Backyard "StorySki" Day with MVSTA

 Even pint-sized polar bears are enough to frighten the local canines!

  Near sighted penguins...

 ... and skate-skiing polar bears...

  ... who are willing pose for pictures!

TOO. MUCH. FUN!

I hosted a couple of StorySki readings for  MVSTA's 1st Annual Backyard Ski Day last weekend.  Three or four of the Polar Opposites signs were buried by our recent 20+ inches of snow, but I happened to have an easily readable copy of the book on hand... and the most patient and helpful skate-skiing polar bear assistant in the valley!

The fine art of shoveling!

Suffice it to say that I'm sort of a snow shovel perfectionist. I mean sure, there are days when I throw and go. Days with too much work and too little time to do it right. But then there are other days... Bluebird days when the sun is shining and your back is sore and your spirit broken from the writing/drawing slouch of a morning... On those days - days with a backlog of snow-fallen inches from a busy weekend - you get outside and make some art!

:)

Bliss

Ahhh... The snow was piling up outside the studio window yesterday afternoon. Magic stuff! Good for work and good for play. Further, and perhaps more tangible evidence of the "piling" can be found in the kitchen window/picnic table shot below. More on the way tomorrow!

Steampunk Sleepdog!

December's sketch gets some January color...

December Sketches

Happily, I've been doing a LOT more free drawing of late -- filling up a few little sketchbooks to wrap up 2011 and cruising on into the new year. Amazingly, the more I draw, the more ideas actually see the light of day!

StorySki in AAA Journey

The January/February 2012 edition of AAA's Journey Magazine features a nice little description of the second annual StorySki. The extra photos were taken just before Christmas and the skiing has only gotten better!