So one fateful day on the internet, I found a pond supply company selling Anaxyrus americanus tadpoles. That is, of course , American toad babies. They didn’t have any in stock in February when I found the link, but they had a fateful form. “Let me know when American toad tadpoles are in stock.”

I filled out that form and a week ago I got the call. (E-mail, really.) Six tadpoles for twelve dollars. I don’t know how one says “no” to that. Ten minutes after receiving that e-mail I had some baby toads on the way.

So here they are. We received eight little sperm-like critters in a plastic bag. We put them into our sadly empty aquarium. In true eat-anything toad fashion, they prefer lettuce as their main meal.  I am very encouraged that they are so far after 24 hours all still alive and seemingly thriving.

So this means I will hopefully have some tadpole/changeling/toadlet art in the near future. They are so incredibly tiny right now. they are also a great mystery. Unlike we humans who develop in secret, toads develop out in the open, for all to observe. I can’t wait to watch them become little toadies!

Some pieces are cursed. It’s true. One thing goes wrong and it’s not great, but you survive. But then another and another problem arise and they will not stop popping up until the piece is “finished.”

It will never be perfect. It will never be as good as it should have, but it will be done. you can’t fight the curse, you just have to finish the piece no matter how frustrating. Or it will haunt you. The only way to be free is to finish the piece.

My latest work “High Rise” is cursed. It is nearly finished but I will never be happy with it. First, my model goldfish died. Sad, but understandable. Then weeks of work went down the drain as my substrate failed. OK I can live with that, even if it was the point I should have known it was cursed.

I struggled to finish this piece on time for the Colored Pencil Society of America’s International Exhibition. With the setback, I missed the date and entered two older pieces. I didn’t make it in.

It’s been sitting in my house staring at me. I had to finish it. So last night I picked it up and worked on it for a half hour or so. I put it down against the wall. Then I did what no one should do. I told it. I said “I hate you!” and turned it towards the wall.

There on the back was the largest HOUSE CENTIPEDE ever. Eew! I screamed. I ran. I flapped my arms around girl-ily like you do when you are strangely creeped out by a harmless yet terrifying thing. It was so close to me. It was on my lap! Eew. E-e-eew.

Thank God for my husband @AverageJer for disposing of it for me. If he hadn’t been there, I would have had to spray it with hair spray or throw water on it or some solution that both prevented me from coming in contact with the terrible creature as well as ruining the art.

A blurry photo of the nearly finished work.  I don’t want to ruin it, even if it is cursed.

A re-creation of the situation. Centipede photo courtesy of the Wikimedia Commons. Paper hearts courtesy of my daughter.

I know what you might be thinking. “Isn’t it a terrible marketing strategy to call a piece of art you are hoping to sell “Cursed”? Why yes, it is, I suppose. I do believe in fully telling the truth and in transparency. I also know other artists all have “cursed” works, and that many of them are hanging in homes right now.

I don’t think the curse extends beyond the work, however. The curse I am speaking of is on the maker, not the viewer. My many years as an artist and 10 years in custom framing have brought me close to a few cursed items. The final owner usually has no clue what a pain they possess. These items are kind of like great kids that come from awful pregnancies. Just like a pregnancy, once the bad stuff is over, some sort of art-parent instinct kicks in and you forget about the process. Soon you’re thinking about making another one.

Spring break!!! It’s spring break and I’m on vacation in the spring break capital of the world – Breezy Point, MN. There’s a snowstorm coming (again) and we’ve already been to the pool today. Thank god for NCAA March madness and my drawing kit.

I don’t have a studio. I have a desk but it is too small for a big drawing and usually covered with all kinds of crafting leftovers. So I sit on the couch with my pencils and use a drawing board. One nice thing about all this is that I can take my drawing anywhere with minimal fuss.

I have two Global Arts 96 capacity pencil cases. I have velcroed them together. I don’t even try to fit 96 in each – I do two pencils per spot for the most part and for the 96 you are supposed to fit 3.

Here’s a closeup of one of the “pages.” it’s typical except for the blue Pablos – I  needed to bulk up a Blick order, so I ordered a bunch of random blue Pablo pencils. Note the 1″ long Luminance light blue – I keep pencils until I really can’t even try to use them any more.

In the back of my 2 Global Arts folios, I keep all the white, black and colorless pencils. My  other colors are 90% Luminance; 10% Pablos. Here I have some Caran d’Ache colorless blenders, Prisma colorless blenders, a couple Prismacolor Art Stix – Clear and white; some water soluble white pencils for last minute highlights and a  black pen just in case I need it.

Here are the accessories I shove in to the case or bring with in other places. A white eraser, a Kum double holed pencil sharpener (Kum brand from Germany has NEVER let me down), a piece of rubber eraser and one of the most amazing accidents I have come across.

I always like to have a razor blade handy in case I need to scrape away a detail or add a white highlight. Razor blades are dangerous – obviously. I was at a fair where I was helping kids make little magnets of acrylic paintings. We painted on 3 x 2.5″ pieces of paper, then affixed a business card magnet (available at Office Depot or Max) to the back.

I took some business card magnet scraps and put them into a piece of paper randomly.  I noticed my blade stuck in there safely and an invention was born. This little case not only secures my razor blade but also makes it hard to find for my kindergarten aged daughter. Mostly it makes the sharp blade safe from cutting my fingers off at any moment as I reach for something else inside my case.  I am never without my magnetic blade holder and the tool within.

Here’s a close look at my drawing showing some of those white scrapes. I am trying to strike a balance between detail and impression. It’s tough for someone as anal as myself! At least I can take some of the pressure off my drawing by being nuts about my pencil setup!

Okay, so I made these last year. I got sick of framing and then lugging around framed pieces to art shows. I am not totally convinced a good colored pencil piece needs the protection of a glazing. I use light fast colored pencils and acid free paper. They should last for a long time even in the sun.

So I mounted some Stonehenge paper on to some cradled boards using an acid free bookbinding glue. I drew on these. I sealed the drawings with some UV protective varnish. Viola! No frames, beautiful art.

Maple Leaves 1

This is a fun new series, and I am exited about it. So far I have 8 10×10″ pieces. I bought some 6×6″ and 10×22″ boards and have tons of photos to work from. I have been photographing nature close up for about 5 years and so far have about 20 good compositions cropped from these photos. I am trying to be more loose and abstract with these squares while still suggesting the nature items they depict. So far I am happy with the results!

I don’t plan on abandoning my main series of still lives, however. I am hoping “Curio” makes it into the CPSA “Explore This” Exhibition and I am planning a new fish piece for entry into the CPSA 22nd International Exhibition. 2014 will be the year of squares and fish. Maybe some fish squares. I need to catch and photograph a few. Lucky for me I live in the “City of Lakes.” Unlucky for me, they are all frozen solid. I guess I will stay inside and knit for a while instead.

I just finished entering my latest drawing into the MN State Fair Fine Art competition.

This is “Curio” 11×13″ on Stonehenge.

I used Neocolor II in conjunction with my Luminance colored pencils for the first time. I had been inspired by Ranjini V’s beautiful still lives which use them, and also recently the Colored Pencil Society of America disallowed their use in their International Exhibition, which intrigued me. If these things aren’t really colored pencil, what are they?

It turns out they are water soluble crayons. Caran D’Ache now calls them out as “wax pastels.” They really are big, soft crayons. They layer over colored pencil beautifully. Being water soluble, they go on and one can then use water and a paintbrush to create a watercolor effect. The more I try water media the more I dislike it, so I’ve been sharpening the Neocolors and using them as crayons. They are very highly pigmented and also very “slippery”, so I have found they work best for me at the very end of the drawing.

I thought this would be a good candidate for the MN State Fair Fine Art Show because it tells a story. I hope the judges agree. Either way, entering the MN State Fair Fine Art competition is a yearly ritual for me. It’s worth the effort just for the sneak peak at the show that artists earn by entering. I highly recommend this show for MN artists and anyone at the fair.