I tend not to blog much these days but am trying to get back to it and write more than what I would put on Facebook. If you’ve read by blog for a while, you know how much I love family history and keeping connected with memories. This is one of those posts.

Yesterday my Great Aunt Trudy passed away and she was the last one of my “Greats.” I always loved this Dorthea Lange-ish photo of her. Taken around 1940 would be my guess.

She was my grandmother’s sister and it was fun to listen to what sisters in their 80′s would talk about. She was such a sweet lady and for whatever reason, when I think of her, I think of pastel colors, pinks and peaches. I don’t really associate colors with people, but I always have with her. Maybe I only saw her in the spring and summertime and those were the colors she would wear. Not sure.

She was 95 years old and had a small and crackly voice that complimented her shrinking stature as she got older. I was actually just telling my kids about her little voice a few days ago. She retired from Walgreens years ago, and today I always prefer to shop there over any other drug store just because of the kindness and generosity the company showed her, especially when her husband passed away. She was a real sweet lady and by her passing, today she gave me the gift of looking through old family pictures and remembering the sweet and kind legacy I have.

I have 2 NEW programs of illustration career consulting starting March 1st. A 2-month program for people who need help finding their style and starting their career and a 1-month program that is a Marketing Kick Starter for those who want to get better with promotion. I still have some spots open for March so let me know if you’re interested.

No pretty pictures. Just words this time on a blank slate.

Everyone seems to have a word for the new year. My word for 2014 is confidence. Confidence in myself and my work as an artist. 2013 was a rough year. Being in demand is very flattering and very reassuring in this economy, but that yielded a lot of work and even more stress. More stress than I’ve ever had since I went out on my own 8+ years ago. I’m also adding a mantra for the year. “I’m only one person.” I’ve applied this label to myself that I can do it all. I’ll get it done. I always do, but it’s been at the expense of my sanity and my health. I’m a people pleaser but I’m not pleasing myself in the process.

So with that all said, I’m approaching life and work differently this year. Clearing out the chatter of social media (it has been such and annoyance and time suck for me at the same time), TV (there’s just too much junk on), news, comparing myself to other artists, etc. out of my mind and sticking to what I really want to do. What I know I am called to do. I am passionate about illustrating for children as well as designing products and new product lines. THAT is what I want to do! I want to have time to make art for the sake of making it and not think that I can only work on things that can be commercialized later. I want to help other achieve their creative dreams. I want to write. I want to do. I just want to create. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll be on FB some, blogging a little more but more importantly, creating the heck out of 2014!

Ocee was singing this morning and it made me think of all the songs our parents and grandparents sang to us as children and now I’m singing them to my kids. This is a regular one we sing. If you aren’t familiar with it, it’s from Guys & Dolls. Her’s Doris Day’s version:

Early this week a very close friend of my cousin was in a skiing accident and has severe spinal cord injures. Her name is Lindy and although I’ve never met her, she has been in my prayers and on my heart all week. Instead of checking facebook for my daily dose of what people are eating for lunch or what plans they have for the weekend, I check to find an update on Lindy and my newsfeed is full of people talking about her, several like me that don’t know her personally but are amazed by her story and are rooting her on. I think what hits me most is that she has a 6 month old son and the simple pleasure of holding him again is going to be an uphill battle. She has an incredible support system and her given motra has become “Believe in Lindy.” Please check out this blog post to learn more about her and her spirit. I #BelieveInLindy and after reading it I know you will too!

I participated in Cindy Ann Ganaden’s annual ornament exchange this year and to go along with my Santa theme I made these for my group. You can check out more of the ornaments here.