Happy Holidays

When we decided to give up (after several frustrating years) trying to have a second child; we told ourselves a kid, a cat- we're good. But watching Maggie play all alone in the backyard was a tad heartbreaking. So, we got a puppy. A Golden Retriever is the prince of all dogs- so damn beautiful, you can't stay mad at them. Now, he's been with us 9 mos. He is completely the second child. He keeps me company all day, drives me crazy wih his whining and chewing and spazzes out at the most inconvenient moments. I'm totally in love. And so is Maggie. And I think my husband is the biggest mush of all. Look at the family resemblance! Where does her hair stop and his start?
The cat has been ill. We have all turned into nursemaids- pushing tiny pieces of tuna down his throat and coaxing him to drink. He's bouncing back. He's old and cranky - but we love him too.
This Holiday season I am happy to have my crazy menagarie. I hope in your holiday "Stressmas" you pause and revel in the chaos that is life. It's all good.

Happy Holidays too all- see you in the New Year. Kelly

Today's memory sketch

This was a little girl coming out of school at dismissal yesterday. Man, what a hat and glove set. Big fleece polka dots. It is exciting to see the first snow flakes of the season.

Oh, and I got a B+ in my class. It's the best non-A I've ever gotten.

I Won! I Won! I WON!

I won the T shirt, water bottle and tote bag design contest for my upcoming cruise with the BARENAKED LADIES! WOOOO HOOOOO! I won, I won, I won! I never win anything! AND I WON!!!! Woo HOOOOOOOOOOO!

Schoolism and Stephen Silver and the quest for character

The class is over this week. It was a great experience. I felt both at home doing the character design work and at moments completely out of my element. It was fun, challenging, inspiring and humbling. The talent pool is sooo deep out there. My classmates were great. The work they did pushed me to do better. This, I can honestly and whole heartedly say, was a rewarding experience and will change how I approach art for the rest of my drawing days.

I came to the conclusion that after 37 years, I was taking my talent for granted. I believed I could switch it on and off when I needed or wanted to. Now, after these nine weeks, I see that to continue doing good work and to hopefully do better and better work, one must draw everyday. It's that mysterious "zone" that athletes talk about but for artists. No pain, no gain- but with a pencil. It can be really hard to stay in that zone when you've got PB&J sandwiches to make and soccer and swimming to run to and homework and housework and husband and oh yeah, freelance....

BUT- I can say, being in that Zone feels like home, and I want to stay.

I will miss hearing Stephen Silver's almost british accent every week. The way he so enthusiastically begins his sentences and pronounces, " W-Ow" and "Fan-tastic!" or "good Job!". Even "failure" sounded good from him. Schoolism is a brilliant concept. I wish them and Stephen Silver much continued success.

I hope my final character design of Fat Joe gets me one more star this week. Or at least a "W-ow" or "fan-tastic" and maybe a "good job".