Perhaps my fortunes in 2007 are headed in a better direction already... Last week, I took my Xmas money down to a local art store, where I found a great book and something else I wanted (a sketchbook-sized tabletop sketching easel) for an exceptional price (roughly half off.) Okay, so technically that was still 2006, but only by a couple days. New Year's is an arbritrary date, anyway - many cultures would have us in the new year past the solstice, and others would wait for spring. But I digress (as usual)...
A few days later, in a paper store, I stumbled across a set of grayscale Pitt brush pens. I've only recently tried brush pens, and while I can't say I'm exceptionally proficient with them, I do like what they seem to be capable of. I'm also completely useless at color theory, to the point where I'm more than a little scared of using it. (Ever wonder why most Skyhaven critters are flat flood-fill or basic filter effects? Now you know...) I've read that it's a good idea to work up to color via developing an eye for values first via grayscale. So finding those pens at a good price counts as another encouraging mark in the "Lucky" category... or at least it does if your life is as starved for decent luck as mine tends to be.
Today, on a routine cat litter run to Target (they have the best price on the largest buckets of the stuff, which is a good thing when you have four cats), I wandered past the toy aisles. I do this on occasion, as I like to keep my eyes peeled for any decent dragon or griffinlike figures to add to my collection. It's often slim pickings, especially with my minimal budget and extremely picky tastes on fantastic creatures. Today, I hit the mother lode. I'd known that they were making all sorts of merchandising spin-offs of the popular Dragonology book, but for some reason I'd never encountered it... until today. There, proudly displayed on the end of the aisle, was a veritable cornucopia of dragons. I used a decent chunk of my remaining Xmas money stocking up, though I did restrain myself. I did not, as impulse first dictated, sweep the entire shelf into the cart and run madly for the checkout line. I only purchased one figurine, one wooden assemble-your-own-dragon kit (okay, they only had one kind left, so no points for restraint there), and one blatant marketing gimmick in the form of a precut-to-assemble cardboard dragon with a little booklet. Aside from the last one, a European dragon, the others were Asians. I seem to have good luck with Asian dragons, especially for the past few years. For some reason, I keep running across them in the strangest places: the toy bin, rock & gem shows, the ocean, even in my dreams. My books on animal guides would call this significant. Significant or not, I call it cool.
In any event, later on, I got a phone call. Remember that job I interviewed for almost two months ago? The one I never got the kiss-off note about? Well, there was a reason I never got that note. Somehow, after all this time and after seeing an ad for a very similar slot in the paper (after I interviewed... it doesn't do wonders for your confidence when the unadvertized job you interview for takes out an ad as soon as you walk out the door, I tell ya...), I'm still in the running. I go back in for another interview next week... almost two months to the day after I went out there the first time.
Did the dragons have anything to do with this breakthrough? Is my luck really changing in 2007? I can't say I have the answers to those questions, but I can say one thing. I really, really should've bought that Megamillions ticket today when I had the chance...
Thursday, January 04, 2007
Monday, January 01, 2007
A New Post For The New Year
Well, 2006 is finally over and done with. 2007's too young to show its true colors yet, but I'm hoping its intentions are good. (No, this isn't too soon for a year to show you it's going to be cruddy. 2004 started with an ice storm that dropped a huge limb through my sister's car within a week of its arrival.)
With the new year comes New Year's Resolutions. I suppose it's as good a time as any to figure out what you need or don't need in your life and resolve to do something about it. I print out my resolutions and tape them above my computer, so every time I use it (which is more often than I ought to), I have my resolutions glaring at me from behind the monitor. In the final assessment, I hit three out of nine resolutions for 2006, up from about 2 1/2 hit in 2005. In the hopes of a similar ratio this year, I upped the ante to 12 resolutions. To give myself some accountability, and to waste more blog space, I'll list them here.
1. Attain a source of income. This one's a no-brainer, but it has, unfortunately, topped my resolution list for two years running...
2. Write, draw, and create more. Another no-brainer, and another carryover from last year. I actually succeeded to a degree last year, finishing one draft of a novel-sized story and filling almost three sketchbooks (up from one a year previously.)
3. Spend at least one hour daily creating. Okay, so it's a bit redundant after the previous one... I could use all the motivation I can get... this is at least a concrete goal.
4. Offer at least one item I have created for sale. People keep telling me I could take commissions to sell custom ornaments. If I can get myself to the point where I can produce a more consistent product, as opposed to a poorly-planned, half-improvised monstrosity, I was thinking of actually giving it a go. I also had vague plans of using Skyhaven critter templates to create marketable merchandise.
5. Submit at least one story for a publication or contest. A perennial favorite on my resolution lists... if I can stick to Resolutions 2 and 3, maybe I can get a small batch of market-worthy stories together.
6. Post at least one work (art or story) a month on the internet for public viewing. My blog doesn't count in this, unfortunately, as I don't think the public tends to view it.
7. Organize and clean my space. It's not much, but it's all I can control at this point, so I really ought to keep it tidy. The trick is keeping other people's junk from encroaching on mine.
8. Create and share at least one Flash game or animation. I have some decidedly dangerous ideas about this, but actually installing and using Flash would have to be the first step.
9. Update sites. I did the Realm overhaul last year, but I have a lot more I want to accomplish. Dreamspire Castle's exceedingly stagnant, for one thing. This includes the Skyhaven overhaul I've been wanting to do for some time, and adding better graphics to Brightdreamer Books. (Promoting Brightdreamer Books in some manner is a subset of this...)
10. Update or add at least five Skyhaven critters. Self-explanatory, especially if you've visited Skyhaven...
11. Walk at least three times a week. Because I'm a lazy lump, and I tend to think better when I get out and exercise more.
12. Restart my budget and learn about investing. I shuffled what remains of my Life Or Death fund (once laughably referred to as my college fund) at the tail end of 2006, but I need to make some of that minimal money work for me, especially if my first resolution's a no-go again this year.
I suppose I really ought to get to work on making some of these happen. Hopefully, 2007 will help me out, or at least not hinder me in any horrific manner.
With the new year comes New Year's Resolutions. I suppose it's as good a time as any to figure out what you need or don't need in your life and resolve to do something about it. I print out my resolutions and tape them above my computer, so every time I use it (which is more often than I ought to), I have my resolutions glaring at me from behind the monitor. In the final assessment, I hit three out of nine resolutions for 2006, up from about 2 1/2 hit in 2005. In the hopes of a similar ratio this year, I upped the ante to 12 resolutions. To give myself some accountability, and to waste more blog space, I'll list them here.
1. Attain a source of income. This one's a no-brainer, but it has, unfortunately, topped my resolution list for two years running...
2. Write, draw, and create more. Another no-brainer, and another carryover from last year. I actually succeeded to a degree last year, finishing one draft of a novel-sized story and filling almost three sketchbooks (up from one a year previously.)
3. Spend at least one hour daily creating. Okay, so it's a bit redundant after the previous one... I could use all the motivation I can get... this is at least a concrete goal.
4. Offer at least one item I have created for sale. People keep telling me I could take commissions to sell custom ornaments. If I can get myself to the point where I can produce a more consistent product, as opposed to a poorly-planned, half-improvised monstrosity, I was thinking of actually giving it a go. I also had vague plans of using Skyhaven critter templates to create marketable merchandise.
5. Submit at least one story for a publication or contest. A perennial favorite on my resolution lists... if I can stick to Resolutions 2 and 3, maybe I can get a small batch of market-worthy stories together.
6. Post at least one work (art or story) a month on the internet for public viewing. My blog doesn't count in this, unfortunately, as I don't think the public tends to view it.
7. Organize and clean my space. It's not much, but it's all I can control at this point, so I really ought to keep it tidy. The trick is keeping other people's junk from encroaching on mine.
8. Create and share at least one Flash game or animation. I have some decidedly dangerous ideas about this, but actually installing and using Flash would have to be the first step.
9. Update sites. I did the Realm overhaul last year, but I have a lot more I want to accomplish. Dreamspire Castle's exceedingly stagnant, for one thing. This includes the Skyhaven overhaul I've been wanting to do for some time, and adding better graphics to Brightdreamer Books. (Promoting Brightdreamer Books in some manner is a subset of this...)
10. Update or add at least five Skyhaven critters. Self-explanatory, especially if you've visited Skyhaven...
11. Walk at least three times a week. Because I'm a lazy lump, and I tend to think better when I get out and exercise more.
12. Restart my budget and learn about investing. I shuffled what remains of my Life Or Death fund (once laughably referred to as my college fund) at the tail end of 2006, but I need to make some of that minimal money work for me, especially if my first resolution's a no-go again this year.
I suppose I really ought to get to work on making some of these happen. Hopefully, 2007 will help me out, or at least not hinder me in any horrific manner.
Saturday, December 23, 2006
That Time Of Year Again...
The lines are a little longer, the traffic's a little thicker, and the radio tries to sneak "Christmas In The Northwest" and other insipid holiday songs into my ears whenever possible. (Never heard of "Christmas In The Northwest"? Keep it that way... your teeth will thank you...)
I'm not saying that all holiday music is bad. A fair chunk of it's rather good. What would Christmas be without O Holy Night, Ring Those Christmas Bells, and other standards... or not-so-standards, like Bob Rivers' Twisted Christmas offerings, or Mom's Christmas CDs of the Clancy Brothers and the Irish Rovers, or the local favorite Stop The Cavalry? It's just those songs, or more often those versions of songs, that send ten-inch fingernails raking across the blackboard of my brain. You know the ones I'm talking about. The rot-your-teeth-out-before-the-opening-bar's-done songs. The rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it-for-the-holiday-of-peace-and-joy songs. The haven't-you-found-that-frellin'-note-yet? songs. The it-wasn't-broke-so-let's-rebuild-it-from-the-ground-up songs. I heard a number of all of those songs this year, moreso than I had since I worked in grocery stores stocking shelves (holiday tape loops in grocery stores is a whole 'nother rant...), listening to the local all-Christmas station. Why? Inspiration, of course, for the annual ornament blitz.
This year was a remarkably prolific year for ornaments, because I owed them to so many people after last year. I was hoping to do double ornaments for some, but it didn't work out that way. Still, I bested my old records before the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers were done, and just today I finished gluing the hangers for the last round of them. Now I'm at a loose end. I don't know what to do with the rest of today and tomorrow without ornaments to fiddle with. Usually, I'm up past midnight on Xmas Eve, holding an ornament or two over the nearest vent and hoping the furnace kicks in long enough to speed the paint drying process. This year, I managed to get all done - including two spares, completely unprecedented in my decade or so of ornament production - by today, two days before Xmas. So what am I to do, really, but post pictures and waste blog space talking about them? (Hey, if I had a life worth writing about, I wouldn't be here so often to write about it, would I?)
To prevent potential gift "spoilers," I'll be posting links to the Photobucket pictures rather than having them in-line. I'll also be editing this post to go in stages, starting with the ones that have already been received up through (probably) Xmas Eve with the last of them. Ready? Tough, here goes...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006GarSd01j.jpg
I made this one for my mother's boss. I owed her this much at least for software help over the past year or so. I'd heard she liked gargoyles, so I took a swipe at an Xmas gargoyle. I heard she liked it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006GarBk01j.jpg
Well, he's a gargoyle. What else would he be singing? Yes, I hand-lettered it. With a paintbrush. And no guidelines. I also did the book separately and glued it on later. If I did things the easy way, I wouldn't be me. Whether or not that's a bad thing, I'm in no position to judge...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006Drg01j.jpg
I only managed one salvageable photo of these three. I was just pleased to hear that they'd survived cross-country shipping. Yes, those are glass bevelled beads - they all have one, though you can't really tell from this angle. You can't really tell much from this angle, to be perfectly honest. I said they were cruddy photos... I do a lot better when I can shoot outdoors, but the weather didn't cooperate and the lighting at my workbench really isn't conducive to great photography. That's my excuse, anyway.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006DrgGrf01xj.jpg
The spares. Unprecedented, as I said, but I managed to squeeze in two spares. I haven't actually made an ornament for me since I started making holiday projects, and, dang it, I wanted to make myself something! So, since I had a couple spare armatures lying around, I went for it. The green one's a dragon, and the other one's supposed to be a griffin, if it's not obvious. The markings on the stockings were done with Elmer's acrylic paint pens. I discovered them this year, after my sister found out how well they worked for her carving projects. I love them. What other metallic acrylic paint will cover in one coat - even over dark colors? Granted, they have some issues with glaze now and again, especially if they've been drawn over metallics, but I still love them. Beats the heck out of getting an even line out of a tired paintbrush... wish I'd had them when I did the lettering in that frellin' book for the gargoyle, but I digress.
More To Come... stay tuned...
Okay, it's 9 PM Xmas Eve - anyone reading this who has received a gift from me and hasn't opening it, avert your eyes... This goes for you, too, family, if you're reading this before Xmas Day!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/Bench01j.jpg
Just a quick shot of my workbench. And you wonder why it takes so long for me to get anything done...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2003ThreeSide01j.jpg
Yes, I know it says 2003 in the file title - I screwed up when I was editing them... Anyway, these are from the first batch, along with the gargoyle and the dragons. They're supposed to have a plushie/stuffed animal look. In a not-so-interesting side note, the moose was inspired by a mudflap I saw on a semi a few years back.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2003Threegrp01j.jpg
Another shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006LstGrp01xp.jpg
The last round, in a cruddy photo. I'll annotate after the holidays... no spoilers in the text, here.
LATER - Okay, clockwise from top: Wooden airplane toy (bought at craft store and painted by me) ornament for Grandpa; Violet and gold hummer for Mom (yes, it's violet - a dark violet, yes, but still violet); Green dragon for me; Holiday-themed Magical Trevor* for my sister; Griffin for me; blurry green alien for sci-fi nut dad.
* - http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor/ - My sister loves him... yeah, I screwed up the proportions. What else is new?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006PMOrn02j.jpg
I owed several ornaments to people across the country, so I thought I'd save on shipping weight and time and just paint up some paper mache rounds from the craft store. In fact, I thought, I'll save myself a ton of time and just get some graphite paper, print out some generic pictures from Word's Wingdings/Webdings fonts, and paint in the lines. Smugly, I bought and printed... and the little corner of my brain that always gets me in over my head on projects started crying foul. "Cop out! Cop out!" it cried. "You can't just trace someone else's art and be satisfied! Who are you kidding?"
"But," I replied weakly,"I gotta get these done and mailed soon! I don't have time to do anything else!"
"Well, you have to do better than generic dingbats," it said stubbornly,"or I'm not going to give you a moment's peace from now through New Year's."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006PMOrn01j.jpg
"How about a compromise?" I offered.
"I'm listening," it said warily.
"One side, generic star dingbat shapes. The other... well, I'll reuse them, but they'll be all my own drawings."
"Kinda like Skyhaven... one template, many colors... Hmm. Okay, you've got yourself a deal. But you'll have to do them all unique. No cheating."
"I promise. Now leave me alone while I procrastinate."
"Don't I always?"
(Two actually ended up being used on Mom's holiday tree at work. All but one of the rest are shipped and claimed... the last one will go out after Xmas, because they didn't get back to me with their address in time.)
Happy Holidays, one and all!
I'm not saying that all holiday music is bad. A fair chunk of it's rather good. What would Christmas be without O Holy Night, Ring Those Christmas Bells, and other standards... or not-so-standards, like Bob Rivers' Twisted Christmas offerings, or Mom's Christmas CDs of the Clancy Brothers and the Irish Rovers, or the local favorite Stop The Cavalry? It's just those songs, or more often those versions of songs, that send ten-inch fingernails raking across the blackboard of my brain. You know the ones I'm talking about. The rot-your-teeth-out-before-the-opening-bar's-done songs. The rip-your-heart-out-and-stomp-on-it-for-the-holiday-of-peace-and-joy songs. The haven't-you-found-that-frellin'-note-yet? songs. The it-wasn't-broke-so-let's-rebuild-it-from-the-ground-up songs. I heard a number of all of those songs this year, moreso than I had since I worked in grocery stores stocking shelves (holiday tape loops in grocery stores is a whole 'nother rant...), listening to the local all-Christmas station. Why? Inspiration, of course, for the annual ornament blitz.
This year was a remarkably prolific year for ornaments, because I owed them to so many people after last year. I was hoping to do double ornaments for some, but it didn't work out that way. Still, I bested my old records before the Thanksgiving turkey leftovers were done, and just today I finished gluing the hangers for the last round of them. Now I'm at a loose end. I don't know what to do with the rest of today and tomorrow without ornaments to fiddle with. Usually, I'm up past midnight on Xmas Eve, holding an ornament or two over the nearest vent and hoping the furnace kicks in long enough to speed the paint drying process. This year, I managed to get all done - including two spares, completely unprecedented in my decade or so of ornament production - by today, two days before Xmas. So what am I to do, really, but post pictures and waste blog space talking about them? (Hey, if I had a life worth writing about, I wouldn't be here so often to write about it, would I?)
To prevent potential gift "spoilers," I'll be posting links to the Photobucket pictures rather than having them in-line. I'll also be editing this post to go in stages, starting with the ones that have already been received up through (probably) Xmas Eve with the last of them. Ready? Tough, here goes...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006GarSd01j.jpg
I made this one for my mother's boss. I owed her this much at least for software help over the past year or so. I'd heard she liked gargoyles, so I took a swipe at an Xmas gargoyle. I heard she liked it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006GarBk01j.jpg
Well, he's a gargoyle. What else would he be singing? Yes, I hand-lettered it. With a paintbrush. And no guidelines. I also did the book separately and glued it on later. If I did things the easy way, I wouldn't be me. Whether or not that's a bad thing, I'm in no position to judge...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006Drg01j.jpg
I only managed one salvageable photo of these three. I was just pleased to hear that they'd survived cross-country shipping. Yes, those are glass bevelled beads - they all have one, though you can't really tell from this angle. You can't really tell much from this angle, to be perfectly honest. I said they were cruddy photos... I do a lot better when I can shoot outdoors, but the weather didn't cooperate and the lighting at my workbench really isn't conducive to great photography. That's my excuse, anyway.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006DrgGrf01xj.jpg
The spares. Unprecedented, as I said, but I managed to squeeze in two spares. I haven't actually made an ornament for me since I started making holiday projects, and, dang it, I wanted to make myself something! So, since I had a couple spare armatures lying around, I went for it. The green one's a dragon, and the other one's supposed to be a griffin, if it's not obvious. The markings on the stockings were done with Elmer's acrylic paint pens. I discovered them this year, after my sister found out how well they worked for her carving projects. I love them. What other metallic acrylic paint will cover in one coat - even over dark colors? Granted, they have some issues with glaze now and again, especially if they've been drawn over metallics, but I still love them. Beats the heck out of getting an even line out of a tired paintbrush... wish I'd had them when I did the lettering in that frellin' book for the gargoyle, but I digress.
More To Come... stay tuned...
Okay, it's 9 PM Xmas Eve - anyone reading this who has received a gift from me and hasn't opening it, avert your eyes... This goes for you, too, family, if you're reading this before Xmas Day!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/Bench01j.jpg
Just a quick shot of my workbench. And you wonder why it takes so long for me to get anything done...
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2003ThreeSide01j.jpg
Yes, I know it says 2003 in the file title - I screwed up when I was editing them... Anyway, these are from the first batch, along with the gargoyle and the dragons. They're supposed to have a plushie/stuffed animal look. In a not-so-interesting side note, the moose was inspired by a mudflap I saw on a semi a few years back.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2003Threegrp01j.jpg
Another shot.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006LstGrp01xp.jpg
The last round, in a cruddy photo. I'll annotate after the holidays... no spoilers in the text, here.
LATER - Okay, clockwise from top: Wooden airplane toy (bought at craft store and painted by me) ornament for Grandpa; Violet and gold hummer for Mom (yes, it's violet - a dark violet, yes, but still violet); Green dragon for me; Holiday-themed Magical Trevor* for my sister; Griffin for me; blurry green alien for sci-fi nut dad.
* - http://www.weebls-stuff.com/toons/magical+trevor/ - My sister loves him... yeah, I screwed up the proportions. What else is new?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006PMOrn02j.jpg
I owed several ornaments to people across the country, so I thought I'd save on shipping weight and time and just paint up some paper mache rounds from the craft store. In fact, I thought, I'll save myself a ton of time and just get some graphite paper, print out some generic pictures from Word's Wingdings/Webdings fonts, and paint in the lines. Smugly, I bought and printed... and the little corner of my brain that always gets me in over my head on projects started crying foul. "Cop out! Cop out!" it cried. "You can't just trace someone else's art and be satisfied! Who are you kidding?"
"But," I replied weakly,"I gotta get these done and mailed soon! I don't have time to do anything else!"
"Well, you have to do better than generic dingbats," it said stubbornly,"or I'm not going to give you a moment's peace from now through New Year's."
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v147/dreamlurker/2006PMOrn01j.jpg
"How about a compromise?" I offered.
"I'm listening," it said warily.
"One side, generic star dingbat shapes. The other... well, I'll reuse them, but they'll be all my own drawings."
"Kinda like Skyhaven... one template, many colors... Hmm. Okay, you've got yourself a deal. But you'll have to do them all unique. No cheating."
"I promise. Now leave me alone while I procrastinate."
"Don't I always?"
(Two actually ended up being used on Mom's holiday tree at work. All but one of the rest are shipped and claimed... the last one will go out after Xmas, because they didn't get back to me with their address in time.)
Happy Holidays, one and all!
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
The Longest and Shortest Weeks of the Year
Twelve days 'til Xmas... I remember how long it was when I was a young'un. Every day between Thanksgiving and the Big Day was an agonizing eternity, with constant reminders on all fronts that Xmas was on its way. My sister and I just couldn't stand the wait. On Xmas Eve itself, we hardly slept a wink (but of course we must have fallen asleep at some point, because Santa always showed up ;-) ), and even I, programmed since before birth to resent morning hours, was out of bed by 6 AM and chomping at the bit to get to the presents when Mom fiiinnnallly woke up. And, always, even as a kid, it all was over in a flash. Open presents at home, go to Grandpa's for "dinner" (inexplicably at lunchtime) and more presents, then the drive home. And that was that.
Growing up, time seems to have compressed. A month is barely any time at all, especially when you're peppered by nonstop questions for which one has no answer. Okay, it's not really questions, but one question, from multiple sources. The eternal question that plagues all shoppers, torments all givers, and haunts all receivers. "What do you want this year?" Yeah, you get it on your birthday, too, but it's always bigger for Xmas. You can't just ask for something, either - it has to be Something, capitalized, big and boldface in italics if possible. This is Xmas, after all. Winter Solstice. I'm guessing here, but I think most cultures have some Big Bash roughly associated with this time of year - you had to know your seasons, after all, if you wanted to know what to do to your croplands or when to expect game migrations and such. So this isn't just a gift. It's a Gift. You don't just ask for a sketchbook - you ask for a premium spiral-bound sketchbook full of illustration-grade paper and a set of gold-plated professional sketch pens to go with it, or else.
So, what do I want this year? I know what I want this year. I know what I need this year. It is, in all honesty, a pretty big-ticket item, so it's entirely appropriate for this time of year. And it's nothing anyone can get me... well, not legally or ethically at any rate. It's a job. I'm still waiting to hear back on that library shipping center one. I haven't gotten a kiss-off note, so that's good. I haven't gotten a phone call, either, which isn't so good, though it's not exactly bad. Nothing makes time stretch like waiting for a yea or nay on a job... almost like old times... (Of course, I never say no to sketchbooks, dragons, or gift certificates to bookstores.)
Another reason time is shorter this time of year is that when one grows up one is expected to do more than slap one's name on the gift Dad or Mom told you to give to Grandpa or your sister and calling it good. Getting everyone else to answer the dreaded holiday question is just half the problem - finding what they want and obtaining it is the rest, though of course the internet's a great help in that department. And, of course, there's the ultimate resource of the penniless loser, the homemade gift. Nothing eats the holiday season like making your own gifts.
I can't remember when exactly I started making ornaments, but I remember that it started with a tight budget, acrylic paints, and some cheap wooden nutcrackers at a local craft store. Since then, I've moved on to actual sculpted items (first in polymers, more recently in Paperclay.) I've even designed my own cards on irregular years. This year, I didn't manage the cards, but I did manage a bumper crop of ornaments. See, I didn't get to do them last year (for obvious reasons), so this year I felt insanely obligated to do double ornaments for everyone who "missed out" last year. Since I now have my own workbench now and don't have to wait for my usual corner of the dining room table to be cleared off, I actually got started much earlier than I normally do. I even had some finished before Thanksgiving! Does that mean I'm done? Of course not. I just started covering the last armatures today. See, if I were done, I'd have nothing to fret or nitpick or fuss over until past midnight on Xmas Eve. I'd actually have some free time to sit back and enjoy the lights on the fiber optic trees, and listen to my holiday CDs in peace. In short, time would decompress, and it would take that much longer for Xmas to get here.... and I just can't stand the wait.
Growing up, time seems to have compressed. A month is barely any time at all, especially when you're peppered by nonstop questions for which one has no answer. Okay, it's not really questions, but one question, from multiple sources. The eternal question that plagues all shoppers, torments all givers, and haunts all receivers. "What do you want this year?" Yeah, you get it on your birthday, too, but it's always bigger for Xmas. You can't just ask for something, either - it has to be Something, capitalized, big and boldface in italics if possible. This is Xmas, after all. Winter Solstice. I'm guessing here, but I think most cultures have some Big Bash roughly associated with this time of year - you had to know your seasons, after all, if you wanted to know what to do to your croplands or when to expect game migrations and such. So this isn't just a gift. It's a Gift. You don't just ask for a sketchbook - you ask for a premium spiral-bound sketchbook full of illustration-grade paper and a set of gold-plated professional sketch pens to go with it, or else.
So, what do I want this year? I know what I want this year. I know what I need this year. It is, in all honesty, a pretty big-ticket item, so it's entirely appropriate for this time of year. And it's nothing anyone can get me... well, not legally or ethically at any rate. It's a job. I'm still waiting to hear back on that library shipping center one. I haven't gotten a kiss-off note, so that's good. I haven't gotten a phone call, either, which isn't so good, though it's not exactly bad. Nothing makes time stretch like waiting for a yea or nay on a job... almost like old times... (Of course, I never say no to sketchbooks, dragons, or gift certificates to bookstores.)
Another reason time is shorter this time of year is that when one grows up one is expected to do more than slap one's name on the gift Dad or Mom told you to give to Grandpa or your sister and calling it good. Getting everyone else to answer the dreaded holiday question is just half the problem - finding what they want and obtaining it is the rest, though of course the internet's a great help in that department. And, of course, there's the ultimate resource of the penniless loser, the homemade gift. Nothing eats the holiday season like making your own gifts.
I can't remember when exactly I started making ornaments, but I remember that it started with a tight budget, acrylic paints, and some cheap wooden nutcrackers at a local craft store. Since then, I've moved on to actual sculpted items (first in polymers, more recently in Paperclay.) I've even designed my own cards on irregular years. This year, I didn't manage the cards, but I did manage a bumper crop of ornaments. See, I didn't get to do them last year (for obvious reasons), so this year I felt insanely obligated to do double ornaments for everyone who "missed out" last year. Since I now have my own workbench now and don't have to wait for my usual corner of the dining room table to be cleared off, I actually got started much earlier than I normally do. I even had some finished before Thanksgiving! Does that mean I'm done? Of course not. I just started covering the last armatures today. See, if I were done, I'd have nothing to fret or nitpick or fuss over until past midnight on Xmas Eve. I'd actually have some free time to sit back and enjoy the lights on the fiber optic trees, and listen to my holiday CDs in peace. In short, time would decompress, and it would take that much longer for Xmas to get here.... and I just can't stand the wait.
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