Croquet Conundrums
I’ve been watching Frankie Drake lately because it’s fun and fluffy and #januaryblerghjanuary. The end result is all I want to do now is draw 1920’s costumes. A few years back, I used to participate in vintage reenactment events. Think LARP-ing, but for history nerds. I sewed most of my dresses, learned to enjoy a good G&T and developed passable swing dancing skills.
But the one thing I could never manage was croquet.
It wasn’t for want of trying. It seemed de rigeur for anyone attempting to time travel to the ‘20’s. But no matter what I did, I could not manage to get that blasted wooden ball through even the first wicket. The day I finally admitted defeat was liberating (see also: driving stick shift and making pancakes). So no more croquet for me, not then, not now, not never.
Unless I’m drawing the wretched sport. Then, I’ll make a concession.
The More Things Change...
Over the holidays, I thought I’d rearrange a few things in my bedroom. And next thing I knew, that simple task had morphed into a terrifying, post-modern version of If You Give A Mouse A Cookie, as I sorted magazines, bagged goods to donate and cleaned out the boxes of mementos I’ve had since junior high.
I ran across a sketchbook from high school in that box. 99.9% of it makes me wince, which I suspect is a good thing. Some of it made me choke up, like the drawing of my grandmother doing dishes. And some sketches made me laugh, particularly the drawings that included teen Abbie’s numerous self-critiques: “Good, but this angle is wrong” and “This doesn’t really look like my sister, so I need to practice more and do better.”
Occasionally I can see things that will spill over into the work I do today: historical costumes, a love of detail, a fascination with people. So when I was thinking of something to warmup with today, I thought I’d have a shot at redrawing something in that teen sketchbook, in my style now.
And maybe in the year 2045, when we’re all traveling about with jetpacks, I’ll have a shot at that illustration, again.
No clue what is going on with that kid in the tophat. No idea. Nope.
Old and New
Some old things, some new things:
* The block print ornaments I made before the holidays, inspired by Norwegian folk costumes. So much of what I do involves pixels, so the physicality of carving, inking and printing a block is a much appreciated change of pace. More of that in 2022, yes, please.
* I’m a quarter of the way through Catching Breath, a fascinating read about the science and history of tuberculosis. Who would have thought bacterium could give you a page-turner.
* I finally finished the Alabama Chanin skirt I started back in 2019. It’s a tremendous amount of work that goes into one of these garments, but I loved making this and can’t recommend this pattern and technique book enough.
Twenty Twenty Two
New Year, new pattern. And once I finished this, I couldn’t resist doing a mockup. All of the pattern elements are parts of this clipart collection.
So 2021. Was. A. Year:
I finished final artwork for Anne’s Tragical Tea Party, had a few weeks off during the summer to spend with family, then jumped into final art for a 2023 picture book that I’m just about ready to turn in. I did some editorial work, designed neckties, got back into block printing and did a handful of virtual events. I dragged out the manuscript that’s sat on my laptop for eons and slowly started adding pages throughout the year (bargaining with myself that I could go out for coffee weekly, but only if I’d write). And Itzhak being selected as a Schneider Family Book Award honor book was a delight.
I wasn’t particularly adventurous when it came to books, music or movies, rather wanting to just curl up under the comfort of something familiar. I rewatched The Detectorists, which left me listening to large quantities of Johnny Flynn. New episodes of Death in Ice Valley were very much enjoyed. And I time travelled to the 90’s and returned to reading John Bellairs and C.S Lewis.
But enough about 2021. 2022?
I’m turning in the aforementioned 2023 book, then have a bit of space before starting sketches for another installment in the Anne of Green Gables series. I have a goal of expanding prints in my shop, provided that I can strike a balance with work. I’m planning to create an online sketchbook workshop. And I’ve started working through Stephen Bauman’s drawing lessons on Patreon.
I’m already daydreaming about my vegetable garden, I’ve got loads of books on my to read list and just bought the yarn to knit Caitlin Hunter’s Ghost Horses sweater. And maybe, just maybe, if the year ahead cooperates, I’d like to host an honest to goodness in person party. The further along in life I get, the more I realize that while I can “plan” the year ahead, it will invariably take whatever meandering, unexpected paths it wants to. But I love the line from Douglas Adams’s Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul where detective Dirk Gently remarks, “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.”
I should probably tattoo that on my arm.
Happy New Year!
Deck the Halls
Ink paintings of seasonal odds and ends. I’m trying to finish some socks and mittens for Christmas gifts, so feel a bit like the lady above.
Also:
How to Grow Your Own Lemon Tree - I started seeds from a grocery store lemon this past summer and the seedlings are now about four inches, growing on my windowsill. It’ll be eons before they’re full-size, but if you need a winter pick me up, this might just do the trick.
There’s a huge sale going on over at Society6 and I have art prints (and more) over there.
This Barbara Pym biography looks splendid.
Meow, bark, chirp and glub
I heard someone say Christmas was three weeks away and my first thought was, “Ha! Wrong! It’s at least a month and a half away!” and then I looked at the calendar and admitted “Blergh, no, argh, yes.” My interior monologue quickly devolves in the throes of panic.
The year is winding down and so is the big project that I’ve been working on during that time. I have a bit of room in the schedule, so opened up two slots for pet portraits. I grew up in a home with a dog, cat, parakeets, lizards and several fish tanks. We had gerbils, mice and hermit crabs for a stint, too. And briefly we had a monarch, that had been rescued, badly damaged, floating in the waves one Thanksgiving weekend.* In short, I like pets and I like drawing them. So if your iguana/chihuahua/ferret/what-have-you is in need of a portrait and you have any questions, feel free to drop me a line and I’m happy to help.
*The monarch lasted about a month, perched on the Christmas tree and eating sugar water. He also survived a 15 hour car ride in the back seat with my sisters and I.
