My first job out of graduate school landed me in jail. The brisk and humiliating body search. The clang of the barred door. "What have I done?" I thought, numb and disoriented. I'd committed no crime, at least none that I knew of, and certainly none that would put me in the slammer. Somehow, though, at age 27, face covered with adult-onset acne, I stood toe-to-toe with glaring, orange-clad inmates. What I had done was find employment with an arts non-profit in the Bay Area. I'd been ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! Last week, I found a note K had written, crumpled and forgotten in a corner. I love it to pieces and its sweetness bowls me over. It inspired me to digitally paint a bluejay, but I think her rendition is about a jillion times better: *That last line is "I can hear my neighbor playing music" - gah, it kills me. *********************************************** Have a spectacular weekend, friends! Yesterday was the first day of spring. Can you believe it? O cherry ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! More digital painting fun: I got this visual dictionary of plants from the library and have been admiring the shapes of leaves. So many variations exist, and I love examining the details. ******************************************************* On the way to piano lessons yesterday: Mama! I absolutely want to be a singer when I grow up no matter how much stage fright I get. I love it! Listen to this song I made up: "We want to be wild and freeeeeee // Please don't bother ... Read more
Happy Friday + Randomness
Happy Friday! With daylight savings beginning this weekend, it feels like summer will be rapidly approaching and this, of course, turns my thoughts to vacation planning. We don't actually take very many vacations. Mostly it's because M's work schedule is unpredictable and this makes it tricky to plan trips. One of loveliest family vacations we took was to Roche Harbor on San Juan Island with M's parents a few years ago. We rented a cottage that K called the "trip house", and the atmosphere as a ... Read more
Criticism and How I Got a Book Deal
I started and stopped several light and easy posts for today, but I've been stuck on this idea of criticisms so I decided to just go with it even though it's neither light nor easy. It's also not a short read, so I've inserted random illustrations I've been painting these days to break up the text. When I was in my early twenties, I quietly mentioned to someone I respected -- a much older woman -- that I might want to be a writer or a "creative" of some sort. She leveled her world-weary eyes ... Read more