First 2 pages in Molly's book.

A look at the full spread and then a larger look at the right side of the drawing.

This one was fun! I started it the very night I got Molly's book.

I am currently working on the collab page that Ballookey left me in this book, I hope to have it up in a day or two.

Stephanie Smith's Moleskine Exchange III is on its way to Roma!

First use of watercolor and ink... I am not a painter or master of any medium, but I have to say thanks to Stephanie for pushing me into trying something new - with color! Yeah!

This one cracks me up! Intexticated and driving is a common theme of mine and there are definitely consequences for actions!

Here is an abstract watercolor collaboration for Roma to add her magic in.

I love to free draw! This one started as a Jester or Fool and mutated into a look into my brain!

Classic "What Were You Doing When You Should Have Been Driving?"

In Ballookey's

Hey everyone! Sorry if it seems like I'm never around. I do check the blog regularly, but I definitely need to comment more! I love looking at everyone's work!

I just started a new job a little over a week ago, and have been super busy! I am almost done with Ballookey's round 3 mole though, and I should be shipping it to Mary early next week! Will post more pics when it's finished. :)

Quality Control - Green, another two page spread in Ellen's book

This book is on the way to Mike.

One for Ballookey's pocket round 3 and one for Hennie round 2

I finally got another set of the Sakura Gelly Roll Pens I ordered a while back, and since they were new to me, I was eager to try them, but since I don't have a mole, I decided to make cards. These are cards with envelopes, Strathmore Drawing cards, my first time trying them, too.

The Chrysanthemums will be for Ballookey's pocket--I think it is Ballookey's book I get next, and the mandala, which is called, "What if all of Creation were in the hands of an unsteady Goddess?" is for Hennie Mavis. The shown colors aren't quite right. Close, but no cigar.

2 page spread in Ellen's book

If anyone was unconvinced that I am completely insane ...

Molly's book

Sorry for the tardiness of my post. I was delayed by a couple of days due to work, and as I was about to assemble this post on Friday my poor sweet laptop crapped out on me. So I had to wait until I got to work this morning to scan these in.

I wasn't 100% sure if Claudia intended the following page to be a collaboration, but typical for me, I collaborated on it anyway. (You guys, if you don't want me to draw on something, an electrical fence is not a bad idea. Or post a guard dog.) She mounted four rough cardboard frames on the page and inserted the photo in the bottom right of the feet. Her caption says "Something that has no meaning". I added my own photos to the rest of the frames and captioned them. Then I couldn't leave those frames alone so I let my inner 80's punk/new wave teen out for some air.

This is the collaboration I started for Andrea. I wanted to try something with inked lines that she might work in, but I didn't know when to call it quits so I brought forward a little bit from the other collab so they bookend my pages in the book. And now that I've found this packet of tiny envelopes I've been hoarding for like, a decade, I plan on using more of them in the next book... :)

PS, the good news is I think my laptop will be OK. Bless the Internet, I learned that it's probably a known issue and Apple is repairing them for free even if it's beyond warrantee and Apple Care. hope!

(मण्डल) - Kaleidoscope Kaleidoscope - I had to stop as I was happy with what appeared.

Kaleidoscope Mandala? Whatever it is - I love it!

Collaboration with Andrea in Stephanie's Mole'

I was thinking about cave swallow's in Possum Kingdom Lake Texas and where they must hide their eggs. Although I intended on using all black ink, the blue was sneaky - dark on the Southwest Air flight from  Albuquerque to Oakland flight.

Albuquerque Little Theatre - There's a new Sheriff in Town! Trying something new...

Hi All, I have been slammed with play practice everyday! I am trying my hand at theatre and loving it! Soooo much to learn! I am Sheriff Thompkins. Now my apology,,, I am so sorry! I am finishing up Stephanie's mole' by the weekend. I promise to ship on Monday at the latest!

Roma's Book

This is the collaborative piece I did with Steph. I think I got a little carried away. Sorry Aya, but I am still finishing up so it will be another week if that's ok. I hope you are all doing well...can you believe fall is just around the corner????!!!
I will be volunteering on the set of Extreme Home Makeover as they rebuild a home here in Delaware next week...I'm pretty excited about it.
More art to come. BTW, I don't always comment, however; I do look at all the art. I will try to be more active with comments in the future.:^))

Frayed Rope, Collab and last one in Andrea's Mole

The reason it took me so long to complete this collaboration is that I wanted to use the same pens Gretchen used, and I sent away for them, and waited and waited and when they came, I was away for a week. turns out they aren't exactly the same anyway. But they look closer in person than they do here.

The other thing is that these are metallic. They're shinier than they look here. To view larger, click on the image.

This is a collaboration with both Gretchen and Roma, sort of. I used Roma's frayed rope girl on a swing. I'm picturing her swinging from a hot air balloon. My hands aren't as steady and Gretchen's, either, I'm sorry to say. If you'd like to see Gretchen's original first half of the collaboration, it is here. Roma's is here.

Since I have completed the book, I will be sending it off to Ammon, ASAP, but I am not sure when that will be for sure, as my schedule this week is extremely full.

So, for Aya, here is a small sad poem I wrote today:

Strings

The sad saw of violins, cellos, bass

lowers the temperature in the room

five degrees, ten degrees, twenty degrees.

Snow falls from the darkening ceiling,

gathers on the small shelves of our lips

and filters through our minds, erasing

hope and love and leaving

only blank white in its wake,

white that greys and darkens

until every tear is frozen

in night's icy symphony.

Mary Taitt

for Laurent and Aya

In Gretchen Pocket

A little dreamcatcher made of the clay left from Mary's book Mobile.

In Gretchen Book

I've had a few very dark weeks, between the new dog and other things I managed to slip back into pretty sever anxiety and depression. So much so that last week I finally broke, went to a psychiatrist and went on meds again, for the first time in over 8 years.

I know it's for the best, I can't waste time on this right now, I need to be strong and deal with a lot of stuff in my life, still, I can't help feeling like a failure and the first few weeks of getting used to the meds is somehow even worst then the anxiety and depression.

This is the first thing I made since this whole nightmare began.

Pens from Andrea

I got some new pens from Andrea--0h goodie--for participating in her collaboration challenge on Something Different. I love those blue energels. I doodled a little doodle first in the back of my Round ONE Mole--which still has some blank pages. Once I got a feel for them, I did a collaborative piece for Ammon. I have one more piece to do in Andrea's Mole, sorry it's taking so long--but it's a good thing I did not take the mole with me, because we got POURED ON camping and everything got soaked!!!! These came out in the wrong order. The collaboration is on top. The doodle to try out the pens is on the bottom. Both images enlarge if you click on them. The doodle enlarges to bigger than it is in real life, at least on my screen.

By the way, the collaborative piece is intended for Ammon, but if anyone else would like to play, I'd love to see what you might do with this. I am having fun fantasizing what Ammon might do. I will send ONE handmade art card to ONE person who does a collab with this piece. If more than one person does, I will use a random number generator to pick someone. No strings attached.

And here is another pocket item for Andrea:

It is a sketch I made separately, since I didn't know how many pages in the mole I should use. I made it with a pencil from Andrea. Seemed fitting.

Collab with Ballookey in Ellen's

In Roma's book - now with Ellen.

This top piece is a collaborative piece with Ammon. All of the rest are my own. This book should now be with Ellen.

Whatever, Forget About it - In Stephanie's Mole

Just started drawing on the Southwest flight to St. Louis, MO and then to Nashville, TN... Continued drawing in Oakridge TN and finished it up in Albuquerque. Whatever is "whatever comes forth" in the free drawing exercise! This exercise is great for conversation starters - drawing on the plane, is better than snakes-on-a-plane!