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illustration friday: play 11 August 2006 |
My first Illustration Friday submission and hopefully not my last. The theme: Play. The hula hoop was one of my favorite toys growing up (along with Fashion Plates and my Kimberly doll). I spun it around my hips and swam through it in the pool. Later at my high school grad night, I won a hula hoop contest. You didn't know I was so talented, did you?
This also happens to be one of many post-its I drew for the Post Deux show opening at Giant Robot next Saturday, Aug. 19. Rama and I drew some together, too. If you're in town, please come. And say hi.
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All I want to say today is 01 November 2004 |
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A quilt of worry 09 July 2004 |
Grandma and me, ink and watercolor on bristol, 2003 |
My grandma is in the hospital, again. It's the third time she's been admitted in a month, and I'm worried. That's the last thing I should be doing, I know, especially when I always have given her such a hard time for fretting about every little (and big) thing. But now I understand that worry comes with love. And, god, do I love that woman.
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My little Sid 29 June 2004 |
Sidra, downtown Los Angeles, March 2004 |
I met Sidra on the last day of one of the high school retreats where I help out. She had a spirally head of hair and a colgate smile. I didn't know how someone as funny, brave and crafty as Sidra had slipped past my radar the whole weekend, but I was glad that Kris was introducing me to her then. We hit it off instantly.
A lot of kids that come to these retreats go back to their high school lives and forget that they ever knew us. But not Sidra. She was hooked on our youth group, and we were hooked on her. Sidra was eager to help, quick to humor and easy to love. And she was always up for anything.
I started telling people that Sidra reminded me a lot of myself, but I quickly realized that in many ways she had already surpassed me. Her curiosity and creativity blew me away, and I didn't have half as much guts and smarts as she. So, when I asked if I could adopt her as my little sister, I knew that she was also kind of adopting me as hers. We've been laughing ever since.
Right now, Sidra's cruising down a highway somewhere in the state of Indiana. After she drops off our friend Kris to her hometown in Jersey, Sidra's hopping a cross-country train back to California. I'm not worried about her. I'm just excited for her to come back with stories, pictures and that big beaming smile.
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Let's celebrate 29 April 2004 |
Cover art for a mixed CD
This weekend is all about celebrations. My friends Seth & Stella are renewing wedding vows made last fall, my grandma turns 88 years old and Rama and I look back with gratitude and awe at our first year together. There will be lots of cake and ice cream, hugs and high-fives. And I'm going to Disneyland!
What are you going to celebrate this weekend?
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Public Service Announcement 09 April 2004 |
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Good Things, Illustrated Edition 18 March 2004 |
Martha Stewart may have popularized the term "good thing," but I made it my own.
I started keeping Good Things lists in my journal two years ago, during a dreary time in my life. I had gotten so used to seeing the bad stuff -- too used to it -- that I was losing sight of the good. Making a conscious effort to list them down every week helped me snap out of it. Soon, I realized there were far more blessings than curses in my life.
Making the lists in my journal has become a pleasure of its own. I make up hand-drawn fonts. I add color with crayons or watercolor. I get creative. I get messy. Tonight, I drew the latest Good Things list, and I had so much fun I thought I'd share. This is the first official illustrated edition and probably not the last, so you better like it! There will be more to come.
P.S. If you want a weeklyish dose of goodness in your life, sign up for the list. Go to maganda.org, enter your e-mail address in the handy little form and click "Yes, Please."
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Bag o' tricks 21 January 2004 |
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When I was in junior high school, I hated carrying a purse. On more than one occasion, I remember Ricky asking whether I had a Kleenex or a pen or a piece of gum. Anything, really.
My response was always "No," and his reply to that was usually something like, "You're a girl. You should have these kinds of things with you."
I can only guess that my then-teenage brother took his cues about ladies from my mother and her mother, both of whom carried their whole lives in a handbag. They were always prepared for anything.
Sniffly? Here's a tissue. Hungry? Here's a candy bar. Don't like candy bars? Have some crackers, instead.
Years later, I realize I have become a full-fledged bag lady. If I don't have my wallet, keys, cellphone, journal, make-up bag, pencil bag and camera with me at all times, I feel naked. Sometimes, I try to lighten my load by leaving the camera or journal at home, but those are the days that I happen to see something amazing or beautiful and I kick myself for not being able to document it properly.
If I could stuff the whole world inside a handbag, I would.
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You are free 08 January 2004 |
You Are Free, an illustration I drew for Measure Magazine
My friend Daniele is doing something very cool this year. She's doing everything that scares her.
I love that idea: Taking wild, courageous leaps into territory we've never gone before--territory we assumed was blocked off with yellow tape and orange cones. I want to do more of that, too. It's why I made a couple of concrete resolutions, like learning how to sew and completing a book. Because if I don't do it now, I never will, and if I don't even start, I'll definitely never finish.
Rama said something to me last year that has echoed in my ears since. "Christine," he said, "you'd be really good if you were more brave."
He was talking about my artwork, but it's true of a lot of things. It is so much easier to show hints at brilliance -- short snippets of writing and half-done sketches -- than to finish a piece and let it stand on its own two feet. What if it's not as good as I hoped it would be? Worse, what if it's really awful? What if I discover that all this time that I've been carefully treading, I've been on the completely wrong path to begin with?
It's possible. Everything is.
Maybe I'll surprise myself. Maybe I'll end up creating something beautiful. Maybe those dreams tugging at my shirttails are trying to tell me something I need, and deserve, to hear. That I can do it. That I always could. I just had to try.
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You belong in the zoo, the San Diego Zoo 14 October 2003 |
Our Saturday was half road trip, half field trip. Rama, Sidra and I drove a couple hundred miles to the San Diego Zoo. They played Connect Four, while I bopped my head to the Shins. We took turns dancing and making faces at people passing by on the freeway.
At the zoo, we picked out our favorite animals and studied their faces with pen and paper. I imagined what life was like behind those fences and, while lounging around in the sunshine didn't look so bad, I decided we were far better off on this side of the fence.
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Kids R Us 20 August 2003 |
I met Klair on the swing set at Plummer Park.
"Hi," she said.
"Hello," I smiled.
"How old are you?" she asked, shuffling her feet against the ground.
"27," I said.
She looked at me with exclamation point eyes. "Why are you here?"
I told her about the zine convention I was attending and how I overestimated the time it would take to get there. We had time to kill, I explained. Then I pointed to Rama, who was lying face down on the hand ladder.
"You guys are being kids today, aren't you?" she asked.
"Oh," I said, "We're kids every day."
