Thirteen birthday cards

This was perhaps the biggest part of Asha's birthday gift. I drew & watercolored thirteen cards, and wrote a memory of Asha in each.

This may not seem like a big deal, but the thing is, I can't draw birds. I have never really understood their shapes, or anatomy. I've never even been much of a bird person, or thought about them much, except for pigeons. So this took a lot of research and practice. I did at least one, sometimes 4 or 5, full color figure studies for each, to figure out how to make them look right.

Selecting the birds was also a big project, but lots of fun. I really wanted to play with their forms- the king fisher with the large head, the kiwi is nearly teardrop shaped, the asian blue quail might as well be a fancy jelly bean. Several were chosen for their colors, I loved the black and white birds, some greys, mixed in with the bright tropical ones. I picked the Japanese crane for it's dance, and the flamingo because it was the only bird I was excited about drawing in flight. Anyway, by the end, there was something very special about each!

Thirteen birds for Asha

I wanted Asha's thirteenth birthday to be memorable. It's a big land mark, and she's a very mature and talented young woman. She really is growing up.

Last summer, Asha came up to visit for a week. We had a great time adventuring around capitol hill. One thing we both spent a lot of time thinking, and talking about was Pigeons. Pigeons are really kind of awesome if you think about it. The are fat, lazy, friendly, and they always wiggle their heads when they walk. Can you imagine anything cuter?

Ever since then, Asha has been interested in birds. So I thought it would be cool to get her thirteen gifts - one for each year she's been my sister & friend - and make each one bird themed. Some of them I made my self, or assembled myself, others I bought. I put a lot of thought into each and every one.

White & gold ring holder, from Anthropologie

Hand illustrated plate, from LoucheLab

Cabochon bird earrings. Can't wait to see these on!

A pretty little feather ring

Stamps for things that require bird-decorations

Stationary, envelopes, note cards & erasers from Daiso. The creamy one with green leaves has the cutest pigeon ever on it.

There were too many good fabrics. I was able to narrow it down to pink bird fabric.

A make your own felt bird kit. I bought the pattern, and assembled it myself, with valentines colors for the upcoming holiday.

Similar idea here. A bird cross stitch pattern, with all of the necessary supplies. I gave her enough colors to do three different color themes, or mix and match :)

Maybe everyone needs a vintage bird poster for their room.

Letter press no. 1, from Dutch Door. These art prints are spendier than letter press cards, but they are totally worth it. Very high quality paper, impeccable registration, beautiful design.

Letter press no. 2.

And last but not least, a large printed version of this picture. I took this picture, and this is the flock of pigeons near my house, that Asha first fell in love with.

Exploring with the fam, some foggy day in april

I'm not going to write descriptions for these photos. There are yummy snacks, and rivers, fantastical trees, and ponies. I think everyone's imagination can make a little something out of that mix.

Tulip festival!

Here are a few of my pictures from the tulip festival in April. Ravi Asha and Michele came up to visit, and we had so much fun! I love it when they visit!

On creativity

Lately I've been hearing from a lot of people "I wish I was as creative as you"... and it makes me sad. I honestly don't think of myself as a super creative person. I have trouble producing on demand. I tend to synthesize ideas. I am always better at editing, than creating from scratch. And a lot of my designs are influenced by the material. i.e. if I'm quilting something, it is limited - it has to be a quilt design, and is nothing like something I would draw or paint. In fact, if you give me a set of limitations, I'm better at finding my way out of them - it's a bit like problem solving. But if you give me a blank canvas, more often than not, the result is not pretty.

Anyway, I'm not trying to get down on myself, and it's certainly not the praise that saddens me (acknowledgment gives me the warm fuzzies). I like most of what I make, and I always enjoy the effort. With a bit of practice, I think I get good at some things. But I don't think it's a special talent, and it is not something that comes naturally to me.

My little sister is one of those people with a natural - and very special - talent. Everything she touches drips with raw creativity, and at 12, she already has a mostly cohesive style. She has brilliant ideas. She can draw something, and not just make a cute picture or a pretty picture, but something that captures the personality and expression of her subject. I am so so proud of her, and always so excited to see what she can do.

I don't know if she'll chose a creative career, but if she does, I know that most such careers are an up-hill battle, requiring an enormous amount of work. And she has a kind of mad genius quality that lets her do some things that no one else can do, but also makes some things more difficult.

With projects like the proposal, I think of her. When I run into an obstacle - like buying the wrong materials, or getting sick, not having enough time or being too lazy, or feeling like I just can't get something to look that way I want, I think of Asha. I want her to feel like these are all things that can be overcome, and that you can do anything you set your mind to.

So it makes me very sad when you tell me you think I'm more creative than you, or that you wish you could make things, or that you are discouraged. I was really hoping that you'd say the opposite. That you were encouraged. That you tried something new. That you love it.