Uh, oh. I have never posted a video of myself on my blog. I don’t even show full photos – especially of my kids. Tonight I guess I’m breaking all those rules because this was just too fun for me.
Alexander and I were talking and saying the names of various family members. To tease him once I asked, “Can you say Alexander?” Haha. So many sounds and syllables, right?
Well he said it.
And now that I’ve heard him say it, I think he has been saying his name for awhile I just never heard it. I had to capture it on video (he’s the fourth, so we miss documenting most things). We plopped on the floor together and took this video:
Wow, not only am I posting a video of my son and me, I am letting you see my ooey-gooey-mommy side. Oh! Love love love, kiss kiss kiss. We’ll see how long this post stays up before I get too embarrassed and delete it.
Uh, what’s that on his face? Just some leftovers after a little green marker art experiment this morning when Mom and Dad weren’t looking. XOXOXO!
A couple of friends and I are presenting at CCDA’s Des Moines Intensive on Saturday, February 18. After instructors blow everyone’s minds with the the “8 Key Components” of Christian Community Development and “Strategic Partnerships for Community Transformation,” my friends and I hope to inspire participants – while keeping feet planted firmly on the ground – with stories from a beautiful partnership that developed in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa over the past four and a half years. I get to share for eight minutes about one of my favorite experiences: Youth Art Team.
“Life’s FAR TOO SHORT for mulling over the details that confine us.” -h.m.
My goodness, I am inspired by Helen Martin, creator of Lionheart Magazine. I haven’t even read the publication itself yet (I have just read her introduction and bits and pieces on her website and blog). I found Issue 1 in my mailbox last night – wrapped, hand addressed, and stamped with a lion – and it has been sitting next to my computer all day while I work on the design job that just came in. Just holding it is beautiful. Ah. Do read about her.
“Welcome to the very first issue. It’s been created with belief in you, me, and bravery.” -h.m.
I want to know what inspires you. What makes you so excited to start something that you could just burst into flames like a phoenix and become new?! :)
Slow to post my daily drawings! Because they have me thinking…
Sketch prompt #53: Neighbor. The prompt inspired me to dig through photos I took of my neighborhood for my Sketchbook Project last year. This is the view from one end of my street, looking toward my house (it’s hidden there on the left behind the small-quick-sketchily rendered school bus).
While I sketched, I thought about the way we assign categories to neighborhoods. Actually, I think about this every day. One group of people considers my neighborhood “bad, unsafe, unsuitable for raising children.” Another group of considers my neighborhood “the place to be, safe, a good place for children to play.” Yet another group considers my neighborhood just as normal as a neighborhood could possibly be.
I interact with all three groups of people, and every day I find myself wading through a mess of stereotypes and assumptions and divisions. It’s tiresome. A combination of all three perspectives (minus the stereotypes, assumptions, and divisions) creates one whole and true vision of my neighborhood. And your neighborhood. Every neighborhood.
Funny, the word “neighbor.” Noun, verb, adjective all refer to being near to one another. In a lot of ways, I feel like we are very far apart.
Sketch prompt #54: Seed. I drew this one the same day (eek, behind I know), so I was thinking along the same lines. I sketched from another neighborhood photo of my son and my two oldest up there in the distance… on the walk home from school I think? Anyway, I was thinking about the seeds we plant in our children that help shape their world perspectives. I want to plant seeds in the lives of our children that help to sort out all of the mess rather than contribute to it. I hope we are setting our babes in the right direction.
Sketch prompt #55: Plain. On a much lighter note, I drew my first-ever-huge-German pretzel. I ate it in Munich. And like a true German (as I recently learned), I ate it plain. No cheese (never really did like cheese sauce… something icky about it). Mmm, mm. I tried drawing my sister and I with the pretzel (just to show you the scale), but by the time I got down to the pretzel, there was no room for it! So I erased it (the sketch on the left). Then I decided I must start with the pretzel. It was my true subject after all. But by the time I got to our heads, I didn’t have room for them (see center sketch)! Two botched sketches. I do like how the pretzel turned out (on the right). You might see this pretzel again…
I got to spend more time with my ladies over the weekend.
And today, I listed more prints:
Now all 12 images from my calendar are available in my shop. More good news: I decided to extend my buy one calendar from my shop – get a free print offer through the end of this month. Hooray for that.
I plan to post a recipe soon… it drags, but why? Coming soon, I promise!
Sketch prompt #52: Hoard.I cheated a bit… because I hoarded all of my available drawing time to sketch a hoard of sculptures from my Germany photos for another project. The lovely ladies:
Hmm. This is another time when I wish I wasn’t posting all of my drawings. These are quick ones drawn during distracted moments. :(
Sketch prompt #48: Celebrate.Drawn from a photo at my daughter’s birthday party (she’s a Halloween baby). These kids have been friends since preschool… here we have a detective, Word Girl (PBS), Darth Vader, a mermaid, and Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz.
Sketch prompt #49: Phoenix. Preparing his fiery nest.
Sketch prompt #50: Sour. This is a young girl I know who is not sour, but I caught an odd expression from her with my camera and wanted to draw another person, so here she is.
Sketch prompt #51: Empty. One day this week after I loaded my kids into the van after school and daycare, a man walked up to my window whose truck had run out of gas… on the railroad tracks! We drove over and I helped him push his truck safely away from the tracks. Bad place to find yourself on E! (This is a terrible and uninspired drawing. Too many distractions today!)
Remember that post about all I hoped to accomplish during my time of over the holidays? Yeah. Here’s how that turned out:
Take baths at night… at least a few times a week. {I did not take a single bath.}
Give myself an at-home pedicure complete with after-pedicure relaxation in my fancy red lavender stuffed slippers (gift from an old friend who gave them to me when I turned 30… stick them in the microwave and enjoy the warmth and the aroma therapy. Just sit. Ahhh…). {I didn’t do this either. Oh, that’s sad.}
Clean out my whole entire house. Ok, at least clear off all of the surfaces, purge the kids’ closets, organize my daughter’s room, make curtains for the kids’ rooms, clean out the basement and make way for the kids’ play space, organize my neglected home studio space, get rid of 75% of the kids’ toys, tear out the carpet in our dining room (yes, carpet in the dining room… and hardwood floors underneath!), clean out my closet… you see? {Well, I did not do ALL of these things, but several garbage bags headed out our doors for Goodwill or the dump, I did clean out my closet, organize my work space a little, clean out the linen closet, and go through and organize a couple kitchen cabinets. My biggest feat was finding my way (mostly) through the kids’ clothes. We live on almost exclusively hand-me-downs and I try to pass them on when we’re done with them, but that is a job and I am behind! See my new bins? One per season. The cheapest bins are also the ugliest, so I tried to make them more fun.}
Put paint on at least one canvas Andy gave me for Christmas… last year. {Sadly, did not do this.}
Draw every day. {I didn’t expect to fail at this one! I truly expected I would draw every day… easily. But I did not draw a single time.}
Finish my barely-started Christmas shopping (I just bought something small last night for my husband and his brother on Etsy last night. My husband reads my blog, so you will have to wait until after Christmas to find out what it is. Hmm…) {I finished my shopping at a nice and relaxed pace this year! And this is what I purchased for my husband and brother-in-law on Etsy: Upcycled Guitar Picks, handcut from gift cards.}
Make gingerbread cookies with my kids. (This blog post made the idea irresistible.) {I did this, I did this! Christmas Eve night. I did not make it to the icing step, but I did it! From scratch. And they were yummy.}
Have some of our family friends over for our second family sleepover (we had one this summer and it was so fun!). {Oh, we did not do this! We were hoping for an all-out sledding and homemade cookies slumber party… but we never had any snow. Winter is not over yet, though…}
Freshen up my blog. {Did this!}
Do nothing. {Ah, I actually did some of this, too! It looked like this:}
Hang out with the Youth Art Team and watch “Night at the Museum.” If I ever update the blog, you will see why. {Done.}
Sleep at least 7 1/2 hours every night. {Did not do this. But I didn’t do too bad.}
List some more work in my Etsy shop. {Well, one print from my calendar. And I shipped off my first international order! That was exciting. Don’t miss my special deal this week…}
Search a local antique shop for a teapot to go along with one of my favorite gifts all year (some old and awesomely striking tea cups and bowls… I will show you sometime). {I did not have to do this! I received the perfect one from my husband, all wrapped and under the tree.}
Sketch out a script and set/costume plan for the Youth Art Team’s spring theatrical production. {Did not accomplish this… yet.}
Catch up on bills. {Done. Mostly! :)}
Read. {Yes, ma’am. I did. The Secret Garden, as mentioned. And this beautiful new gift:}
Hang out with all of my friends. {Not ALL of them. But some of them. I am grateful for my friends.}
Go out with Andy. {Sort of did this. Since we paid for a babysitter the night of his work Christmas party, we took of a little early and went out. Just me and him. I love him.}
Read with my kids. Play cars with them on the floor. Take my 8-year-old daughter on at least two girls nights. Take my 5-year-old son out on a mother-son date. :) {Oh, this was the best. I definitely did lots of this, although not exactly as described. Here are some shots.}
Sketch prompt #44: Board. My brain landed on the board used to “walk the plank.” I was thinking a lot of Peter Pan here, so that’s my view of Wendy from afar. Kind of diggin’ that pirate ship.
Sketch prompt #45: Coy.Ha. I have my Google search to thank for this one. It’s Law & Order’s Jack McCoy! (Well, sort of.)
Yes, my friend. Purchase my Limited Edition 2012 Sketchbook Calendar this week and receive a free print of your favorite drawing from the calendar in either 5x7 or 8x10 (a $10-20 value). Prints come on a rich, textured fine art paper that I just love – signed and sealed in a protective sleeve. Offer expires at midnight CST on Sunday, January 22.
Before completing your purchase, find the comments to seller box and tell me on which month your chosen drawing appears and specify which size you prefer (5x7 or 8x10). Remember to enter coupon code G0FR33 to receive free domestic shipping.
Watch the mailbox for your calendar and free print to arrive!
Sketch prompt #42: Parade. I drew two Clydesdale horses because my grandpa used to drive two Clydesdales in parades in small Wisconsin towns (where my family comes from). They were huge and majestic. All of us cousins got to ride in the wagon they pulled. My parents moved from Wisconsin to Iowa (by way of WYOMING where I was born… did you know that about me?!), and I didn’t know my grandpa all that well but this is one of my favorite memories of him. I believe he loved pulling his grandkids with those horses. :)
Sketch prompt #43: Contagious. I drew my four-year-old son. Because I need practice on faces. And because his smile is bright and oh so very contagious. I know they say babies can’t really smile until they are older (citing gas, etc.), and I believe this was true of my other three babies. But I tell you: This little guy smiled his big bright smile straight into my eyes while I held him in my arms at the hospital. And it was not gas. I did not do it justice here. It is best experienced in real life.
I just finished watching MLK’s “I Have a Dream Speech” in the quiet of my dining room while the rest of the house sleeps. If everyone had just one ounce of his passion and willingness to obey a calling, our world would be a different place. Thank God for him.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” – MLK
∞
To try to honor the day, every year I:
Take the day off. I started a few years ago. For some reason, I had not done this before.
Watch King’s “I Have a Dream” speech – in it’s entirety. Last year, my daughter walked in and watched it with me. I posted it here.
Read about Martin Luther King, Jr. with my kids. We rummage through our books until we find “My Brother Martin,” written by King’s sister. I chose this book because it shows them that this man – who with so many others made our nation better than before – was once a boy. I also appreciate that it’s straightforward about the way white people treated black people. And the illustrations are stunning.
∞
“History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.” –MLK
∞
This day raises difficult questions from my children, but I’m thankful for it. Kids are brilliant.
“Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” – MLK
Sometimes, my life seems so trivial. That last post about the Muslims and Christians in Egypt gets me. And so does the attention from the Tumblrs on the story, because I think it does something to us. Strips away the fluff and shows us meaning. And life and sacrifice. And beauty and truth. And faith.
Get ready. Sharp corner here…
Sketch prompt #38: Stuck. A portion of the cover of my Christmas-gift, Uppercase Magazine, sitting on my lap tonight. Sometimes when I feel “stuck,” reading stories about other people and their work gets be going again.
Sketch prompt #39: Care. My son headed back to day”care” after the holidays (walking down the long hallway of hooks to hang up his coat and new frog backpack, ribbit-ribbit). My two youngest go to daycare a few days a week so I can work… gives me come good grownup time and they get to do some socializing. :)
Sketch prompt #40: Lost. I’m not sure how to explain this one. I drew it from a photo I tried to take backwards of my husband’s family walking behind me as we entered the Cincinnati Zoo over Christmas. It was definitely a botched snapshot (all grainy and weird and even got ME in it in the front there). I guess something about it just feels like “lost” to me… so I drew it!
Sketch prompt #41: Float. Andy thinks he would like to spend his days floating on a sailboat in the ocean when he is old.
Back to what I said at the beginning, the article also said:
I am a graphic designer, married to the best man in all the world, and mother of one girl and three boys in Waterloo, Iowa. I blog about art & design, the handmade, and my musings on life & creativity.
