Zoo shots

Baboon butt, paintings by sea lions and porcupines, meerkat alertness, sea lion training, feeling cold. Continuing to have fun with my new camera. These aren't much or terribly original, but animals are always a good time, and this is the first time I've been able to capture one of the sea lions in action! They are one of the few creatures who have fun the way we do—not just to practice their hunting skills, not just something they grow out of, not just instinctually chasing the laser light, but doing something "just because". Like chasing and retrieving frisbees! Painting! The Prospect Park Zoo is only about 1 long block away from us through the park, we go like every two weeks. August refuses to learn the world "seals", since all he sees are sea lions. He gets furious with us when we say seals at all.

I'll learn 'im when he's older. 

Watercolor and boarding the bandwagon

What I've been up to—lots of thinking, and lots of watercoloring. Here's what I've been feeling—conflicted.

A while ago I came across the sun prints of Anna Atkins made of British ferns, published in 1843. I wrote about her here. Ever since then I've been wanting to make watercolors of ferns (since I'm not much of a sun print type), but have been busy with the business/baby/life trilogy. I've finally found the time to fiddle with watercolor, and am discovering that these new designs look an awful lot like a lot of stationery and illustrations out there. Hand-painted artwork is very trendy right now, artwork informed by old illustrations and vintage-y colors. So these designs will look very much, or ARE very much, like I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

The current message sent out to all designers is to be true to your own vision and nurture your original look. But to be honest I don't really have one. Trained as a children's book designer, I was trained to be at the service of a narrative—to create designs that brought out other people's work, where the designer is and should be essentially invisible. It's all about the story, it's not about you.

Now as a stationery designer (and still book designer, designing 2 right now, how do I think I have the time for this...) I find that although I do have a specific perspective, I do not have a single unified look. I'm swept away by too many things. And I want to share these things with people. In a way, I feel that my design skills should be at the service of those looking for unique stationery that could still be within their budget.

So, about this bandwagon thing. I feel bad about creating things that will smack of other people's work, even if I'd had it in mind for years. But when custom artwork is out of most people's grasp, is it such a bad thing to find a way to give it to them? Especially if you happen to have a background in watercolor?

What does it mean to feel in service to customers rather than your own "style"? It's not the motto out there. If you're a small business you are not supposed to be talking about money or sales, you are supposed to be true to yourself and stick to your guns.

I guess I'm not on that bandwagon. I guess I think that mindset is its own bandwagon. A good one, one that everyone should aspire to! But I simply don't have a singular design style. If "eclectic" is the word of the day for interiors, can't it be that way for design as well? I design with other people in mind, I design things to make people happy. Design is at the service of others, to be used and loved. It's not art, and THAT'S OKAY.

I'll talk about my artwork some other time!

Some pics from last weekend at the cabin

It was 47 degrees when I got there Saturday afternoon, and nary a frozen drop of water was to be found. Kinda disheartening in mid-February. But then the cold snap snapped that night, and by the next morning I discovered just how ice forms in the creek. I always assumed a thin skim of ice would creep out from the shores where the water eddies in pools, and then layer by layer it would thicken into those giant slabs. But when I went down to refill my water jugs (we turn off the water in winter and just filter creek or streamlet water) I discovered that those big shelves of ice were in fact thousands of tiny shards, smushed together in a clear slushy mix. I suppose they gather and pack together and then the water in between the shards, trapped and still, then freezes the whole thing together.

It's amazing to continuously discover the little acts of the world around you. One time when I was out camping with my dad there was a cold front that blew through during the night, like the one this last weekend. In the morning I exited my tent with my breath going out in poofy white gusts, which is always fun because you can pretend you're smoking, or steaming like a dragon. I went to pick up my water bottle, which was just a repurposed liter coke bottle [a camping hint if you're hiking very far—soda bottles are much lighter than any canteens they sell in stores, and BPA's only gather in the liquid if it's been in there for a while]. Anyway, I picked it up to take a swig, but as soon as I touched it there was a krrak and the clear water suddenly froze into shards of ice! It was like a film trick. My dad, an ex-physicist, explained that that was supercooling, which happens under very specific conditions. Despite a hiking career of 50+ years he had never seen it before.

Little moments like that, where you get startled by a new understanding... I don't have a phrase for it. I considered writing "that's what life is all about", but that is intensely stupid. Life is about many things. I guess it's just a joy of learning constantly. And of being outside a lot. Who knew I would get so excited about ice!

The last two photos of what I got a craving for—that's right, FRITO PIE. Do you know it? Fritos topped by chili topped by cheese and whatever else you want. Do you like how I made a side salad to assuage my guilt?

The pic says it all!

We are doing a $100 giveaway with A Practical Wedding! Just write a comment to enter [EDIT: I meant to say, go to A Practical wedding and write a comment to enter the giveaway—my bad!], and a winner will be chosen at the end of the week.

It's weird to write a post that's strictly bidness, which goes to show just how non-bidness my brain is! 

Some recent Instagram pics

Everyone waking up from nap, Moke having slept on my chest

Stained glass in the roof of the Oriental Pavilion (I know, •groan•) in Prospect Park

Snowdrops getting a little ahead of themselves

Misty snow across the way, spangled by park lamps like the lamp in the middle of Narnia's woods that grew from a tossed crossbar. It's like it seeded and they are spreading.

Despite loving my new camera, which is aces, I still love using Instagram...