Thanks, Lavar.

Growing up, I was fascinated with all the creatures and plant life left in tide pools ( I think I learned about it from Lavar on Reading Rainbow). Being from Ohio/Kentucky, though, the closest thing we had to that were the bloated worm carcasses and gum wrappers left in parking lot puddles after a heavy rain. Now that we live seaside, I think I get more excited about exploring the rocky beaches than Hudson does.

Here's the explorer and his deep sea bounty:





And in family news, we started giving Jude some cereal. From the looks of it, he was ready for it.

(Dad--you do know you can click on the highlighted words, right? They're called "links" ; ) Just checkin')

Fairies and the Perfect Kitchen

I just started work on a freelance opportunity I'm pretty excited about. It's for a studio in Ireland that represents designers from all over the world and designs prints for children's clothing, stationery, textiles, bedding, gift wrap, etc. You can read more about them here.

Basically, I come up with 5 print/pattern/illustrations for each theme (my first theme assignment--"fairies") and then the designs are presented to companies (i.e. Target, Old Navy) who might be interested in purchasing the designs for their products. Who knows, it may result in lots of work and no interest. Or it might bring in BILLions of dollars in which case I would buy you all sweet, sweet cookies and invite you to come swim in my new custom-built, dollar sign-shaped, in-ground pool. : ) Anyways, here is the first of my fairy sketches.

Also, just in case you were sitting there wondering, "Hmm, wonder what Daniel and Arian's dream kitchen would look like?" I found pictures of it yesterday. It's a nice blend of our two styles-- Daniel's favorite "white, gray, wood, and plant green" color scheme, clean lines, and modern appliances with my love of retro/vintage kitchenwares and aged textures (like old wood and metal). You can read more about the before/after process here.

How To Catch A Fish

We just got back from a big (14 people) family vacation to Outer Banks, NC. With 14 people, 2 kayaks, a stroller, and a weeks worth of luggage in a 15 passenger van/8 person condo---it was like a game of human tetris.

There was fishing, boating, swimming, body boarding, surfing, 90's hits sing-along-ing, baking, eating, sight-seeing, hot tubbing, reading, sketching, song writing, and exercising.

You can see a handful of photos here as well as Hudson's expert fishing instructions here.


Also, the Tea Towell show I entered opened last week. Check out more photos here.

Shew! That's a lot of links! I've got some fun projects going right now so feel free to check back often for details and pics!

MIA

Sorry for the lack of posts this past week. We're on vacation in North Carolina and I didn't get to post before we left. We'll be back soon!

(nothing says "God Bless America" like a Mexico t-shirt. Guess I should have dressed him in something a little more patriotic) : )

Hope everyone is having a great 4th of July weekend. In our town, it's a several day affair-- a kite and sand sculpture festival at the beach, fireworks, live music, street performers, art exhibits, cookouts, and lobster rolls (which I had never heard of til we moved to New England--think "tuna salad" except with lobster meat on a hot dog bun for $10).

And a shout out to my Papa who turned 88 on the 4th yesterday. Every year we joke that all the ceremony and fireworks are in honor of him. Maybe when he turns 98, he'll actually believe it. : )

Next Friday, July 11, is the opening reception at the Nicholas Gallery in Cincinnati for the Tea Towel Exhibit. If you remember, I wrote about it here. So if you're in the 'Nati you should stop in, get some crackers and cheese squares, and let me know how it goes!

Artists' tea towels from around the world?!! Who'd wanna miss that?!!! ; )

Sketch Family mini Originals

Trying something a little new in "ye olde shoppe"--mini originals! If all goes well, I'm planning to do 26 of them, alternating boys and girls and working through the alphabet with their names.

Meet Abby and Ben. You might recognize the boys from their appearance here.

They're titled, signed, and dated on the back. So if you've got a 5"x7" frame screaming for a little piece of original art, look no further : )