Monthly Archives: March 2015

Peacock Design at Long Last

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Screen Shot 2015-03-16 at 11.58.27 PM

Vanity Has a Thousand Eyes

This work was a long time in coming, something I tinkered with sporadically for probably about 6 months. For a while I figured it would never be done, but tonight I just went at the last bits and got something I could live with. This design looks pretty boss on this smartphone case, and does its job just fine on a T-shirt. It also makes a particularly stunning throw pillow.

I actually don’t care too much for peacocks as living, breathing creatures. The summer before 7th grade, I went to camp at the Philadelphia Zoo. We had a lot of special privileges, including getting into the zoo 15 minutes before it opened and being allowed to go behind the scenes in a lot of exhibits. There were peacocks, everywhere, taunting me. Every kid there found a peacock feather that summer. Every kid but me.

Well, you say, that’s no reason to hate peacocks. OK. My second year in college I did an internship at an elementary school that kept peacocks on the grounds. For atmosphere, I guess. Peacocks were sort of their mascot. Part of my compensation was the use of a trailer on the school grounds. The compensation wasn’t all that great: besides the trailer I got $25 a week and leftover pizza on Fridays. And not only did I have to share the trailer with the principal’s 12-year-old son (apparently he was so obnoxious that the principal and his wife didn’t want him in the house either) but I had to share the roof of the trailer with a flock of peacocks.

I had a rough time getting to the school; there was an utter lack of communication on the school’s part concerning my arrival, compounded by the fact that I had sprained my ankle earlier in the week. When I finally got to my destintaion, many hours later than anticipated, and with my leg swollen to twice its normal size, I just wanted to sleep. The principal casually mentioned that I might hear some strange sounds in the night, as it was the birds’ mating season. He did not mention that the birds’ preferred mating ground was the roof of my trailer. At 4 o’clock in the morning. He further did not mention that the mating call of a peacock sounds eerily like a small child screaming for help while suffering excruciating pain and abject terror.

Ha ha. Peacocks. They’re terrible birds. The elementary school also kept a potbellied pig, a flock of chickens, and a sheep on the grounds, all of which would have made better mascots. When the peacocks laid their eggs and hatched their babies, the rat snakes ate all the chicks. Rat snakes would have made a better mascot.

Like many creatures, peacocks are successful in the modern world because they are nice to look at. Because if they weren’t, they would have gone the way of the passenger pigeon. Peacocks take irritating to the next level. I understand they were considered quite tasty in the medieval world.

I photographed this proud gent at the local zoo. The Girl and I had lingered after closing time and security had not yet found us to throw us out. I could tell the peacock thought we should leave, but I don’t like to be kicked around by birds, no matter how magnificent their tail feathers may be. If you, like me, enjoy looking at peacocks but would prefer not to experience them in person, consider purchasing “Vanity Has a Thousand Eyes,” now available on a variety of garments and household goods in my RedBubble store.

Dragon Comics 82

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Throw some sauteed garlic and onions into the mix and you have the olfactory equivalent of a whole meal.

Throw some sautéed garlic and onions into the mix and you have the olfactory equivalent of a whole meal.

Honestly, as I was finishing this comic, the kids were in the kitchen without me, baking a cake, which they are able to do more or less on their own at this point in time. The gag came to me when they weren’t even here. They are really connoisseurs of vanilla and double it every single recipe they make, meaning the kitchen smells like a bakery when they made a half recipe of waffles. They already had churros and banana bread today, but The Man is also a sugar junkie and he gave them permission. I don’t really bake at all anymore, except for birthdays and such.

It’s too much cake. I don’t know how we survive.

This weekend was the Tucson Festival of Books, which is in its 7th year, but has apparently become the largest book festival America in that short time. This is not especially surprising, given that Tucson is one of the few places where you can schedule a fair outdoors in mid-March with the assurance that there is almost 100% chance that the weather cooperates with your plans. Who wouldn’t want to spend this weekend here, in the sun?

I didn’t really spend any money this year, primarily because I didn’t have any. In fact, I found $5 on the ground and used it to buy myself dinner. Otherwise, all I bought was a $2 unicorn button for the Girl. This year, I spent a lot more time in panels. I got my copy of Bridge to Terabithia signed by Katherine Paterson and took the kids to 2 back-to-back session with Tom Angleberger, author of The Strange Case of Origami Yoda, who is something of a superstar as far as entertaining a lecture hall full of kids goes. I also got to see Jacqueline Woodson, as well as Marilyn Nelson, both of whom were great speakers.

The book fair is always magical, although it always makes me a little wistful. When do I get to the other side of the table? It’s a busy weekend. I had to bow out of some other engagements to spend as much time as I spent there. I’m always happy to be there (at any fair, really; I like fairs a lot) but I also realize I could spend a lot more time working.

Dragon Comics 81

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Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I'm wistening fow the voice of inspiwation.

Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I’m wistening cwosewy fow the sweet sweet voice of inspiwation.

 

When we were kids, my brother was considered something of a math prodigy. He skipped the 9th grade to attend the Illinois Math and Science Academy and taught at the University of Illinois before he even finished his BA. While he was in college, he told me, laughingly, Paul Erdős’s statement about mathematicians being machines that turn coffee into theorems.

My brother went on to earn advanced degrees from some of the most prestigious schools in the world. On a recent visit, I mentioned that quote to him and he laughed, this time a little bitterly. He said that most mathematicians do their best work before they’re 25, and that if you haven’t had any brilliant and original thoughts in the field before 30, you’re not likely to, ever. It’s like your brain has lost same particular aspect of plasticity that allows it to uncover new truths about numbers.

That’s never been so of writers. It’s the rare author who has both a mastery of craft as well as an interesting story to tell before 30. Maybe authors don’t hit their stride until 40. It’s not at all unusual to come across an extremely talented person who didn’t even start writing until they had retired in their 60s. So age is actually an asset in this field. And I keep telling myself that. It’s not only the facility with words and the understanding of how to structure sentences, chapters, paragraphs, and stories. It’s also the vast increase in life experience: fodder to create stories. And this increases exponentially. I don’t only gain the experience of my own life. I also get the experiences of all the people I talk to, and all the characters in books I read and videos I watch.

There’s absolutely no reason for a person to feel as if they haven’t achieved enough. In the creative arts, your masterwork can still be in the future.

 

Love and Lace Mandala

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Symmetry is a many-petaled thing

Symmetry is a many-petaled thing

It sort of reminds me of the desert heliotrope (blue phacelia) with its cordate leaves and its projecting stamina. (I had to look that up; the plural of stamen is stamina, although stamens is acceptable. Except it’s not acceptable to me. Not when stamina is in the offing.) But it also looks like a rather complicated doily, something your great aunt would lovingly smooth over the back of an armchair.

I finally cleared the shmutz off my flatbed scanner, but I scanned so many mandalas before I realized it was there that there will be another couple weeks of smudged papers. That scanner is super useful, but I don’t like working it. There’s no convenient place for it in my office. Yesterday I spent a really long time trying to scan 3 pages from a graphic novel. Graphic novels don’t really fit in flatbed scanners.

If only, one day, I could be so successful that I could pay someone to do my scanning for me. Ha ha ha. Tired today. No further witticisms.

By the way, you can follow me on Twitter @QWERTYvsDvorak

Dragon Comics 80

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The 1952 Ford Bus, the most elegant of classic transport

The 1952 Ford Bus, the most elegant of classic transport

The story behind the 1952 Ford Bus is that a few year ago friend of mine posted a picture of herself in one in some salvage yard somewhere. Something like that. And the man saw the image of the bus coveted the bus. He wished to purchase the bus and restore the bus and then, I guess, travel around the country in the bus. The bus echoes in his memory. The bus seems to represent some kind of idyllic dream.

As far as crazy ambitions go, I’d rather the bus than a skydiving school.

A Hot Spring Bulletin Board

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Volcano bulletin board

Volcano bulletin board

This dazzling gemstone celebrates the coming of spring and the heating up of the world. The idea of the volcano had been stuck in my mind for a while so I just went with it even though I didn’t have any idea of what that had to do with education or reading or springtime or really anything else. Of course, it’s the same volcano from Dragon Comics 65, which in turn is based on a pretty common photograph, but I can’t find the attribution.

Closeup on the smoke

Closeup on the smoke

Once the volcano was up, there was a lot of extra space, so I made the crazy sun and the smoke. Time consuming but fun.

This piece took 3 days; the first day I did the background, the second day the volcano, and the third day was the sun, smoke, and text. I picked the quote the second day after making the volcano; really had no idea what words I would use until pretty late in the evening. The text is from Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451. 

Closeup on the crazy sun

Closeup on the crazy sun

Dragon Comics 79

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And they'll do it, too.

And they’ll do it, too.

Today was the Girl’s 10th birthday, so here’s a special bonus design to celebrate: it’s her as a My Little Pony. Usually I don’t do fan art, of course, but she really liked it. She asked if we could get it framed 🙂

My Little Pony: Birthdays Are Magic

My Little Pony: Birthdays Are Magic

The Girl in the comic is supposed to be about 5 years old. The first thing the real life girl said to me this morning was, “I’m really a tween now.” So this picture is a more accurate spiritual representation of who she is now: an optimistic young person with a sense of style and passion, poised to take the world by storm.

As for the comic, it’s just a small gag, but I think it speaks to a lot of people I know, not just the Fox and the Rabbit. Sometimes you’re just waiting for inspiration. But really, inspiration is always in you.

Dragon Comics 78

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In reality, the Girl's reaction to being swarmed with butterflies would not be quite so favorable, and would definitely involve a lot more shrieking

In reality, the Girl’s reaction to being swarmed with butterflies would not be quite so favorable, and would definitely involve a lot more shrieking.

This was originally meant to be a comic about The Man, but I wanted him to write his own dialog and he fell asleep instead. Ergo: the kids.

When we were little, my mother taught us that boredom was our own fault. If we were incapable of using our brains to entertain ourselves, then that represented a sort of intellectual laziness. I had a sister and a brother, and we played together, but I also spent a lot of time alone, with my own head, which was, and continues to be, a magical place. Sometimes I still went and whined to my mother about not having anything to do, but since her response was usually along the lines of, “If you’re bored, go clean your room,” I learned not to ask her for entertainment advice. We read a lot, did puzzles and art projects, went to the park or bike riding, and made up our own games, constantly. TV was pretty limited–we didn’t have cable for the most part, and even when we did, there wasn’t that much programming for kids anyway, and even if there had been, our mother wouldn’t have let us sit in front of it all day long–so we used our imaginations.

I do worry what effect on-demand video technology has on kids. I see too many of them who are utterly incapable of filling in their own minds without a screen. Even with the ubiquitous screens, they’re still bored all the time. I mean, I like the Internet as much as the next person, possibly more, but I can also think of a million fun things to do without it. It’s a great tool; it’s a great friend. But it’s not everything.

It’s funny how when you put people–kids and adults–outside, out of reach of wifi, their whole outlook can change.

The Rockets’ Red Glare Mandala

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Patriotism is a circular argument

Patriotism is a circular argument

Clearly, this mandala celebrates the raucous chauvinism of America’s Independence Day. Originally, I think I had bigger plans for it, but somehow, just like real fireworks, it was a short display that ended too soon. Probably I should hold it back until July but who knows what the future holds? Today we celebrate the glorious 4th mandala, and that’s that.

Yesterday, while I was still reeling from my personal crisis of can’t even, I received the official invitation to become a regular contributor at Panels.net. I didn’t even realize until I skimmed the contributors’ bios that there are a number of really accomplished people affiliated with that site. Illustrious company. Go me. I really do have a lot to say about comics, and I believe I say them very well, thank you.

Today was one of the days I read to kindergarteners because it lightens my heart. We read 2 Jane Yolen books. Talk about a gifted writer! How many people in the world could create a story about a little girl being extremely quiet in the woods and end up with something that would keep a room full of 5-year-olds in rapt, delighted attention (Owl Moon)? Plus, the hilarious Recess Queen, which always gets a lot of laughs, as well as a short book about cowboys. I started my new bulletin board but made the mistake of doing the picture before settling on the words. Now I have about 12 tabs open, each with a different quote that might possibly be usefully paired with an image of an exploding volcano.

Dragon Comics 77

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Be careful what you wish for

Be careful what you wish for

Today was a rough one for me; I had to report for jury duty at 7:30 a.m. and that sort of thing always throws me off course in a thousand ways. But inspiration came nonetheless. You just have to force yourself to open to it. Although I believe in participatory democracy and the right to a trial by a jury of ones peers, the actual process of serving the legal system in this way is oppressive. Getting up early, going through a metal detector, being forced to sit in a room full of strangers waiting for your number to be called, getting questioned by strangers and forced to conform to their mode of speech and behavior, listening to a nonstop stream of dialog inside a windowless room for 7 hours a day, having this all supersede whatever it is that you’ve chosen to do with your life. Plus, the judge cracked a misogynistic joke and made fun of a potential juror’s accent.

Basically, I didn’t want to do it, and when I was excused it felt as if I myself had been released from a kind of prison. The trial was going to be a minimum of 3 weeks! Ain’t nobody got time for that. I was planning of forcing myself to open to the possibility of jury duty. But it was just too much, and instead I was born anew into the early spring sunlight and opened myself to joy and inspiration and found this comic.