A weekend of inking. Inking and inking. I have a permanent black stain on the middle finger of my left hand. Lots of late nights and listening to music at the drafting table. Food becomes a formality, you consume just to sustain yourself. 96 pages. It seems like the pile does not get any smaller. It does, albeit slowly. (I like the word albeit.)
"Albeit so masked, Madam, I love the truth."
- Tennyson.
And so I crunch on the final pages for the kid's activity book. Once all the pages are inked I can start on the colour. I will admit here to being tired. There is a point with every creative project where your energy seems to fade. Your mind looks ahead to all the other creative projects that you want to start. (I have this with books too, I start eyeing the pile of books on my nightstand and they all look infinitely more interesting than the one I am in.) But I plod on. (I like the word plod. It just sounds like a "laboured step". Like someone is wearing galoshes that are way too big. Plod, plod, sploosh).
Galoshes. How i would like to don mine, with big wool socks on and run out into the rain today. I would jump in all the mud puddles and hunt for frogs. I would lie down on the boardwalk in the middle of the beaver pond and stare into the water. The water lilies are starting to make their way up to the surface. Soon they will spread their leaves and make little condos for the frogs to hang out on. I wonder if the frogs get all excited about that? I wonder if they notice how good it all smells after the rain?
Posted by kerismith at April 26, 2004 10:36 AMYou inspire me on a daily basis! Keep it up!
Posted by: May on April 27, 2004 09:42 AMWhere I live after the rain it does not smell all that good. It smells more of wet concrete and furtoliser than anything.
Frogs are all over the place here tough. Maybe I should catch you one and ship it to you.
Posted by: Joe on April 26, 2004 10:41 PMA krazy Kat comic:
It's nine o'clock!!!
It's not.
It is too nine o'clock.
Your watch is wrong.
It can't be wrong Ignatz, this watch has been nine o'clock for three years steady.
Wow, I can't imagine an entire weekend of inking. Speaking of inking. You really use a brush and india ink? That's incredible. What size brush and what kind? I can't image how hard that is.
Hang in there. I can't wait to buy this book for my 12 year old daughter. She stole my living out loud book and I can't get it back. I guess I'll be stealing this one from her.
Cheering from the sidelines for you.
I wish it were rainy here. It's hot hot hot. And speaking of frog hunting - that reminds me of when I was little and I would collect frogs and keep them in jars. My mother must not have noticed this because she never informed me that they actually need air to survive.
Posted by: Kristin on April 26, 2004 02:36 PMOOPS! "LIVING out Loud". ;-)
Posted by: Kymberlee on April 26, 2004 01:14 PMKeri, I can't WAIT for the book you're working on to hit the press. I will eagerly give it to my daughter and watch her delight as she devours the pages as I have devoured my "Live Out Loud" book. Thank you for enduring ink stains, duct tape goo and (I'm guessing cramped fingers) to create liveable art for hungry people like me. I love you!!!!
Posted by: Kymberlee on April 26, 2004 01:11 PMCongrats on working through the next phase of your project! I am sure it is great. I just got your book in this weekend and thumbed through it. I can't wait to start on my own list of projects now.
Posted by: Natalie on April 26, 2004 01:01 PMtotally selfish comment: I Love that you are human and get tired and plod and dream of hunting for frogs in your soggy socks...I'm glad that I've mistakenly idolized you to to be an artist working as she chooses in her wonderfullly free, idylic days.. taking a walk when the urge strikes you... drawing and making stuff all day long....collage bits and scrapes flung about you while you wait for your tea to be at the perfectly hot temperature...mini vacations and toys and sweet mangos rolling at your feet...thank you Keri for sharing it all....I didn't quite believe you when you began talk of taping yourself to the orange chair...but now...ah somehow I feel better....is this ok or do I sound like a sick-minded lazy artist.....love your work, your book, your words and drawings ...blog on....
Posted by: fern on April 26, 2004 11:53 AMboy can I relate! i ink for the smithsonian and last xmas i spent three days hold up in my studio inking almost 300 drawings!! insanity. eek - there's another pile of them staring at me as we (i) speak!
Posted by: megan on April 26, 2004 11:33 AM