So as I metaphorically jump off a cliff, my brain grabs the nearest symbol of head protection (in case I land upside down) and begins to sketch it.  What a delightful place the brain can be!  

There will be a brief hiatus in the blog while the studio is disassembled and reassembled.  Fortunately, the living beings can remain intact throughout the process. :). But on the other side, dear reader, let's have some amazing adventures together! 

And my ant-ness has provided many good and steady things over my lifetime.  But it has left me with a shortage of naps in the sunshine (or the rain) wandering about, goofing off and giddiness, daydreaming and meandering.  I wholeheartedly embrace the rebalancing of Lola.  More naps, please.

Now Wonder Mike says I've become waaaaaaaaay too grasshopper-y in my embracing of the opposite end of insect fableness.  And he reminds me there has not been a reader giveaway in a good long while.  So leave a comment below - what is your experience with ant-ness and/or grasshopper-ness?  One lucky reader (to be chosen by Wonder Mike, of course) will receive an original piece of art.  Yahoo!

When this painting was created, I wrote:  Elektra means amber, shining, incandescent. And so we are, we humans. Shining and incandescent when sitting firmly in the pocket of our truth, our passion, our joy.  

I hope this day finds you glowing, dear reader.  And you  (yes YOU, you know who you are!) -  maybe turn down the wattage a little?  A person could get a sunburn next to your sparkly shine. :)

Sometimes we have to tend to the business of art.

Actually, it should be about 80% of our creative time...with the other 20% actually creating (if you're creating for a living).  So it really helps to get good tips from people who have sorted out some of the glitchy aspects of things, so that 80% isn't spent pulling your hair out and throwing your computer against the wall.

​ I was delighted to get a link to  this post from Thea at The Charmed Studio, which held my hand through the unexpectedly complicated process of adding a lovely photo signature to my email (want to see it?  Email me here.)

While I rush off to save Robert Pricklepin from the Roomba rushing toward him, let me know what your biggest business challenge is in your creative world.  Maybe we can get Thea to help us find the answer. :)

A little something about vultures:

• New World vultures lack a syrinx (voicebox) and are nearly silent. They do not have songs, and their typical vocalizations are limited to grunts, hisses, bill clacks, and similar sounds that don't require complex vocal cords.
• Unlike many raptors, vultures are relatively social and often feed, fly, or roost in large flocks. A group of vultures is called a committee, venue, or volt. In flight, a flock of vultures is a kettle, and when the birds are feeding together at a carcass, the group is called a wake.
• Vultures enjoy their own holiday, International Vulture Awareness Day, which is celebrated on the first Saturday of each September.

Altair is looking forward to having an entire day  in September devoted to himself.  He wonders why it isn't EVERY day?  

Fiadh (fee-a) might have all of the studio creatures running amok before long. There's a half-finished vulture lurking on the easel who will surely conspire with her to cause havoc and mayhem.  I never did mind a little mayhem - it's the lack of rhyming that gets my goat.

The beauty of Carroll's words is this:  we are truly not the people we were just a day before today.  And that also means we are not who we will be tomorrow.  No sense going back.  Even less sense going forward.  I suppose I should hang out here in today for now.  And for now.  And now, too. :)