Good Morning Sunshine (8″ x 10″ or 11″ x 14″ print)

When I was growing up, my mom kept a large cupboard full of arts and craft supplies that my brother and I could get into whenever we felt like creating. She would stock it with your typical supplies — paints, glue, markers, pencils, scissors, construction paper, etc. — and any other sorts of cast off materials and objects that might become useful for an afternoon craft project: things like tin cans, empty toilet paper and paper towel rolls, film canisters, frozen orange juice can lids, newspaper, old bowls, rocks…anything that might one day have potential.

Old sheets of packing paper from one of our Navy moves became a favorite of mine. They were big sheets of smooth, white newsprint that were wrinkled and creased from cushioning delicate household items; but despite the flaws, to me, they were simply enormous fields of possibility. I would use whatever paints — poster paint, tempera, watercolor — were in the cupboard, sometimes even crayons or markers, and spent my summer evenings on the cool, cement garage floor impulsively creating big, colorful, abstract paintings.

Citrus Zinnia (8″ x 10″ or 11″ x 14″ print, 12″ x 12″ or 18″ x 18″ canvas)

When I finally had a sizeable collection of works, I’d spread them out around the perimeter of the garage. They were laid on the floor and over boxes and tools — anywhere there was room. Then I set up a small corner reception desk for myself and invited my neighborhood friends (and their friends) to view exhibitions of my paintings. Eventually, my dad offered to purchase everything. I agreed excitedly, and he plunked down the generous sum of five dollars for the entirety of my “Garage Period” paintings.

German Alphabet poster (11″ x 14″)

It’s because I have those memories of that time as a kid, when making art objects was such an enormous source of joy, pride, and purpose, that I become so easily enamored with shops like Children Inspire Design. Rebecca Peragrine, artist/designer/CEO/founder of CID, operates her company with a mission to inspire a sense of global awareness and responsibility. Her words, “Inspire children. Change the world,” speak straight to my heart as a fellow artist/designer with an innate drive to use her creative skills to serve the public good.

The bright colors and stylized representations she uses have an undoubtedly youthful appeal that would look equally at home in children’s rooms and in ”grown-up” rooms that don’t take themselves too seriously (and no room — or grown-up, for that matter – should, in my opinion). And by relying on scraps and leftovers she demonstrates a tremendous knack for the same sort of resourceful creativity that had once been a source of inspiration for a little girl digging for treasure in the art cupboard.

Wild Flowers (8″ x 10″ or 11″ x 14″ print)

“Maybe we should develop a Crayola bomb as our next secret weapon.  A happiness weapon.  A beauty bomb.  And every time a crisis developed, we would launch one.  It would explode high in the air — explode softly — and send thousands, millions, of little parachutes into the air.  Floating down to earth — boxes of Crayolas.  And we wouldn’t go cheap, either — not little boxes of eight.  Boxes of sixty-four, with the sharpener built right in.  With silver and gold and copper, magenta and peach and lime, amber and umber and all the rest.  And people would smile and get a little funny look on their faces and cover the world with imagination.”  – Robert Fulghum

It’s officially the Fourth of July weekend and Keith and I are about to head to Western Maryland for a few days. It’s been years since I was there for the Fourth, and I’m looking forward to pleasant temperatures, beautiful landscapes, delicious food, and a fantastic display of mountainside fireworks. But, since we’ll miss all the cookouts and festivities at home, how about an Etsy round-up of paper goods to represent how people in our home county celebrate the ultimate summer holiday?

I’m not a native Marylander, but in nearly 20 years of living here, I’ve learned enough to know that the quintessential Maryland summer party revolves around one thing: picking crabs. Now, I myself don’t eat seafood, but it certainly wouldn’t be a long summer weekend in Maryland without a few bushels of Chesapeake Bay blue crabs (and Old Bay, naturally) and a generous supply of ice cold beer.

(From left) Cold Beer Poster (11″ x 14″) by How Fabulous Designs, $12; Blue Crab Card (4.25″ x 5.5″, A2) by Dandy Lion Press, $4

Living on a peninsula, surounded by the Chesapeake Bay and two major tributaries, everyone (a) owns a boat or (b) knows someone who owns a boat. So when you put a promising weather forecast with an extended holiday weekend, you know the waterways will be filled with recreational seafarers. (You also know that the Bay Bridge in Annapolis with be jam-packed with beach-goers.) When we’re back at work on Tuesday, we’ll no doubt see a few tomato-colored folks who forgot to reapply their sunscreen while fishing or relaxing on the boat or beach!

(From left) Sailboat thank you cards (set of 4, 4.25″ x 5.5″, A2) by Wheeler Studio, $8; Chesapeake Bay Bridge by Skip Willits, $14.95

I’m not a huge fan of summer in general (the heat! the humidity!), which is why I’m excited about retreating to the mountains, but what I wouldn’t trade for an eternity of autumn is the smell of grilling that perfumes the air and makes my mouth water every time I step outside. Other people might get excited about the softball games, too – but on July 4th, everyone looks forward to the fireworks!

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, wherever and however you celebrate!

(Counterclockwise from top left) BBQ Grill personalized notecards (set of 12, 5.25″ x 4″) by Swanky Press, $13; Mennonite Softball (8″ x 12″) by poyntbs, $45; Starburst thank you cards (set of 8, ~4″ x 6″, European A6) by Two for Joy Paper Studio, $12

I was so happy to see the Dirt Po(or)ster designed by Roland Tiangco. Can you even know how much?

I can finally live with myself.

It was like September first came and when it did, summer hightailed it right on out of here. It got cooler, the humidity dropped, it’s been overcast and occasionally rainy. But the thing I’m most interested in is the overcastness, because as soon as the clouds rolled in and the temperature dropped, the colors got more interesting.

It reminds me of last summer, when it was still hot in Maryland, but overcast and cool in Michigan at my grandparents’ house. The colors blew me away.

It’s delightful. It’s refreshing. It’s inspiring. And I’d normally try to capture it with a camera. The problem is that I’m not always lucky enough to get a photo that reflects the true emotional impressions I felt at the time.

I guess you could say that I used to observe the world in brushstrokes. I realized it when I was in high school, after I’d studied art for a few years. Typically, we learn to look at the world and identify things, then assign an absolute definition to them. What I see is an apple. What I see is a flower. It is.

But once you start learning to draw, you end up having to relearn the skill of observation, to redefine your environment, turning what is into what appears to be. When you begin, you draw what you know a thing to look like. When you discover how to draw a thing as it appears to be — what you see, rather than what you know — the whole world transforms around you.

And one day, as you’re staring out the car window at a particularly striking sunset, you realize that your mind is busy mixing colors, making marks and blending lines, layering fields of color, pulling out highlights and intensifying shadows. You’re not looking at it: you’re recreating it, impressing it on the canvas of your memory. You observe the world in brushstrokes.

Then you run home and pull out your sketchbook and medium of choice, to spend a meditative hour or two letting your mind play lightly in the space between conscious action and subconscious reenactment of the painterly moment.

(Me? I always preferred soft pastels and charcoal; I say “brushstrokes” because it’s simpler. In truth, I really dislike painting. I always found that the best art tools I have are attached to my wrists.)

I realized recently that for the past few years, something had changed. Too many years out of the habit of drawing and the accessibility of digital cameras has transformed me from someone who created elaborate mind-paintings to someone who thinks, I wish I had a camera. For the last half of this year, I’ve been trying to get back into regular practice of the fine arts (which, ironically, the collegiate study of had drained me of energy for). And I realized that it all starts with drawing.

Art students, art majors anyway, typically seem to despise drawing class. I mean, drawing your hand 100 times over the course of a semester does seem a bit like a waste of time, especially when it takes up so much time, and especially when your focus area is photography, or sculpture, or ceramics, or graphic design, or something other than, say painting. Painting realistic representational paintings. Back then, I inherently knew it was a fundamental skill, and didn’t so much mind drawing class because I was always good at it. But I was still bored by it, and I still thought those three hours every Tuesday night could be better spent (which is not to mention the hurried hours working on out-of-class assignments).

I understand it now though. Practicing drawing isn’t so much about the act of drawing as it is about the act of observation. No matter how much technical skill you have, if you don’t look, you won’t see. So it stands to reason that the best way to get back into the habit of artistic observation — and to therefore develop a perspective, a voice, on which to base future works of art — is to practice drawing.

I decided that I’ve soaked up enough imagery and it’s time to be brave enough to let some of it spill back out. I filled up the first page of a new sketchbook with an impression of some of the subdued scenery I’ve been enjoying lately. Just a modest sketch, quick, unpolished, mediocre, but that doesn’t matter. It’s a place I’ve traveled past nearly every day for the past five years, and every day four months of the year for four years before that, and I know the landscape well. Today, though, I decided to see it.

Happy birthday to an excellent production assistant, a brilliant common sense consultant, and a spectacular friend.

This
Here’s a look at some programs I finished just today. These were a bit of a last-minute job for a cousin’s wedding, but it was fun as they gave me a lot of freedom design-wise, and so I got to do some work that’s closer to my own preferred style. I love it when that happens. Now they are happily on their way through the good old US mail. :)

**MAD PROPS ALERT** Major thanks to Jen: if not for her love of all things tedious and repetitive, and her crazy mad collating, folding, hole-punching, and ribbon-tying skills, I would probably still be working on these. In fact, I realized today that I’ve never had to hole-punch a single wedding program in my life, thanks to her. Thanks, Jen! **END MAD PROPS ALERT**

That
Also, Keith has started his own blog about woodturning, called Wood for Brains. He’s just starting out, but he seems to have a talent for it, as he’s turned out (HA! Ha? Ahem.) some very nice pens already. You can also see some more of my design work on the WfB masthead — another recent design I’m very happy about! It will be easily adaptable to business cards and product tags. Now if only I could come up with a killer new design for Oomphasis…

The Other
This past weekend we (barely) made it to Artsfest in Solomons. It was a good show this year. We happily bought 3 photographs from Joseph Campell, who is a great photographer and was really fun to talk to. Still trying to decide where they’ll go, but I can’t wait to see them on the wall!

There’s been quite a lot to distract me lately from doing paperlicious things, sadly. I have lots of projects I want to do, but I can’t seem to work fast enough!

Keith, however, bought a new lathe and is learning how to turn pens. Pens are paperlicious, right?! His first one came out so good, I had to share:

It’s made of walnut, which is one of my favorite woods, personally. I really like the little flare he made at the end, so your fingers don’t slide down, and yet it doesn’t scream “FINGER GRIP!” It just looks sexy.

He might just have a knack for this!