It's been a long time, but I have a good excuse:
Our son, Connor*, was born at sunrise on June 5, and we've been completely immersed in getting to know him and learning to be parents ever since. It's been exhausting. Confusing. Enchanting. Rewarding.
An adventure like no other.
And now I am slowly emerging from the maternity leave cocoon, at least a little bit, with an eye toward returning to mapmaking. I will be a work-at-home mom, so my schedule is unpredictable, but the plan is that the wee one will spend the mornings with me in the studio and the afternoons with my husband, who has changed jobs and now has significantly more time at home than he used to (which was almost nil). Evenings will be our family time. And somewhere in there, we'll have to squeeze in the housework and the like. (Of course, you know what John Lennon said about plans.)
I don't know that it will be easy, especially because little Connor likes to be held almost all of the time, and I don't think that's a bad thing - I'm becoming a babywearing convert - so I am hesitant just to drop him in the playpen all morning. And it's hard to cozy up to a drafting table with a baby strapped to your chest. But I believe that being a work-at-home artist and mother will be possible and, I hope, even fun. I expect I'll spend most of my time with Connor sketching, brainstorming, and tending to business on the computer, and do the heavy inking and painting when he's with Daddy.
I'm kicking it all off by reopening the Interimaginational Institute on Wednesday, August 18, at 5 p.m. Eastern Time. For now, the inventory will be the stock I have on hand, but I look forward to adding new maps, including some of my smaller framed art, in the coming months. Please do stop by!
And in the meantime, here's to adventures and exploring and new pathways, to art and joy and to all of the treasure in this enchanted life.
An Aqua Sea, 3.5" x 5", India ink and watercolor on paper
* Still occasionally called the Blueberry, although we have promised him we won't call him that in front of his friends.
