꧁Save Your Tears꧂

I have so much to say but don’t want to sit and type tonight. We have family staying with us this weekend and so I will leave you with a huge promise to share more on Tuesday. And let you know that I am working on youth classes, planning my newest painting, found a dress to wear for tomorrow, AND it’s my baby boy, Ozzy’s, birthday! His fluffy prince-y, perfection turned FIVE today! Until Tuesday, so much love ‪‪❤︎‬

xxx-Kanda ˖᯽ ݁˖

⋆.𐙚 ̊First Gallery Appearance of 2026 ̊ 𐙚.⋆

Happy Taco Tuesday, friends! I’m excited to announce that my FIRST gallery appearance of 2026 is happening now at the 1301 Gallery at Nevada Fine Arts through July. The piece I created was for an open call for 1301 Gallery’s 4” x 4” show which could be in any medium and any subject so I went with another “Butterfly-Finned Seahorse”, the last one I drew in 2019(?)! This one was created with acrylic paints on watercolor paper. I really LOVE the color of the background corresponding with the colors in the seahorse. There was an EXCELLENT answer to the open call - there were over 1000 pieces accepted from all over the world!! Because of this, it was actually quite difficult to find my piece in the bunch BUT I DID!! I’ve added an image of mine circled within the group on the wall as well as a close up so you can really appreciate the details… 4 inches, people!

Butterfly-Fin in temp. home 𖹭

“Mini Butterfly-Finned Seahorse” by Kanda Parrott

I read A Court of Thorns and Roses because I wanted to read a book from THIS century that everyone was excited about and… It was extremely hard to get through, ha! I have also begun Fourth Wing thinking the same, and to almost the same effect. THEN I began Sense and Sensability, Jane Austen’s first novel, and I’M FLYING THROUGH IT AND EATING IT UP even though most Austen fans believe this is her dullest novel. (˶ˆᗜˆ˵) I started a fairly intense 19th century literature obsession in 2024 and LORD SAVE ME, apparently, I’m still not out of it. I’ve read a few Dickens’ (which I loved), two of the Bronte sisters (no. thanks.) Alexander Dumas (I didn’t finish, if you can imagine—he is notorious for his length/word count.), Oscar Wilde (also fab), and out of all of these and other authors of the time, I’ve REALLY loved Austen. I think it has to do something with the depth in which she gives her female characters. Obviously, men writing about women at that time was very much a different vibe than women writing about women. And the Bronte sisters, I’m convinced, romanticized toxicity and abuse. However, Austen shows all angles of 19th century women, their kindness, their loving nature, their endless duties and what is expected of them, also their brutality, wit, common sense, and, of course, their pining & specifically the emotions that come from fighting your own heart and reason. Authors of the time were not allowed to be female. There was limited space in which women were allowed to exist in this time and Austen challenges it all by writing pieces about multidimensional woman characters AND THEN published under the pseudonym of “by A Lady”. Boom. Mic DROP. What a friggen queen. Has anyone else read anything from the 19th century they found incredible? PLEASE SHARE!

On another note: I wanted to say that I am working on a few youth art classes to teach at our Arts Council this summer and more information for that will be coming! It seems kind of weird that spring is right around the corner when we keep getting dumped on by all the snow. I’m thankful to have my furry best friend, Ozzy, who could care LESS about the weather and always guilts me into a walk. If he doesn’t get his walk, he gets VERY bratty and pouts for good couple of hours. Getting out & moving is literally saving my life while this season drags and our spirits are lowest. My mother-in-law’s funeral is this weekend & her birthday is the week after. If we can get through this, we can do anything. If someone else could come clean my house for guests, that’d be great. :D Again, keep your loved ones close. Let them know how much you love them. Has anyone told YOU that you matter today? You MATTER. We are thankful you are here. The world is better with you in it. Stick around, okay? Things will get better. 𖤓

xxx - Kanda જ⁀➴ ♡

⊹₊˚‧︵‿₊୨ Tchotchkes and Bouquets ୧₊‿︵‧˚₊⊹

Wow, y’all! I’m so grateful for the positive reaction that came from my Instagram post yesterday, which will be my last for quite some time. My Instagram page has been so under the radar lately that I wasn’t even sure people were seeing my posts BUT yesterday, I was sure the people that are meant to see it DID and I had a lot of encouraging messages as well as pledges from many friends to read The Kandamonium weekly. If that includes you: Thank you so freaking much!! You guys are seriously the best. If you need a reminder sent, please add your email in the box at the bottom of the website! I am also thinking of borrowing an idea from a friend and do a physical snail-mailer newsletter every once in while just for fun… because receiving any sort of mail that’s not bills is exciting as hell!

I have not started my newest Sharky painting just yet since the week following will be extremely busy (and difficult), so I have been “putzing” around in my art studio room. I love to putz and am usually doing 5 things at once while I’m in the lair. I’ve created a few smaller items AND made some dried flower bouquets to add to my ACWL spot. The current situation is Valentine’s themed still & needs to be changed to SPRING 𔓘! (Though the weather around here thinks otherwise…) I also have a colored pencil drawing that was started on vacation of the most perfect tchotchke chicken… dragon? It might be AI, I have no idea the source but I saw the image and NEEDED to draw it. I’d like to picture it holding warm chocolate chip cookies sitting on top of the refrigerator. As I began working on this piece on the airplane, a sweet, older woman sitting next to me WOULD NOT stop watching me. We had a small conversation, and she said she was so impressed by what I could do! ◡̈ It was really lovely but if you know me at all, you’d know how uncomfortable I will get in those situations. And my mom made it more so by pulling out the book cover I created last year and showing it to her. GOOD LORD. I was bright red. Thanks, mom! ⁠˙𐃷˙♡ My artist PR is a work in progress…

We have family coming to stay (in our renovation mess) next weekend and though the circumstances are awful, we are looking forward to seeing everyone gathered together to support each other with love in grief. Life is uncertain. It’s bizarre the memories our brains involuntarily decide to hold on to. Moments that seemed like only passing time become vivid pieces left behind of a person that is no longer with us. Something that felt like nothing then is everything and all that is now. Hug your loved ones and make sure you let them know how much they mean to you! Enjoy your weekend, hooligans!

xxx - Kanda ☠︎︎

𓇢𓆸࣪ “Cactus Hollow” Finished On Time!! ִֶָ☾.

Hello, all! I’m so excited to announce that my painting, the 18x24” acrylic on canvas “The Cactus Hollow Hotel”, WAS finished up RIGHT on time! Thank you for all the good vibes sent my way— they obviously helped! The application for the gallery was due Saturday and I spent Friday AND all day Saturday working my booty cheeks off to finish up and submitted it around 8 PM! The piece as a whole is really pleasing but I find the details the best to get lost in, therefor it is really nice to take a closer view (or zoom in if it’s not possible to view in person). The plan is to put this piece up in my spot at the Arts Council of White Lake-Nuveen during the submission process. I will also be reading the “Cactus Hotel” children’s book to my second graders’ class this month as a mystery reader for their Reading Month festivities and bringing in the painting to show them that books-even children’s books- can inspire beyond just reading their words. (I’ve done quite a few pieces inspired by books including Harry Potter & Charles Dickens’ Our Mutual Friend! If you haven’t seen those, maybe I’ll share them on here sometime!)

To celebrate finishing this painting, I WILL BE BEGINNING ANOTHER! ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜ Literally am going to just keep chugging along and keep painting & submitting & painting & submitting. I’m used to hearing a lot of “no’s” from galleries and shows, it will be fun if a few “yes’s” get thrown in to that mix and by constantly applying myself, I believe, will get me there. Once a door opens, others tend to follow. My next painting will be an acrylic 11x14” “Butterfly-finned Sharky”, much like the kind I have done in pen previously, however, I am really looking forward to getting into the nitty gritty details with my favorite tiny brush and having lots of fun with the brighter contrasting colors in this one.

I mentioned living through a lot lately (on a personal, national, AND global scale- for crying out loud.) and that things have settled a bit (at least personally) which I am grateful for. I was able to celebrate turning 32 quietly. Then the family & I snuck away from our Michigan winter to frolic in Florida for a week, which was both rejuvenating and made us appreciate coming home that much more. The end of this month will be a rough one. With my mother-in-law’s celebration of life memorial, her birthday shortly afterwards, and family in town to be together during what, will undoubtably be, the most difficult day all of us have lived through… I’m giving myself (and my family) lots of time & grace to just be. But I will continue to freaking blog because I am no longer posting in other apps and I don’t know what to do with my hands (Ricky Bobby, IYKYK). I will be pushing myself to post twice a week-every Tuesday and Friday. However, I will not be setting a time for the post so maybe just plan on coming to hang with me the next day? I hope you’ll come back to check on me… ᓚ₍⑅^..^₎♡

xxx, Kanda ˗ˏˋ ♡ ˎˊ˗ 𓆉

₊˚⊹ ᰔ”The Cactus Hollow Hotel” ᰔ⊹˚₊

Hi there friends! I’d like to share with you my almost completed artwork, titled “The Cactus Hollow Hotel”, since I have been working on this piece for over 2 months straight now. This piece is being completed in acrylic paint on 18x24” canvas and is the largest I have created in quite a long time. A goal of mine for this year was to apply to more galleries/exhibitions while trying to build a "cache” of artwork that I was proud of and felt comfortable sharing with art professionals. Since I am proudest of my paintings, I’m hoping this piece will be my “foot in the door”.

There is a children’s book titled "Cactus Hotel” by Brenda Z. Guiberson (1991) that narrates the life cycle of a desert saguaro cactus from its seed to its husk, however the husk or end of the cactus’s life actually begins a very busy and thriving ecosystem inside that cactus. This book and the imagery of a bustling hotel inside a dead cactus became the inspiration behind the piece I have been working on since January. I have a bit of buttoning up to do and a few more things (bugs and spikes) to add but we are GETTING THERE. I had planned on applying to a specific gallery exhibition with this, unfortunately the due date is TOMORROW and I know I have a good amount of work to go before I can call this piece finished. I’m not disappointed at all because we were on vacation in Florida all last week and I’d rather be walking around Disney and swimming in the pool there than freezing and painting away here! ◝(ᵔᗜᵔ)◜ If I cannot finish it within the time frame, I have found a different open call to apply to.

This piece (and a few of my other newest paintings) feels like an exploration of our human identity in the natural world and how coexisting in this space together is the only way to a better future. I hope to have this piece finished up to show you soon! Please keep your fingers crossed!

xxx, Kanda 𓆉 𖤐

✶⋆.˚𖦹Welcome to the Kandamonium𖦹˚.⋆✶

⋆˖⁺‧₊☽◯☾₊‧⁺˖⋆

Well hello friends, strangers, weirdos, earth walkers, and the like. I’m cordially welcoming you into the Kandamonium: a blog about the life, trials, art, inner workings, and musings of an artist (who goes by the name of Kanda). For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a 32 year old female artist living in West Michigan with my husband and our two kids, plus a slew of messy animals that refuse to pay rent. I feel I am always juggling the work of a stay-at-home mom with the work of an “Up & Coming” artist and that can feel a bit like madness. 2025 was. without a doubt, the worst year of our lives. We navigated through surgery & healing, through loss and a LOT of grief, and through a nation’s “democracy” unraveling seemingly indefinitely. Because of these life-altering events AND the style in which we appreciate a post has shifted so dramatically** I’ve decided to really take a step back from social media sites. I think being strategically informed and only reachable by the best kind of people is the way to continue keeping my mental health in a good place. The world’s tough, amiright? BUT being either slightly narcissistic, or a millennial who has spent years posting something to someone, or perhaps a mixture of the two, I cannot give up posting all together so I’ve decided to start this here blog! It’s really for myself but it will be fun if anyone decides to tag along.

I’m REALLY pumped for this new project, I’m even thinking about doing some sort of logo for The Kandamonium blog! I would even like to dub any reader (and enjoyer, I suppose) of this blog a Kandarchist! I really want this to be a safe space to share my artwork and things that I am currently working on, as well as somewhere to come and share thoughts, ideas, and maybe a few qualms every now and again. Though I’ve mentioned I’m writing for myself, I welcome any and all humans who have a love and respect for nature and towards one another! My next and first official art post will be about my current art project, a work in progress 18x24” acrylic painting on canvas, titled “Hollow Cactus Hotel” and is about the thriving ecosystem of a dead saguaro cactus and the importance of each individual role. I hope to see you there!

xxx, Kanda 𓆉 ⚝

**I felt I had to expand a little more on this but didn’t want to in my earlier paragraph… I just remember when I began sharing art on Instagram years back, 2017?, I’d share an image of a piece of art I had created with a caption and after a few years, my page picked up momentum! I was successfully selling art on my IG and through my stories and was able to open my own commerce website which did really well for the first few years. However, TikTok became popular which then inspired Instagram to make its comparable Reels. Reels are videos, usually shorter in nature, that show a viewer quick content. For artists, it was their art PROCESS which changed and the thrill of creating something and then sharing is now, sadly, more about sharing the process of the creation instead of what is made. It feels performative (which IS itself a form of art) and not about the art piece at all. What happened to art speaking for itself? All right, tangent finished.