Merry Christmas!

I have been very concerned about the political scene in our country. Last summer I was really down. The past two years of campaigning and the chaos in Washington that seems to be tearing our country apart was really getting to me. 

So, I worked on creating some smiles for this year's Christmas card. I began by googling "Christmas Puns" and found several that seemed promising.  I also found a scrap of paper with puns that I had written down some time ago.

They did make me feel better - at least for the moment. Hopefully, they will challenge you and bring some giggles.

There are my four favorites - now, you have to figure out what they are!  Psst...I am gifting the answers at the end of this blog.

#1

#2

$3

#4

Answers:

#1 - Seasonings Greetings

#2 - Olive, the other reindeer

#3 - A partridge in a Petri

#4 - While shepherds washed their socks by night

Don't groan toooo much. Enjoy - Merry Christmas, everyone!

What's a Schichon?

My daughter's family had two dogs. Uncle Wally, a Cavapoo (cross between a Cavalier and a Poodle) and Professor Gilbert, a huge Golden Retriever. Wally was a family member for a few years and then along came Gilbert. Wally tolerated him and you might even say they were friends. At least hey kept each other company.

Then for whatever reason, the family decided they needed a 'tiny dog.'  Much research was done and they decided to bring Coach Theo into the family. Theo is a Schichon - a cross between Shih Tzu and a Bichon Frise. Apparently, they are also called Teddy Bears. They are adorable bits of fluff!

Over the years I have done dog paintings...it was time to welcome Theo to the family wall.

Since he is mainly hair, I found it a challenge to really capture this little imp. His hair almost covers his eyes and you can barely see his mouth. You know he has feet, but they are covered with hair.

He is a very light color so I began with a dark toned pastel paper.

I got lost in his cuteness... I kept going

At this point I decided that, whereas the dark background made him stand out, it was too black/strong for such a little guy. And, the texture of this particular pastel paper wasn't adding anything to the painting.

I started over on a sanded paper with a lighter tone.

The cuteness is still there without being over powered by the BLACK! He needs a few tweaks here and there...

He's floating on nothing. I grounded him with some dark pastel around his feet and a nondescript place to stand.

Gotta love him!

Thoughts from my Bench

 Sometime in 2016 I received a copy of an essay from a friend that I had met a few years before while we were on vacation. Her husband had since died and she was in the process of writing her way out of grief. She journaled daily - writing her thoughts about being alone after 57 years of marriage. Her goal was to gather the essays and publish a book.

The essay that she sent to me ended with the phrase "...and my book of essays will be illustrated by my artist friend, Jo Merrill." This was her way of inviting me into this project.

So, for the past two years we have been working together. She would write an essay and send it to me. I would read and re-read looking for a phrase to illustrate. Sometimes a phrase would immediately jump out at me. More often, it took a little longer, but eventually I could grasp an idea and bring it to life.

Much of her journaling has been done while sitting on a bench in Central Park. The cover of the book was one of the first things I played with. I sent it to her. We each printed it out and have been staring at it ever since.

We had a total of 53 essays and illustrations by last spring. After we took a hard look, we decided to pare down to 35. We then arranged them by issues and subjects and divided the book into chapters. The summer was spent editing... a lengthy process!

I suggested that each essay be headed by the sketch and the phrase from the essay was placed beneath. Here are just a few of the sketches:

"Embrace Joy"

"Our years can be kind of like a good red wine aging in barrels"

"Not loneliness! It is the 'aloneness' "

"Grab hold of grateful"

There are a lot more images and many pages of thoughtful essays...

The exciting news is that... the book has now been published! See cover below...

You can find it on Amazon.com under "Thoughts from my Bench", Suzanne H. Baer or the illustrator...that's me!

Order a copy now - think holiday gifts!  Hope you enjoy it... let us know!