30th
I am so lucky. Every night around the same time I get to hear my youngest belt out show tunes. I’m sitting in my studio working or reading and I hear the shower crank on and then the wonderful melodies come floating up the stairs and into my space. She has so much emotion in her voice. She’s always been moved by music (she cried whenever we sang the Doxology—she said the music made her feel sad) and now as her voice matures, she’s putting such richness into each and every note. Such beauty.
27th
It’s funny how it feels like one minute C was posing for me to shoot this reference shot of a student going to college and then poof five years fly by and it really is time for C to head to college. Sigh. Sometimes a sigh says everything.
26th
What more could we ask for? A beautiful lake, a sky full of puffy clouds, fresh air and a rustic little cabin to cuddle up in.
A field trip to Federal Dam where we saw a great blue heron gently glide into the marsh.
The sun setting and awakening the gentle pink across the horizon.
So, so peaceful.
A field trip to Grand Rapids and a sweet cafe that even served gluten-free cookies!
Another side trip to Hackensack where we found this cut-out of Paul Bunyan and his wife Lucette.
We said good-bye to Camp O My Dreams as we listened to the loons out on the lake.
And finishing off the trip with a visit to our favorite restaurant, The Khyber Pass. All in all a most wonderful family vacation and a great way to celebrate twenty-five years of a great partnership.
26th
On a recent trip to Minnesota we came upon this patch of dark clouds, rain and then a double rainbow.
18th
I love this steel palm tree sculpture created by my friend Fergie. I love the creativity and courage (welding!) and the placement of it on his pool deck. Nice work Fergie!
08th
A wedding gift from my friend Todd Peterson (see his amazing art at www.artaviary.com)
Happy Anniversary and here’s to the next 25!
06th
June was a busy month with graduation, gardening and gatherings so I’ve got the time now to post a few photos of my gardens.
M has been harvesting bowls of raspberries and we can’t wait for all the tomatoes we’ll harvest in August.
So if we can get a little bit more sunshine instead of rain we’ll have brussel sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, watermelon, hot peppers, green peppers, onions and green beans to eat this fall. We’re newbies when it comes to gardening but it’s a fun family project and there’s nothing like eating food from your own garden.
03rd
C decided to teach herself how to knit a rug. She went to her closet, dug out all the old t-shirts that no longer fit or that had stains, cut them into strips that she tied together and knitted this amazing rug/wall hanging. I love the texture, color and when I look closely I see all the fabric from shirts she’s worn over the years and well, it just makes me happy! What a wonderful way to re-use something tired and worn to make something so lovely. Here’s a close-up of the heart of it:
19th
Let’s start with the obvious—I love color, shape, line, the human form, beauty, imagining spaces & places, expression, psychology, and best of all: working with art materials—paint, paper, glue, crayons, Wacom tablet, Illustrator, Photoshop, Flash, InDesign & Dreamweaver.
I like to collaborate. A good collaboration is like a great conversation—balanced in its give and take, seeking to bring out the best in each participant and marked by serious thought sprinkled with good natured humor.
I like the give and take of the art directing process. It’s like a dance—sometimes I’m asked to take the lead and guide the idea from start to finish and other times I’m asked to be led by the process—trusting that my ideas won’t be stomped on.
I like to think outside the box. The act of illustrating something takes you out of your comfort zone. You push yourself to come up with a new concept, a new way to imagine the world all the while asking yourself if your ideas will connect with the viewer of the illustration and if the image fits the objectives of the project.
I like to have a box to bump up against. When I have constraints: size of image, usage, objectives of the project and client’s needs, I feel free to examine every idea within those constraints. As odd as it sounds it is liberating to have boundaries. It makes one push all the more to find a fresh creative way to solve the problem.
I like the idea of multiples and lack of preciousness. I was drawn to illustration and printmaking because you make one image and then multiples of it are created so many can see the image and therefore it can have more of an impact. It’s akin to an introvert vs. an extrovert: It’s not one image sitting in a quiet gallery somewhere. It’s many versions of one image going out and about and interacting with others.
I like the intersection of logical thinking and creative thinking. An illustration project involves black and white/logical elements. What size is the image? How will it be used? Who is the user group? How will it be printed? When is it due? What is the budget? And then there is the creative process. The client wants to create the feeling of x + y so what elements do I need to bring this together? What’s a new way to present the human form? The creative thinking is endless but also needs to be tempered because a deadline is a deadline.
I like deadlines. Yep. I like to know that something has a beginning and an end. I like the feeling of beginning a project and then the satisfaction upon completion of the project. I met the challenge. Much like a marathon, it’s good to just run but it’s also great to bump up against the finish line knowing you went from point A to point B with grace and finesse and in the prescribed amount of time.
I always liked show and tell. I think many illustrators have that forever kindergartener in them that LOVES to get praise for hard work done and a product to show in the end. I love the feeling of seeing a package I illustrated in the hands of a grocery clerk as they run it across the scanner. And yes, I have piped up occasionally to say, ” I illustrated that package.” It feels good. I can’t deny it and the five year old in me can’t help but be happy.
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