enero ꩜.ᐟ

After a slow start to 2026, I finally completed the January challenge (try to make it through each day of January). There was something about this month that was so incredibly exhausting. Hiding from the cold weather + political turmoil + life changes + self image issues really took a toll on me. But I’m happy to say that I think I’m slowly moving out of this slump!

I spent the new year missing my new kitty )~: My partner and I adopted our tortie a little over a month ago and she is the absolute light of my life! We named her Podzol, after the Minecraft block lol. She has IBS for cats, so we spent this whole month trying to make sure her gut was not irritated. So far she has been all good <3

The rest of my January was filled with days just toiling away in my new studio :3 I forgot what it was like to have a dedicated space for art-making and ceramics. Back in undergrad, the act of traveling to the Fine Arts Building is what helped me shift into the artist mindset—I lost that aspect when I moved back home. Now that I’m back in Richmond, I’m glad to have found a community of other artists, not just ceramicists, who do all sorts of creative things! I’ve been so inspired to delve back into sculptural work again being in this space :-D I currently have two projects on the brain that I’ve been slowly chipping away at. Here’s a process photo of one of the projects:

I’m excited to see this project progress! Without revealing too much about the project, I’ll say that this is inspired by my close relationships, decorative ceramic tiles, and friendship quilts.

I’m still trying to figure out a balance between making work to pay the bills and making work for galleries/exhibitions without getting burnt out. I find that having some go-to pieces that I can fall back on making when I’m feeling artistically blocked helps a lot! I need to take myself on more artist dates too......

I’ve also been trying to get back into my other hobbies outside of art-making-for-work, so I took up sewing and knitting again! Miss Podzol needed some toys so I sewed some kickers and mice toys and even a few lil pillows for her to lounge on (+ a pair of mittens for myself post-snow/ice storm):

For all of those who live in Richmond: how are you faring during the aftermath of the winter storm? The week following the storm for me was brutal. Thankfully, we didn’t lose power or water, but the road and the sidewalks in front of my apartment building were not cleaned or salted grrrrrrr. When they turned to ice, I nearly busted my a$$ walking to my car...(I probably shouldn’t have been driving as much as I did then, but luckily my car has all-wheel drive, so I felt a little more comfortable driving on bumpy roads...)

The storm was especially damning because VisArts was (understandably) closed for the week, which sucks because I have to wait to pick up my bisque/glazed ceramic work. That’s the only downside to firing in a community kiln... Perhaps my own personal mini-kiln is something to look forward to as I grow as a ceramic artist!

Richmond Moon Market was the sweetest way to end my January! This was my first time vending at Moon Market and the experience was great! So many lovely people stopped by my table and we bonded over zines, ceramics, and more. It truly warms my heart to send my art into the world and into people’s homes. If you have any photos of my work in your space, feel free to send them to me!! Whether it be through email, dm, or otherwise, I’d love to see it (~:

Now let’s get down to business: upcoming markets!

BPM.RVA Pop-Up
Feb 6, 2026 8:00pm-1:00am
Odin’s Underground ~ @bpm.rva for tickets/address

AAPIA Spring Art Market
Feb 8, 2026 2:00-7:30pm
VCU Commons (2nd Floor, Richmond Salons) ~ 907 Floyd Ave, RVA

ArtesRVA El Mercado de las Rosas
Feb 15, 2026 12:00-5:00pm
Basic City Beer Co. ~ 212 W 6th Street, RVA

Lucky Girl Market DC
Feb 22, 2026 11:00am-6:00pm
Hook Hall ~ 3400 Georgia Ave NW, DC

Lucky Girl Market Richmond
Feb 28, 2026 11:00am-5:00pm
Assist Youth Teen Center ~ 318 W 19th St, RVA

I’ll be mostly Richmond based this month! I am in the process of making a few vases and v-day-themed pieces. If the circumstances allow, I’ll have most of these pieces available at in-person markets and I’ll list some on my site if I have enough! There are a few other things in the works that I don’t want to share just yet, but hopefully soon, you’ll be able to shop my work in-person (in Richmond) at your own leisure. More on that as things get finalized!

That’s all I have to share for this newsletter! Thank you for being here if you made it this far. I couldn’t do ~this~ without you. I hope your February is filled with love, growth, and abundance. Take care!

With gratitude,

Novi ⋆˚.༄