The New Year - Starting Over Again

We get to start over again; every year, every month, every day, every hour, or every minute.

We get to SET THE STAGE anew.

Get our image closer to our soul's image of who we already are on the inside.

Here I am as an ELF.  And here is what I have to say about it:

    

  

I'm obsessed with my life.

I think I like being obsessed with my life...

Although I worry it may annoy others who want me to think about their needs more.

It's very important for me to care about others.

But that's hard to do when I'm trying to center within myself.

Here's the program: I think too much, and worry too much and feel guilty about that too much.

I need to slow down.

Yet, I love chemicals that speed me up.

Is there an internal saboteur trying to control my brain speed here, when I may just need to be concentrating better? .... Anyway, that's an ongoing internal dialog with me and myself when I'm getting tired.

I love mornings; I'm more optimistic before I realize all these little things are still there that were making me feel overwhelmed the night before.

I try to fool myself into forgetting last night’s stuff for as much of the day as I can.

Sometimes I can make it until bedtime. Those are the best days ever!

Today is still an incredibly great day!

I feel thoughtful about myself and helpful at the same time.

And I would love to secretly be an elf...

...Because elves get to make things in a cool workshop...

...And elves get to listen to someone who is jolly and fair and wise. (I believe Santa would never keep gifts from the "bad" children. That list making is way too Puritanical.)

...And elves focus on little things to help make others happy - It's a win/win situation.

In my real life in Maynard, I try to emulate the North Pole.

And in my artist lifestyle, I want to cartoon such a place among friends - animals and people and other living things.

If I succeed in allowing myself a simple lifestyle to accomplish this, I would be as happy as an Elf.

...Or possible happier because I knew how awful it could be if I wasn't living that way.

...In order for me to know this, I must have already lived this way at times.

What are these times? When I am doing something creatively.

Like now…

Bliss...and it feels like the North Pole out there today, too!

The Great Sabateur

Asked to name the oppressive character who rules my mind a greater part of the time than I'd like, I drew this 4 page comic.  With Elf, Yeara, and Sophia's help, they made it easy!  I am thankful for their warm fuzzy company daily.  The switch of human and dog heads has been occurring lately.  I am letting it come and go in my work, hoping it will make its meaning clear in hindsight.

Falling From The Sky...

My merry dogs are at it again.  

Simple pleasures are the norm, generally.

Here is a step into the world of Elfie and Yeara, which I translated as best as I could with their encouragement. 

Fairies are reappearing...

When the fairies speak, I listen.

Visiting the Tree People...

This is the first from a series of Tree Comics I did starting last year.  It was a very private comic.  Some of those who read it didn't think it held enough of a universal appeal.  They couldn't relate, and thought it was too much like a personal journal entry.

Well, maybe that is what it is - a very personal moment in the woods of my experience.  Today, I spent hours in the woods, soaking in the greens and even tearing up a bit at times... It felt like more "over-personal" moments which, as an artist, I don't mind sharing...

I wanted it all, and I wanted it NOW!

My internal youngster soaks everything in and readies herself to grab fists of pens, brushes, cutters and pencils to get it all down NOW. She loves to "run with the pack" - both inside her head and out with other artists and artists' projects.  

(see artist's internal 3 year old at work above...)

My older self wants to close the door on these overwhelming possibilities and adore a singe pen nib on an 8" x 10" surface until the end of time, hoping to coax inexpressible beauty from its tip before that happens.

Balance.  Choose one career and allow for spontaneity within that?  Or, choose two or more careers and cut down on the variety of mediums to become proficient at?  Balance. 

 

A Gentle Approach to Changing Times

Had a wonderful dinner out with 2 long time raw fooders last week and ended up having a backlash with my eating habits.  I thought to cut down on my added salt consumption, and, instead, ate heavily salted food each day since then.  I have new things to think about around this rebellious self as I work to live more lightly on the earth.  Here is a cartoon I drew for its gentle approach to change.