holding down the fort

It was nice to be back in my bed. The Mats Mats twin beds get a bit unnerving what with how small they are.

Dad came home for the afternoon. I made myself a scramble for breakfast (two eggs, left over turkey, onion) and toasted an english muffin. I helped dad haul up fire wood and fix the handle on the woodstove. Pop left to go back to Mats Mats, and I kept the fire burning, and kept Holly doggy company. Gave her lots of cuddles.

Tomorrow I'll go back to Mats Mats. Going to look through our photo albums and look for an empty on in which to put family photos. Not sure if I should scan and then put them in albums, or sort them and then scan...probably should sort than scan, just to make it more organized.

the passing of my grandfather Joe Sr.

2/15/2012 Wednesday

My grandfather, Joe Spencer Sr., passed away in the night.

Mother and I packed up the car with snacks, clothes for overnight, and Holly, and off we went to Mats Mats to say with Grandma Eleanor Spencer. Mom, well versed by now in the practices of the affairs of the departed, set in on making the calls and arrangements for cremation and otherthings. I kept them all company. I pulled some photo albums from upstairs, and Grandma told me who this person and that person were. There were photos of a ski trip, where everyone shoved snow into each other's faces. My grandmother still has her yearbooks from when she attended Stadium Highschool in the 40's. She also has the yearbooks from the school my dad and aunt Joyce attended int he 60's. I plan on scanning the portraits, because some of them are amazing.

It is fairly quiet out here in Mats Mats.

My grandparents always remembered birthdays. They also made up candy bags for the kids (my parents counted as "kids") on Halloween and Easter, even though they were not particularly religious concerning the latter. They were also avid readers of this here blog, and often when my parents mentioned my achievements to them, they would reference my blog saying that they already knew. My grandmother is mostly electric chair bound, but carries on some lovely conversations and is not lacking in wit. Joe and Eleanor were married for sixty five years. How amazing is that?

Auntie Joyce is in Colorado, and Dad is in Houston, but is flying back tomorrow morning. Celia came by for dinner, and brought some treats from the bakery she works at. I sorted through so many amazing old photos, but most of the people I don't recognize. What does one do with photos of unknown people who are probably long gone? Grandma dozed off while we were watching Pretty Woman on ABC Family. Nothing says family like the movie Pretty Woman. Tomorrow, we'll pick up Dad and continue with everything.

2/16/2012 Thursday

I slept in whie mother tended to breakfast. Grandma was up and at them, and conscious of what had transpired the previous day.

The Hospice caregivers came over, one to keep her company, the other to give her a bath. Dad was flying in from Houston, so Mom and I drove to Silverdale to pick him up from the airporter. We had some Burger King for a late lunch/early dinner, and then we returned to Mats Mats. Grandma Eleanor can't be left alone. She doesn't require much care, but she does need someone else around.

I have been sorting through so many photos, and I've barely even started sorting them in a way that prepares them for life in albums. I keep finding boxes, and I know there are more. Still, it is a good project. Found a wedding photo of my Great Great Grandmother Nellie Pratt. I should do a family tree.

Dad went to sleep at around 7:30pmish. Mom and I stayed up a bit and watched stuff quietly on my computer. It has been a major bonding experience with my mother, these past few days.

2/17/2012 Friday

More calls are constantly being made. Joyce won't be in Mats Mats till Monday, so one of us needs to be there at all times. After tea and sandwiches, Mom and I departed to take a break in Seabeck. Dad stayed behind to help and work on paperwork and this and that. Nothing can really progress till we get a death certificate.

Mom took a nap, and I checked what has been happening on the Internet. I also scanned some photos. We snacked a bit and rested. Mom has headed back to Mats Mats for the night, but I, and Holly, are staying in Seabeck. Just three days into it all, but it feels like much, much more.

progressing onwards, getting that artwork on my computer

Documented my monotypes and my intermediate illustration portfolios. I think I'll put monotypes as a project on my blog. There are enough nice ones to give it its own category, and it is good to not say I'm a monotype based illustrator. Haven't edited them for internet yet, but I'll do that tomorrow, and document more of my work. One of the portfolios was full of other people's posters, so I don't need to document that.

More leftovers. Glee managed to be cute and had some good numbers. Raising Hope was funny. Did you know there is a website that has every episode of Whose Line Is It Anyway? Well there is!

A gray day. No rain. Just grayness. Meh, whatevvver.

reminiscent of days gone by, hopeful for the ones to come

Mom bought me doughnuts! Good mom! She was running errands all over town today. Dentist, doctor, getting Holly washed. I watched my telly and ate doughnuts. Holly came back all nice and clean and good smelling. I gave her many cuddles. Then we took her for a walk and she got muddy, and when she started to roll in some leaves in mud we both went, "HOLLY NO!". But she didn't get that dirty, and she cleaned herself up.

I downloaded the free image editing software GIMP, and that combined with finally figuring out how to light my pieces (HURRAY!) and some helpful advice from my friend Petra, I am successfully documenting my artwork! That is until I realize that it isn't a good enough format for print...but I think it should be fine. I'm not resizing them to be that small. They just need to look good on the screen, which they do! I've gone through three of my eight (!!!!!!!!) portfolios of various artwork made whilst at PNCA, and documented what I think need documenting of those three. It is going good. I've just edited about four pieces and put them on my website (under illustration). Tomorrow I'll edit the 16 or so pieces that need color correction, and document a lot more. Finally on the ball. Got over that hump! Whoo! Go me.

Going through these old portfolios, which contain work from 2008 and 2009, I can really see how much I've grown in technique, confidence, style, and just all around...artistry. It is heartening to see how much one grows, especially knowing how much further one can grow. I need to organize these properly for storage. I want to take some prints with me, as gifts for those who house me in the Bay Area, but some things can be filed safely away for a decade or two.

Banana Slug

11" x 11"

Screen print.

2009.

did something! I did something!

Today I mostly worked on my website and the organizational system of my art folders on my computer. The folders on my computer were a mess. I kept finding folders called "new art" that contained work from 2009! I also had to dig through my backup discs to find all the stuff I've done for Odd Owl, because that was scattered. No point in documenting things, if I just put the files somewhere that I can't easily locate. I should have been more on the ball years ago. Gahh.

But my website is looking better! www.trilliantrillian.com! Mostly the sketchbook and Odd Owl sections have been updated, though the Illustration has been reorganized a bit as well. Weebly is so easy, if a little bit inflexible. Tomorrow I will throw myself at documentation. It, once again, got too dark before I could make real progress. I think the lights plus natural light might provide some results. Once I figure it out...ahh yeah.

I want to expand the borders on my website, make it a little bigger. Need to figure out the part of the html that corresponds to that.

Mom was gone all day at the Flower & Garden Show in Seattle. We watched 101 Dalmatians. Holly wasn't bothered by all the dogs barking.

I'm amazed at how much a trap the internet is, well not really...

Promised mom that when she gets back, tomorrow, from the Seattle Flower and Garden Show tomorrow, that I will have made some progress in my portfolio. Some way, some form, I will do it! Today was another unproductive day.

Made myself a scramble for lunch. That was good. Ma and I soaked in the hot tub. That was also good.

Dad will be back in less than a week. With him around, I'll probably be more productive. I'm rubbish at being productive when people are not around.