Papa's House

We spent the weekend at Papa's house. He'll be 90 on July 4th. He's awesome--so bright, so funny, hard-working, a good listener, a good story-teller....a loving husband, dad, grandpa, great-grandpa... what a stud.

The pace of life always slows down significantly when we're there. Not much to do besides garden, ...

dig out old toys from the basement...
watch birds from the front porch...
climb trees...
fly paper airplanes...
sit in the grass...
watch the sunset...

pick wild flowers...

wade in the creek...
and eat... plenty of time to eat.

Back to city life today, though. Lots of projects piling up, just like the laundry : )

Arian

Darn You, Oliver Jeffers!

Oh, man. I picked up the latest Oliver Jeffers (long-time favorite illustrator) book at our favorite children's book store and it's awesome. Darn you, Oliver, for bringing me to tears (and Daniel--don't worry, there's no shame, babe) with your illustrative and narrative awesomeness in, like, 1.3 minutes and ruining most other childrens books for us. And for giving me more inspiration than I can keep up with.

Seriously, you should do yourself and Mr. Jeffers and your local bookstore a favor and get all of his books. And there are movies I have yet to see based on his books!



And watch this great interview to see his art studio and the process behind his illustration.

THE HEART AND THE BOTTLE by Oliver Jeffers | Movies & TV | SPIKE.com

Alright, I'm too inspired to sit at the computer any more. Must. Go. Draw. Something.

Arian : )

Make A Splash

I recently read an interview with Bear Grylls. I've never seen his shows but a quick google search will reveal some pretty telling images that involve death-defying heights, dangerous creatures, deep-jungle expeditions, raging blizzards, blazing-hot deserts, blood, gore, mud, pain...

It reminded me that boys, big and little, thrive on adventure. They need to take risks, get dirty, work with their hands, fall down and get back up-- it's part of becoming and being a man. Us city folk tend to forget this.

So when Hudson asked if he could run through the puddle in front of our house and I said "no", I had to stop and remind myself of these things. When did I get so unadventurous? (I guess I forgot about this post).

"Actually, yeah, you can run through the puddle. Just go change your clothes first." ; )

Did the boys get dirty? So dirty.

Were there injuries? A pretty good bump on the head.

Did they love it? Of course.

Will we do it again? You bet!

Arian : )

AND THE WINNER IS...

Comment #11, Katie!

Katie said... since having my little girl, Leila, reading in the Bible about God's love for his Son and all his children (us!) is not just an abstract concept but something that I can somewhat understand!!

Katie, shoot me an email arianarmstrong@yahoo.com and let me know which print you'd like as well as your address and I'll get your lullaby cd and print to you!

Thanks, everyone!!! Man, you guys really put your heart into your comments!! You really captured the challenges and blessings of motherhood!

MOTHERS DAY FREE GIVEAWAY!

Yay! It has arrived!

I was SUPER pleased to do the album art for my beautifully-talented friend's new lullaby album. Best. Lullaby. Album. Ever. If you know me and you invite me to a baby shower any time in the next 5, 10, 20 years, this is what you will get ; )

(cover)

I love collaborating with musicians on album art, ESPECIALLY when the musicians are friends, ESPECIALLY when they've got great photography to go along with it, ESPECIALLY when the great photographer is a friend too!


(inside left)

My fav song on the album is definitely "A Heavenly Lullaby". I listened to the rough mix of it on repeat while working on the art...for, like, hours. : )

(inside right)

(back)

And in honor of Mother's Day, I'm going to grab a copy of the cd (still warm from the printers, I believe), and give it away! Just leave a comment on this post about why you love your mom or why you love BEING a mom!

AAAAAND I will throw in an 8x10 print from my shop of your choosing! We're heading out of town for the weekend. So I will close the comments at midnight on Sunday and let you know the winner on Monday!

I have three mothers to celebrate but only one who endured 52 hours of labor to bring me into this world, wiped my countless runny noses, taught me how to sew in 1st grade when I was laid up in a body cast for 6 weeks with a broken femur, and taught me how to be an artist mom by BEING an artist mom.





Thank you, mom (grammy) : )

"Cuddle Mommy"

"Cuddle mommy"-- it's one of Jude's favorite requests/commands/sighs of relief. And I succumb to it every time-- morning time, dinner time, movie-watching time, mommy's-trying-to-work time, bed time, long after bed time. Who could resist?!
I know, having been through this toddler stage once before , how short it is. "Cuddle mommy" will soon be replaced with clear, complete sentences, difficult questions, and a wider range of requests. ("Mom, do you know where I put my violin case?" "Mom, can I ride my (2-wheeled!) bike in the alley?" "Mom, can you switch the radio to classical music?")

It's all good.

Hope you all have wonderful Mother's Day plans in the making!

Arian : )

Creative Mom Interview

The lovely Evie S (designer, artist, crafter, mother, and freedom-fighter), just posted an interview with me as part of her creative mom series. I think she asked really great questions so check it out! And if you're a fellow artist/crafter, I encourage you to get involved in what she's doing at A Beautiful Idea. You can sign up to donate 100% of the sales of one/some of your products to World Vision's work in Haiti-- a little love for Haiti, a little exposure for you, it's a good thing all around!




And just as a reminder, here are the "A Beautiful Idea" products in my shop!

Hope your week is off to a good start!

Arian : )