it’s about time…

Mommy dearest has arrived in Savannah, and I’ve been racing the clock to finish my Skirt! Illustration so I can spend some time with her. Looks like I will finally get a day out on the boat, best of all, with Mom and Granny, and Uncle Captain George. I’m hoping the weather will be kind, and the sun bright…Would be a real treat to go to Blackbeard or St. Catherine’s Island. I love the remoteness of these locations, it seriously feels like we’ve been marooned even if Captain George is only a few hundred feet off-shore fishing. If you can scrounge up a captain and a boat, I highly recommend a trip out to undeveloped barrier islands…a real treat…

do you know this specimen?

I noticed these colorful little gems growing under my rubber plant the other day…they appeared and within a day grew to this size.  Just 24 hours later, they had shriveled up.  I would love to know what time of mushroom they are, please comment if you know…

This picture really does them no justice!  They were closer to cadmium yellow.

paint paint paint!

Oh I love to paint!  Finally made my way back into the studio…working on a Skirt! Illustration.  I procrastinated on this one…I must say, the ingredient this time, is not the most aesthetically pleasing to draw, so I’ve had to get pretty creative.  So far the process is looking good, and I’ve implemented a new element to this illustration so definitely check back to see the finished product!….I’m documenting the process, and after the November issue comes out, I’ll have a “walk through” of my acrylic and oil wash technique….(wish I could do it sooner, but I can’t “let the cat out of the bag” until it’s published….) Til then, check out my happy little palette…

feeling the creative “pull”

Hmmm…How is it that every time I get a “grand idea” for my own personal business, I have to put it on the back-burner until I finish various other commissions / projects?  It just about eats me alive…I’ve spent the weekend tying up loose ends for McIntosh Manor, I’ve got a Skirt! Illustration deadline approaching, but all I can think about is my business overhaul.  I’ve got the whole thing figured out, (well maybe not the whole thing…but at least the general concept, with a logo to build on….)  It was so bad last night, I couldn’t sleep…how come the “grand ideas” never come when I’m in a free-lance slump?…oh and Mom’s coming to town!

Five years ago, my best friend Leslie joined a bowling league and ruined our bi-annual bowling tournaments.  Not that either of us was that good at bowling, but it was simply tradition…when she came to Savannah, or I went to Chicago, one of the first things we did was hit up the bowling alley, and compete until our fingers were blistered, and we’d had too much beer to drive home…Call me bitter, but I hadn’t entered a bowling alley in nearly 5 years…until last night.   Nick and I ventured out to bowl with an old pal, Dawn….(who I might add, has a personality much like that of Leslie’s.)  I won’t tell you the scores, suffice to say she cleaned house…but I did bring home the following….

it’s all in the details

So I’m putting the finishing touches on the McIntosh Manor B&B site…still waiting for my client to supply me with some much needed photos, but forging ahead without them for the moment. If it comes down to it, I might just take the lack of photos as an opportunity to drive down there and take the pics myself…and enjoy some time in the country, of course! (Sometimes I crave the excuse that my cell phone has no signal.) Anywho…I love putting the “finishing touch” on any project. The most glorifying part of wrapping a present, is topping it off with a hand-made bow right? Gotta love the details.

Detail of Gate to Davenport House Garden, copyright Heather L. Young 2007

“little gift”

In recent weeks, I’ve noticed that my aunt and dear friend, Pam, has an incredible knack for predicting the future…(bare with me, I’ll explain)…she’ll think of a worst case scenario, tell me about it…and I swear, within a a year, it happens.  Take for instance my uncle’s 50th birthday party.  After she booked the location and paid the deposit, she called me worried sick that he might have a golf tournament that weekend…then she began to worry that Georgia Tech would have a football game on…and so on and so on….go figure, he not only had a golf tournament, he had the Club Championship Tournament that weekend, and Georgia Tech not only played that day, they kicked off during the hours of the surprise party….same thing happened a year ago when she was  pushing the idea that we needed a baby in the family…(thank GOD this prediction didn’t come my way)…but sure enough, she predicted a certain someone would end up “with child” and it’s happened.  (and no, it wasn’t planned)  Needless to say, I’m a little concerned with her ability to do this so effortlessly.

However, now that I am aware of her “little gift”…I thought I would give it a try for myself…and wrote a blog about my 5 year struggle to design a new logo…BAM! Last night it all came to me…logo design, website intro idea, the whole works…funny how the world works….now if Pam could just predict a lottery…

so many decisions…so little time

I’ve been designing a new logo for myself for the past 5 years…that’s right…5 YEARS!  I’m just not satisfied with anything…and of course this little thing is the basis for all other promotional material…I want something I will be happy with for a long long long time……so I’m at a stand still.  Meanwhile, projects are lining themselves up…the holiday season is right around the corner…essentially time is running out!!!  The ultimate goal is to have it all together by the end of the month…hopefully this is NOT wishful thinking…

By the way…is anyone else sick of hearing about Britney Spears and OJ Simpson???

holiday gift time

I know, I know…it’s only mid-September, but the Holiday Season will be here shortly. Every year, I take the season as an opportunity to have some “crafty fun.” I love to make handmade gifts for my girl friends, and try new mediums. In the past I’ve made crocheted scarves, tote bags, hand-bound notebooks, re-vamped vintage jewelry, and the list goes on…this year I’m looking for something new to explore…Please post your ideas!

Vayda rockin’ her pink scarf.

monday morning bliss

Today is a welcomed Monday. It marks the beginning of the first week (this summer, I think…), that I have not traveled or had visitors in town, or major deadlines to meet. Finally, a clear head!

I must say, that this weekend was a great way to end the summer madness. My brother and his sweet girlfriend, spent the weekend with us, as we celebrated the 50th birthday of my Uncle Richard with the rest of the rowdy bunch. Despite a weekend of over indulgence, I did manage to take a few minutes to sketch outside. Image of the neglected herb garden below.