Long time no proper update, huh?
I know it's been pretty quiet around here, but this blog post title from A Tale of Two Cities pretty much sums up my past half year: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Here's a breakdown (complete with emoticons!)
:) :) :) :) :)
I went from being a technological dinosaur...
...to being a technological supernova!
:( :( :( :( :(
This is because the bulk of my gadgets decided to resurrect their Y2K agenda of rebellion. And rebel they did.
In
March, my home desktop monitor went on the fritz, blacking out whenever it
pleased. This made completing my assignment for the Western PA SCBWI
Illustrator Day a bit of a nightmare. Old Screeny would be working just
fine, then start to blink once or twice as if getting sleepy. I'd
yelp, scramble to save everything, then expel a scream of curses as my
screen went blank with no guarantee that it would ever come back. It
made me a very grumpy Kathryn.
:) :) :) :) :)
But I
finished my piece on time and had a great experience at the event. I
got to meet a lot of wonderful illustrators and gained valuable feedback
from the featured art director. And now I have yodeling dragons in my
portfolio, which makes me a bit less grumpy.
:( :( :( :( :(
You
may be thinking, "Silly Kathryn--why didn't you just complete your
illustration during lunch on your office computer?" Because my office
computer is old, and slow, and stupid, and stopped working at exactly
the same time. This made me an extremely grumpy Kathryn.
:) :) :) :) :)
IT
had to scrub it clean, reinstall everything, scrub it clean part deux,
reinstall everything again, and eventually got it working. Sort of.
For some reason, the Adobe programs kept malfunctioning, so IT had to
keep coming back to uninstall and reinstall the software. After many
weeks, I finally regained a fully functioning computer--albeit a rather
poky one. Photoshop is now so sloooooow, but I managed to do a little
equine portrait while re-setting up all my digital brushes (for the
umpteenth time--but who's counting?)
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| This was also a gift for a friend of her character on deviantArt. |
:( :( :( :( :(
Back
at home, Old Screeny eventually kicked the bucket. This wasn't
unexpected, but still made me a grumpy Kathryn. Who wants to spend a
few hundred bucks on a new monitor when the old one should have lasted
more than four years? Not me.
:) :) :) :) :)
But
we purchased a new, ginormous, AWESOME monitor for my at-home
illustrating. I love it to pieces. I pulled out an old Simba sketch to
color test the screen and bought some Photoshop brushes that have
always been on my wish list. This made me a significantly happier
Kathryn.
 |
| He's working on his ROAR! |
:( :( :( :( :(
Backing
up a ways, I have been the butt of technological mocking for a long
time. My five-year-old slide-style phone hardly functioned, couldn't
access the internet, and had a screen that was disgustingly corroding
from the inside. It caused me embarrassment on more than one occasion,
like when I couldn't use it to keep time for an art director at a
conference. (Ouch.) Throw in the fact that our old laptop was as slow
as a snail in molasses in Siberia, and it was made abundantly--often
humiliatingly--clear that I needed to step up my technological game. A
mocked Kathryn is both a sad and grumpy Kathryn.
:) :) :) :) :)
Fortunately,
I have a wonderful family who is very supportive of my writing and illustrating
endeavors. With their help, we were able to buy a new Surface Pro 3 and
iPhone this year. The Surface Pro 3 does triple-duty replacing our old laptop,
allowing me to illustrate digitally on-the-go, and providing me with a
tablet I can take to events. The iPhone lets me keep up with my
bagillion emails--and see what Twilight Sparkle is doing in my MLP app.
(Hey, I never knew what I was missing these past few years in mobile
gaming!) So now when someone asks to see my illustrations at a
workshop, I don't have to mumble excuses and wish my phone's corrosion
would eat me.
I haven't gotten to use the
Surface Pro as much as I'd like, but it's finally all set up and
accessorized, and I hope to use it to start illustrating during lunch
again. I did a little Disney doodle to set up my digital brushes and can't
begin to describe how awesome this tablet is. It makes me a smiley
Kathryn.
 |
| If only the world wouldn't get in the way... |
:( :( :( :( :(
The
biggest frown of all has been my health. Since last November, I've had
a stabbing/aching/painful spot in my shoulder blade. I hoped it would
go away, rested it, iced it, wrapped it in a heating pad, but the pain
wouldn't subside. It hurts to write; it hurts to illustrate, especially after sitting at my office computer all day. So I've
had to drastically cut back on both of my creative loves. Eventually, I saw my doctor and
started that fun cycle of testing, medications, and physical therapy.
This has now been ongoing for several months. Nobody quite knows what's
wrong with me, what caused the pain to begin with, or agrees on the
best course of treatment. This has made me the grumpiest Kathryn of
all. :(
:) :) :) :) :)
I'm now seeing a specialist
who is giving me trigger point injections, and he hopes to
ultimately help me with my migraines, too. (Hooray!!!) Only time will
tell if this makes me better, or if we'll have to go back to the drawing
board. So for now I just have to do what I can when I can--even if it
drives me crazy at times. But I'm trying to be a good little patient,
keeping up with my PT, and following my doctor's orders. Hopefully,
I'll be back to a normal, happy, smiley, creative, inspired Kathryn soon.
I can't end this post on a frowny health note; that's just a big bummer. So I'll say that I've also had a lot of fun these past few months seeing my sister and niece from Seattle; going to an old-timey baseball tournament in Michigan with my other sister and nephew; visiting family in New York; celebrating many birthdays/anniversaries/and other festive events; and spending a few days in Niagara Falls with my hubby.
 |
| Yes, we did go on the Maid of the Mist. Yes, we did get wet. |
And because I'm a big dweeb, I was super-excited that I got to eat at the Rainforest Cafe not once, but TWICE during my travels.
 |
| Who doesn't want to eat with animatronic tigers?! |
And that's my summary of the past six months. It's been good; it's been bad; it's been fun; it's been frustrating. The best of times, the worst of times. A roller coaster of "#*@&'s" and "huzzahs!" I have no idea what the next six months will bring, but I'll certainly keep you updated as much as I can. :)
Note: All art and photos were drawn/taken by me.
Even
though fairy tales originated centuries ago, Laura explained
that they are quite relevant and popular in contemporary literature. Modern fairy tales bridge old stories with a new
audience. They may contain the common motifs, archetypes, and structure
of traditional fairy tales, but present-day writers give the stories twists and angles
that resonate with readers in a new way. Gender roles are
frequently tackled (goodbye weakling damsels in distress!) and the
stories of villains are often explored. Laura showed us a Youtube
summary of "Shrek" to illustrate this--a story that closely follows the
path of a traditional fairy tale while adding humor, surprises, and pizzazz
to connect with today's audiences. 
After
telling us a bit about herself, Anne opened the floor for questions.
She offered great advice for aspiring artists and writers, and had
lots of interesting things to say about her work including:
-Anne loves working from home and sometimes stays in
her pajamas all day when she gets swept up in her work. (Who isn't guilty of that from time to time?) 
