"Prize"

I thought I'd have my floor finished by now.  The only thing left was the center, and how hard could that be?  Of course it might be easier if I knew what's going in that center, but I've been enjoying the process of discovery.

It would also help if I didn't get very complicated ideas like an astrological wheel -- but a subtle wheel, because I didn't feel like making my floor all about that.  This turned into days of math and fussing, for what's basically a 1 3/8" wide ring that hugs the inside of the brick circle -- which still leaves me to ponder what goes inside of that.

This eternal calendar gave me the chance to write the names of important people's birthdays.  I won't say this will motivate me to actually give birthday gifts, or give them on time, but it improves the odds.

I noticed trends in the birthdays of people who've made a difference in my life, either for good or bad.  I'm going to look for more Virgos because they are consistently nice to me.  Grandma was a Virgo, and Grandma love is right up there with dog love in unconditional and forever.

Things would move along quicker on the center of the floor if I quit taking time out to add more animals to the outside leaves.  I keep telling myself that I'm done with that part, but then I think maybe another dragonfly?  Maybe more flowers?

My dog thinks that all of this has gone on long enough.  She paces back and forth in front of me and nags.  Soon.  We're almost there.  Really, how long can it take to paint the inside 4' center?

Then I sit on my stool and ponder, which really annoys my puppy.  Why can't we take a walk or curl up with a book?  I've been giving her dog cookies to shut her up.  She's standing in the way of my creativity and self-expression.

I won a gift certificate once for entering a story in a contest.  That $25 validation probably made it possible for me to blog because I was bunched up in a million different ways about writing.  Letting my words out into the world was hard, especially since the story was about grieving the death of someone who mattered to me.  I unexpectedly had to face another fear when I had to read the story out loud to a group.

I wrote about the same kinds of things that are now living on my floor because nature is my center.  When the snow falls, I'll have summer in my dining room.  I'll have visual cues to remind me of happy times and help chase away winter blues.  I'll see the names of important people in my life and remember that loving and being loved is the greatest prize of all.

"Faded"

I designed this catalog to promote programs at the county park district.  It was pretty radical because prior to this naturalists typed their programs and mimeographed (yes, mimeographed!) copies for the handful of people who actually signed up for programs.  Old-timers were offended that I would do something as radical as color, let alone fuchsia.  Keep in mind that this was decades after most normal people had abandoned mimeographs as relics, but some people at the parks felt that it was more pure, less tainted by commercialism, than using a printer.  They wanted me to use “natureful colors”.  Hey, what color are flowers?  Aren’t they part of nature?  Life can be hard when you’re a trailblazer.  I got a lot of flak until the county-wide mailing started making the phones ring with hundreds of people who wanted to participate in programs.

I’ve had this old mail order catalog on my desk for a long time.  I kept thinking I wanted to post some of the pages so everyone can see that there was a time when you could buy a “regular corset” for $1, but up till now I didn’t know how to fit it into any IF words.  “Faded” fits because the catalog is definitely faded.  If I lived in the old days when artists slaved away making catalogs like this maybe I could’ve saved up and gotten a Manchurian Wolf  fur stole, complete with dead animal tails, for a mere $5.97.

But wait, I have worked on catalogs.  Lots and lots of them, and I couldn’t afford a Manchurian Wolf stole on my salary after figuring inflation.  Drat.  I could afford the corset, but that wouldn’t bring me any happiness.  Well, I’m not so sure animal tails would make me very happy either in reality because I’d feel sorry for the tail-less wolves.  The catalog just makes me fantasize about life in a different time, and since it’s a fantasy, I don’t have to think about any of the realities about actually living back then.  I can just think about the days when everybody wore a hat, and cool hats only cost $1.50.  It sounds a whole lot better than saying that I cleaned house today by finally taking the catalog off my desk, doesn’t it?  Excuse me a moment while I peruse the now uncovered origami book… hmm… I’m sure I must have a green piece of paper somewhere to make this frog…

Sometime later, I have rescued my good scissors from the car and put away yesterday’s project, and put away the pastels I used a few weeks ago.  Alright, I’ll admit I probably wouldn’t be any better about regular housekeeping in a different era, but at least I’d have cool hats.



Okay, here's a better frog for "faded".  Let it not be said that I was too lazy for Illustration Friday!  Housekeeping is one thing, but art is important :)