Shoo Rayner, the exuberant British illustrator, did a great lesson on staying inside the box — or getting the box in your head. Draw hundreds of boxes! Draw, draw, draw! I took his advice. I think taking time to draw has made me pace better and not get mover’s hysteria or extreme fatigue and arthritis flare ups. I’ll see how it works moving day — the day after tomorrow!
It hasn’t been all packing and drawing, though. I finally finished Mr. Beardsley, a grandpa doll I’ve been working on for my friend Sara, a graphic & fabric designer at Saraink, and her son little Lincoln. My husband was NOT the model — he just happens to have a beard.
Little Lincoln is only 17 months old and is already almost as tall as him mom. Good thing Mr. Beardsley is rugged.
Now all the sewing supplies are packed (along with a few more unfinished projects). Tomorrow the big journal and colored pencils go into a box and I’ll have just the journal in my purse and the pens and pencils there — a mere half dozen. I think I’ll survive.
joy murray art~stories~life 
I love your box drawings and Lincoln’s grandpa doll! Best wishes in your move!
You have been busy despite the impending moving mayhem! Love Mr. Beardlsey, of course, and really love the drawings. That box turtle one is great! Made me lol at all that’s going on and his box-shaped shell. My favorite boxes are drugs, diddly crap, fragile (ha!) – but most of all, hope. It is precariously placed between canvases and books, and it makes me think about tangibility vs aspiration. We have all our tools, skills, means at hand, and we have our aspirations – the work of whoever it is we deem worthy of our scholarly admiration, or at least, what we want to see from our own efforts. Don’t know if that’s what you intended, but it hit home for me as a reminder of how fragile my hopes are – how easily they could be crushed when my reality meets my ideal.
This:
is something I found recently on the subject – the words of Ira Glass. Have fun setting up your new space, Joy – can’t wait to see more from you! ♥
Thanks for your thoughtful comments and the link to those encouraging words from Ira Glass. I don’t know if we ever get to a point where we’re really satisfied with our work — we just have to be brave enough to keep doing it and HOPE it communicates something we intended. I’m always amazed when I get feedback that actually enhances my ideas. Heck, I’m amazed that people like my work — I’m just glad I’m willing to put it out there and make connections. I’m glad you are too.