the face of stress

Yes, I am crazy to post this picture. Tomorrow, things will seem much different. Today...I may need resuscitation.

Holy Crap!

Holy Crap...indeed. I stayed up last night til 2 a.m. Putting together my book for this visit with the children's book publisher. As I wearily climbed into bed..I heard the dog, Jabba, whine..... I thought...shhhhh, Go to sleep Jabba. I was awoken 6 or seven times by the dog's whines....but I was delirious. Can you smell what's coming?
7 a.m.
Shit storm.
The poor puppy had massive diarrhea in his crate. It was all over him. All over the toy duck, the crate...and then....he saw me and he began to wag his tail. Hurricane Dean's got nothing on this. The shit hit the fan...really. It hit the FAN.
What a way to start the day.
Cleaned the dog, cleaned the crate, waited to hear Hubby yell about having pets...(He cleaned the walls)....
Now I have to go to lif drawing, Kinko's, Starbucks for a quadruple shot....come back...make sure immodium is working for the dog....take Mags to Lazer Tag b'day party...finish book....and crash til tomorrow a.m. Oy! It smells here, I'm gonna light a candle.

Ommm...mmmmillkbone......

New Buddha Dog=Maggie told me to fix the feet...so I will. Art Directors, sheesh...

Captain

I've always wanted to submit for illustration friday...but never had the time. I still don't but..what the hey? I'll throw out a doodle for now....

I am what I am and that's all that I am.....

I have worked myself sick the last two weeks. Freelance(Oy don't get me started) Class work...all of the time with this children's book publisher in mind. I tried to keep my brain in "the zone" from 8:30 - 1:00 a.m.. for days and days.... Pumping myself up... you can do this...after all of this time... Obviously I've over stressed myself. So at midnight last night, I tore off my clothes and jumped in the pool, naked. It was cold.
Today I am slightly less stressed. I see this meeting as not so important. Maybe they'll like my art, maybe they won't.

JustinTeaser#3

Woo Hoo! I finally finished one homework assignment.....all summer long.....

"The Age of MOM"...??????

Watching the today show. There's a story on the new prominence of birthing plans in the delivery room. I'm all for a birthing plan. No woman should come away from the birth experience feeling rail roaded into situations she did not want..such as an unnecessary C section. BUT having said that... There are birthing plans and there are birthing PLANS. The story was about the new trend towards planning everything down to the music, the lighting, the temp in the room, the timing, what the doctor is wearing...yadda yadda on and on... So, the Today brings on the requisite "talking head expert" from COOKIE magazine. I hate cookie magazine. She declares this, "The AGE of MOM"! - "Mothers today want to assert their desires and micromanage every aspect of their children's lives from birth on." .. My book anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

P.S. Don't buy Cookie magazine.... I'm pretty sure you'll find copies of it in all of those Hummers......

PPSS.: It's always been the "Age of Mom"

JustinTeaser#2

Teaser postcard number 2. 1 more.... my eyes are killing me.

changed..

Buddha Dog- revisions revisions revisions

The robe is too bright..the beads are too orange; the pupils too small.....Have I mentioned my trouble with being art directed?That I fall in love with my art too quick? I'll give them one more revision.... This job is paying for my class with Stephen Silver at Schoolism in October. Back to the Buddha board...

8/09: Beads are too big now..remove the medallion...oy vey.

Take a Chance on me...

This is "teaser art" of an illustration from an idea I have for a children's book. It's called "Just in case, Justin Case" It's about a little boy(Justin-5) and his mom. She is a very nervous young, first time mother. Which is totally understandable BUT we are raising our kids today in the age of fear.. and soooo many Moms are going over board, and she does. She's got a holster of Purell...she makes sure Justin has every safety precaution on the market and the result is...he has no fun. He can't just be a kid. A messy, confident, inquisitive kid free to explore the world around him. His life and activities are so structured to insure maximum clearance from all unsafe unhygienic obstacles. And she tells him, when he protests...Just in case, Justin Case. The thing is.. Justin wants to GO! He wants to run, he especially wants to do the monkey bars..(unthinkable to Mom). He asserts his independence at the playground, and in doing so...after Mom has a heart attack... he is happy, proud of himself for crossing the monkey-bars.... and Mom gets the message. We have to let our kids be themselves. We have to let them fall, get scraped...get dirty and germy...or they will never be all they can be. This is partially based on my own fears when Mags was small, but also a little on a few friends of mine...who shall remain nameless...I had to keep drawing the Mom over and over again to lose the likeness. This image is "The First Day of Pre-K" Justin's got the SPF 2000 Sun Suit, Helmet with GPS locator satellite, Bar coded I.D. , UV Protect-ant safety goggles, Velcro sneaks, Ergonomic rolling backpack and elbow pads...He's wondering why no one else is dressed the same....
So.. It's not totally written yet... I want to do three images from it this week cause Aug. 22 My class is going to Clarion Books to meet a publisher. I have no delusions of getting this published. But nothing ventured nothing gained. It shows what I can do. I think it came out well. It's not a full illustration of the scene..that's still in my head...it's for a postcard I am having printed.
Anyway, if you read this or stumble upon this blog...I welcome some feedback!

Saddle Shoes Studios

I love saddle shoes. I wore them as a kid. They were the first day of school shoes and my twirling squad shoes. I wore metal plates in my shoes as a kid to try to "grow an arch" - I have flat feet. At Buster Browns' (the only place that had shoes that fit the plates) Saddle Shoes were as exciting as a shoe got. I have a few pairs now, I wear them in the fall. I have pictures of my grandmother wearing white souled saddle shoes in the 1930's. In the picture above, you can see my Mom's pair from the 1950's they are navy and white) and Maggie's pair from when she was a baby. I have all the shoes around the studio. They symbolize a constant...a style that never goes away..some may think they are cheesey or dorky but I think they are classic. They are a symbol of what I hold dear..nostalgia for a simpler time and all the important women in my life.

Somebody asked me tonight why I call my "business" of commercial art Saddle Shoes Studios.. and then told me of her childhood memories of wearing saddle shoes as a kid. Great story... good question...good memories..that's why.

Before and After

The attic is my studio. It also seems to be the dumping ground for many many things. We have crawl spaces under the eaves and the storage areas are hot. So, the stuff doesn't always make it inside. It's much nicer up here now. I have to put the nose to the grind stone!

Cleaning the Studio....

Today, I must clean the studio. It has reached a point of critical mass. I can't work in this...So, I am blasting the Xm Radio and sneezing like crazy. Yesterday, I submitted some children's wall art to Oopsy Daisy Fine Art for Kids. I hope I hear back from them. I have had three offers to buy this panda... I'd rather have prints made and sell them I think. It's a big piece, like 24 by 30 at least. It would look great in a kids room. I have others in this animal series. I need to do something with them.