Hello, my Kandarchists! How is everyone doing? Did we all enjoy the post-election blue wave excitement?! What a beautiful day for the American people it was! Wednesday felt like the first hopeful sign of change in a REALLY long time. And though there is a TON of work to be done, it feels like Americans are finally rallying together (regardless of politicians trying to say we are more divided than we really are). I, once again, want to thank everyone that showed up and exercised their right to vote and to thank all the poll volunteers for helping in this election. And a HUGE congratulations to the femmes, the LGBTQI+, the cultural minorities, ABDUL FREAKING EL-SAYED, and all the trailblazing politicians that made this election so unforgettable. Here’s to you!! NOW, let’s keep that momentum going!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡
This week, on top of ordering the beginning wave of 2026 Christmas cards and heading to Urgent Care to get diagnosed with a sinus infection (¬_¬), I also had difficulties locating my artwork “The Cactus Hollow Hotel” that was sent through USPS back to me. However, after a few days of searching, she found her way back to the local post office and I was able to go sign for it and pick up the painting! (Special shout out to my girl Jacqueline at Montague US Post Office for always being amazing!) I thought for sure that the painting would turn in to the “Lost Kanda” and would be worth millions after I died. BUT I now have back in my possession The Cactus Hollow Hotel AND Pathogen that were both in art exhibitions this fall! I have decided I am going to apply them to a few more exhibitions (and maybe Edna as well) but since these shows probably won’t be until 2027, both paintings will go back up at the Arts Council of White Lake to be viewed while they are home. I also will be updating my consignment space at the Arts Council with holiday items by the end of next week so anyone in the area will be able to shop in person for special Christmas gifts while also supporting your favorite local art-makin’ weirdos!
Photo Captions- Cover Photo: One of Michigan’s “I voted” sticker options… they had fabulous ones ✧ˊᗜˋ Photo 1: Me with my babies Pathogen (left) and The Cactus Hollow Hotel (right) finally back home Photo 2 & 3: 2026’s Christmas Card Official Design… the inside reads “Meh-rry & Bright!” … I could not help myself, lol! Photo 4: My sweet Nova Rae won FIRST place with her artwork “Group Photo” for the Young Voices Exhibition Ages 6th-8th grade category! We are so proud, she worked so hard! Also, Jovi got Honorable Mention for her age group with her artwork of Hatsune Miku! Proud MAMA! ❤︎ Photo 5: My hubby bought me a t-shirt with Lizzie McGuire and I REALLY wanted to keep it forever so I turned it into a pillow… It was the first time I have made pillow, put a frilly edge on anything, AND sewn a zipper! It doesn’t look perfect, but dang it, I’m so proud of her! Photo 6: This piece is the rock we have on hold for our potential island countertop… that’s right people, we are looking at countertops FINALLY which means our renovation is… getting somewhere… I hope. 🤞Photo 7: A large shout out to my favorite nail technician at Lux Nails in Muskegon, Cindy! She has been out of town for a few months and I’m so thankful to have her back… my nails are fabulous. Rose was also fantastic while Cindy was away! I highly recommend if you need a new nail place in the area. Photo 8: Lowes is selling mini sparkly buckets for $5… Did I need one? Probably not. Did I have to get it anyway because it is too damn adorable? Yes. Yes, I did. What should I put in it?? Any ideas?
You can read HERE the article about the Young Voices Exhibition with the reception and award ceremony being next weekend, we are so excited to celebrate our young artists of the area!! Stop out if you can! I will also be hosting/overseeing a drop-in holiday art project, making cute little gnomes to take home during the White Lake area’s Holiday Walk event! The class info is here and I believe all spaces are filled for this one BUT we will be adding another date in December since it was such a popular offering, and I’ll post about that one as soon as I know more!
This holiday season is going to be… bizarre. The week after thanksgiving will officially be a year since my husband’s mother took her own life. The family is not okay, as you can imagine. And we have slowly distance ourselves from that unnecessary pain. Sometimes families become stronger, their bonds strengthen through the trauma, and they are able to have a clearer relationship with the loved ones they have left. This is not like that. I am thankful for his sisters that have small kids and have had to be a rock, regardless of their own inner strength. I am thankful for my husband being willing to work through his trauma in therapy. We have both learned a lot from therapy and have accepted that we are ALWAYS going to be putting in the work on ourselves. If you aren’t actively working on your inner self, you deserve to be. We are heading to South Carolina this Thanksgiving to visit Nate’s grandparents because of this reason. We just want a full change of scenery. It will be sad regardless but being in another state will be a nice distraction. We are also really looking forward to staying with his grandparents. We have not stayed with them before but they are SO thrilled to have us and his grandmother keeps asking all kinds of sweet questions about what the girls like to eat, and what we prefer drinking, and what the girls will want to do while we are there! I’m hoping it will be good for Nathanial as well! And of COURSE, I’ll take pictures for y’all!
On another note: if you want art made (by me) for you or a loved one this holiday season… you need to get at me NOW! My time gets cray-cray during the holidays and I fill up with commissions very quickly and would hate to turn you away! I hope you all are enjoying these dwindling days of fall. The leaves are all the same uniform brown now, many branches are bare. The birds are flying south. I swear that our West Michigan weather just hit a switch and now we have winter temperatures! The sun is still shining but that WIND is to cutting straight to the bone! So put your hats on, kiddies, ☕︎ and stay warm!! And I’ll talk to you soon, babes!
xxx-Kanda⚝
