The Toymaker's Journal

Sherlock Bones and The Mystery of the Kitty Prints

2011-12-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Hmmm, this morning there were oil paint kitty prints all over the desk. I, Sherlock Bones, will get to bottom of this!

Who could have done such a thing?

The scene of the crime...

The first suspect, Mister Pretty... he says that he was out drinking at the Bathtub...

Then he went to to a musical concert, a production of "Cats".

My next suspect was McQueen... aka "The Otter"

He says that he didn't do it.

Oh well, I guess we'll never know. What do you think happened?

Details from The Toymaker's Christmas and The Toymaker's Workshop.

2011-12-01T10:14:00.000-08:00

One of the things that I really enjoyed about making The Toymaker's Christmas and The Toymaker's Workshop was the freedom to add all the little detaily bits.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/marilyn-scott-waters

Thankful

2011-11-25T14:40:00.000-08:00

A random assortment of things that I am thankful for...

Chocolate

The Beach, especially in winter when there is nobody there. My BFF Julie was in town for Thanksgiving and we spent a great day wandering about.

Creativity = The Boy made a bowl in woodshop for Nana. So proud.

Cats are awesome.

How about you? What are you thankful for on this fine day?

Marilyn.

--

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Thanksgiving from the Toymaker!

2011-11-21T17:11:00.000-08:00

May you be warm, happy and well,

Best thoughts,

Marilyn and the Small Dog.

Pencil Geeks

2011-11-12T10:36:00.000-08:00

I am such a pencil geek. Some of my artist friends are mad for ink pens. My friend, Janet Takahashi, has an amazing collection of inkwells. Me, I am always searching for the perfect pencil.

Keep your diamonds, my idea of heaven is pencils.com. They recently did a re-release of the Blackwing pencil, used by all the animators in the fifties and sixties. The original 602, had a buttery smooth dark line that was the stuff of legends. Last year the Palomino Pencil Co. put out a Blackwing version that was very lovely but the lead was too soft for daily use, at least for me.

Now they've come out with a new version with a black erasure and the original inscription, "Half the pressure, twice the speed" which has a better lead, in my opinion. Still dark and smooth but not so soft that it can't keep a point or smudge too easily.

My current super favorite for everyday drawing is the California Republic Golden Bear, beautiful line, great eraser and not expensive. Love, love, love.

Here are a couple pictures of animators Bob Singer and Kim Dwinell testing pencils at the last Studio Five meeting.

Bob talked about bunny character design and sampling the Golden Bear 2B.

Kim showed us how Disney animators would always have a scratch pad handy to keep the point sharp.

http://www.pencils.com/

What are you mad for? What do you collect?

Marilyn

Gignormous Cat Returns from Vet

2011-11-07T13:00:00.000-08:00

Back from taking Mister Pretty to the vet. He has a cold.

Note to self, taking a twenty pound pissed off cat to the doctor in a flimsy cardboard cat carrier is not a good idea. Next time acquire a dog kennel or something used to transport raptors from Jurassic Park.

Mission Accomplished... barely.

Marilyn.

--

If we treated everyone we meet with the same affection we bestow upon our favorite cat, they, too, would purr. ~ Martin Buxbaum

Quilts

2011-11-04T14:59:00.000-07:00

There is something about Fall that makes me think of quilts. Maybe it's the rain,"soup, apple pie, hot peppermint tea" weather. We don't have proper seasons here in Southern California, more like smog, fires, mudslides and sunshine. The Young Man, (formerly known as the Boy) described it as "bipolar". It can be in the fifties one day and the eighties the next, depending on which way the wind is blowing.

When I was in high school, I obsessed about quiltmaking quite a bit. I loved the names, "Flying Geese, Ohio Star, Wedding Ring, Drunkard's Path, Bear's Paw". I don't have the patience or room to actually make one now. I can draw them though. I read once that if you're good and you get to heaven that you will be met by all the quilts that you intended to make. In that case, I'm set.

When the bold branches
Bid farewell to rainbow leaves -
Welcome wool sweaters. ~ B. Cybrill

It's a book!

2011-11-02T14:43:00.000-07:00

Usually the mailman brings things likes junk mail and bills, but today was different! An advanced reader's addition of Haunted Histories, Creepy Castles, Dark Dungeons and Powerful Palaces by J.H. Everett and Marilyn Scott-Waters arrived.

It came out great! The book designer did a lovely job of it. It's been a long, long time from doing the proposal until this day, hundreds of drawings and many, many hours of work. I am filled to the brim with delight.

I can't wait until July 17th when it comes out in stores.

This is me right now.

Making fiction for children, making books for children, isn't something you do for money. It's something you do because what children read and learn and see and take in changes them and forms them, and they make the future. They make the world we're going to wind up in, the world that will be here when we're gone. ~ Neil Gaiman

All Hallow's Read

2011-10-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

Neil Gaiman, one of my favorite writers on the planet, came up with a wonderful idea to have people give scary books as gifts on Halloween.

http://www.allhallowsread.com/

I salute anything that gets kids reading. That, combined with the fact that J.H. Everett and I are working away on the second Haunted Histories book, got the pencils moving. J.H. Everett sent me a delicious sketch of a bunch of skellies in the graveyard reading and I got my type hammer out to start making posters for the poster contest.

What is your favorite scary story? I like Sherlock Holmes in The Hound of the Baskervilles, Roald Dahl's The Witches and Gaiman's The Graveyard Book. Phantom of the Opera is creepy good and so is anything by Edgar Allan Poe.

Happy Halloween!

Marilyn.

World of Color...

2011-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

I've been working like crazy on the second Haunted Histories book with J. H. Everett. I wish I could give you a peek at it. So creepy and wonderful. It's been all pencil sketches and piles of drawings. My keyboard is covered with graphite.

Last night I painted up some doodles just so I didn't forget what color looks like.

How about you? What do you want to make time for?

Marilyn.

“The child is in me still and sometimes not so still.”
~ Fred Rogers

I turned around and....

2011-10-26T22:02:00.000-07:00

It's the boy's 15th birthday. How did that happen? How did he go from this?

To this? In the blink of an eye he's all grown up. Sigh.

Happy birthday, not so small boy. Love, Mom.

--

Nothing is as far away as one minute ago. ~ Jim Bishop

Home, My Sweet Home

2011-10-19T08:40:00.000-07:00

My month of traveling about is almost done. It was amazing. It was exhausting. It was aces! I met an abundance of wonderful people. I discovered I like speaking and teaching a lot more than I expected.

The one thing I noticed from my time in the spotlight was that everywhere I went there were people working behind the scenes very, very hard. There was Sari from Sterling working Sunday and then flying home to New York and back in the office on Monday. Glori from USF helped me get a new room key and drove me around San Francisco on a Friday in five-o-clock traffic when she could have been home with her family. I noticed Jessica from the Schulz Museum moving her carseat into the trunk so we could all get a ride home from dinner. I know she was probably hoping to get home in time to see her kids before they went to sleep.

So to Sari, Glori and Jessica for all the mundane tasks, hours of emails, organizing and event planning, thank you for making me shine. And to all the unsung folks in the world, chauffeuring, baking, organizing and cleaning up, you have my gratitude.

We made toys at the Thacher Gallery at USF.

The kids had fun racing their boats.

I spent the afternoon at Golden Gate Park, sketching with Katie McDee and Kim Dwinell.

We knew we were in San Francisco when we met this group of Pikachu. They were adorable.

Sketching, sketching.....

We spent the next day at the Schulz Museum in San Francisco. Kim taught perspective and shading. Katie taught character design and cartooning. My table made portfolios to keep sketches in.

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only a page." ~ St. Augustine

The Creative Connection

2011-10-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy few weeks. I'm taking off for San Francisco again this weekend for LitQuake, which is a book festival and to speak at the Charles Schulz Museum.

I haven't done any baking in weeks, though with Fall coming, it's starting to be pie weather. I also feel a big house purge coming on. Time to make space so magic can happen.

I still am catching up after teaching at the Creative Connection in Saint Paul. I'm going through all the swag that I came back with. Lots of cool stuff here...

This is the view out of my hotel room. That is the Mississippi River, though I'm wondering why at this end it wouldn't be called the "Minnesota River" The weather was brisk and lovely for walking.

I came back with so many goodies, including a couple of giant bags of Starbuck's coffee beans. It was kind of like trick or treating for moms.

One of the sponsors was McDonald's and they did these spiff centerpieces with layers of oats, raisins, nuts and coffee beans. I snagged up coupons for their oatmeal, which has raisins and chopped apples and I swear tastes like it was warmed by the breath of unicorns.

Cricut had a booth where they interviewed people holding paper props. I picked a light bulb because of all the great ideas swirling about.

I'm still feeling a bit like Cinderella after the ball. "What's next?" I keep thinking. I'm working like crazy on the second Haunted Histories book with J.H. Everett, finishing up another Toymaker Calendar, and making toys.

How about you? What's caught your fancy this week?

Marilyn.

2011-10-06T08:31:00.000-07:00

I stumbled on this photo from the 1850's on Tumbler and it occurred to me that the ladies didn’t look very happy, especially the one in the back row. I figured it was probably due to tight corsets and bad teeth. So I gave her a makeover and hopefully she feels better.

.Click on the pictures to see up close.

Here's the link to the original photo. http://www.shorpy.com/node/3316?size=_original Shorpy is the name of the website and I could look at the photos there for hours. Zoom in to see the detail on the dresses.

The Clark sisters circa 1850. Half-plate daguerreotype. Note on stationery of the Arts Club of Washington, in handwriting of Frances Benjamin Johnston, identifies sitters (l-r): "Aunt Harriet Allen, Aunt Ladonia Hoy, Grandma Joanette C-B, Aunt Julia Millard, Aunt Laura." (Harriet Elizabeth Clark Allen, 1818-1863; Ladonia Charlotte Clark Hoy, b. 1827; Joanette Clark Benjamin, c. 1814-1880; Juliaette Alcesta Clark, b. 1820; Laura Miles Clark Palmer, b. 1822.)

So Harriet, Ladonia, Jaonette, Julia, and Laura, I hope that you had nice lives and got to have lots of adventures in your fine dresses.

Besides wearing colors that suit you and having good teeth, what kinds of things make you feel better about life?

Just pondering,

Marilyn.

--

Look not mournfully into the past.
It comes not back again.
Wisely improve the present. It is thine.
Go forth to meet the shadowy future, without fear.

~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
.

Speaking of speaking....

2011-10-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

I spoke at an Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators conference yesterday. My slot was 4:15, the last 15 minutes of a long day of many speakers. By 10AM all the points of my talk had already been covered, much more eloquently and thoughtfully by talented people from the industry. Sometimes you get what you get, a tired audience in a half filled auditorium, who doesn't know you from Adam. I screwed my chipperness to the sticking point and was perky as possible. (And hopefully not too boring or annoying.)

A month ago I would have probably melted into a puddle of goo, but after traveling for two weeks and non stop speaking it wasn't a completely daunting task. I've learned a lot from people who are actually good at speaking. The wonderhub, for example, is an incredible speaker. I envy his ease in front of an audience. He gets the info over and makes people laugh, making learning fun. (He used to do stand up comedy.)

I've also learned a lot from my studio mates at Studio Five.

J. H. Everett has years of diverse experience from speaking at Christ Church College to musical theater. Years of teaching at the university level has given him a polish an the ability to communicate complex ideas clearly.

Lesson learned = Prepare your speech with a beginning middle and end and tailor it to your audience.

Bob Singer is basically a shy person, a behind the scenes kind of of guy... that is until you get him in front of a drawing board. Then the magic happens. He is a super star. Watching him draw is like being at the Olympics and seeing the figure skaters.

Lesson learned = Showcase your superpowers.

Kim Dwinell and J.R. Johnson gave a talk at the University of SF on storyboards and sequential storytelling. Kim worked as a Disney animator on Mulan and Hercules. She does hilarious voices when she is teaching. J.R. has years of art director street cred and is great at breaking down ideas into bite sized steps.

Lesson learned = Experience makes you a better teacher.

One of the presentations I did was with Bob for a crowd of kids. We made monster posters. these photos don't do the art justice. With Bob drawing pictures of Scoobie Doo and talking about monster design we hit a home run. I showed the kids how to make letters out of a strip of paper to do their typography.

Lesson learned = Surrounding yourself with talented people makes you look good.

Another talk I did was on "Growing Your Creativity" to group of college art students. I gave them five minute challenges like, "make the tallest structure you can from a single piece of paper" Here's the winning piece....

Lesson learned = A successful presentation also means interaction. We learn by doing.

Andy Michell, Katie McDee and Alice Provensen couldn't make it up to San Francisco for the trip. Hopefully next time. Andy wrote a wonderful speech for the tour that I will share in my next post. Lesson learned = Do what you can. It may be more than you think.

So I'm actually looking forward to the next chance to speak and teach. The idea of speaking in front of a large group isn't as formidable as it was a month ago. Bring it on!

Marilyn.

--

“You can speak well if your tongue can deliver the message of your heart.” ~ John Ford

The Toymaker's Cat

2011-09-27T20:17:00.001-07:00

I'm back from my whirlwind tour. When I got back from Saint Paul, I found that we had a new family member. He is the most exceedingly friendly cat in the world. At the conference I scored a small pair of Fiskars folding scissors so I asked Mr. Friendly to help me test them out them. (Since he was stretched across my keyboard and wouldn't get the heck out of the way.)

Unfold your scissors. Find a square of paper.

Fold your paper diagonally, fold again and one more time. Draw on a design with pencil. Make sure that the design connects on the sides.

Cut out your design. Now, for the fun part!

Play with the scissors for a bit. (Do not try this at home.)

Carefully unfold the paper. What do we have here?

Admire your art. Hmm, interesting.

Glue your design to a piece of paper. Pet the cat.
Wander off to chase the laser pointer around the living room.

The end.

Pleasantly surprised...

2011-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

The Wonderhub's guitar teacher sent me this photo that he took yesterday at the Getty Museum.

It's a scrapbooking calendar that I did for Orange Circle Studios. It contains 12 toys from the website printed on nice paper as well as a lot of tiny and cute stickers.

I am delighted. :-)

Marilyn.

<----------

Check it out!

-------

"I urge you to please notice when you are happy,
and exclaim or murmur or think at some point,
'If this isn't nice, I don't know what is.'"

~Kurt Vonnegut

A few random drawings from nowhere in particular....

2011-09-01T00:07:00.000-07:00

THE CELTIC TWILIGHT.

“What is literature but the expression of moods by the vehicle of symbol 

and incident? And are there not moods which need heaven, hell, purgatory, 

and faeryland for their expression, no less than this dilapidated earth?  

Nay, are there not moods which shall find no expression unless there be

 men who dare to mix heaven, hell, purgatory, and faeryland together,

or  even to set the heads of beasts to the bodies of men, or to thrust the 

souls of men into the heart of rocks? Let us go forth, the tellers of

 tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear.

 Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust  under our feet.”

~ Yeats

I neeed to lie down...

2011-08-03T10:23:00.000-07:00

A peak at some of my pieces for the upcoming art show.

For the last year I've been working on art for a gallery show at the Thacher Gallery at the University of SF. The show is titled Monsters on the Bookshelves and is the art of Studio Five.

Here's a photo of the awesome glass workers at Affordable Glass & Mirror
(949) 548-2122
647 W 17th St, Costa Mesa, CA 92627

They were so wonderful lining the insides of one of my Bookhouses with mirrors.

The inside of the Monkey House.

Angry Little Girl

Bird Book

Dream Tigers

Inside the Polar Bear House

Creatures of the East Indies The wonderhub did the gorgeous frame.

I miss these panels that were in our living room. They were so colorful. They are sixty paper cut outs laminated on wood. We are already planning the next one.

If you are in the Bay Area put September 21st on your calendar. I hope to see you there!

http://studiofiveart.org/gallery-show-downloads.html

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anais Nin

Summertime!

2011-07-31T11:32:00.000-07:00

Studio Five

I haven't posted in a while because things have been zinging along at a frantic pace. Most of my time this last few weeks has been spent finishing pieces for a show with my art group, Studio Five at the Thacher Gallery up at the University of San Francisco. The Wonderhub has spent his summer vacation building frames for the art and they look real spiff. Here's a sneak peak...

Creatures from the East Indies

Bird Book

Doing some touch up.

Prayer Flags

There is going to be a case filled with paper toys.

My completely adorable nieces helped me put them together,

The Toymaker's Christmas

The Toymaker's Workshop (Coming out in two months!)

The show, titled Monsters on the Bookshelves will be opening in San Francisco on September 21st, 2011. If you are up in Bay Area please come and see the show. There is going to be a lot of wonderful things to see and do.

More soon! Marilyn.

Lotus Blossom

2011-07-17T16:34:00.000-07:00

Last year the Wonderhub got me a Lotus plant for the pond and it finally bloomed. It only blooms in the morning and I have no idea how long it will last but it is very beautiful.

--

The Lotos blooms below the barren peak,
The Lotos blows by every winding creek;
All day the wind breathes low with mellower tone;
Thro’ every hollow cave and alley lone
Round and round the spicy downs the yellow Lotos-dust is blown.

We have had enough of action, and of motion we,
Roll’d to starboard, roll’d to larboard, when the surge was seething free,
Where the wallowing monster spouted his foam-fountains in the sea.

Let us swear an oath, and keep it with an equal mind,
In the hollow Lotos-land to live and lie reclined
On the hills like Gods together, careless of mankind.

For they lie beside their nectar, and the bolts are hurl’d
Far below them in the valleys, and the clouds are lightly curl’d
Round their golden houses, girdled with the gleaming world...

The Lotos-Eaters Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The Toymaker's Notebook

2011-07-09T18:32:00.000-07:00

I keep a small notebook of new toy ideas, flourishes or new ways to fold paper.

Here's a peek at some pages from it.

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. ~ Gilbert Highet

Typography practice

2011-07-07T13:25:00.000-07:00

Trying some lettering just for practice... What's your favorite word?

"Learning is a treasure which follows its owner everywhere." ~ Chinese Proverb

Dragonfly

2011-07-02T14:51:00.000-07:00

Orange dragonflies live by the koi pond. They have the most wonderful wings. Beautiful things are everywhere. Click on the photos to make the picture bigger.

Deep in the sun-searched growths the dragonfly
Hangs like a blue thread loosened from the sky.
~Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Neemo

2011-06-21T12:51:00.000-07:00

A long, long time ago, before the Boy was born, the Wonderhub and I went to the Pet Jail to adopt a kitten. There were lots of wonderful cats there, all saying, "Pick Me! Pick Me!" And they were so beautiful.

Down on the floor, in a small cage, was a small kitten, all by himself. The lady who took care of the cats said that he had to be in a cage by himself, because he was so wee and small the other cats ate his food.

The Wonderhub picked him up and this tiny little kitten the size of his hand just melted into him. So we took him home and named him Neemo.The adoption papers said, "Remember, you are making a lifetime commitment..." That was eighteen years ago.

For the longest time no one even knew we had a second cat. Neemo hid under the bed most of the time and rarely ventured out. And so the years passed, the Boy was born, and Neemo lived a quiet cat life, loved by his people.

Then about three years ago Neemo got sick so we took him to the vet and they kept him for a couple of days. They said he was very friendly. When he came home he was a totally different cat. He started sleeping in new places, venturing out in the garden from time to time, drinking out of the pond like a mighty lion of the Savannah. He found that if he yelled at us loud enough we would feed him chicken and extra snacks.

As an old man cat he became completely bossy and ran our lives like a retired British Colonel. He kept us on a strict schedule, morning, noon and night.

Yesterday, he passed away and there is a giant hole in our hearts, left by the tiniest of old man cats.

--

What greater gift than the love of a cat? ~Charles Dickens

What's in your garden?

2011-06-18T14:00:00.000-07:00

I love when Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial posts updates about her garden. (She has chickens!) It's winter in Sydney and yet her garden is still blooming.

http://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/06/18/winter-garden-update/

It's the end of spring here so I thought I'd post a few picts of what's growing in Southern California.

The wonderhub brought home a huge bucket of sunflowers from the school garden.

Tomatoes! We got 'em coming in!

This is an heirloom "Black Zebra" It should turn red and dark burgundy in a week or so.

Blueberries

Herbs, basil, cilantro, parsely, catnip, and dill

A giant purple basil bush for the bees

The last of the artichokes

An artichoke about to bloom purple

More tomatoes!

Morning glories on the tangerine tree.

--

No two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden. ~Hugh Johnson
.

Art Show This September in SF

2011-06-15T12:39:00.000-07:00

I've been working like crazy on a bunch of new pieces for a Studio Five show this Fall at the Thatcher Gallery at the University of SF. Studio Five is my artist group.

http://studiofiveart.org/gallery-show-downloads.html

Cat not included...

Desks

2011-06-09T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went over to my friend, Alice's house. Here's a picture of her desk. I love her New England pitcher that she uses for a brush holder. It has pictures of the presidents.

We had tea.

When I got home I realized that my desk was too cluttered. I counted 18 bottles of ink alone.

Here's mine before the great tidy.

And after.

TahDah!

Watercolor Flowers

2011-05-27T16:32:00.000-07:00

My adorable friend, Janet Takahashi, came over and showed me some watercolor tips. We sat side by side and passed a piece of watercolor hot press back and forth, painting violets.
Janet's blog

Look at the luscious color! She showed me how to mix the color to get nice blends. Also how to make leaves by using the flat of the brush and dig in dark bits of color with colored pencils to give your paints more depth.

Here's a link to her book.

Be creative! Marilyn.

--
There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun. ~ Pablo Picasso

A Hair Raising Tale....

2011-05-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Boy abruptly announced that he needed a haircut. He was growing his hair long for the ComicCon but changed his mind. He looks totally different, don't you think?

He looks like his own evil twin. It seems like yesterday he was shorter than me. Now he's taller. How did that happen?

M

Butterflies...

2011-05-22T00:18:00.000-07:00

I painted eight pictures of butterflies today. They are okay, a little underwhelming. Must resist the temptation to chuck the paintbox in the bin. I want to learn how to paint with watercolor.

What's frustrating is that if I colored them up the way I usually do they would look one hundred times better. But to learn something new one must be willing to be mediocre for a while.

The color in the scans is much more vibrant then the actual artwork.

Ah, don't mind me. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

Marilyn.

“Color is my day-long obsession, joy and torment." ~ Claude Monet.

Watercolor Birds and Fish

2011-05-19T23:26:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to learn how to paint with watercolor. It's uphill both ways. Cut paper is much easier to work with, at least for me. These are quick sketches, no bigger than a piece of typing paper. Tomorrow, I'll try again. MSW

The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.

~ Chaucer

My Dad

2011-05-19T12:19:00.000-07:00

My Dad passed away last weekend. He had a series of strokes five years ago but, thanks to the amazing care that my brother gave him, my dad went into extra innings.

We had a amazing funeral service, immediate family only. Our friend, Andy Scott, played the bagpipes. We ate Snickers Bars, my Dad's favorite, and sang "the Yellow Rose of Texas." Afterwards we all went to dinner and at the end my wonderhusband read this piece that he wrote about my dad. I thought it was pretty spiff and thought you might like to read it too. ~ Marilyn.

To: Family
Subject: the current order of business,

Jim Scott was a lot of things to a lot of people. As Jim would say he had his meat hooks in a lot of pies. He was involved involved in the lives of an uncountable number of people. To some he was an organizer, cheerleader, helper and to some, a force of nature.

Jim was larger than life. He was an individual. He did what he wanted and said what he thought. If you think about it, what a great way to live.

Jim was not bound by social convention or by grammar. Phrases like "water seeks it's own level" and "take the shot" were not just said carelessly. To Jim, these words held power and meaning. We didn't know it at the time, but they would found their way into our own vocabularies. We would end up saying them to others, conveying in our own way that power and meaning.

Jim lived lived his life by his own code, and that the most important things in life are respect, giving to others, having a plan for your life or "knowing where you were going to land", and most important of all, family.

Mostly, Jim was about family. Watching a sporting event with family members or talking around a table like this. Speeches would be made, and we would know in that way that we were loved and a part of something bigger than ourselves.

How many of us can say we lived our lives the way we want, that we know what we want and how to get it? How many of us can say we know our place in the world, the universe or with our god with the certainty of Jim Scott?

I'm sure that after a speech such as this Jim would want us to clink our glasses.

Paper Hearts

2011-05-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

More cut paper.... sometimes being creative means seeing what you can do within a certain set of limits. What kind of poem can you write in four lines? What kind of story can you tell in less than 500 words and in 32 pages?

Pencils!

2011-05-02T14:58:00.000-07:00

I splurged on a box of Palomino Blackwings and also a pencil sampler pack from www.pencils.com

I had a great time testdriving all the pencils. The Blackwings are lovely and give a soft, dark almost inky line. Of the sample pack, there isn't a forerunner, though the Golden Bears are pretty to look at.

Good stuff! Marilyn.

Ode to Spring

2011-04-30T13:08:00.000-07:00

Ode to Spring… By Marilyn Scott-Waters

Wind in blowin’

Dust is fallin’

It’s springtime, so

there’s lots of pollen.

The air is dry,

and that’s the reason,

we will hear

a lot of sneezin’.

The Toymaker's Calendar

2011-04-28T15:55:00.000-07:00

I spent a pleasant hour this morning going over the press proofs for a new Toymaker Calendar coming out this fall. It really is going to be spiff, if you don't mind me saying so.

It will have a toy to make every month. Lots of space on each page to put photos of the month's activities and cute little stickers for events throughout the year.

Orange Circle Studios is doing the printing. They did a wonderful job on the layout. Fun stuff!

Marilyn.

--

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.
~ Charles Kettering

.

Mystery Date

2011-04-24T11:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.lyonairmuseum.org/

I kidnapped the wonderhub and took him to a local air museum. He loves aviation and had never been there. (It's rather newish) A docent took him on a private tour and I slipped off to sketch stuff. It's nice to go new places every now and then.

I especially liked the Helms Bakery Truck. I remember when I was a little girl it used to drive around the neighborhood like an ice cream truck. We had milk delivered to the house too.

--
“Give me a museum and I'll fill it.” ~ Pablo Picasso

Walrus Diary....

2011-04-17T23:26:00.000-07:00

Who likes the cold and has long tusks?
Who's favorite snack is fresh mollusks?
Who likes to swim and not ride buses?
My guess is those big walruses.

Drawings of Meanderings

2011-04-10T10:14:00.000-07:00

Been working on finishing up a book to go to the publisher and haven't had any time for much else. Last night I was talking to my sister on the phone and drew this.

I wish I could think of something clever to say but my brain is a vast empty desert, devoid of thought.... so here's a literary quote to munch on.

Yeats from THE CELTIC TWILIGHT.

“What is literature but the expression of moods by the vehicle of symbol 

and incident? And are there not moods which need heaven, hell, purgatory, 

and faeryland for their expression, no less than this dilapidated earth?  Nay, are there not moods which shall find no expression unless there be

 men who dare to mix heaven, hell, purgatory, and faeryland together, or 

even to set the heads of beasts to the bodies of men, or to thrust the 

souls of men into the heart of rocks? Let us go forth, the tellers of

 tales, and seize whatever prey the heart long for, and have no fear.

 Everything exists, everything is true, and the earth is only a little dust  under our feet.”

Flower Studies

2011-04-03T17:51:00.000-07:00

I think I've gone a little Spring crazy this year... more flowers...

Do I love my new camera?

2011-04-02T13:53:00.000-07:00

We went to Roger's Gardens in Newport Beach this morning. It is a beautiful place, insanely expensive, but filled with the most beautiful plants you can imagine. I snapped a few photos just as we were walking around and this is how they turned out. Pretty snazzy, don't you think? I can't believe that a little pocket camera takes pictures like this.

It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5 12.1 MP Digital Camera with 12x Optical Image Stabilized Zoom with 2.7-Inch LCD (Black) in case you are curious.

I am smitten.

Marilyn.

--

“And the day came when the risk it took to remain tight in a bud was more painful that the risk it took to blossom.” ~ Anais Nin

And Buttons in Order...

2011-03-19T23:13:00.000-07:00

Mary, Mary, quite contrary,
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells, and cockle shells,
And pretty maids all in a row.

Badgers in top hats....

2011-03-19T16:34:00.000-07:00

Doodled up some little circle designs this morning, trying out some new pencil and paint techniques. Watercolor is a tricky thing and I just wanted to experiment with some things.

And I've been working on a story that has badgers in it... badgers wearing top hats. They are really fun to draw. The stripes on their faces make them look rakish, in my opinion.

Here's a quick sketch.

What's on your desk?

Marilyn.

How to Catch a Leprechaun.

2011-03-14T16:51:00.000-07:00

A junior toymaker of my acquaintance asked me how to trap a leprechaun. Here's is my reply...

So you need to build a leprechaun trap. There are several things that you can make that will help with that just be careful. Leprechauns are very tricky!

First you could print out the fairy gold from here:

http://www.thetoymaker.com/Holidays/SaintPatricks/1Saintpatricks.html

Then you could make a trail of the gold leading up to either the Lucky coin box or the Fairy Cart. The leprechaun with collect the gold up to the box that you can prop open with a stick and some string. When he enters the box pull the string and you'll have caught him.

Or you could build the cart and have some small stuffed animal ready to help. (The Small Dog volunteered for me) Lead the coins up to the cart. When the leprechaun climbs inside have the small animal race around very fast in a circle until the leprechaun offers you a pot of gold to stop.

Another idea is that you could furnish a nice cottage made out of a box with fairy furniture . The leprechaun will be so grateful I'm sure that he would grant your wish.

http://www.thetoymaker.com/Toypages/29FairyFurniture/29FairyFurniture.html

And finally, what do leprechauns like to eat? Potatoes, Skittles, Lucky Charms, Gold chocolate coins, cream and green apples.

Happy Hunting and Good Luck!

Marilyn

“Leprechauns, castles, good luck and laughter.
Lullabies, dreams and love ever after.
Poems and songs with pipes and drums.
A thousand welcomes when anyone comes...

That's the Irish for you!”

New Camera!

2011-03-01T16:49:00.000-08:00

I have a new camera! It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS5. You know what this means? Lots of photos of cats and koi.

Unlike a painter, a photographer starts with something finished and works backward. ~ Anonymous

Penmanship

2011-02-21T11:31:00.000-08:00

My regular handwriting is really awful... my grocery lists are a scrawly bunch of lines that look like I wrote them in the car while driving on a dirt road. My scattered brain tosses out words faster than my poor fingers could ever hope to put on paper.

However I do like lettering and typography, and for me, making letters on the page is soothing. After finding this wonderful website, I've been practicing Spencerian Script.

http://www.iampeth.com/lessons.php

I encourage you to try it. You don't need any fancy materials. A pencil and a spiral bound notebook from the dollar store will get you started.

Marilyn.

In art the hand can never execute anything

higher than the heart can inspire.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Be Mighty!

2011-02-15T14:18:00.000-08:00

So, I'm at the market on yesterday, and this punk haired young man says, "Can ask you for some Mom advice?" And I just laugh, because as I've said before, I just have a face that people talk to. He's carrying two bags of prewashed lettuce and is looking for precooked chicken strips. He's fixing dinner for his girlfriend. So I walk him over to the cold case where they are and wish him a wonderful Valentine's Day.

Twenty years ago, I would have been squeezing into a tight dress and been going out all hot stuff. Now days, I have a different kind of mighty. I have the superpowers that moms all over the world have. We can give advice, find things, pat hands, clean up cat mess, negotiate family conflicts, and bake cookies.

We middle-aged suburban ladies have mad skills.

Be Mighty!

That is all I have to say.

Marilyn.

Happy Valentines!

2011-02-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Roses are red,

and you're heaven sent.

and so I am sending

a pink elephant...

to say that I love you

and that you are neat.

May your Valentine's Day

be especially sweet.

Best thoughts,

Marilyn.

I need your advice...

2011-01-30T16:40:00.000-08:00

One of my goals for the years is to find a way to make money off of my website. There are many ways that one can do this but none that appealed to me. I don't want to charge for the toys. I want to keep them free. This was really important to me.

I thought about having ads or sponsors, but who wants to see another car insurance ad cluttering up the place? I didn't want to be paid to blog about something or sell other people's products.

Then I found out that Barnes and Noble has an affiliate program that pays a percentage for every book that people buy from links on your website. And I get to pick the books! This seemed like an acceptable solution to me. I can sell my books, as well as feature books that I care about.

Here's a page that I set up.

http://www.thetoymaker.com/Toypages/02Spinners/02Spinners.html

What do you think?
"Neato, Marilyn. I love it! Books are awesome!"or
"Euuuh, yuck! You money-grubbing wanker. I'm never talking to you ever again!" or
"What books? I don't care as long as you keep the toys coming!'

And while you are talking to me, what are some books that you think other like minded creative folks should know about?

Thanks so much!

Marilyn.

--

"I have always imagined that paradise will be a kind of library."

~ Jorge Luis Borges

UPA Style Trees

2011-01-27T09:45:00.000-08:00

This year, my treat to myself is art lessons from Bob Singer. I want to learn how to draw in the UPA style. UPA was the animation studio that produced Gerald McBoing Boing and Mister Magoo. It's a flat style, full of textures and exciting colors.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Productions_of_America

If you want a treat spend some time wandering through http://cartoonmodern.blogsome.com/ You'll find a treasure trove of beautiful pieces.

Draw on!

Marilyn.

Team Rhubarb

2011-01-20T10:37:00.000-08:00

I've never thought much about rhubarb. Heck, I can barely spell it. It always seemed like some pink celery from outer space. Over the holidays, the wonderhub and I ate at Knott's Chicken Restaurant and I ate rhubarb for the first time. It was horrible... cold, soggy chunks that tasted like glutenous sachets from an old lady's sock drawer. So I decided that rhubarb was the devil, an evil, vile, barely food, on the same list as lutefish or pickled pigs feet.

But there were rumors of another kind of rhubarb, that perhaps I was being hasty in my decision to never let this pink celery pass my lips again. Friends wrote me about the heavenly properties of the stuff, sang the praises of rhubarb pies and jam. Descriptions like, "Best ever" and "so delicious" were thrown around with abandon. What did they know that I did not?

Then this package arrived by parcel post all the way from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A mom and her eight-year-old daughter had made jam for the first time and they sent me some. For three days I stared at these two little jars sitting on my desk, glowing like rubies... wondering.

This morning I toasted a whole wheat English muffin, poured myself a cup of coffee and popped open the jar of gingered rhubarb. I spread a tiny amount on the tiniest piece of bread and ate it.

It. was. amazing.

It tasted like summertime and sunshine. I ate more. Then I tried the raspberry jam. It tasted like fresh fruit picked that morning, not like chemicals. Absolutely incredible. Moreish. Crave worthy. Perfect.

So thank you, Michele and Hannah. You have made a believer out of me. I will always be a member of Team Rhubarb.

Some paper mandalas

2011-01-18T14:29:00.000-08:00

I don't have anything in mind for these little paper designs. They are just practice testers. They might make nice tiles or coasters.

They are made out of cut paper that I spraymounted onto watercolor paper. Then I filled in the spaces with watercolor.

Marilyn.

--

“Creativity is thinking up new things. Innovation is doing new things.” ~ Theodore Levitt

Perfectly good guitar...

2011-01-16T09:20:00.000-08:00

It is the most delightful thing that ever happens to me, when I hear something coming out of my guitar and out of my mouth that wasn't there before. ~ James Taylor

A couple of years ago the wonderhub decided to take guitar lessons. He played in bands when he was a kid and thought that it would be fun. He has a wonderful teacher who is really talented and they have worked their way through a smogesboard of musical genres, from Gypsy Jazz, Classical, Rock, you name it, they've played it. And I have to say, there is something very nourishing about being in a house with music.

And the Wonderhub doesn't do anything by halves, he started building guitars. He done a bunch now, all different, a steel string, a classical (for me) an electric, a twelve string, a tenor uke (for me!) and now he's working on another electric and a mandocello.

Yesterday, there was a guitar show at the fairgrounds so we wandered over and looked around. We only saw a couple of classicals, which I find droolworthy, but it was great fun. The people watching was something else too, mostly older guys in their fifties and sixties, musicians in trilbies or with thinning long hair. Sadly, there weren't a lot of younger folks there, except one teenage girl who had bought an electric guitar and was clutching it like it was the Shroud of Turin. Gives one hope. :-)

Country western guitars...

Lovely, old amps

The color scheme for the hub's next project

Wonderful wood and bindings.

Do you play an instrument? What kinds of music do you like?

Marilyn.

--

Lean your body forward slightly to support the guitar against your chest, for the poetry of the music should resound in your heart. ~ Andres Segovia

The Perfect Date...

2011-01-08T22:20:00.000-08:00

For Christmas I gave the Wonderhub tickets to see Chris Botti. He's a jazz trumpet player. Lovely music, the band has been touring for seven years now and very tight. We had awesome seats, the very back row of the top balcony with no one around us. It was just cool.

Music washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. ~Berthold Auerbach

One Hundred Drawings

2011-01-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

It takes a long time to make a book, months... sometimes years. I've been inking like a printer's devil putting together one hundred drawings that are going into a new book called Haunted Histories. The first book will be about castles, dungeons and palaces.

My writing partner, J. H. Everett, is a historian and we are checking and double checking to make sure everything is accurate. We are using professional historical methods to present the information, something kids usually don't have access to until early college.

There are so many details. It's like putting together a 1,000 piece jigsaw puzzle. We are also checking and double checking to make sure the book is read-worthy. Will a kid find this book funny, relevant, interesting? I sure hope so. We've managed to pack it full of information about what kid's lives were like through the ages, which I'm finding were less then stellar.

Today we are scanning the rest of the artwork and compiling it into a giant packet to send to our editor.

What time in history would you like to visit for a day?

Marilyn.

Knott's Berry Farm

2010-12-30T22:38:00.000-08:00

Knott's Berry Farm is an amusement park about ten miles from our house. It started as a berry stand during the Depression, and grew as Walter Knott started collecting buildings from ghost towns and assembling a pioneer town in a field. Until the late sixties it was free and anyone could go and wander around. My family would sometimes go after church and eat at the Chicken Restaurant. Good times, people, good times.

I love this picture of me and my pretty mom because although she is smiling for the photo, she is also giving somebody the stink-eye off camera, most likely my big brother. I'm rocking a velvet and taffeta dress with a white patent leather purse. I'm also wearing matching patent leather shoes. So if you were wondering how the Scott family made it to California, it was dressed like this, gloves, hats, handbags and the stink-eye with a smile.

The highlight of my childhood was making my brother laugh

so hard that food came out his nose. ~Garrison Keillor

LACMA Sketchbook

2010-12-28T10:24:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about the holidays is my friend Lynn comes to town to visit her parents. We've been buds since college, over thirty years now, and it is always a delight to catch up on our lives. We often go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

This year was no exception. There was an incredible exhibition of clothing which I want to see again. Olmec stone heads and a beautiful show on Lucknow, India. If you live anywhere in Southern California I recommend the trip.

Through the course of the day we talked about things that we had done and things that we hope to do in the coming year. How about you? What did you accomplish in 2010 and what do you hope 2011 holds for you?

Happy drawing,

Marilyn.

--

Drawing is seeing.

A note from Santa...

2010-12-24T11:50:00.000-08:00

So, I was rushing around the house, trying to find an extra cookie sheet and get ready for Christmas Eve, when this note appeared out of nowhere.

Hey you,

Santa here, tonight's the big night... So, my friend, how are the holidays treating you? Are you frazzled, stressed. filled with angst? Broke? Is your head pounding? Take a deep breath. Hey, I prep for this night all year and stuff still falls though the cracks.

Don't worry, whatever you've done is fine. That's right, fine. Do you think I get every little girl a pony that asks me? And don't get me started on BB guns... Christmas is not about the presents.It says so in the manual.

Let's take a little inventory here, got family? Love them, such as they are, even if they push your buttons. Good friends? That is a great gift. Tell them how lucky you are to know them. Food to eat? Great! Roof, leaky or not. Aces! Everything else is just frosting on the cookie.

Well, time to pack up the sleigh, got a lot of chimneys to climb down.

Hugs to the family,

Nick Claus.

--

Inner peace through lowered expectations. ~ MSW

Christmas Book Tree

2010-12-18T14:10:00.000-08:00

My cousin Jeff is one heck of a fine photographer. He posted this photo on his blog and I just had to share. http://jeffphotos.blogspot.com/

Is there anything better than books for Christmas? Well there is chocolate and art supplies but books make the best presents.

What books would you like under your Christmas Tree?

Read on!

Marilyn.

--

These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves. ~ Gilbert Highet

Little Pierrot

2010-12-10T15:34:00.000-08:00

I don't know if you've seen my Toymaker Facebook page but I post little snibbets of this and that every day.

Like The Adventures of Little Pierrot.

You can read it here...

The Toymaker's Facebook Page

Come and share a pot of tea, 

My home is warm and my friendship's free.

 ~ Emilie Barnes

Artist's Block - Part Deux

2010-12-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

Say you are tired of drawing circles and doodling faces. What next?

One the the things that can stump you when you want to draw is choosing a subject. I like to wander through YouTube Videos, hit freeze frame and draw what you see. I have lots of drawings of Fred Astaire.

Or you can go outside and draw a plant or building. Drawing from life is takes concentration but if you do it enough you will really learn to "see" things.

The most important thing is to tell that little critical voice in your head to shut up. Your inner critic will bang on about how lousy your drawing is, that it's not good enough, and on and on for days if you let it. If you listen to that voice you will never get anything done, so tell it politely that you are just practicing, it's okay to make mistakes and kick it down the stairs.

So, give yourself permission to draw. It sounds silly but it's true. Honor your work, allow yourself the time to practice and treat yourself to decent supplies and materials. I like to buy paper by the ream. With 500 pieces of paper, the pressure is off, all you need is time and a pencil.

How about you? What gets you going?

Draw on!

Marilyn

Anything worth while certainly takes a while. ~ Mister Rogers

A question about Artist Block

2010-12-08T10:21:00.000-08:00

Fellow artist Licia asked me, "Marilyn, what is your best advice for "artist's block" when it hits? Do you force yourself at those times to sit and draw no matter what?"

Yep, sit down and start drawing. But start small, draw tiny, tiny little doodles that are really crappy. :-)

Draw twenty circles or boxes on a page and then turn them into something, faces, animals, houses. I find when I am blocked it is because I have a perfect beautiful picture in my head and not the skills for getting it on paper.

Another way to get jumpstarted it to try new things, new pencils, paints, stamps, pens. Feel free to explore. Try inking with a brush instead of a pen.

Draw your way through the alphabet. Doodle something that starts with the letter A, B,C...

If you are totally stuck, just practice your lettering. Anything that gets your pencil or pen moving is good.

I have a million tricks for getting to the drawing. Mostly because it's hard for me. Putting that first mark on paper or starting "a proper drawing" is not something I come by easily.

But the trick is to just show up at the page and let yourself play.

More later,

Marilyn.

Pierrot and Friends

2010-12-07T16:34:00.000-08:00

More little drawings. I'm working with ink all day so it is nice to do something in color, if only for fun. And I've been listening to this song a lot. I love violin music.

What's been your whimsy?

Marilyn.

More of a story....

2010-12-06T10:00:00.000-08:00

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures that we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open." ~ Jawaharlal Nehru

Doodle du Jour

2010-12-05T22:35:00.000-08:00

I scribble all day long. Not proper drawings, mind you, just "scrawly on the the page" sorts of things.

Here's one from today... little characters going about their days.

Wishing you a creative week,

Marilyn.

"Time and trouble will tame an advanced young woman, but an advanced old woman is uncontrollable by any earthly force." ~ Dorothy Sayers

Happy Hanukkah!

2010-12-01T14:44:00.000-08:00

To all those gathered in celebration today,Happy Hannukah!

Colorful candles burning bright,
each lit on eight very special nights.

The Toymaker's Hannukah page

Art Museum Sketchbook

2010-11-21T11:16:00.000-08:00

I spent a few happy hours at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It's one of my favorites and I never get to spend enough time there.

There was a roomful of drawings by George Grosz, who called himself, "the Saddest Man in Europe" He's best known for his harsh drawings of 1920's Berlin. I loved the childlike symplicity of his linework. There were lots of drawings of tenements with people looking out windows, mostly sad, drunks and hookers. But one man was looking out the window and smiling. He had a little plant and was the one hopeful looking person in the scene.

A new acquisitions was a giant ceramic wall piece designed by Matisse in the fifties. Titled La Gerbe or The Sheaf, it was one of the last pieces Matisse did. He designed it out of cut paper, and it was made into tile. (He called it "painting with scissors" so of course I adored it right away.) I wanted to take it home with me. My tiny doodle doesn't do it justice so click on the link to see the real deal.

There were so many things to draw but I only had a few hours. I'm planning a trip next month when my friend lynn comes to visit. There is a textile and clothing exhibition that I must see.

Where is your favorite museum? (I know that it is hard to pick one.) What art piece would you most like to have in your home?

Marilyn.

Apple Blossoms

2010-11-19T11:42:00.000-08:00

Whatever comes,” she said, “cannot alter one thing.

If I am a princess in rags and tatters, I can be a princess inside.

It would be easy to be a princess if I were dressed in cloth of gold,

but it is a great deal more of a triumph to be one

all the time when no one knows it.

A LITTLE PRINCESS, FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT

Paper Flowers

2010-11-07T15:11:00.000-08:00

It's been a busy weekend. The wonderhub cleaned the garage this morning and I did a kitchen purge to make more cupboard space. I realized that I had way too many little sauce pans that I never used, so out they went. I also said goodbye to my old computer, which we gave to a friend that is a writer. I hoping that it goes on to produce an award winning novel or screen play.

I've also been messing around making paper flowers. The top one is torn painted paper and the white one is cut paper.

How about you? Anybody starting any holiday projects? Do dish!

Marilyn.

--

“What sunshine is to flowers, smiles are to humanity.

These are but trifles, to be sure; but, scattered along life's pathway,

the good they do is inconceivable."

 ~ Joseph Addison

Four Trees

2010-11-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

In this twentieth century, to stop rushing around, to sit quietly on the grass, to switch off the world and come back to earth, to allow the eye to see a willow, a bush, a cloud, a leaf, is an unforgettable experience ~ Frederick Franck

I've been experimenting with cut paper trees.

As, in full view of the world, the crown of the tree unfolds and spreads in time and space, so does the artist's work ~ Paul Klee

Ladies and Gentlemen, Start Your Kitchens.....

2010-11-02T09:49:00.000-07:00

The Wonderhusband special ordered me a copy of Jamie's 30 Minute meals! Squee!

It's a whirlwind of a cookbook. The first dinner I cooked from it took closer to 45 minutes/hour but as I practice some of the techniques he recommends I'm hoping to get faster. In Mister Oliver's defence I'm doing two versions of the recipes, one vegetarian and one carnivore.So I did a spinach pie and a chicken one.

Tonight, I'm trying the satay chicken with fiery noodle salad and pineapple.

Nomnomnom!

http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-30-minutes-meals/

All I ever wanted to do was to make food accessible to everyone; to show that you can make mistakes - I do all the time - but it doesn't matter.
~ Jamie Oliver

Costume = Homemade!

2010-10-31T23:40:00.000-07:00

The Boy has a knack for coming up with the most obscure characters for Halloween. One year he was Oni Link, not regular Link from the Legend of Zelda, Oni Link... Google it. Another year he wanted to be Arthus the Lich King from World of Warcraft. This was before the game actually came out so reference photos were sketchy. Last year was Altaiir from Assassin's Creed. That was fun to do because of all the leather work.

This year he wanted to be Joshua, an obscure character from a Nintendo game called Fire Emblem. So I hauled out the sewing machine and made this.
Total cost = $24 bucks. Photo = priceless.

What was your favorite costume when you were a kid?

Marilyn.

--
Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night.
~ Steve Almond

Pen and Ink

2010-10-26T10:18:00.000-07:00

I've never illustrated a book in just black and white. But if we never tried anything new we'd still be in caves without indoor plumbing or microwaves.

A little planning at the beginning of a project can save a lot of time later. Ink is everywhere. I've been looking at book upon book of British magazine illustration, Punch to be exact. So much to learn....

I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat.
~ Edgar Allan Poe

Dream Tigers

2010-10-22T11:27:00.000-07:00

I'm working on another large painting for a show next summer. This is the color study for it.

The idea of Dream Tigers come from a piece by Jorge Borges. I love this mixture of looking back on the dreams of childhood and how we as creative people never can quite match with our art the imaginings that we have in our minds.

Dreamtigers

In my childhood I was a fervent worshiper of the tiger: not the jaguar, the spotted “tiger” of the Amazonian tangles and the isles of vegetation that float down the Paraná, but that striped, Asiatic, royal tiger, that can only be faced by a man of war, on a castle atop an elephant. I used to linger endlessly before one of the cages at the zoo; I judged vast encyclopedias and books of natural history by the splendor of their tigers. (I still remember those illustrations: I who cannot rightly recall the brow or the smile of a woman.) Childhood passed away, and the tigers and my passion for them grew old, but still they are in my dreams. At that submerged or chaotic level they keep prevailing. And so, as I sleep, some dream beguiles me, and suddenly I know I am dreaming. Then I think: this is a dream, a pure diversion of my will; and now that I have unlimited power, I am going to cause a tiger.

Oh, incompetence! Never can my dreams engender the wild beast I long for. The tiger indeed appears, but stuffed or flimsy, or with impure variations of shape, or of an implausible size, or all too fleeting, or with a touch of the dog or the bird.

[From Dreamtigers, by Jorge Luis Borges, translated by Mildred Boyer]

Inka Binka

2010-10-20T08:44:00.000-07:00

Inka Binka bottle of ink,

the cork fell off and you stink...

I'm revising a giant pile of drawings for a book that my writing partner J.H. Everett and I are working on called Haunted Histories. There are so many possibilities, so many ways to draw one thing. It hasn't been in the zone, effortless work, more "uphill both ways" grinding.

I think I need another kind of paper.

How to you get through a challenging project? What things do you do to bribe, bully and cajole your inner child to stay on task?

Marilyn.

The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.

~ Chaucer

From the Workshop

2010-10-14T16:37:00.000-07:00

Excuse the grainy quality of these photos. I couldn't find a proper camera so just snapped a few pix with my iChat camera. The guys in my studio group were giving me a hard time about doing a crowd scene so I made a pop-up with the Halloweenies. If you come up with something fun let me know!

This picture of a passenger pigeon is for a gallery show next summer. I making these large wooden hinged panels that are reminiscent of books and diptychs. My thought is that passenger pigeons became extinct in a very short period of time. In two hundred years they went from a population of billions to nothing. I wonder if the same thing will happen to books?

Next piece will be the Great Auk.

What are you working on?

Marilyn.

--
A picture is a poem without words.
Horace

Unusual and Wonderful Things - Toy Bears and Bunnies

2010-10-11T12:51:00.000-07:00

I was feeling a bit melancholy so I made this.

Marilyn.

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"Unusual and wonderful things, which often are an escape from the mundane" ~ WSI

Thinking of Pumpkins...

2010-10-08T13:58:00.000-07:00

Just a few sketches of Halloween Haunts. Ooh Scary!

Everybody has a secret world inside of them. All of the people of the world, I mean everybody. No matter how dull and boring they are on the outside, inside them they’ve all got unimaginable, magnificent, wonderful, stupid, amazing worlds. Not just one world. Hundreds of them. Thousands maybe.

~ NEIL GAIMAN

Modern Pony

2010-10-06T16:29:00.000-07:00

A Mystery Toymaker emailed me this picture.

Very Creative and Fun, don't you think?

Marilyn

Pondering Halloween.

2010-10-02T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, I make toys by figuring out the structure first and then decorating it. Other times I doodle up little characters and patterns and go from there.

I came up with these fabrics and little characters. What would you make?
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Marilyn
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Mission Viejo Readers Festival

2010-09-22T16:26:00.000-07:00

Bob Singer talks about the Readers Festival.

If you are looking for something fun to do this Saturday from ten to five, and just happen to live in Orange County, California, come to the Mission Viejo Library Readers Festival.

My artist group, Studio Five will be there doing free drawings for kids and I'll also be showing how to make paper toys like these cute accordion folders and mini popups. I hope that you stop by our booth and say hello, make a toy and get a free drawing.

http://studiofiveart.org/index.html

Marilyn.

Whimsy Pixins

2010-09-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

The wonderhub was fixing a laptop after dinner last night and so we sat around drinking tea and solving all the world's problems. I cut my way through a pile of paper, trying out some new ideas. I folded a piece of paper in half and cut out these little pixins and then colored them up.

They don't really have a story about them yet. Perhaps you could come up with one.

Make toys! Play more!

Marilyn.

When marrying, ask yourself this question:

Do you believe that you will be able to converse well with this person into your old age?

Everything else in marriage is transitory.

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Yeast Crackers

2010-09-09T17:16:00.000-07:00

Inspired as always by the awesome Celia over at http://figjamandlimecordial.com/ I decided to try some yeast crackers. I found this "Bread in Five Minutes a Day" recipe and decided to try it. http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/

I didn't dock the crackers so some of them puffed up into little pillows.... still delicious. I have half the dough left so I'll be tempted to try these again tomorrow.

Marilyn.

Haircut....

2010-09-08T13:17:00.000-07:00

So school has started and change is in the air. I hadn't had a haircut in forever so I skip over to the new place on the corner and say, "Go to town, whatever you think, you're the boss." So the gal cuts off two thirds of my hair and here I am, slightly panicked and feeling like not entirely like myself.

Marilyn.

I'm a big woman. I need big hair.
Aretha Franklin

The difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is about two weeks.

The Pond

2010-09-07T16:53:00.000-07:00

The Wonderhub redid our fish pond this summer. We have four koi and two gold fish. It is the most relaxing place in the world. I'm hoping to make time to sketch the lily pads more.

What do you do to relax?

Marilyn.

There is no need to go to India or anywhere else to find peace. You will find that deep place of silence right in your room, your garden or even your bathtub. ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Practice, practice, practice....

2010-08-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

I need to practice composition more. It's honestly something I struggle with. So I've been folding a piece of paper everyday into four rectangles and doodle something in each one. Here's what I came up with the other day.

What are you working on?

Marilyn.

Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto. ~ Dale Carnegie

Family Fun Magazine! Oh My Gosh!

2010-08-28T07:55:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, lovely things just fall into your lap. I'm walking on happy today, folks. TheToymaker.com made the top ten best websites for kid's list in Family Fun Magazine.

"I love that it starts with the computer and ends up making something real."

All's I can say is, I'm pleased as Pandas, Pearls, Parsley, Punch.

Hee hee hee!

Marilyn.

--
I would not exchange the laughter of my heart for the fortunes of multitudes.
~ Kahlil Gibran

Toys all over the world

2010-08-22T15:59:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I get an email from some far off place showing kids that are enjoying my toys. I've received emails from almost every country that you can think of. Here's is a class in South Africa that made circus books. Made my day!

Also in the news... my twelve-year-old niece came over and we experimented with making paper fairy lanterns.

The wonderhub made me a lovely classical guitar this summer. Mister Pretty kept me company while I was practicing this morning.

If you could learn one new thing what would it be?

Wishing you a creative week,

Marilyn.

--

Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.

~ Henry Miller

Stars and Doodles.

2010-08-17T00:07:00.000-07:00

Spent some time playing with watercolors tonight. I need to get some more watercolor paper.

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.

Small people always do that,

but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. ~ Mark Twain

Clair de Lune

2010-08-11T23:52:00.000-07:00

Clair de Lune

Votre âme est un paysage choisi
Que vont charmant masques et bergamasques
Jouant du luth et dansant et quasi
Tristes sous leurs déguisements fantasques.

Tout en chantant sur le mode mineur
L’amour vainqueur et la vie opportune,
Ils n’ont pas l’air de croire à leur bonheur
Et leur chanson se mêle au clair de lune,

Au calme clair de lune triste et beau,
Qui fait rêver les oiseaux dans les arbres
Et sangloter d’extase les jets d’eau,
Les grands jets d’eau sveltes parmi les marbres.

Moonlight

Your soul is a select landscape
Where charming masqueraders and bergamaskers go
Playing the lute and dancing and almost
Sad beneath their fantastic disguises.

All sing in a minor key
Of victorious love and the opportune life,
They do not seem to believe in their happiness
And their song mingles with the moonlight,

With the still moonlight, sad and beautiful,
That sets the birds dreaming in the trees
And the fountains sobbing in ecstasy,
The tall slender fountains among marble statues.

Paul Verlaine, 1869

~ Translation, I believe, by Mark Till ~

The Farmer's Market

2010-08-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

Went to the Farmer's Market this morning, the big one out by UC Irvine. Yeah, I know it's a suburban sort of thing to do. But this time of year there are just so much veg in season that it's worth braving the aisles mashed full of Baby Boomers, college students, and kids eating roasted corn on the cob and bags of kettle corn.

It sucks the money right out of your wallet, especially if you go like I did for the goat cheese and local made sausages. We have dinner guests coming so I loaded up on onions, corn, beets, strawberries, tiny champagne grapes, peaches and these tiny purple green plums the size of golf balls. They didn't look like much on the outside but were ruby red and juicy inside.

If you like vegetables or are interested in vegetarian cooking, here are three of my favorite cookbooks.

First, The Greens Cookbook... the recipes are a bit complex but worth the extra mile. It's the book that I reach for when we are cooking for company. The lentil salad with mint, roasted bell papers and feta is stellar.

The Moosewood Cookbook is a great veggie starter cookbook full of easy to make salads and soups. The French Onion soup is the one of our favorite meals. Try the popovers or the Welsh rarebit.

Our friends, John and Thea gave me this book for a birthday present and I use it all the time. If you want to know how to roast beets, make pancakes or what to do with kohlrabi, this book is one stop shopping.

How about you? What's your favorite cookbook? Do you have a favorite veggie meal? Love to cook? Hate it? What's in your kitchen?

Marilyn.

"Some people like to paint pictures, or do gardening, or build a boat in the basement. Other people get a tremendous pleasure out of the kitchen, because cooking is just as creative and imaginative an activity as drawing, or wood carving, or music."
Julia Child

By the sea, by the beautiful sea.

2010-08-04T23:41:00.000-07:00

Spent a lovely evening at the beach with the family. My M-I-L put together an outrageous picnic with bratwursts, potato salad, deviled eggs, chips, spinach dip, chili, feta and olives and a thermos of tea. Does everything taste better out of doors? On a balmy summer night, yes, yes it does.

We also made S'mores, a dessert that can't possibly be on any restaurant menu, because, done proper, it requires hot coals. When I was a Scout, long ago, we joked that to make S'mores one must eat the chocolate, burn the marshmallow and throw the graham cracker away. However, the Wonderhub toasted a golden brown, slightly crunchy on the outside, marshmallow and served it up open face on a graham cracker with melted chocolate squished on top. Darn tasty!

Tired and time for sleep.

What's your favorite out-of-doors food?

Marilyn.

--

I honestly think the beach is the only place children actually entertain themselves.

~ Donna McLavy

Mystery Car!

2010-08-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

I was tidying up my website and found a toy that I hadn't posted before. So, here it is!

Link to the Mystery Car!

If you put a large marble underneath it you can make it roll quite fast.

I highly recommend the Moon Marble Company.

http://www.moonmarble.com/

Make toys! Play more!

Marilyn.

Do you need your dose of Surf Ukelele?

2010-08-01T20:56:00.000-07:00

Do you need a cuppa Surf Ukelele? Well walk, don't run to relax on a sandy beach...

How to Draw Pebbles

2010-08-01T18:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a little video that my art teacher, Bob Singer made on how to draw Pebbles Flintstone.

You can read more about Bob here on our Studio Five site.

http://studiofiveart.org/index.html

What's in your sketchbook?

Marilyn

To the Sketchbook

2010-08-01T17:59:00.000-07:00

Well, I've spent the last couple of hours messing around with Blogger and it seems to be working just fine. I love figuring out computer stuff up to a point and then I glaze over and wander off to find something else to do... or draw.

The lyf so short, the craft so long to lerne.

~ Chaucer

Twenty years, who would have thunk it?

2010-07-24T09:56:00.000-07:00

About twenty years ago, I got lucky and married a very fine man. Through thick and thin, richer and poorer, house buying, trips, college, grad school, a kid, diapers, asthma shots and all kinds of mushy stuff, not only love that comes from sharing a life together, I'm still nuts about him. He's still the guy I'd take home from the party.

So this last week, we snuck off on a little vacation. The wonderhub had never been to Las Vegas. I had only been for work. It being summer, hotel rooms were practically free. So we got a babysitter, filled the freezer with Hot Pockets for the Boy and headed off on an adventure.

We had a wonderful time, but I have to tell you, Las Vegas is a whole new bucket of weird. It's loud. And flashy. Sort of like being stuck in a pinball machine, or staying at a smoky Chucky Cheese. We had fun figuring out all the subliminal marketing tricks, like the loud, peppy music in the buffets that makes people eat faster. The carpets were horribly busy patterns designed to make people look up at the flashy lights and gamble more. We don't gamble so we spent most of the time reading books and taking naps.

The reason that we chose Las Vegas was because we wanted to see magicians, Penn and Teller.

Their show was awesome with great seats, third row, center. And we got to meet them afterwards. They were both completely charming and signed my sketchbook.

So, how's your summer going?

Marilyn.

It is something--it can be everything--to have found a fellow bird with whom you can sit among the rafters while the drinking and boasting and reciting and fighting go on below. -- Wallace Stegner

Happy Fourth of July to all my American Friends!

2010-07-04T05:43:00.000-07:00

We are off to a BBQ and to see fireworks. I'm hoping for corn on the cob.

What's your favorite part of summer?

Wishing you happiness!

Marilyn.

By the Sea, by the Sea, by the Beautiful Sea....

2010-05-05T01:25:00.000-07:00

I had a lovely birthday on Monday, dinner with family, lolling about, cards, presents, well wishes. It was a delight. I also spent a good part of the morning drawing, over sixty doodles in all. This little batch of seashore drawings were my favorites of the day and so with summer right around the bend, here you are....

Sometimes it's good to just let your pencil wander and follow your fancy, don't you think?

Marilyn.

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To accomplish great things, we must dream as well as act.

~ Anatole France (1844 - 1924)

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