Wide Awake

sight

It is all real.

It is all a dream.

Mrs. Rice and the Brats of NIHM

kernel

This past week was Teacher Appreciation Week.

This always makes me think of the teachers who made a difference in my life.

One teacher came to mind this week when I was showing my daughter, "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of N.I.H.M." at the library. 

My daughter asked if I had read it. I had not.

My fifth grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Rice read it to me and our class.

I wasn't that big a fan of the fifth grade. 

Art class with the beautiful Ms. Fisher and Mrs. Rice reading aloud made it bearable.

I had a second thought about Mrs. Rice this week when I was thinking about "kernels" in the woods.

I remember pig nuts (hickory nuts) were fun to open when the outer husk got dry enough. 

I also remember going out and collecting about a hundred acorns an crushing them on a rock in an attempt to make acorn pancakes just like the boy in, "My Side of the Mountain", which Mrs. Rice also read to us.

I barely got a tablespoon's worth of acorn flour, so I never made the pancakes.

I did get a love of books and an appreciation of teachers.

To all my teacher friends,

Remember that you are making a difference, if fact the little things you do could make all the difference in the world.

Grace

hitched

Sometimes the right thing to do is to not try to figure what the right thing to do is.

Keep on moving forward.

With Grace.

Summer is Coming

We really only have two seasons on Cape Cod. 

Winter is almost over and soon it will be Summer.

This means I will have less time in the studio. My office job hours will increase and the kids will be out of school.

I love Summer, but in order to make the most of it I need to spend the "Spring" getting as much done in the studio as possible.

I have been
working on my website,

tweaking my portfolio, 

working on some book dummies,

reading, 

researching,

sketching.

I have also been doing these other creative things:

Here is a mailbox that I painted for the local Habitat for Humanity fundraiser auction. 

I did another poster for an Off-Broadway play.

The play is written by Amy Witting, directed by Bricken Sparacino. 

My brother Michael  (aka the father of awesome) is acting in it.

Teacher Appreciation Week is here.

Go to my website to download this free coloring card and show the love.

Speaking of Love!

My daughter, who can and does run creative circles around me made this cupcake for her fourth-grade science project to demonstrate the Earth's layers.

Mmmm, magma.

Down the Rabbit Hole

jump

Feeling a bit like Alice today.

'Would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?'

'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat.

'I don't much care where -' said Alice

'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat

'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked.

'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat: 'we're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'

'How do you know I'm mad?' said Alice.

'You must be,' said the Cat, 'or you wouldn't have come here.'

                            Lewis Carroll - "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

Failure is an Option

heights

"Failure" is my new favorite word.

Now before my mother can say, "Moira, don't be so negative." let me explain.

Being successful is the American way. The story we are told as children is to work hard, follow a good plan and you will have success.

So, as we get older we do this by going to college or learning a trade or getting married, etc.. 

We quickly learn that these things do not always end in success. This makes some of us a little more hesitant about the next plan we lay out for ourselves. 

We want that success.  

Time marches on and those of us who are afraid of failure get safer and safer in our choices while continuing to lower our self esteem and our expectations in the quest for contentment.

Yoda's famous quote, "Do. Or do not. There is no try." will lead many to "do not".

I stumbled upon a web show called, "The Failure Club", produced by Morgan Spurlock and created by Philip Kiracofe. I've always liked Morgan so I gave the first episode a try. I was hooked into the whole concept right away.

Here is a quote from the website, that explains the basics of Failure Club.

"In Failure Club, members learn to defy the fears associated with ‘failure’ by pursuing seemingly impossible goals that they set for themselves. From the outset, failure is not only a highly probable outcome, it is the desired outcome. Only through embracing the reality of failure can its’ societal stigmas be stripped away and replaced with an inspirational alternative."

So, I have developed my own failure club up here in the art studio. Party of one.

I am working very hard at failing, even harder than when I was working at succeeding.

I am aware that all I have done is changed a few words around. 

Fear is the really the big motivator when it comes to "Do. Or do not". I know that.

Take fear of failure off the table though and my path seems a little less ominous.

May the force be with you.

Drawn Together

It is school vacation this week. Rather than skipping Illustration Friday this week, I had the kids join me.

P is for Puzzle

 Here is the boy's effort done in pencil. I was impressed by how quickly they came up with ideas.

Puzzle Head

 Here is the girl's picture done in true modern fashion on her Kindle fire. She is not only quick with ideas but with execution.

puzzled

I finished mine last. I thought "puzzled" was a good one for tax day here in the U.S.

Have a great week everyone.

Achtung Baby

vocal

I have a lot of things on my to-do list that are crying for attention.

The taxes must go this week so that will be one less voice from the choir.

I can go to the art studio to get away from the low moan of the dishes and laundry.

The illustration related projects are getting noisy though. 

I must remember that all I have to do to keep these babies quiet is to feed and change them.

There might be some crying along the way. That probably just means I need a nap.

Remember the Whale

return

Spring does not come springing back around here.

It takes a while. 

We are hopeful though. 

Just because it is too cold to eat my breakfast on the porch doesn't mean it won't ever be.

So, we look for other indications that Winter has in fact ended. We look for things to come back.

The daffodils, the crocus, the microscopic buds on the the trees, if you look close.

The whales, the osprey, the alewives.

The rabbits come out of hiding.

The parking lot at the grocery store has a lot more Lincolns with Florida license plates than it did a couple of weeks ago.

Hope.

I have also been looking for signs of hope in my illustration journey.

It is hard to know if I'm going in the right direction, doing the right things. I, like just about everyone else feel like there isn't enough time to get done all the things that I want and need to do. 

This past Sunday I got the signs I was looking for from a few unexpected places*, including a Catholic Nun, Jonah (as in Jonah and the whale) and Oprah.

I will gladly grab on to all these bits of hope and soon I will be sipping coffee on my porch with the sun shining.

*not including the new season of Game of Thrones- that is really all about Winter.

Out Like a Lion

swamp

A week ago it was 70 (F.) degrees out. 

Today it is in the 30s.

So naturally I am thinking of hot, sticky summer days.

I was lucky to grow up before the influx of Lyme disease. The forest was our playground.

We had acres of woods back behind the house with a brook running through it. It was a great place for the whole neighborhood to congregate. We were hidden from our parents kitchen window view by the thick cover of foliage. 

Mom would say, "Stay within shouting distance." and we were free.

As much fun as it was creating our own Lord of the Flies like existence out there, I liked to go there alone.

Down by the brook was such a peaceful place. 

The always cold brook water and tall oak's canopy made it a cool sanctuary on the hottest days.