MY PLAN FOR TODAY

My plan for today is to update my USPS promotional mailing list.  All I need are the two annual directories in which I keep things current with all the necessary notes. Except . . . where ARE the directories? My studio seems to be in a bit of a mess.

My plan for today does not include cleaning my studio. I keep looking. The directories have got to be here SOMEWHERE.

Still no directories. But I refuse to give up.

DIRECTORIES FOUND. On the bookcase. Where they've been sitting all along. Now to work on my mailing list.  Cleaning, you ask? I'll do that...some other day.

BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE

The Best Seat In The House? This one---at my drawing board, paints and brushes at hand, Baroque guitar on the portable CD player. There's only one problem. I've been doing more writing (which always takes place on the living room couch) in recent months than drawing. So Kitty (he's asked that I not use his real name) has come to the conclusion that the Best Seat is HIS Best Seat. Now that I'm back to illustrating, Kitty and I have a little---make that a large---contest of wills each morning when I go to work.

Once evicted from the Best Seat (yes, I always win), the Second Best Seat (according to Kitty) is the one in front of the computer. Clearly a come-down. But this does not solve the problem. I have to use this seat as well, many times during the day, which means more contests of will.

After a second eviction, the Third Best Seat in the house is this one, arranged especially for Kitty, and a seat he'll never have to share with me. Its drawbacks? Location ... size ... view ... plus it's never conveniently warmed up ahead of time by someone else's posterior.

The conclusion that I draw from all this? That Kitty is an especially intelligent being. He understands the true priorities of life. As I compose this blog post, opportunistic Kitty, surrounded by paints and brushes and the music of Bach, is settling down into ... the Best Seat In The House.

MY ETSY STORE

 I always thought it would fun to have a store---perhaps there are shopkeepers amongst my ancestors.  I also love holding Open Studios, but there is a limit to how many times a year the creative work space can be bundled away to make room for a party.   With the internet, however, it's now possible for me to have a never-ending Open Studio, and run a shop, without ever leaving my physical studio or disturbing my ongoing creative work.  I've just opened my Etsy online studio shop:

http://WendyWatsonStudio.etsy.com

 I'm starting out on a small scale:  a few Christmas cards...

 ...a few out-of-print books with either accompanying prints...

...or with enticing decorated envelopes in which to present them...

...and my favorite---a small 6 oz. mug with a couple of cavorting foxes adorning its side.  All of the art was designed and executed by Yours Truly, of course.  My shopkeeper mind is bubbling and bursting with more ideas for things I could make to put on my virtual shop shelves.  My other more sober mind is saying "Let's just wait a little while to see how this goes before we do anything more."  In any case, no matter which mind-set prevails, right now I'm having fun!  Please drop in for a visit---I can offer you some virtual tea and cookies!
http://WendyWatsonStudio.etsy.com

MY SENDAK PIECE...AND RAGNAR

One of my artist friends, Ragnar Naess http://www.ragnarclay.com/welcome.html, is a clay artist who lives and works in a Brooklyn brownstone.  Behind his studio, as part of his work, he has created a breathtakingly beautiful flower and sculpture garden (frequently opened to the public).  When I received my two complimentary tickets to the BEA Auction to which I had donated my Sendak piece (http://thewendywatsonblog.blogspot.com/2013/04/book-expo-america.html)  (http://thewendywatsonblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-sendak-piece.html)  I thought immediately of Ragnar.  Over the years he had expressed much interest in my world of children's book illustration; and I was not able to be in NYC for the auction.  I queried him:  Would he like to use my tickets?  Yes! was his reply.  Good, I thought.  I had happily supported the fight against censorship by donating a piece; Ragnar would happily support it by attending the auction.

But that was not the end of the story.  When the auction was over, I received an email from Ragnar.  I opened it eagerly, expecting a  detailed description of the event, perhaps of the refreshments (since Ragnar and I both like to cook).  I was not disappointed.  But then followed a completely unexpected sentence:

We are the proud owners of one Wendy Watson drawing/watercolor, your Sendak piece, which delights us. 

When I've donated pieces for fund-raising auctions in the past, I've not usually known who has won pieces that I've donated; in fact I've never known.  But it gives me very great pleasure now to know that my Sendak piece is part of Ragnar's world...along with his luxuriant gardens and his stunning clay creations.  If you are in New York, attend his open studio June 8th and 9th; view one of his shows---enjoy his very beautiful work in every way. http://www.ragnarclay.com/welcome.html

SUMMER STUDIO, PART 2

It took longer than expected to accomplish all the organizing of my summer studio...but voila!  A functioning and useable space.  Except...after several days of trying it out, the desk still didn't seem to be in the right position.  More moving and rearranging...

...and this time, everything was just as it needed to be...

...with the final blessing of a rainbow on the day I finished.

SUMMER STUDIO, PART 1

When I drove north after my teaching stint at Hollins University, my jewel of a summer studio was waiting for me.  I had visions of diving into my work the day I arrived.  Except...

it seemed there was a bit of housekeeping that needed attending to before I could begin.

All the stuff I had brought East for teaching...

all the stuff that had been stored in the summer studio...

was there no end to it all?

Overwhelming.  No work could be accomplished in this mess, that's for sure.  Only one thing to do...roll up my sleeves and start organizing.

(To be continued...)

MY...BRUSH...WITH THE LAW---PART TWO

After a friend/colleague of mine read my blog "My...Brush...With the Law" (http://thewendywatsonblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/mybrushwith-law.html) she and I held an email correspondence about it, which I repeat here (edited for length):
          FRIEND:  Wow!!!  College professor!!  Felon harboring ammunition!!  Society of Illustrators!! 
          ME:  The avalanche of good news is really great, isn't it!  (Except for the ammo part, of course...)
          FRIEND:  All really terrific...but I like Ammo Felon best!  If they put you into the Witness Protection Program, please let me know first.
          ME:  OK...
          FRIEND:  Do you think the creep who buried the ammo is going to come back and dig it up?
          ME:  The odd thing is that especially in the first few months after I had moved in here, various people kept coming by "looking for X"...There were two young men who were especially creepy---they looked very respectable, well dressed, etc, but they came by more than once, ostensibly looking for some woman, and one day they actually parked outside my house and sat there for several hours.  I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac---there's no other house they could have been observing.  Stupidly I did not call the police---I was still in my small-town, everything-is-safe mode, where a car parked by your house for several hours meant nothing (except that maybe the driver was out hunting deer...or blackberries).  Later my daughter scolded me; and when I did finally call the non-emergency police (after the two guys had already left) the lady said:  "Don't take any chances.  They might be armed.  If you see them again, call 911 immediately."
          FRIEND:  Wendy.  Your neighborhood life is surpassing your professional life.  Be careful!!!  Dig some more in the backyard (but not at night.)  Join the NRA if necessary.  If you incorporate this into your school presentations, I would think your fees should double!
          ME:  Ha ha...
          FRIEND:  Seriously!  In addition to being a nationally known author/illustrator, when you throw in the additional drama unfolding in your backyard, you will have those third grade boys eating out of your hand!!!!


So.  My new career...True Crime for third-graders?

MY...BRUSH...WITH THE LAW

Those of you who were in the habit of following Bessie Beetum's Blog may remember her "Day of Demolition" (http://bessiebeetum.blogspot.com/2010/10/demolition-day.html).  At the end of that day, Bessie was surveying the corner of my yard and the small mess that was left there after the removal of the rotted playhouse.

That small mess had remained unchanged (undoubtedly much to Bessie's distress)---until today, when my hired helper arrived at 7:30 am to do a little more cosmetic work on my yard.  Sometime later, there was a knock on my back door.  "Look what I found buried out there," said my helper, holding up a very dirty, plastic...insulated lunch bag, perhaps?

"What in the world?" I said.  

"It's ammo," he said.  He  opened it up.

"Some are for a rifle..." he said, "...but these are for handguns."

I grew up in a pacifist's house.  I'm a pacifist myself.  I raised my children as pacifists.  And besides, I'm a children's book writer and illustrator. I had never seen "ammo" before, much less handled it.  "What do I do with it?" I said.  "Call the police," my helper replied.  I did (and I have to hand it to the dispatcher...she didn't show a quiver of interest, disbelief, or amusement when I described my situation to her).  Before long, a van pulled up in front of my house.

The officer came inside.  I told him that my yard man had found the ammo buried in my back yard.  The officer said, "Did he find any dead bodies?"  (I actually wasn't sure if this was a joke, or a serious question.)  The two of us started chatting, and I discovered that the officer's father had been a professional artist---"and quite a good one," said the officer.

The officer then left with the bag of ammo.  As I fixed my lunch, I thought about the unexpected connections between art and the law...and then I realized that this incident would be perfect for another BINK story...and then I went out to the backyard to look at the scene of the crime (aka the yardman-improved-area).

It was remarkable how much it resembled a newly-filled-in-grave...a grave that someone was perhaps trying to disguise......

THE ADVANTAGES OF GOING TO SEED

I've heard rumblings about how "going to seed" is a failure of...character.  In rebuttal, I say that there are good reasons for allowing this process to take place.  I'll use the example of the lettuce in my front yard (not that I'm plagarizing from anyone else, of course.  If you've been reading Bessie Beetum's Blog at http://bessiebeetum.blogspot.com/ you'll know what I'm talking about.)  
Soon after my lettuce began to bloom, I noticed visitors.

 It seems that honey bees LOVE lettuce blossoms!

Every morning now, there are clouds of honey bees, drifting in and out of the lettuce blossoms.

Then I noticed just the other day that the lettuce seeds were beginning to mature.  This morning, as I walked through my living room, I stopped.  That sound!  I was sure I heard the chirping and tweeting of birds....almost inside the house!  

A hasty glance (all I got) was enough to confirm what my ears were telling me:  there are now birds as well in the lettuce plants, breakfasting on the ripening seeds.
So I'm all for going to seed!  

MY STUDIO CHAIR

This is my favorite chair, my studio chair, which I bought almost forty years ago at a yard sale.  I don't think I could illustrate a book unless I had this chair to sit in.  But there's a little competition at times.  Elijah seems to think it belongs to him.  Perhaps if he could help out with the artwork, I wouldn't mind sharing.  As it is, we often have a bit of a scuffle over who is actually going to use it...

SHELVES ARE GOOD

Storage and organization are always a problem!  For me, anyway.  For years, I lusted after flat files---those huge pieces of furniture with multiple shallow drawers, for storing large paper, artwork, or whatever.  Even my Dad, another professional artist, kept urging me to buy some.  I finally made the decision:  after I moved into my new house, I WOULD BUY FLAT FILES.  Once moved in, however, the idea of flat files became less and less attractive.  My house is quite small; flat files take up a huge amount of floor space; I was already having trouble arranging enough working space in my studio.  Where would I add behemoth flat files?  As I pondered, I noticed once again the closets in my studio space:  wasted space, badly organized space, inconvenient space...

So, what about good old-fashioned SHELVES?  A call to my genius of a handyman, a week of exile from my studio while he worked in it, and voila: Magnificent shelves, providing even more space than flat files!

Now all I have to do is...put everything away....

NEW BLOGSITE - FIRST POST

New blogsite for Me and My Books...and now we are also on Facebook...I feel as though we've suddenly been bundled into the technological age.  Well, it's about time!  I held my 2010 Annual Open Studio a few days ago---first one in my new Phoenix studio-at-home.

Refreshments:

Art and books for sale:

More art and books for sale:

MORE art and books for sale....

...endless amounts of art and books for sale...

A good time was had by all!