The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up on Instagram

I mentioned quite a long while back how happy it makes me when I see  How Art Can Make You Happy poping up on people's Instagram. But I just realized I've never rounded up the comparable images that appear of The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up, which make me equally delighted when they flit across my screen. What an oversight! One I now correct.

Above, an image by Sheila Deleo

@shop_fuego

@booksandmortar

@chateauandbungalow

@dropforgeandtool

@crystaldaggerbooks

@mags_vdbee

@lindseyduhon

@kellywalden

@jenesisrose

@ricysreadingcorner

@vixey290

@marion4thstreet

@rarebirdoakland

@wickedLA

We Cannot Retreat

I came across this quote over on Swiss Miss (whose quotation curation abilities are extremely top-notch) and it speaks to my very soul. I have it pinned up at my desk where it resonates, for me, with topics ranging from work and creativity to activism and family, and encompasses the perennial struggle of our age to have enough time. It comes from a commencement address that Ruth Messinger gave at Stanford in 2009.

Six More Things

The latest drawings for the journal I'm illustrating for Chronicle Books: ice cream sundae, very small car, lawn mower, sad balloon on ceiling, fire truck, ocean.

Louise Bourgeois' Spiders

The older I get, the more I love and adore Louise Bourgeois' spiders. There's an excellent show of them up in the sculpture gallery at SFMOMA right now, bringing together more in one place than I'd ever seen before. They used to creep me out, but after reading about Bourgeois' life in general and the spiders' connections to motherhood in particular in Bridget Quinn's most excellent book Broad Strokes (which, ok, full disclosure: I edited for Chronicle Books), I warmed to them considerably. And now each time I see one I like it better and better. They seem to me, no longer scary, but rather mysterious and powerful.

Three Inspiring Things

Three quite different things that have inspired me just lately -- One civic: the second Women's March in San Francisco on Saturday which stretched all the way down Market from Civic Center to the Ferry Building; One aesthetic: a visit to the Glassy Baby factory in Berkeley where they hand-make beautiful rainbow blown-glass vessels; One artistic: (as always) Ladies Drawing Night.

Publishing for Creatives Class at Little Paper Planes in February

My class Publishing for Creatives will be on Feb 10th, a Saturday afternoon, from 3:00 - 5:00 at Little Paper Planes in the Mission. I'll be telling all about how I work with artists, writers, photographers, designers, illustrators, and other creative folks to make books and other lovely things, and how you can get ready to start pitching your own projects to publishers. It should be a good time. If you're interested, you can sign up here.

Mabel Lately

Here are some Mabels from November, December, and the first bit of January. Working our way back in more or less reverse chronological order we encounter many holiday festivities, performances, parties, outings, Thanksgiving, and the end of the soccer season. Always a hoot with this kid.