Tuesday, April 07, 2015

When a drawing is like a dream come true

It was a a few months ago when I first drew the Serene Queen of the Tween Scene for my Love of Reading series, and that was the picture my daughter got sucked into, as though the picture had its own gravitational force. She requested a print for her room and began asking for her own real life bean bag chair, and she asked with persistence and consistency. Then she delivered a report card with straight A's (again), and I knew she'd had to fight particularly hard for that A in math. So naturally I was thinking YES, you may have your very own bean bag chair, my amazing child. But she didn't want a purple one, she wanted green.

We looked around some local places, and what we found was bean bag chairs that either didn't feel so great, and/or were prone to shed, and/or could only be spot cleaned, and/or they are too pink, or too navy... or the bean bag chair is almost everything you could want but they cost three goats and a kidney (and they're not green) (and they don't do your taxes or otherwise make themselves useful around the house, like, maybe they could wash the dishes for you).

Then I turned to Google, and one link led to another, and there was Jaxx. I would now like to become the unpaid spokesperson and evangelist for Jaxx. The price is right, the colors are great, the outer covers are machine washable, the inner cover is childproof, they're pretty eco-conscious, the packaging is charming (and also pretty eco-conscious), and the bean bag feels sooooo gooood. We got a four-foot lounger, and we can both fit on it very well if we're feeling snuggly. Prop it up against something sturdy and it supports your back, or let it squoodge onto the floor unsupported and it becomes the perfect napping spot. Every time I rest on my daughter's, it's such a cushiony, peaceful embrace that I feel like I ought to be meditating, which I should do, but I haven't done in years. The dog hasn't discovered it yet but I think he will think it is heaven and Christmas and his birthday.

Now I'm thinking about getting one for my studio. I'm not sure where I'd put it, though! There's a whole lot of stuff up in here. It's like Joann's and Michael's got together and had a crazy love child which was frequently doted upon by its aunt, who happens to be a high end quilting shop, and its uncle -- Dick Blick; then it got into a dodgy relationship with a shipping supplies warehouse that leaves rigid mailers, chipboard, bubble wrap and packing tape all over the place. On that note, I think I'll go tidy up some.

Monday, April 06, 2015

Together


Together is the last in the Love of Reading series; the last to get out of my head and into the computer and from there onto paper. As I've been releasing these drawings I've enjoyed (SO MUCH) hearing about which ones different people relate to, and this is the one most personal to me. It is all about encouragement, friendship, support.

At first, the blonde girl on the right was going to be sitting with a puppy, very similar to Portal Travel. The figure on her t-shirt was going to be the molecular structure for chocolate, not a fairy octopus. I was thinking of an old friend of mine who is a chemical engineer. She worked at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center while I was in college (such a significant chunk of these drawings have some tie to outer space!). I like the idea of drawing women scientists, because I think we have enough princesses and mermaids to last us a good long while already. But when I had the face done, and the hair, I realized that even though the little face on the right is so much like my old friend's face, the spirit of it is more me, goofy, perky-and-quirky me.

Then I thought my little avatar needed a human friend so I lifted the puppy out and let it be all its own thing, and I drew another person symbolizing my friend Amanda.

Amanda is one of my best friends. We have known each other umpteen years. For most of this time, she's been a great complement to me: some of the ways in which I didn't have my act together, she did, and vice versa. Now that we are both all grown up, we can each stand on our own two feet very well. Each of us is strong and confident. I do, however, thrive when I have a supportive coach and boy oh boy is Amanda a great coach. She is and has been so consistently vocal about getting me to do something with my artwork, to make it more of a vocation, to share it more. She thinks I could make a living at it; I'm utterly not ready to give up my day job (I feel passionate about the software mines, too, very sincerely). But I knew I would be happy to do both, if I could just manage it, and as these few reading-related drawings started to snowball into a series I tapped Amanda for assistance. She is not an artist herself but she is an art consumer. We would go out to lunch or dinner, during which she would point me at e-courses, blogs, likely mentors/role models, places to show and sell... and of course we would dish about life and gossip too.

In the picture, Amanda's avatar is in the role of the supporter. She has her arm draped around her friend. She is present, she is gentle, she is holding the space. She is beautifully dressed in a flowery print, not too loud. It's the sort of thing Amanda would wear if she were eight or nine years old. The avatar on the right is beaming, blooming, goofily dressed. The avatar on the right can wear the t-shirt with the magical fairy octopus on it because the supporting friend makes it safe for her to do so. A true friend loves you even when you wear unconventional things, the clothes that insecure people say are dorky.

The avatar on the right is also sporting a side ponytail because I love the 80's.

As for the book, it is based on a painting I did in 2006 called Flight Lesson. How in the world did I paint in 2006, working full time plus plus (like always), with a one-and-a-half-year-old that didn't yet sleep through the night? The answer is that we do the things we have to do. I drew so much that year, and would have withered and have been miserable otherwise. A lot of artists fear that becoming parents will crush their work but for me, having a baby was THE BEST because she inspired me so much (and still does). I should also mention that having a supportive partner and local grandparents are also THE BEST.

Here is the text of the page in the picture, removed of its obstacles and presented right-side-up so you don't have to twist your head or squint:

"I know you can do it," said Moe. "Take a leap, and flap your wings, like this."
Moe sprang from the branch. Suddenly, Jet and Lucy -- followed!

It has been my pleasure and a thrill to share these Love of Readings drawings with you. Thank you for all the kind remarks, for the likes on Facebook, for the etsy shop orders... and big, big thanks to Amanda and to my family for making it easier and more enjoyable for me to bring this series to life.