Oh so true...

Ira Glass on Storytellling

(I found this annoying to watch visually, but the message I can so relate to.)

So here he is in the flesh, without the text flying around...

youtube.com/watch?v=BI23U7U2aUY

I'd rather die than formally address a group of people

Well, I have no lovely spring photos to show you today, as I had planned. Our house was robbed last week, thus no camera to take pics with...
So here is something completely different:
This morning I read a terrific interview on

 Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast

 one of my favorite blogs, with Erin Stead (winner of the Caldecott in 2010, for A Sick Day for Amos McGee). That post has lots of pictures... of her newest book. So take a look

And then I found a link (you know how that goes),to William Steig's worried letter about winning the Caldecott and having to make a speech. So so great. Here's the link below.

I'd rather die than formally address a group of people

Have a great week! 

From our HAUS to your house...

Here's a little project we've been working on...
The shop 'officially' launches today, appropriately, as it's full of things made with love...for you.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Back to the drawing board...

 Getting organized...there is something very satisfying in cleaning one's desk, and lining up the colors all in a row. Have you ever noticed how much kids love to do this? Making a rainbow with the colors all lined up. I still love to do it, too.

...and now getting down to work. Lots of paintings to finish, some to start, and many to frame... previews and big news coming soon...
hint:
Valentine's Day is around the corner!

Taking it Slow

 Just like the wintering fish in our pond, I am moving slooowly this week, coming to the surface occasionally for air, and to look for a spot of sunlight....
 I can't walk across the room without coughing.

I think I'll just sit here and read a book on the couch.

Year of the Dragon - Good Luck is on its way!

Some people hate wintertime, but I love it. Snow to play in, my two kids' birthdays to plan for, Valentines to make, cooking and sitting around the fire. And Chinese New Year around the corner.

Gung Hay Fat Choy! I just love Chinese New Year. I think it goes back to when I was in third grade, our school spent a week visiting a school in Oakland's Chinatown. We put on shows for each other, made art, and ate together. We visited the shops of Chinatown, tasted Chinese treats and played in the park. I'll never forget it. Also, my parents took me to the Chinatown New Year's parade almost every year, and of course that included shopping in Chinatown and eating at a Grant Avenue Chinese restaurant. The year of the Dragon portends good luck, and I think we could all use some of that right now.

The Dragon is a creature of myth and legend. A symbol of good fortune and sign of intense power, the Asian Dragon is regarded as a divine beast - the reverse of the malicious monster that Westerners felt necessary to find and slay. In Eastern philosophy, the Dragon is said to be a deliverer of good fortune and a master of authority.

Lost in the Mystery

Happy New Year!
I've been taking a break from this blog for a bit, recuperating from the holidays and reveling in time away from grad school to clean up those teetering piles in my studio and do some writing and painting. I have an exhibit coming up in April, plus I'm working away on this mystery I started during NanoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) in November,and it is fun letting myself get immersed in solving this puzzle I created. It's kind of like getting lost in one of those hedge mazes, with no one to blame but myself. The house above is the setting of the story. It features an old cottage on Cape Cod, the beach, a graveyard, and a sketchbook where drawings mysteriously appear...
OK that's all I'm telling you for now!