Saturday morning I made a fire and sat down to force myself to begin the 2008 Christmas card for The Frame Shop. It should have been finished in October but I haven't been in the mood to do any watercolor or even any sketching. I don't even wanna make Hot Snots. I guess mostly, all I wanna do is pout.Anyway, I did a sketch and threw it away because it was so incredibly awful. It looked like some sort of very young insane asylum escapee. Then I did this one (above) and liked it better even though she looks kinda like she's gotta fat double chin... but can't think of a thing for the verse. Also, I drew about three different hats on this kid and then erased them (with my clever eraser machine) because they, also, looked lunatic.
The truth is, I don't care too much about the holidays this year. I normally love Christmas. I normally love Thanksgiving. I normally love New Year's. Normally, I even love my birthday and I am well too-old to be doing that. But this year is so off.
At first I thought it was the election and when that was over, things would get to normal. So, now that's over... but it's no better.
At the shop, without Karen, we wouldn't have ANYTHING ready for Christmas. She has completely carried that load because, truthfully, I just feel so b-o-r-e-d with it. And that's how I feel about this Christmas card. That's how I feel about everything. It's a uselessness that has settled over me and I can't shake it.
Today I am driving with my husband (who is still working 100 hours per week... he's a reporter... and I am very sad and lonely because of it) to Jefferson City for a ballgame of some sort and I think I'll go trudging through the stores there to see what's happening with Christmas while he covers the game. Maybe I'll feel like I'm in the 1940's at Macy's. But I think my clothes are too ugly to even pretend that.
Then, tomorrow, I'm going to make another fire and try to sit down and finish the painting for my cards. I have to have them ready by Friday, which is when Open House begins and we always give cards away.
A little good news is this: I am really happy to have sold another original at the shop, "For the Sake of 10" which was a mixed-media piece on Abraham's conversation with God about saving Sodom and his nephew Lot. It was extra-cool because it had broken glass and salt and lots of destruction and corruption. It was probably my second-favorite piece at the shop (my favorite is Shattering the Darkness) but I just realized that I have misplaced (or permanently lost is more likely) my snapshot of it and all my others of my original pieces. I am very sad to not have a picture of it.
And, obviously, I am just wanting to moan and groan about everything so I will just STOP IT right now!
Love, d.
P.S. to my friend Mary from Mary's Madness... I love your blog and how do you stay so not grouchy!?! You guys should go see her spare bedroom vintage hats and bags. I need to go there and borrow a set-up before I go pretend to be at Macy's while I'm really at old stupid Wal-Mart.
