First Freebie!

I have not been to many holiday parties before. Somehow, this week, I ended up going to TWO on the same day and volunteering to bring the ubiquitous veggie plate to both. The veggie plate!  Could there be a more slighted and ignored dish on the appetizer table?

This baby needed some attention, so I doodled out a happy little banner with an Alice-esque command. The banner did its duty and the plates were (almost) clean when I brought them home.

Download here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/quesara/8249170935/sizes/l/in/photostream/ .

Feel free to print out one for your own party! Print onto cardstock. Fold just before the “Eat”. Glue around a wooden skewer. Plant somewhere in mounds of baby carrots and broccoli bits.

Do your part to encourage healthy snacking this month! Vive la veggie plate!

(Let  me know how it turns out!)

IF – Zoom, Whiskers, Whiskers, Whiskers!

I didn’t quite find time to do an illustration for ‘zoom’ though there was an idea for it in my head! I wanted to do something inspired by the mountains in Oriental brush paintings, plus the Sunday drives that my family takes now and then. There is no vehicle in this little sketch. There was in my head. Do you think it still gets the ‘zoom’ idea across?

There are a couple of sketches for ‘whiskers’ up there too. Comfrey-the-house-rabbit’s nose. Wilson all curled up for a nap and full of whiskers EVERYWHERE!

Final whiskers sketch, because beards and lumberjacks are much beloved these days. (Confession – this Paul Bunyan looks rather like my Daddy. Whoops!)

Illustration Friday – Tree

Overall, I think this may be one of my most favorite Illustration Fridays that I’ve ever done. That said, something feels off….in the composition, colors, something! What would you more experienced illustrators do?

IF – Teacher

I was watching a PBS biography and one of the commentators (?) struck me with her wild hair, cool glasses and aura of awesomeness that was only magnified by being 80-something years old.  Wouldn’t she be a fun teacher to have?

IF – Bounce

I did not want to do a rabbit for this Illustration Friday theme. I did not. Could not. Would not.  Not a rabbit or a frog or a cute little kangaroo or something inspired by the Pixar jackalope and his pink sheep friend. Nope. But I was working on something else…and there was this bit of paint left on the palette…and it was just the colors of our Mr. Comfrey, the- house-rabbit….

So here is a bunny, bouncing.

More technically a ‘binky’, the wild gleeful sprint around the room/crate ending with a mid-air twist of the feet. Comfrey (rescue bunny) is still getting used to the idea of having room to exercise in, so he does little baby-binkies: jump! twist! FLOP!

IF – Lonely

 

About three weeks ago, we had a sweet little pair of guineas wander into our downtown neighborhood. They walked around eating up nasty bugs, jumping over mudpuddles and sitting on the neighbor’s green shed and singing loudly while he tried to eat breakfast. They grew brave enough to try crossing the road, but one rainy day was too great a risk…  Now we are down to one lonely little guinea hen. She cried for the first three hours and is setting out on the business of eating up all the bugs on her own. RIP Guinea #1!

IF – lost

Losing touch.

IF – suspend

After doodling a page full of balloons and marionette puppets, the image that I couldn’t get out of my brain was of Judy – that silly, desperate look in her eyes when she makes a flying leap from ottoman to sofa….and the ottoman starts to slip….

IF – refresh

It rained. I spent the afternoon sprawled out with watercolors and brainstorming ways to fix up this blog layout.

 

A Day in the Life of a Carl Sandburg Barn Volunteer

This week, I brought along with me, hoping to catch the ins and outs of being a volunteer at the Carl Sandburg barn. The cool overcast day was in my favor…

I said hello to the Tiger-Cat-in-the-manger…

Bid the chickens good morning…

And laughed over the silly kids, who get a wheelbarrow of their own out in the yard, so they leave ours alone.

Tried to document the barn-cleaning process before a kindergarden tour came through. And then….

This happened. The last baby of the season was born a few days early, out in the pasture, surrounded by enchanted kindergardeners. And me. I was so happy that it was on my day to be at the barn! I had been hope-hope-hoping that I would get to be there for one of the births. Thank you, God, thank you, Bella, thank you, little goat for arranging it so nicely.

There is more to this story, more about Bella’s mom, Brie (the matriarch of the goat barn) refusing to leave her side, more about cuddling the baby for hours as part of the imprinting process. But it’s time for me to get off the computer now, go forth and do other things. So, I’m leaving you with the following dose of adorable. (Last two photos by my sister, Lalie.)