Well... it's done.
I turned in my two week notice last thursday and now I just have to make it through the next two weeks and then put that job behind me. The day after my last day I'm heading off to Bend, OR. for a couple of days vacation, so I don't have to officially panic until I get back. Then I will assess things and no doubt wonder what the heck I just did.

I'm not really a practical person by nature, so it's not surprising to end up without a job at this point in my life... but I know it should be. In these economical times... at this age... with my responsibilities... I should have clung to my job, kept my head down and said prayers of thanks every day I was able to go to work... but as I said... I'm not practical. I can't see spending the majority of my days at a job I don't like, being angry, resentful and bored for the sake of security. But, of course, I say that now. What I will say in a couple of months is another story. The plan, though, is to work at learning new software and post my own self-promotional websites in order to attract new business, or, if all else fails, find another job.

Sometimes I feel like a familiar character in a book, senting off with good intentions but acutely aware of the dangers lurking in the dark wood. I have very definite goals and aspirations but there are those around me who seem intent on stopping my progress or, to stretch the metaphor, gobble me up and take my goodies. Just when I vow to dedicate more time to doing what I want... along comes the wolf of "have to's" to twart my progress. Now where's that woodsman with the ax when I need him?

It seems I don't have time to do anything these days and here I am committing to add another thing to my day/week/life. I work all day designing and illustrating for a variety of clients, and I love what I do, but sometimes I just want to do art for myself. Art that doesn't have a reason or isn't the interpretation of someone else's vision. Doodles, dabbles, musings, and experiments... you know, play around. People lose their sense of play in the grown up world and forget just how important it is. It stimulates and relaxes us at the same time... it helps us grow, builds our creative muscles and leads us to discover new territory. If we allow ourselves to play, and there is no pressure for it to be anything but play, we can be bold, silly, curious and... free. And we invariably become better artists. With that said, I am here to make "Play" an official client and encourage others to do the same. Dedicate time to design, paint, sculpt, sew, write, whatever, to feed your own soul and this "client" will pay off in amazing ways. (And you won't have to claim that on your income taxes!)

I intend to use this blog as my "client's" portfolio and thought I'd start it off with a quick sketch of one of my heros.