2024 in Reflection: Creativity, Challenges, and Moonbows

Whew, 2024 was another rough year in a series of tough ones. Nearly three years ago, I went through a whirlwind of life changes, and to be honest, I’m still recovering. I’m still searching for balance, building new routines, and trying to rediscover my creative energy.

This is all to say—getting this particular card done was no small feat. It took me the entire year. I make no promises with this project (and that’s one reason I offer it freely): the pressure to produce on a set schedule would be too intense. My goal is still to create a card each month, and I’ve got a backlog of sketches to support that ambition, but ultimately, I work for the joy of creating. Sometimes, life has other plans.

I’ve missed you all so much. And I welcome those who are new to the project.

This particular card began with a Printer Solstice prompt: Absence of Color. That sparked the idea of a moonbow—an ethereal opposite to a rainbow—rising above shadowy, wintry mountains.

For this reduction print, I used five layers of ink. Though tradition dictates you should go from light to dark, I wanted to experiment with a different layering effect, so I started with Payne’s Gray and built from there. The paper I’ve been using isn’t ideal for hand printing, and the ink behaved unpredictably—pulling in some areas and pushing in others. The result was an uncontrollable texture that reminded me of a Xerox copy of a Xerox of a Xerox. It took me right back to my early days of mail art and the origins of this very project in the ’90s.

This year, I made lovely new labels for the cards, which has made addressing and posting so much easier. Going forward, I plan to pair each card with a blog post like this one, featuring process images and the inspiration behind the design.

What do you think of the card and this process? I’d love to hear your thoughts—leave a note below! Or, better yet, send me a card in return!

P.S. When I googled “moonbow meaning,” here’s what I found: “Seeing a moonbow is a sign that you are on the right path and that you need to trust your intuition.” Yep, that seems apt.