School started last Thursday, Oh Bittersweet day! Bitter, as she is growing up so fast...sweet, as I enjoy seeing her become the person she is.

It's also nice to be back in the studio again, with more time to loose myself in new projects.

A site called "Wordle" let's you create "word clouds," stunning little graphic representations from a text sample you provide. It's an interesting visual exercise for writers and illustrators alike! The words appear larger the more frequently they were used in the text. Here's the one I created from my birds book manuscript. Somewhat tree-like, don't you think? Appropriately so! Wordle is free, too.

http://www.wordle.net/

How nice it is to paint the elegant shape of the season's first eggplant. And a couple pear tomato thrown in as well. I love curves.

Abstract Thoughts

Cleaning up my studio, I was looking at all my scrap paper paint palettes I used to blot my brushes while painting the final illustrations for the birds book. I labeled each palette as I finished the illustration. I was struck by how every "scrap" palette was in spirit like the tight detailed scratchboard piece I was working on at the time. Only abstracted. Hmm- maybe I should loosen up a little more often! Here's a couple I'll share.