 5’5” and wearing size Small.

One more day to vote in the Spoonflower 2024 Calendar Wall Hanging challenge! My Beautiful Birds entry seems to be faring pretty well so far.

https://www.spoonflower.com/design-challenge/2024-calendar-wall-hangings-2023-10/vote

Beautiful day yesterday for a hike at Tippecanoe River State Park. We learned that Saffron loves water (our other greyhounds were terrified of bodies of water) and heard a barred owl calling in the middle of the day. I have a lot of criticisms of the state of Indiana, but our State Park system is an absolute gem. We’ve now visited 12 of 25 of them and not a one disappoints.

It’s time for the annual calendar wall hanging/tea towel challenge! I reused some images from my 2024 birds wall calendar to create this piece. Pop on over to Spoonflower later in the week for voting! There are sure to be lots of really stunning entries.

I finished the halloween-y illo I was working on over the weekend, and decided to make it available as a print-at-home downloadable greeting card! Check out my shop for more details.

Working on a halloweeny thing.

Having a night out…

Restock alert! The Moon Moth blanket is coming back! I’ve opened the listing back up online and they’ll be here the first week of October. Perfect for sweater weather (and don’t miss the other great designs I have available; beetles and moths and swallows, oh my!)

Doing some more cutting cutting cutting! I’m going to try this beetle as a reduction print 🤞🏻 wish me luck!

Calendar presale is here! The 2024 “Birds and Blooms” wall calendar is in production. You can click the link on the image or my profile to order. Calendars should be in my hot little hands by the end of the month. Why a presale? It helps me gauge demand to figure out how many to order, and also helps me raise the funds to cover the cost of a large order upfront. So I greatly appreciate all you early birds (pun completely intended)!
This year’s calendar features a different 10x10” full color bird image for each month, and is printed on 100% FSC certified paper.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/01/insect-removal-problems-ecosystem/
I realize there may be a paywall if you're not a subscriber, but this is SO important. Our lawns may quite literally be killing us. Please embrace backyard biodiversity; bugs are our friends and the more the better.

Opinion | Don’t you dare rake your leaves this fall If the mass extinction of insects isn’t reversed, it will decimate the entire food chain, threaten crop pollination and generally cause havoc.

September Newsletter- https://mailchi.mp/melissawashburn.com/july2023-6088438

Enjoying a day of rest.

"Labor is prior to, and independent of, capital. Capital is only the fruit of labor, and could never have existed if Labor had not first existed. Labor is superior to capital, and deserves much the higher consideration."
-- Abraham Lincoln.

An oldie but goodie. Somehow it feels appropriate for Virgo season…

This is probably the last sneak peek of the 2024 calendar I’ll share… if you don’t want to miss the pre-sale announcement, please sign up for my newsletter (link in profile)!
The Carolina, state bird of South Carolina, is a chattery little bird. We once had one nest in a tool belt hanging in our garage. After consulting with Indiana Audubon, we moved the nest, tool belt and all, to a nearby tree where she successfully raised her nest full of babies!