Hillary Clinton: Run, Girl! Run!

Another selection from the sketchbook series, "Conversations"- posted on this historic night! Back in 2014, HRC spoke on the UConn campus. Intelligent, witty, supremely knowledgeable about policy and world affairs, eloquent, and astonisingly quick on her feet, she was nothing short of terrific. Sure, I suppose she was already campaigning for President, but thank goodness! Compare her with her current "opponent" in this coming election. The approaching debates? I. Can't. Wait.

Toilet Paper, Utilitarian Product or Artistic Medium?

Another sketchbook entry from the year past. Just going through and reliving the good times! Proof positive that:

1. A good artist can make the magic happen using anything available

2. Creativity is not bound by budget

Mithu Sen, Visiting Artist

Not long ago Mithu Sen, contemporary artist, visited us and offered this terrific lecture. Though there were some A/V problems, initially, it all worked out in the end. She was erudite, funny, smart, and showed amazing work. Plus, her visit prompted my colleague, Kathryn Myers, to invite us all over for dinner. Which is great, because Kathryn is an excellent cook. We took that opportunity to introduce Mithu to marshmallow peeps. Someone had to.

Betty Lou Starnes, art historian, serves up some peep goodness. Mithu Sen chooses pink.

Mithu Sen and Kathryn Myers, post-talk. All's well that ends well.

The DMV. Soul-Crushing Black Hole of Desperateness. But I'm Not Bitter...

Revisiting some past sketchbooks yielded this image. It makes me weep. And grit my teeth. (Not unlike that moment in which I discover that the DSW Shoe Outlet coupon I've been hoarding has expired.) On this particular morning the line to be admitted to the interior space of the DMV actually wound around the exterior of the building. We were let inside in waves. Once admitted, the inner sanctum yielded a vast wasteland of thinly padded chairs, cranky patrons, and crankier employees. Good times!

Embrace Technology: Future Editor

Sketchbook goodness. Just a little image that's been kickin' around. It seems to be an editorial comment, but, not really. Just a brief, passing thought on automation. Well, ok then! I guess it IS an editorial comment. Power to the pencil- right on!

Grad Crits, Revisited

At semester's end, students and faculty gather together to reflect, ponder, critique, kick some serious ass and, apparently, sometimes confuse the graduate students. It's an entirely useful process, but also difficult and a rite of passage. If they survive they get to come back in the spring for more!

For my current UConn colleagues, and our students... can you find yourselves here?

Fuzzy Man

Calvin, our itinerant Cairn Terrier for these last 14.5 years, is "The Fuzzy Man" at our house. He's ever cheerful, a lover of life, a true companion. He never asks for much. Instead, he holds up his end of the bargain- companion, watchdog, friendly boy, kibble aficionado.

He is much older now. And, in passing, has had his share of health crises in the last year or so. Tonight was no exception. Rushed again to our ever-compassionate vet practice, at night, they set him right, to some degree. We continue to nurse him at home. So, as I lay with him on the kitchen floor (he, on a comfy bed, me on a smelly old carpet scrap next to him) I want to say, "Here's to you, Calvin. The Fuzzy Man. The Maitre d' of 147 Mansfield Road (houseguests, you know what I'm talkin' about))." God bless you.

Grad Crits, Midterm, Fall 2013

A subjective record of the conversations/interactions/trajectories of our MFA in Art crits. It's true:
1. There was no heat (brrrr)
2. There was coffee
3. There was art
4. Artists (faculty and students) really do work hard (crits are an all-day Saturday event)

Dr. Richard Shiff- Modernist

I enjoyed his lecture at the recent National Council of Arts Administrators conference in Richmond, VA (VCU, host). 9/24-9/28/13. So, he ended up in my sketchbook.

That's some serious art nerd awesomesauce, right there!

From the UT Austin website: "Richard Shiff is Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art at The University of Texas at Austin, where he directs the Center for the Study of Modernism. His scholarly interests range broadly across the field of modern and contemporary art."

http://www.utexas.edu/finearts/aah/about/people/richard-shiff

Snack Foods, Investigated

While out drawing on-site with my students the other day (trying to encourage the "sketchbook habit," don't you know), my own entry included the following. Maybe a good example for the students about challenging their notion of what proves to be appropriate or valuable subject matter? Or, maybe just the mundane, banal musings of an illustrator on the loose in a town with a Subway, and not much else. Enjoy?

Airport Ambience, Sketchbook Style

Who among us does not like to travel? The sights! The sounds! The overwhelming feeling of needing to be somewhere on time, or risk hundreds, perhaps thousands, of dollars, paid in advance, to travel by train, plane, boat, etc.! There, I've piqued your interest. My tale is not so interesting- went to a conference recently. But the airport cacophony was, indeed, something for my sketchbook, as was the condition of my seat-mate on the first leg of the journey. Yes, Purell® was involved...

Fun Fact: This is the spread I was working on in my sketchbook in the photos from the "Mid-Air Inking" post. Ok, maybe not so fun. Just click on the image if you'd like to see a larger version.

Mid-Air Inking...

So, often I find myself working in a sketchbook (or on professional work, of course... shhhh...) in random places (hotel rooms, trains, subway, the back yard, and so on). This is really not unusual for any professional illustrator or artist, but there are some interesting challenges. For example, in the "tray tables up" position, at night, you are relegated to holding your sketchbook in one hand, inking with the other, in piss-poor light, negotiating the lumps and bumps of turbulence, along with a seat-mate who won't stop talking.

Wikipedia (I know, a decidedly unreliable source, and, yet, so 21st century...) defines turbulence as "characterized by chaotic and suspectedly stochastic property changes." This is reflected in my inking. Fo' shizzle.

I recently had some fun decorating an air sickness bag, and then leaving it for the next (un) lucky traveler...

Exercise... and "Silence of the Lambs"

This recent page, from my sketchbook, details an oddly beautiful but scary sight. There were so many vultures, all perfectly still and silent. Birds are omens, aren't they? There's something about seeing this many carrion-eaters while you're exercising that says, "Maybe I should hurry up?"

Heat Wave, and Then Some, or, the Trials of a Hot and Humid Homeowner

We've had some unbearable heat lately. And the humidity to go with it. Like downtown Manila. So, what better time to go up to the sweltering hot second floor and attempt some simple home repair? There IS no better time! At least not if I want new sketchbook material as a result.

Afterward, I watched a few reruns of "Breaking Bad." It seemed the right thing to do after such traumatic, but ultimately successful, DIY.

Travel Advice

From my sketchbook, just prior to an international trip a little while back. And for my friend, Terri, who is traveling later this spring. Time to update the "international symbols" on the package of live typhoid vaccine...

Pop Pop: My Great Grandfather

A tribute to my Great Grandfather, Melvin E. Cole, on my Mother's side of the family. He had a really hard life and was a small, wiry, gruff man who smoked unfiltered Camels and Lucky Strikes. He grew beautiful flowers and took great pride in them. He also kept finches. We didn't understand his gruffness, as kids, but now I have an appreciation for his life and what he went through.

Dream Big! Part II

Another in a series of iPad drawings. Impossible optimism!

Dream Big!

Another in a series of iPad art sketchbook pieces. My glass is half full. Always. Sorry if yours is not!

Summer Triumvirate

Summer is here! Celebrate. It's the simple things, folks.

Anatole Deibler! The Book!

Anatole Deibler by Cora Lynn Deibler | Make Your Own Book

If you've liked the story of Anatole Deibler in these blog pages, try the book! You can order this book in either hard or soft cover, and love it forever in the privacy of your own home.