Just make something.

It doesn't matter what it is.

Happy November, friends! It’s finally sweater weather (sometimes) here in Austin, and I’m loving it. Yesterday I turned 49 (I still can’t quite believe it). It’s strange, and I imagine this feeling is only going to grow weirder each year. I celebrated over several days, starting the day before Halloween, with a dinner & movie date with Patrick. We went to a fab place we’d never been to before, Cedar Tavern, and shared the most amazing tempura oyster mushrooms with black garlic chimichurri & horseradish aioli.

We also had this lobster roll, delicious, but we were really all about the mushrooms.

Then we went to the Alamo Drafthouse to see the new Frankenstein adaptation by Guillermo del Toro. The classic gothic tragedy by Mary Shelley is one of my all-time favorite novels. I also love del Toro as a director and Oscar Isaac as an actor, so I knew I’d enjoy it. It did not disappoint! But we did have to make one little adjustment…

You know you’re celebrating your 49th when you bring your own lumbar pillow.

This particular Alamo has two-seater sofas in the back row which are cute and fun to sit in, and they give you a lot more personal space, BUT they have no lower back support. Like, at all. We had already learned this from a previous visit, so I was going in prepared this time (this, my friends, is middle age). We unashamedly carried in a bag with the two lumbar pillows from our couch, and thoroughly enjoyed our comfort along with the movie. A pro tip for ya! You’re welcome.

a pre-show selfie

The next night was Halloween, which we spent in our usual way by taking a (delightfully crisp and autumnal!) walk through our neighborhood to see which guys and ghouls were out, then handing out candy to trick-or-treaters at our house.

And then on Saturday, we had a lovely little Halloween do-over costume party at our house to celebrate my birthday. We went as a classic couple, Kermit & Miss Piggy!

These Muppet costumes are where most of my creative energy went last month, and you know what, I’m totally fine with that. It was really fun to sew again, especially since it was costume sewing with no real need for a great fit or durable construction. Over about two weeks, Kermie, I mean Patrick, and I worked together to devise these costumes, source the needed materials and construct them. I made the log pillow that Kermit is sitting on, his little legs, the banjo, and his pointy collar. I just had fun with it all and tried not to get too caught up in things being perfect, and I think it turned out pretty great!

Here’s some other fun stuff I made in October:

I learned how to felt with friends & made a cute lil bat at a craft happy hour

My friend Sam teaches awesome craft classes, if you’re in Austin and want a fun, low-stress creative hang! Check out Wilder Relics for upcoming class info.

I’ve also been painting quite a bit, but haven’t really been satisfied with it. Every painter probably feels that way at times, I’m sure. The creativity ebbs and flows and right now I’m in a somewhat low ebb, just riding it out. These are all acrylic gouache paintings that I made in October:

Tried to capture the moonlight in this one

This one’s just a little guy - 5x5 inches

People Watching - the one I like best

Part of my dissatisfaction is frustration with my materials. Acrylics dry really fast, which has it’s pros and cons, so I’ve decided to try my hand at oil painting again. Oils, as you may know, take forever to dry, so they also have their pros and cons. But I’m playing around with that and seeing what happens. I haven’t painted in oils since my art school days, back in 1997 or so. So. I’m also re-teaching myself with water-soluble oil paint this time, just to throw myself another unneeded curveball. So it’s going about as well as you can imagine!

Making messes with oil paints

I’m just not sure where I’m going with my art lately. I feel like my mind is all over the place, full of ideas and things I want to do, but having a hard time seeing the common thread that I can make an art collection out of. And also, getting excited about making new things, but also just wanting to rest and do nothing. I’m tired. Anyone else?

But you know what? Being creative is just that - creating things. Creating something that didn’t exist before. It doesn’t matter what, just keep going. Make stuff with your hands. Make a mess. If you’re enjoying it, you’re doing it right! Eventually a spark will fly that ignites something good. That’s what I’m telling myself anyway.

Thanks for reading & happy fall, y’all!
Beth