March 31

After six years of faithful, daily service, involving perhaps 20,000 cups of tea, I dropped my favourite mug on the marble countertop this morning and killed it.

The mug and I are both very sad.

March 30

March 29

March 28

March 27

March 26

I'm exploring this method of painting directly out of the tube, rather than using a brush or any other implement. This random grungy look could be right for a design project I've been asked to do. Besides, it's fun.

March 25

Last night I met my friend Yvette at Duke's Restaurant at Malibu. The reception area is full of Hawaiian kitsch like this doll.

My mother used to collect dolls in national dress; she didn't have a Hawaiian one, though she had little plastic Fijian dolls. As an adult, I started making dolls as gifts for Mum, which eventually led me to joining a local doll club, which is where I met Yvette.

The last doll I made was Bruce. I lost interest in dollmaking after that ... but Yvette and I have stayed good friends. Thanks for a nice evening Evie. I'm sorry I was a bit grumpy at the start, and I'm also sorry I didn't pick up your valet tab. What was I thinking??

March 24

My workplace held a "team-building" afternoon at The Getty Center today. It was a warm spring day, so after lunch and the architecture tour, I found myself a spot in the garden to write to my daughter, and sketch. I should probably have been hanging with the team, but I couldn't resist the lure of some quiet time.

March 23

March 22

It was so weird. After creating that artwork last night, with no ulterior meaning, today I learned of something that I was not meant to know about. My dentist's wife, of all people, inadvertantly spilled the beans. Was yesterday's art prescient?

March 21

March 20

Down the road from my house is "antique row" in Canoga Park. It's an odd little section of town, a mix of the skanky and the genteel. Sex shops, head shops and tattoo parlours intersperse the antique stores. There's a shiny clean, well-patronized community theatre, and really grotty junk shops. A vegetarian restaurant and grocery store, and several sleazy bars. It's like this little microcosm of the city. The other day, in an attempt to lift my mood, I gave myself a $10 budget and went exploring. By the time I'd spent $7.75, I was feeling (a) a little better and (b) in desperate need of some hand sanitizer, so I called it a day.

March 19

A wedding gift for Jessica and Rob. After I made and mailed it, I fretted that it was too "shabby chic" for their taste. I await their feedback!

March 18

I've been in a funk for a few days. Not sure why. I don't normally suffer from hormonal/serotonin fuctuations, but this sure feels chemical. Hope it passes soon.

March 17

Everyday Matters Challenge #58: Draw a hat.

March 16

March 15

March 14

March 13

March 12

two years of laughter
two years of compromise and melding
two years of exploring the world, new ideas, and each other
two years of learning what it feels like to truly be loved
two years of letting go and trusting
two years of thick, thin, and everything in between

and many, many more to come

March 11

Another sketchcrawl, and this time the famous Danny Gregory joined us. We crawled around Union Station and Olvera Street, then shared our sketchbooks over lunch at Philippe the Original. Bad weather was forecast, but we actually had some sunshine. What a lovely way to spend half a day.

March 10

March 9

March 8

I stopped eating meat a few months ago, and now I think I'm protein-deprived. I have a headache nearly every day, and I'm very often hungry. I need to examine my diet and make sure I'm getting enough types and quantities of the nutrition my body needs. Because something's not going right.

March 7

Another exercise from the Wolchonok book -- creating radial designs from the parts of a daisy.

March 6

I recently picked up a second-hand copy of "Design for Artists and Craftsmen" by Louis Wolchonok (1953). It contains tons of design exercises, and tonight I played with making bird shapes with pen and ink. I think I'll be referencing this book quite a bit!

March 5

My art for today was the food for our Oscar party. Here's a small sampling.


It was a dress-up affair. Yee-har.

March 4

March 3

March 2

It's Blind Contour First Friday, and I found a few hot items in my kitchen tonight :-)

March 1

EDM Challenge #56: Draw a self-portrait. Ack, this is hard.