The Anna Karenina Problem

You're Distracted

 "Within 20 years, he wondered, will students manage to muster the dozens of hours of attention necessary to get through a lengthy novel like Tolstoy's 19th-century classic? If not, what does that mean for works of history that are even harder to read?"

 I recently finished Anna Karenina, myself. It was a long haul, but I finished. Near the end of my endeavor, I was talking to the Mister about how I was frustrated because it was taking me so long to finish. He mentioned the above article that he had read recently and my struggles started to make sense. 

It saddens me that this is even a thought. I love reading classic lit, I always have. Yes it takes me three times as long to read a book of the same length as it would to read say, Harry Potter, but it is a different experience. And I love both. Hopefully some like-minded souls will carry on reading books like these well into the future. I will do my part to encourage my children and their children to take the extra time and read classic lit, at least every once and a while.

Minimalist Trek

My mister likes to pretend that he has no artistic talent. I beg to differ. I came home to these prints the other day.

Not only have I loved Star Trek for most of my life (my dad and I used to watch TNG when I was little), but I am such a fan of minimalist prints. These beauties are destined for a display in our office very soon.

So tell me...who is your favorite captain?

Bagheera

I try not to post too many pictures of the kittens out of fear that I will be thought of as the crazy cat lady. But, I couldn't resist these photos that I snapped while being accosted during our morning ritual.

Bagheera likes to wait until the last time my alarm goes off and then stand on my chest and purr until I get out of bed. He is such a friendly little alarm clock that way.

What a grumpy mug, but I love this little critter!

Graphic Design Debut

I have been drawing since I could hold a crayon, but the thought of digital art has always scared me. I don't know what it is about it, I love the way it looks, I know a few graphic designers and I greatly admire their work, but for me to take it on, simply scares me.

That being said, I recently faced my fears. For a very dear friend, who lost her mom a couple years ago. She wanted me to create something with lyrics from a song that remind her of her mom. I drafted a plan for how I wanted the words to look, but then I sat on the idea for a couple months. I knew what I wanted, but I also knew I couldn't get that look with pencils or paint. I knew that digitally, one could make the print look perfect, but I didn't think that person was me. So I simmered, and simmered.

Fast forward to my vacation. I have all this time to devote to crafting, why not try my hand at creating these prints digitally. I have no external stressors at the moment, and no real deadline to finish by. Now seems like the perfect opportunity to make some mistakes and maybe end up with prints that look like what I had in my head.

It didn't take me long to figure out that when drawing by hand, if you get something how you want it...don't ever erase it! At least for me, it never quite looked that good again. This rule goes right out the window when you work digitally. Images can be saved, moved, duplicated, and temporarily hidden to try for something better. This is hard for me. It took me a long time to work up the courage to erase the part of the print I was working on to try something different. I am glad I took the plunge though, the change I made fixed the whole piece.

So here is it, my first attempt at digital design. For my friend and the memory of her dear, sweet mother.