Summer Summery 2025: Bands, projects & contests

Can you believe it? We are over half way through the year. Looking back at the goals I set for myself back in January, I have regrettably not accomplished a single one. I've spent most of this first half of the year knee-deep in burn-out and work-stress, struggling to find the time and energy to create and just feeling ... ugh. I did finish a couple medium sized projects; the jack-a-lope I started back in September 2024, and a handful of haunted house trinket shelves for Etsy that have been sitting in the basement for half a year, but it's been a relatively UNproductive year.

Still unfinished as I write this …

That doesn't mean it's been a bad year, in fact this summer has been phenomenal and a little bat-shit crazy! In June, Mark and I went to Bend, OR to see my No. 1 favorite ride-or-die band of all time, Mumford & Sons, kick off their Rushmere tour. I've loved them with my whole heart from the first time I heard Little Lion Man on the radio way back in 2009. I was working in the warehouse for Dark Horse Comics, commuting from Molalla to Milwaukie every day, listening to the Sigh No More at unreasonable volumes. I've only had to wait 16 years to see them live, but it was well WORTH the wait. I managed to score a front row spot, right in front of Ben, we were making some mad eye-contact the whole night! Marcus was on fire! Ted was somewhere; I couldn’t really see him from my vantage point. It was the concert of my dreams! I got some great photos and videos of the night. Mark and I had a great time in Bend, exploring the historical parts of town, coffee shops, boutiques and talking to the locals. 

After we got home, and I had no idea this was a thing, but the post-show depression hit me like a sock full of rocks! What does one do with themselves after seeing the band that has been the soundtrack to their lives for the past 16 years? Well, there's only one thing TO do. You go to the next show. So, I bought another VIP ticket and booked a hotel and a campsite to see them in The Gorge in July. But this time I will be going alone.

In the meantime, I submitted two pieces of artwork to The Beautiful Bizarre Magazine's Art Prize contest. I submitted my panda bears to the drawing category, and my anglerfish mask to the sculpture (I think) category. The announcement of the winners doesn't happen until September, but I did get an email congratulating me on having my pandas included on their website and blog. I don't know if this means I'm in the running or not, but I'll take it as a good sign. I submitted a piece about 7-ish years ago and all I got then was a rejection letter. I will absolutely keep you posted on this. 

Halloween 2023

I've also been trying to work on myself. My physical health, my mental and emotional health, etc. I think I'm still far from where I want to be, but I'm starting to see small improvements. I really need to get better at drinking more water. I think a lot of my problems could be solved by water. If only water tasted more like coffee ...

The second concert did not go quite as planned. The venue was sending out warnings about the construction at the Vantage Bridge a week before the show so I was feeling a lot of anxiety about the drive to begin with. It was during several days of upper 90 degree weather, which I am NOT built for. My strictly European DNA has built me to survive long harsh winters and periods of food scarcity, not moderately hot heatwaves totalling four days in the middle of the high desert in mid-July. Before I even got out of town the AC in the car quit working, and by the time I got to my first destination, a small town called Ellensburg, four hours away, I was drenched in my own sweat and looking like one of those Chinese crested dogs that always wins those ugly dog contests crawling out of a sewer drain. Not my best moment. I was already exhausted and spent the entire night next to the AC. Day of the concert I overplanned and arrived at the venue ridiculously early. There was no back up at the Vantage Bridge. They told me to drive to the next town and back and by then they could let me in. I did just that, except right before I reached the entrance of the venue on my return I got popped for speeding. A $145 ticket. It was a speed trap, but technically I guess I was speeding. The campground was nothing but an open grass field without a lick of shade anywhere. I over planned my driving time but under-packed my supplies and I was left chasing the only shade I could find, the shadow of my car, for the entire day until showtime. Long story short, in spite of trying to stay out of the sun, drinking tons of water, and downing all the mild painkillers I had, I suffered from a pretty severe case of heat exhaustion and the worst migraine I've ever had, the whole day and during the concert and into the next day. The venue itself was an absolute cluster-fuck. Zero organization, zero communication, nothing but contradictory information from every employee you talked to, it was incredibly frustrating and a miracle I ever found the stage at all. And the icing on the cake, the young teenage girl next to me was having an emotional day. I accidently stepped on her VIP bag and I got rage-screamed at when I tried to offer her mine in exchange (I already had two from the last show). But it was fine, none of this phased me because I got the best spot in the house, front row and center. Right in front of the frontman himself. There was nowhere else in the world I wanted to be. I was so incredibly miserable and so incredibly happy at the same time. This show was more like a fever-dream than a dream, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. I will never miss another M&S show. I will always buy the tickets. I will, however, be planning better next time the outdoors, sun, and lack of hotels are involved. 

Sunburnt, raging migraine, just got screamed at, patiently waiting for M&S …

I will never stop talking about this …

After I got home, Mumford and Sons 'Liked' two of my posts on TikTok! I'm pretty sure this makes us BFF's now. I have written about these two experiences in graphic detail for my own personal journal, but I have considered sharing. I'm just not sure where the best place to share something like this would be. If you have any suggestions, I'd like to hear them. 

And that has been my summer in a nutshell, chasing Mumford and Sons around the Pacific Northwest, finishing up half-done projects lingering in the basement and submitting to art competitions. August is now here, and I can feel the excitement and anticipation building for the coming autumn season. MY FAVORITE TIME OF THE YEAR! This is when I drag my creaking old lady bones out of my summer hibernation and the creative juices start flowing in my veins again. It's time to get back to work, drawing, paper-macheing, and creating. Maybe I can at least see this year out on a positive and productive note.