You have received a stack of letters in the mail that you seemingly have mailed to yourself. They are all numbered and after reading the first one, you find that you not only have to follow the instructions held within, but that there are dire consequences to missing any of the sets of instructions. After completing several of the letter’s instructions you realize that you are missing one of the letters from the sequence….
Artistry and Coffee
I read many kids books with my daughter each night before she goes to sleep that I cant help but think that in some of the ones she likes best that there are some really great illustrations. One of her recent favorites is “The Little Snowflake” from IglooBooks, and with snow on the way I have become entranced with the designs within this tiny book. I have considered adapting the general theme of the book into some small videos for my daughter to enjoy, but before we get to that point, I am looking into possible character concepts which in this case are “snowflakes”.
One of the more memorable art exhibits that I have experienced over the past few years was at the Art Institute of Chicago. My wife and I were traveling with friends and on a cold and rainy day in October, we had the pleasure to view many of the numerous master works on exhibit. One of the pieces that caught and held my attention was “The Old Temple” by Hubert Robert. While studying this particular painting I was unconsciously creating stories in my head that would fit the setting. What caused such a beautiful temple to fall into ruin and what would draw people there throughout the years? Of course it was something that my mind would not let go, so naturally I started looking into more of his works and his life as a natural extension of my intellectual curiosity.
You have been trapped inside a painting and while you have found a way to move between masterpieces, you can see what is happening outside in the real world through the frame of the painting. You have been witness to many of the comings and goings wherever these works of art have been displayed. One day, someone finally takes notices that you are in the painting and you can communicate through written messages. You begin to write messages of help….
Artistry and Coffee
I know that there is this stigma about setting new years goals around anything these days, however I feel it is the only logical place to set the plan for the upcoming year. This will be published shortly after the work has already begun on this commitment so know that by the time you are reading this I am already taking the first steps down the path.
With the closing of one chapter, the story continues on to the next. What lies in store is what we will have to find out together as we journey into the New Year.
Challenge Day 24:
These are exceptionally important and are as varied across the world as you could possibly expect, but at the heart of all of them is the importance to recognize the connection that we have to our fellow humans. To acknowledge how grateful we are for the blessings that we have and that as the year is coming to a close that we are prepared for what comes next.
Challenge Day 23:
While my wife definitely prefers the vast array of lifetime movies that exist in any of the streaming services catalogs, we can both agree on many of the more classical Christmas movies that are available to us these days, well maybe Die Hard is still under contention.
Challenge Day 22:
It has been 16 years since that pesky elf made his debut in 2004, and while this was not one of my childhood traditions I expect it will be for our Daughter. I have seen some amazing creativity in the images that people have captured of the Elf on the Shelf and some of them are true works of art. What takes a lot of creativity is getting the elf in places and situations that you would not expect and see how the little ones react to his various shenanigans. I was surprised to find that in addition to several more elves joining his merry cohort, was that they have a full line of accessories that can be used to help set the stage of the scenes that are presented to young eyes.
Challenge Day 21:
When you think of your idyllic scene during the holidays, what images does that invoke, can you describe it in detail? Can you sketch it out using work or pen? It is easy to get creative inspiration from a season as steeped into the culture as this one, so i am curious to know how people would be capturing those ideas, for the more traditional visual art inclined audiences.