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In case you might be wondering, I’m still working on my Mt. Rainier book. I don’t post about it often, but this is a near-constant backdrop to everything I do. Every day, I hand-color a few more prints. Every day, I cut a few more pieces. Every day, I cross a thing or two off the massive list. And every day, I get closer to “done.”
Every year for Thanksgiving, I like to whip up place cards for our guests. Often this happens about 5 minutes before they show up at our door… or sometimes after, while I hide away in a back room and the Tailor distracts entertains them.
But let the record show that I’m early this year! For the first time ever, the place cards are done and dusted before the turkey has even finished thawing.
Victory? I think so.
I’m not entirely sure where this is going yet, but I’m trying something new today. Either I’ll end up with a couple of new pieces for the portfolio—or some pretty additions to the recycling bin. We’ll see…….
You know what? It’s pretty dark here in the winter.
No, I mean really dark. Not just a sunrise-at-eight-pitch-black-by-five dark, but a kind of silver pall that sets up a permanent residence, even at midday, and makes you forget about the sun. It’s absolutely beautiful when you’re taking a walk in the fog, or curling up with your trusty Rosie mug and a hank of yarn. Not so great when you really need a lot of natural light, though—like, say, for shooting photographs…
…or mixing paint to fill in a huge stack of glorified coloring book pages.
So between the short daylight hours and a desperate need to reserve a little personal time, work on the book has slowed from a breakneck pace to a stately, clip-clopping trot. I still have so much to show you—so much to explain—but my head needs to catch up with my hands first (or is it the other way around?). I’m going, then, to break it up into a series of posts, and take a little extra time to gather my thoughts before I start. I don’t mean to string you along; because the process required working with a kind of tunnel vision for so long, I’m only just now seeing the “finished” product myself. So thanks for your patience—and for being interested enough to stick with me.
Thank you also for the huge outpouring of support you’ve shown since I posted this thing a couple of weeks ago. The comments, links, blog features, Tweets, emails, and amazing reviews are just overwhelming. I simply can’t find the words, except—thank you.
Part of what’s taking me so long is that at the same time, I’m working on a small series (like a baker’s dozen or so) of individual prints of images from the book (exhibit A above). There’s not a whole heap of rhyme or reason as to which illustrations I’ve chosen, except that these are some of my favorites. I’ll be posting them in the shop (believe me, they’ll be a lot more affordable than the book) as I finish them.
In the meantime, it’s time to light a few more lights, and keep the dark at bay so I can see what I’m doing.
Which reminds me—Happy Hanukkah!