Just in case you thought I’d forgotten about last weeks post about giving my blog a birthday present, I haven’t, it just took me a little longer to pick out what I wanted than I thought it would.
I took a stroll through the blogosphere and came across a post by Sheona Hamilton-Grant on her blog “Black on Grey on White” about her cute new addition. Hamilton-Grant speculated that Jess’s coat colour (black and white) would make her a natural mascot for her blog because her art is done entirely in graphite: black and white. “What an adorable idea,” I thought. Hey, wait a minute, that would be a great idea for my blog: a mascot.
Now, I don’t have a cute little kitten on which to base my mascot, but a few years ago I did make a logo based on my Golden Retriever, Mack, who’s actually a lot cuter than any little kitten:
Yep, that’s him, right down to his dudley nose. I got him to pose with a paint brush in his mouth for the reference.
Now that I have a mascot, what do I do with him?
I know that one year’s worth of posts may not seem like much in the world of blogging, but as a person of few traditions, I’m pretty pleased with myself for keeping this up for a whole year.
I did a bit of snooping to see how other bloggers celebrate their blog’s birthday (or anniversary, if you prefer) and came up with everything from simple “happy blogiversary” posts to elaborate blog birthday parties. Now, if you haven’t already figured this out about me: I’m a pretty laid-back person, so I’m hardly about to do anything extravagent, but I would like to give my blog a present… I’m just not sure what.
I’m pretty happy with the general colour scheme and layout, so I don’t think a redesign is in order… I’ll have to give this some thought. If you have any thoughts feel free to drop me a line or plunk in a comment and what’s say we meet back here next week and I’ll have an idea for my blog’s birthday present.
Mack: Sketch. Coloured pencils on toned paper, 5 x 7″. Copyright 2008, Tania Nault.
Now that I’m back from visiting family and it’s the first Monday of 2008, it seems like a perfect time to think about the year ahead, and to take Maggie up on her recent resolution/butt-kicking offer. Towards that end, here are my artistic goals for 2008:
1. Daily drawing: exactly what it says, I will draw every day. As I’ve taken on more commissioned work, I have been creating more finished pieces (for the record I’m not complaining about) and that’s been good. But it actually means I’m drawing less and less, and that’s not so good. I will post some of my efforts here, so what that means is that, at least until it warms up outside, you’ll be seeing a lot more of Mack… (see above).
2. Blogging: daily, Monday through Friday; with weekends off. The only exceptions will be for travel to Internet-free zones, i.e. the cabin or my parent’s farm.
3. Web site: January will see some significant overhaul; after that, monthly updates.
4. Networking: basically, I suck at this, so if I meet one new person in 2008 and successfully remember his/her name at our second meeting it’ll be a 100% improvement over 2007. Seriously, I need to take better care of the contacts I do have and make more, which will mean creating a formal contact list by the end of March, making contact with everyone on the list twice throughout the year (once in the Spring and again in the Fall) and growing the list by 10% over the year. (I know this sounds like a “gimme” but I think it will be my greatest challenge.)
5. Entrepreneurial: I need to learn more about making sales and marketing, but I hardly even know where to begin. I think this will be my “research” related goal for the year (research is a real “gimme” for me, but the topic will be the challenge). And to keep it in the action category, I will ”test drive” at least one thing I’ve learned, shall we say, quarterly (yeah, that sounds business-like). Uugh, maybe I should just change this one to: learn how to spell the word “entrepreneurial” without using spell-check.
6. Paperwork: the last weekend of every month I’ll be doing “the books” for that month. (See, there’s a reason for the “no blogging on weekends” thing.)
7. Creative writing: What I’m hoping is that this isn’t it. I enjoy writing, and I do a fair bit of it, but 2007 saw me doing a lot of “non-fiction” writing and practically zero creative writing. My husband and kids gave me some new haiku books for Christmas and I’ve fallen in love with them (haiku poems, I was never out of love with my family) all over again. I will write one new haiku each week and, to keep me honest, I will post them here. Maybe I’ll even pair some with drawings and make some contemporary haiga.
I think that about covers it for the year. I have a calendar all laid out in my studio, ready to track my progress. So, Happy New Year to All!
Christmas Ornament. Photograph, 5 x 7 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
I usually hit delete reflexively whenever I get one of these sort of “tell us more about you” e-mail survey things from my family (right, sis’?) or friends, but this time I read it on Maggie Stiefvater’s blog so if the big kids are doing it, that must mean it’s cool, right? Right?
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I’ve been using a combination of both and feeling pretty good about it, that is until I took Mack for a walk this morning. We went down the our back alley and the previously empty bins were simply stuffed to overflowing with Christmas wrapping paper of every colour and pattern. By the time I reached the end of the block I felt dirty somehow. Next year it’s bags… I might even get my daughter (who’s learning how to sew from her Granny) to teach me how to make a few from Christmas prints which are probably on sale right now…
2. Real tree or Artificial? A little of column A, a little of column B… this year (because the kids were at their dad’s for Christmas) I opted to use a lovely live poinsettia as our Christmas tree. So while it was a real plant, it was artificially our tree.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually, about a week before Christmas. I realise that by average North American standards that places me firmly into the Grinch category, but my family traditionally put up our tree Christmas Eve and none of us grew up to be axe murderers, so I figure it all works out in the end.
4. When do you take the tree down? Usually when I can no longer hide behind the assumption others make that we’re celebrating Ukrainian Christmas.
5. Do you like egg nog? No, I refuse to consume custard posing as a beverage.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? A pyrograph kit. I could burn things and call it art! What could be cooler?!
7. Do you have a Nativity scene? No, I’m one of those secular types who seems to have forgotten the reason for the season.
8. Hardest person to buy for? My husband. Not because he’s picky, or ungracious, but because the thing he really deserves (1973 Corvette Stingray) is out of my price range. He makes it worse by loving everything I give him that isn’t a Corvette.
9. Easiest person to buy for? My kids. They make very clear Christmas lists, which is good, ’cause I’m pretty clueless.
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail. Admittedly, however, this is my *gasp* first year sending Christmas cards. My 2007 New Year resolution was to send birthday, anniversary, and Christmas cards to family and friends. My 2008 resolution is to do it again.
11.Worst Christmas gift you ever received? A truely horrifying denim overall dress. All I could think when I saw it was, “Do you know me at all?” The answer, sadly, was “No.”
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? The Muppet Christmas Carol. I have a thing for Kermit.
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? As soon as my kids have handed over their lists.
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes, the denim dress was promptly shredded. Oh, you said recycled. Never mind.
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Kocsonyas, which is a Hungarian head cheese. When I was a kid, after we’d opened our presents on Christmas morning, my sister and brother and I would go over to my Grandmother’s house to open presents there and Grandma would serve us “Christmas Kocsonyas.“ Ever since my Grandma passed away, my uncle makes it for us now, and I eat it, but it’s not the same.
16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? The “Christmas Poinsettia” branches couldn’t hold the lights, so no lights this year.
17. Favorite Christmas song? I’m not particularly musical, so I’m drawn to music for the lyrics more than the notes. And this year, I was taken with a new-to-me carol on CBC Radio One this season: “The Holly” (Rita McNeil’s version). The line “And the first tree of the green wood, it was the holly” that caught my ear. Maybe the possibility of an arboreal hierarchy appeals to me?
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? We travel to our homes: my family from the Lestock area and my husband’s from the Nipiwan area.
19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeers? Yes. I think people who sing “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” without singing the the introduction are the real Grinches.
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Ditto the tree-topper this year. The “Christmas Poinsettia” did have a rather lovely bow, however.
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Morning. I think opening presents on Christmas Eve is the definition of impatience, which I think should automatically put you on the naughty list.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Thinking that a simple, 26 question quiz would only take 1o minutes to complete…
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Hodge-podge of ornaments received as gifts, children’s school/craft projects.
24. Do you have a stocking? My family didn’t, but my husband’s family does, so it depends which home we’re at.
25 Favorite for Christmas dinner? Turkey. Because it gives me an excuse to make stuffing.
26. What do you want for Christmas this year? World Peace. Oh, sorry, for a second there I had a Miss Congeniality flashback there for a moment - watching a lot of “Peachtree” this holiday.
Little Church in the Valley. Photograph, 10 x 8 in. Copyright 2007, Tania Nault.
I recently switched web hosts and not being particularly technologically savvy, it’s taken me a while to get everything working the way I want it to. Yes, yes, I know I have my own personal techie (otherwise known as my husband) but, strangely enough, he seems to have a life and needs of his own. That was supposed to be funny.
At any rate, I have some posts to reload that seem to be MIA, so it seems I still have a few bugs to work out, but at least I’m able to upload images again, so I hope you’ll all bear with me while I fix the last few bits.
