Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Birthday, Mom.  

What a wonderful woman you are.    

I love you.

Hello, Dolly!

Dolly came from some far away place on the other side of the world; she hitched a ride in my Great Aunt Linnea's steamer trunk, traveling through the Philippines and China.

That was a long time ago.  

Then, earlier this summer, my cousins in California sent up a box of odds and ends they had been sorting through, and Dolly made it into Violet's little arms.  

Apparently she made it here just in time for her birthday party.  And, coincidentally, she is turing 2! (Just like Violet, just like G-Raffe, just like elephant, just like Mommy).  

BadWeek, GoodWeekend.

Boy howdy, last week was bad.
Violet was sick All. Week. Long.  

.... and so was I.     

We haven't seen sickness like this since our India trip, with every towel, sheet, shirt, blanket, pair of pants and pajamas we own enduring multiple vomit and toddler poop explosions.  Poor G-Raffe got it in the face a few times; but he's a good sport, and Violet made it up to him by throwing him a birthday party.  Also, giving him a bath was possibly one of the single most exciting events for my child in the span of her 2 years on this planet, so I guess the week did have its ups, as well as downs.      

Oh, I almost forgot--  to add a little fuss to furry, or insult to injury (or whatever that saying is), our washing machine was broken much of last week... what a party that was!  

But, that was last week, and now we seem to be better.  We even made it up to Mt. Baker over the weekend for a little camping trip with my family!  Somehow we managed to stumble upon 2 days of summer sun within this rainy July, and it was a gorgeous trip, complete with a tromp through the snow.  Violet got to roast her first marshmallow,

"I ate a marshmallow, Mama!  And I didn't like it!"  Photos....

I have a beautiful family.

There's no snow like July snow!

Snowy snowy snow snow

A beautiful drive!

Camp site with the FamDamily

My Violet and Me.

A stick! 

  

Wren friends

Here are some things I have learned about our wren friends-- 

They have these little tails that stick straight up.  And their legs go every which way, straight out in the splits as they grip onto reeds and marsh grass.  

their faces are sweet and inquisitive, and their head feathers often look a bit tussled, like a baby tiger; like the cool kid in middle school.  

They crouch a lot.  And always have something to say with their mouths open much of the time. 

I get the feeling they are clever little things.  

 

Weekly artist update #1

 I'm going to try something--- with only the slight gleam of hope that it might work and I might actually remember to do it each week-- I'm going to start posting a weekly artist update.  It's been hard to stay motivated lately to get anything done with the gorgeous summer sun shining down, but I think knowing that I have to write something each week about what I've done with my artwork and business might help me stay in line a bit.

So, here it goes--

1) I finished up my signature series shoes for June last week, Mother Earth.  She did well for herself; a very fun design to do with the onset of summer.

2) I've been learning about elephants--  mostly the differences between the African and Asian varieties.  African Elephants are some HUGE mother f***ers!  (sorry, I don't normally swear, but honestly, they are quite enormous) --Much much larger than the Asian variety.  Also, Asian elephants seem to have this large bump on their heads, while the African elephants have flat tops.  There are many other differences-- ear shape and size is a big one--

So, why elephants?

I've been in touch with someone from the Uda Walawe Elephant Research Project, and we have talked about putting some sort of book together with field illustrations; sort of throw-back style.  The group is currently with the elephants, and so I'm doing all that I can to learn about elephant anatomy and habits before they return.  The sketches are in their very newborn stages; I'll post some in a week or so :)

3)  I finished my Myna birds, and am moving on to Jungle Babblers.  They were all over the place in Chandigarh.  They are fat little brown birds; one might call them common, but they are tough and fun and loved the orange flowers on our balcony.

4) I bought a mat cutter this week for $25 from a guy on Craig's List.  I've been a bit too intimated to actually try it out yet, but Violet and I are taking a trip to the art store later today to find some mat board to practice on.  If I can get it to work, it will be a great thing!  Most of my work is pretty delicate---  not on canvas, which means for the most part I have to mat and frame it when it's done.  You wouldn't think this would be such a big deal, but it actually has a big impact on my work.  I am constantly weighing having to make every single thing I do fit within the boundaries of a standard 7.5x9.5 mat window, or battle our bank accounts with custom matting and framing.  Having my own mat cutter actually gives me the freedom to size my artwork according to what suits it best artistically.

Bullfrogs, Tree Frogs, Green Frogs... Frogs Frogs Frogs!

5) A friend of mine is working on a children's book, and I am enjoying the pleasure of creating an illustration to go along with it.  The wonderful thing about what I do is how much I get to learn about different animals, plants, trees, birds, etc.... as I work with my brush and pencil.  Her story surrounds a frog and a wren.  Wrens are no problem, but frogs I haven't done much with before.  They are tricky little fellows, with arms than jet out of breast plates, and legs that fold like lasagna noodles.  Their bodies are so slippery and rounded, but finding the right angles, especially to their boxy heads is key in creating that froggy look.

I've been practicing with frogs-- their movements, the way they sit and cling to things; and exploring different varieties.  Sketches.....

That's about it, I think.

Coming up next week:  elephants, wrens, and conquering my fear of the mat cutter.