Lucky Charm

Happy Friday! We are heading to New York for the weekend to see friends, go to museums, eat pizza and other yummy foods and hopefully draw on location. Feeling the art groove in my studio lately that I hope translates to various locations. Maybe I should bring my studio good luck charm with me. Two years ago at a Disney World gift shop I saw my name on this necklace. This never happens to me. They didn't have my eldest daughter's name but they had mine so of course I bought a necklace that I will never wear and hung it in my studio. I still won't wear it, but maybe it should come along in my bag. See you next week!

my lucky charm is a cheap Disney necklace with my name on it

The Curse : Sorting through inspiration

On vacation I take many hundreds of photos with my camera and my phone . Along with the typical family vacation photos I took shots of leaves, plants and various things that struck me as having potential. Now I just need to find them so I can use them. Often I take photographs of my surroundings to use as later inspiration for my sketchbook and end up forgetting and never using the photo. Finding it months later and wondering what it is doing on my camera or phone. Digital photography is both a blessing and a curse. I am happy to have it and I certainly don't want to go back to film photography. Plus for everyday pictures digital is much more affordable. But the sorting can be a nightmare. Now we are about planning to take a long weekend vacation to NYC and I will probably take a ton of pictures while I am there, so I should probably go through my Florida photos from April. When do you do the work of sorting through photographs and other tedious tasks? 

Leave on a high note. Done with Disney!

We are all pretty done with this busy vacation and wanting to go chill out at home before heading back to school, work and chores. And home is a two day drive away. So we packed it in early and packed up and I spent some time relaxing with my sketchbook just filling pages with drawings and writing and we are heading home early. A vacation is supposed to be rejuvenating not exhausting and leave one primed for new more creative work. That is why when the girls showed little interest in going back to the Magic Kingdom for a fifth and final day we decided to follow their cue and pack it in and head home early. No rush to leave or get home just take our time and enjoy the journey. No pressure to meet actresses dressed as cartoon characters. A short shop in Savanna instead maybe? We have time and my studio and some inspired art making are waiting for me. See you there!

Vacationland: Princesses and Fast Rides

My days are spent with my family swimming and pounding the pavement at Disney World. My evenings are spent resting my tired feet and drawing. Pretty great way to spend my vacation. Princess Kitty agrees that this was worth the drive. In between all the drawing, painting and reading I'm doing on vacation (hah!) I have been spending hours at the parks with my family. Fun but oh so tiring. The more time we spend at the parks the less energy I have for my work, but I am still managing to get stuff done. Finding the right balance between "rest" and work is a challenge at all times, during vacation is no exception. 

On the Road to Vacation.

Borrowed a set of portable DVD players from a family at school and packed a stack of DVDs. Best long car ride ever. Fourteen hours to go until Disney World. I'm ready to leave the cold weather far behind us and come home a week later to a green Boston.

Vacation: We're Going to Disney! (again)

How did I become the type of person that enjoys Disney World? My family went last year and I was more excited about the sunshine than about the park. I left saying while we had fun I wanted to wait at least two years before going back because I didn't want to go with a three year old. But as the year went on I softened. A few short years from now the kids won't be interested, but for now it is magical. I am excited to go back to Disneyworld! And excited about the sunshine. Filling my sketchbook with doodles of the sleeveless dresses I am going to wear. I am going to bring my sketchbook with me and come back with all sorts of interesting drawings whenever I have the chance.