AN ETSY WEDDING

My sister's wedding is right around the corner now, and all the women of the family are hustling and bustling to get the final details and embellishments finished up perfectly. 

My personal table setting at my own wedding

I've spent a large part of this week running around buying fabric and flower vases and whatnot, and I've also spent a fair amount of time on etsy. Let me tell ya, there are some cute wedding-related shops on etsy!

And, of course, when I discover these marvelous finds, I always like to pass them along to my faithful blog readers, so here ya go!

First off, check out the wedding gowns by Joan Shum. There are so many I'm in love with, I can't even pick a favorite!

And these personalized lanterns by seller Hannah Nunn are just adorable.

My sister is a huge flower person, so she would never go for paper flowers, but I love these, maybe to liven up a guest book table or along a buffet. 

And I think this butterfly mobile would look sweet above a cake table, especially if the bride were someone like me who loves girly, romantic things... and words! 

(The butterflies are cut out from dictionary pages.)

These votives are simply breathtaking. 

I like this pretty ring pillow. 

These birdie paper napkin rings are just too cute, and this pair of earrings has nothing especially to do with a wedding, but maybe for the unconventional bride? Or bridesmaids? I dunno, but I love them so I threw 'um in. 

And I saved my favorite for last. This purse. Sigh...Oh how I love it. 

So there ya go! A few of my recent etsy faves. If you're engaged (or expecting to be!), be sure to check out the links. And even if a wedding is far from your thoughts, it's still fun to ooh and ahh a little. 

Well, I know it's a day early, but I'm going to go ahead and wish you all a wonderful weekend.
In a few hours, Jake and I will be heading down to Beaufort to his aunt and uncle's house. I'm so ready for a little rest and relaxation, and their house really is the perfect place for it, as you can see:

I can already smell that salty air...

Hope your weekend is equally relaxing - or fun! - or whatever you're hoping it to be!

ZOMBIES AND JESUS AND EASTER, OH MY!

I hope everyone had a fantastic Easter!

I definitely enjoyed mine.

This is after-the-fact, but I did promise to post the illustrations that Jake did for our church, so before I forget... here ya go!

(And yes, that really is a zombie. Our church didn't go with the "traditional" Easter themes this year, lol.)

You probably figured out that it's a series of consecutive images.

I really love the concept.

And check out this intro teaser that my friend Jay Grant made!

And if you're wondering - why all the zombies? - you can listen to my pastor's explanation at the beginning of this series. (You may want to move the video timemarker to about the 3:00 mark - he does announcements until then, but I think it's an interesting explanation.)

So... anyway, zombies. 

Jake did an awesome job, right? 

(Yep, that's me casting the shadow there.)

DOUBTING THOMAS

Easter is less than a week away now, and Jake is busy putting finishing touches on some artwork he's doing for our church's Easter service. 

(It's waaayy cool - I'll post that soon!)

But in the meantime, I was remembering a project Jake did a few Easters ago - a collaboration with several other talented artists from Warehouse242. It was a graphic novel, with each artist's entry highlighting a different moment in Jesus's life, much like the renaissance panels on the walls of the Sistine Chapel, which were painted there as visual explorations of Jesus' life for the illiterate masses to "read" and understand more deeply. The graphic novel that Jake worked on with these six other artists follows this same sort of idea - storytelling based on a sequential art model - with a more modern style.
It turned out pretty cool.

Jake was given the story of Thomas to depict. 

Probably a lot of you have heard of "Doubting Thomas", but just in case his story is new to you, I'll give you the rundown.

Basically, Thomas was one of the 12 chosen disciples of Jesus. He was very devoted to Jesus, and yet, after Jesus was crucified on Good Friday, he ran and hid from the authorities, just as the other disciples did. However, the Bible doesn't say why (that I know of, anyway), but when Jesus appeared to the disciples who were hiding in a locked room, Thomas wasn't among them. They later told Thomas all about how they had seen Jesus, that he had risen from the dead! I'm pretty sure Thomas thought they were all going a little batty, though, because he's quoted as responding that unless he could personally touch Jesus and stick his fingers into Jesus's crucifixion wounds, he would not believe that Christ had risen.
Well, about a week later, Thomas was eating with his fellow disciples in the same locked room and, lo and behold, in walks Jesus through the wall. I imagine all the blood drained from Thomas's face as Jesus turned to him and offered Thomas the chance to place his fingers through his nail-pierced hands. Thomas then cries out in belief, "My Lord and my God!"
To which Jesus responds with that wonderful line, "Because you have seen me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed."

And that's pretty much the story of Thomas.
So, now that you know the premise, go check out how Jake took that story and fleshed it out in graphic novel form, here.
 (Just look for the tiny "next" button above the first image to scroll through them all.)

{Illustration by my husband, Jake}

I'm waiting to pick up Charlie from school, in my car, at the very front of the line. It's about ten 'til three. I'm looking around, out the right passenger window, out the back right window, too. I'm trying to catch a glimpse of him. 

There are children lined up all down the sidewalk, talking to each other excitedly, goofing off, showing one another this thing or that, waiting for their parents. A few of the older kids wear neon vests over their Catholic uniforms. They are in charge of helping the younger kids into their respective cars and are doing this behind me. Cars start driving around me, out of the parking lot. Still no sign of Charlie.

A teacher taps gently on the hood of my car, getting my attention. I look, and she points to the piece of yellow cardstock on my dash. I slide it closer so she can read Charlie's name. She nods and turns away, saying something to the other teacher who is standing about ten feet away, this one with a walkie-talkie.

I watch her lips mouth the words of Charlie's full name and hear her voice echoed on the loudspeaker a moment later. 

"Second call," she adds.

The first teacher smiles at me and asks me to pull up a little, around the corner and out of the way. They'll send Charlie up the hill to me when he comes out. 

I obey, beating out a little tune with my thumbs on the steering wheel as I pull around.

Outside, the sky is growing increasingly gray. 

The trees are blowing.

Where in the world is that silly boy? I wonder.

We have things to do. People to see.

I crane my neck around, back toward the teachers and the throngs of children.

No sign of Charlie.

And then I do catch a glimpse of him, coming up the hill. He's trudging steadily forward, like he always does, never in a hurry. The hair along his forehead is standing straight up from the way he's run his sweaty fingers through it.

He sees me, and immediately, there's a mischievous grin. 

In the end, who knows what kept him late. 

But when I see that smile of his, I know I'm not going to ask. It's Friday, the clouds overhead are quickly blowing in the weekend, and he's a nine-year-old boy.

Let the kid hold a few secrets. 

A BEAUTIFUL BEDTIME BOOK

With Mother's Day just around the corner, I've been thinking about my Mom lately, and all the different little gifts that my sister and I gave her as children. I remember one year, we served her breakfast in bed. 

Breakfast in bed - I don't think I fully appreciated the glory of such a concept as a child. When you're a little girl, you want to jump out of bed and play and do things and explore. What's so great about having your muffins and milk while still under the covers? 

Now, of course, I get it. 

Breakfast in bed is a fabulous idea.

And while, in my household, it's rather a rare treat, reserved for birthdays and other such special occasions, I do know the regular joy of sipping warm herbal tea at bedtime. Jake and I read in bed together almost every night (different books - we have vastly different taste in them, but a shared activity nonetheless). I'll make myself a mug of chamomile tea or chai or sometimes ginger tea, crawl into bed, open up my book, and I can't explain why something so simple can be so delightful, but it is. 

And apparently, I'm not the only one who enjoys this sort of thing. I was just over at the Kingergallery and discovered that Meredith Gaston has a new book out, entitled Tucked In. 

According to the website:

"Whether you are young or old, nimble or wobbly, tucked into bed on the doctor's orders or on your very own whim, you can use your time in bed to explore your creativity and heal your soul. 

Meredith Gaston, artist and passionate lover of all things bed, encourages us to discover that our tucked-in time can be as creative as it is restorative, enriching our days and bringing joy to our lives. We learn how to analyse our dreams and find out what our sleeping positions reveal about our personalities, as well as creating our own tucked-in haiku poetry, comfort foods and dreams catchers." 

Now this is just what I need, right? A pretty little book that encourages me to stay in bed all day (there's a word for that - I believe it's sloth). But still, I do believe this sweet little book has a point when it says that, like all creatures, we humans have our good and bad times, and sometimes it is simply so that the best place to be is in bed. 

Apparently, it even comes with its own bookmark, "tucked in" to the jacket of the book.

Precious.

And the illustrations are truly beautiful, don't you think?

I'd buy it for the artwork alone.

{Thanks, Holly Becker}

Well, I just glanced at my on-screen clock and I need to leave for work in twenty minutes, so I suppose it's time to go out and face the "real world", but if you get the chance today, put on your most comfortable socks, snuggle into bed with a cozy pillow or two, and do a little dreaming. Every now and then, I think it's downright good for the soul.   

Oh, and while you're lounging about, you can check out more of Meredith Gaston's artwork here. 

THE TRAVEL BUG

(Image by the incredibly talented C.S. Neal, whose work I am in love with lately.)

I've been bitten by the travel bug, it seems.

And it's bad. 

I keep looking up fun places that Jake and I could visit - everything from The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Islands of Adventure to various bed and breakfasts along the southeastern coast. 

Maybe it's spring fever.

Maybe it's the fact that my friend Megan just got back from a trip to Europe.

Or the fact that my sister is looking at this view right now:

(She's on a work trip to Turks and Caicos - hard life, right?)

But whatever the reason, I am definitely itching for some travel. 

For now, I'm settling to live vicariously through the pages of my latest read - a novel entitled The Storyteller that's set in Italy and Peru. 

I've been cooking yummy, ethnic-inspired food, like this.

And I'm enjoying the artwork of world maps like this, and travel books like these, and this series for kids. 

It helps with the wanderlust, but in a way it makes it worse, too. I think pretty soon I'm just gonna have to go somewhere...

INTERVIEW WITH CAMERON BUNCE

I'm so excited about today's post!

It shall be a feast for the eyes.

From time to time, here on the blog, I like to interview artists whose work I really respect/admire.

Today, I have the privilege of introducing you to my friend Cameron Bunce. 

Cameron is a fellow Winthrop University graduate, an involved member of the Friday Arts Project (which I have highlighted previously here), and is, among many other talents, a skilled photographer. 

I like what Bill Henson of YC Magazine had to say about him:

"Cameron Bunce is an intense person with an overlying easy pace... He pours tremendous creativity and talent into his art, and he pulls his work out with expertise born in the trenches of the non-ditigal world."

Yep. Sounds about right.

So, without further ado, my interview with Cameron Bunce:

(Cameron obviously did not take this photograph. 

The others are his, though.)

1. When did you first feel a calling to be an artist? How did you get started?

One day, a red envelope came, by carrier owl, to my doorstep. Then I had owl soup.

I've enjoyed being a part of making art for a long time. When my dad first showed me how to use his old Nikon, I was fascinated by the ability to record images and tell stories. I don't think there is ever any sense of knowing, "Yes. I am an Artist and I make Art." I heard a poet say last weekend (I call him a poet because he was introduced to the conference as a poet, his readers would say he is a poet, and his publisher would agree...) that he wasn't sure that he was a poet, but he was obsessed with writing poems. I think that kind of thing is true of many of us. There is in me a compulsion to make. Often that is with a camera, sometimes with words, sometimes with my hands, but when I do not 'make', I feel less true. I know that I am made to make and create, and that I'm to use the tools at hand and know them well. My job is to be ready and respond, and so that's what I've tried to work toward, keeping the blade sharp.

2. What medium or mediums do you work with?

I mostly use old film cameras. I have found that I like the images better from those older cameras, and especially it is easier to get better older equipment than to buy comparable new equipment. I recently had an acquaintance bring a really nice camera kit to me because he felt I could have some use for it. I just got back from New York City, where I put several rolls a day through it. I like tangible materials and prints. I like the darkroom. For me there is value in touch, and skill and nuance, so I try to be the decision maker for my images, and I like to touch them all the way through. Beyond that, photographers like to talk too much about the 'things' of photography, which is a pesky, adolescent phase, and I would rather hear the stories from the pictures.

3. Do you have any formal training or are you self taught?

I studied at Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina. They have a nice darkroom where I actually first learned to print in middle school. I have sat under the teaching of several wise teachers of Art.

4. Do you have any favorite art supplies, books, videos, or other resources that you'd like to recommend?

My favorite art supplies are the pen that is always in my pocket and the empty page. No artist should be far from these. I have simple taste for books and am a slow reader, but all time favorites would be Bridge to Terabithia, A Wrinkle in Time... fifth grade story books that let you run away with something that adults say is childish. I have a love for the fantastical and I think that the worst thing you can do is confine yourself to the way things are. Dreaming is very important. Right now I'm reading A Place of My Own, on a tip from a friend, and I do enjoy it, but I am having a slow time with it because I stop too often to daydream or in many cases just envy the author's position in life...

Bridge to Terabithia

A Wrinkle in Time

A Place of My Own

 5. How do you get ideas to create a piece? (What inspires you?)

I find that my best ideas are plain to me, like the next step down the path. I just have to have my eyes open (or closed, to see the way I imagine it to be). It isn't always that plain, and I misstep sometimes, but the important part is to be intentionally, analytically engaging and encountering the world. Any of my work that is successful is an attempt to translate how I see the things that are happening around me. Sometimes the things I see are holes, and I am trying to offer a solution or an arrow to something to fill the hole.

6. Are there any artists that have influenced your work? Do you have a favorite artist?

My classmates and the artists in my studio have each had a role in bringing a new voice to the way I see art. Stephen Crotts, Nicki Verechia, Carlee Lingerfelt, Mike Gentry, Chris Doehling, Jessica Johnson, Jon Jennings, and Seth Rouser all work in the same space as I do, so I am continually challenged and inspired by them.

I heard on some kids show a long time ago that artists don't have favorite colors - artists like all the colors. That almost applies to artists too, though bad art does exist. I see things I really enjoy sometimes, but I'm not really old enough to have favorites.

7. Do you collect art?

I do. I don't have much room for my collection, but I have several nice pieces and I try to collect my friends before I cannot afford to. It is important to support things that we enjoy, and in our world that means pay for it.

8. What are you working on currently?

I am currently working on making decisions about photographs and notes I took while up in New York this past weekend. I heard some really smart people talk about art. (which is a dumb way of saying that I went to an amazing conference that left me flabbergasted) My involvement with the International Arts Movement (and their
conference) has challenged me to make some big decisions about my work. I will probably need to go back to the garden and turn over some new dirt for bigger things, and maybe I will need to go back to places I have tried to forget.

9. Any words of advice for beginner artists?

Stop listening to what people say about art. Art is huge, and like China, everything you have heard is true somewhere. Also none of it is true. Go and be alone and do the things that you are supposed to do. And that thing that flashed in you head that you shushed or ran away from in fear? Do that. Listen to the voice in you that asks for more, and don't settle because its hard.

10. And finally, just for fun, what would your ideal day be like?

Ideally, I would wake up and go for a walk through the garden (ideally right?) before making coffee or tea and eggs and eating on the porch as a brisk wind blew gently and I read some scripture and jotted notes, waiting for the right sound in the trees or the whispering of a color. Then I would take some pictures of what I have in mind. I would scratch out ideas until noon and meet up with some friends and build a few props before heading out in the woods to shoot some more. After making dinner together, I would let them talk over drinks while I step into the darkroom to make some test prints. We would doodle and dream until we got too tired.

Thank you so much, Cameron, for taking the time to stop by and be interviewed! 

To check out more of Cameron's awesome photography, visit his website, or find out what he's up to on his blog. 

A few days ago, I mentioned that Lauren Holgate has been running an 18-day series of guest posts on her blog, all themed around the subject of creativity. Today is the final post of that series, and guess who wrote it...?

ME!

So head on over to ladaisi and check it out! 

(I happen to think it's worth reading.)

ON BEING A GO-GETTER

Recently, on one of my I'm-looking-but-not-spending-any-money shopping trips (also known as "window shopping", except that I go inside and touch everything), I came across a book entitled, Dear James: Letters to a Young Illustrator, written by renowned artist R. O. Blechman (His work has been featured on the cover of The New Yorker, in The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar, etc.). 

Naturally, I bought the book.

I know, I know, but c'mon. I don't come across too many books that I can be certain Jake will like. This one, I was pretty sure about - an older, accomplished illustrator imparts wisdom to an illustrator who's just starting out... Perfect.

And actually, it was.

Jake loves it.  

(Yay, me!!!)

So, anyway...

I've found myself picking up the little book from time to time, and turns out, it's not just interesting to illustrators. Though that's what it's technically written about - illustration, Blechman has a way of talking about more than one thing at once. He has this profound and witty way of commenting on the nature of all creativity, on art and life and the world at large.

Well, that's enough of my sales pitch. Point is, I like the book. 

Today I was sitting on our front porch, drinking my ritualistic morning cup of coffee and taking inventory of the damage from last night's storm (It's not too bad; mostly a lot of fallen tree branches and green pine needles), and I looked across the way to the front porch of our friends John and Jay, and I was thinking about how much fun Jake and I had with them last night - we walked over to have dinner/banana popsicles with Jay and his fiancee, Rachel (who's also our neighbor), and then John came home and we had a good laugh about how he's a rising opera star and he has his first legitimate stalker now (I won't go into that.).

I sipped my coffee this morning and I smiled at how rich I am in friendship. And I was thinking how friendship might possibly be the best thing you can be rich with - even more so than money. And then I started realizing the value of friendship, even in business. Sometimes it really comes down to whether or not you're getting out there and meeting people, getting to know them, and whether or not they like you. Looking back, most of Jake's biggest commissions have come through the recommendation of friends.

So. When I then picked up Letters to a Young Illustrator today, which I had with me out on the porch, and I proceeded to read an affirmation of pretty much everything I'd just been thinking... well, I had to share.

Here is what Blechman says:

     "I've rarely embarked on a project without first getting a commission for it, so my output is limited. But waiting around for a commission is not the best way to get one. A person has to move around, to see people, to speak to them, and then - just maybe - something will happen, somebody will be interested in what you have to offer. It's the accidental encounter, the happenstance that moves a ball to those high-number bulbs in a pinball machine. 

     A case in point. I was in Milan a few years ago for a television conference. I was sitting in my hotel lobby when in walked the program director of PBS. We greeted each other, then began to small talk. 

          SHE: 'This hotel is so well located.'

          ME: 'Right next to the Duomo.' (to myself: I hope it's called the Duomo!)

          SHE: 'I loved your last program.'

          ME: 'Thanks.'

          SHE: 'Are you thinking of another?'

          ME (FLUBBING IT): 'Not really.'

          SHE (READY TO WALK AWAY. I COULD SENSE IT) : 'Well, if you think of another program, let me know. Enjoy Milan.' (She leaves.)

          ME (TO MYSELF): Schmuck! What kind of answer was that?! You know you have a million ideas for programs. Two million!

     I left the lobby, sorry I had ever met her. That encounter was going to ruin my stay in Milan, absolutely ruin it!  

     Walking from the hotel, I happened to pass the La Scala Opera House. My eye caught a poster for an upcoming production of L'Histoire du Soldat. I knew that piece - I knew it and I loved it, as I love all the music of Igor Stravinsky. An idea hit me, "Why not an animated version of L'Histoire?"

     A day or so later, fate was kind. I came across the PBS program director again. 

          ME: 'Suzanne, I was thinking about your question, Did I have any thoughts about a program? It occurs to me that it would be great if there was an animated version of L'Histoire du Soldat.'

          SHE: 'I know that piece. I adore it. We did a performance of it at the Walker Art Center and it was a great success. Bob, send me a proposal and I'll pass it on.' 

          ME (TO MYSELF): Pass it on?! She's the program director of the Public Broadcasting System! Who's she going to pass it on to, President Reagan?

     But I dutifully wrote a proposal, sent it on, heard nothing, and forgot all about it. A year later - ding-a-ling! - my phone rang and it was WGBH Boston calling. They had seen my proposal, and were interested in doing a special for the upcoming centenary of Stravinsky's birth. Ping! I had struck a million-dollar bulb.

     Now, if I had not been in Milan; if I had not met the program director of PBS in the hotel lobby where we happened to both be staying, if I had not passed La Scala; if I had not seen the poster, etc....etc. You get the picture. A dozen links made up that chain of coincidences, and if just one link - just one - had been missing, that chain would have been broken.

     Why do I mention these things? Because, we artists tend to be a silent, self-effacing lot, and become easily discouraged. I could have ignored the program director's undoubtedly pro forma request to send her a proposal, and the project would have been stillborn, right then and there. But it isn't. It's happening, and it seems to be going well...

     ...So when you're not at the agency, when you're not at your drawing table, meet people, talk to them (and listen to them! That's important, or they won't listen to you), make friends, and - ping! - You may strike that million-dollar bulb."

TIME TO MOVE OUT, BABY

Along with having several friends who are getting married soon, I also have a number of friends who are preggers. 

There are babies, babies, everywhere, popping out all around me. It's like they're all being born at once. 

Except for the case of our friends Sarah and Kevin, whose little bun just does not want to come out of the oven. Every day lately, Jake and I have woken up and said, "Maybe today will be little Rohan's birthday."

And then, inevitably, we'll go to bed that night and say, "Nope, wasn't today."

It's become kind of a running joke.

Yesterday, Jake sketched out this illustration and sent it to our pregnant friend, with the caption,

"Time to Move Out".

Sarah's response?

"Word."

C'mon, Rohan, April 4th is a great day to be born!

HAPPY FIRST OF APRIL!

(Sorry, no fool's tricks up my sleeve!)

But what I do have up my sleeve is a delicious recipe for lemon bars. Yumm!

My blog friend, Lauren Holgate, who I'm always talking about - the one over at ladaisi - has been running an extended series of guest posts on the subject of creativity (of which I am the finale - yay! More on that to come...) 

So, yesterday, I popped on over to see what the latest post was about, and I discovered a recipe for these delicious-looking lemon bars, shared by Courtney of Living a Bona Fide Life.   

Don't they look delicious? Be sure to follow the link above to get her recipe!

I love this dessert any time of year, but there's just something about that lemony color that says, "Yep, spring is finally here!"

Hurray for April!

I've been noticing this happy, sunshine-y hue everywhere lately. I've practically been dreaming in it. 

Part of that might be because my little sister is getting married next month and it's one of her main colors for the wedding. It's going to be gorgeous. 

Images found here. 

There's something special about that shade of yellow, isn't there? You can't help but feel a little happier after having looked at it. 

Well, I hope you have a fabulous Friday, and that sometime over your weekend, you get to enjoy the sunshine!

New to The Illustrator's Wife? Subscribe to my Blog Feed or sign up for Email Updates. Both are free!