A recent challenge

My spouse drew some flowers in outline form and then said, "OK, put some faces in these". So the after supper challenge... Later, I thought I could have done some very wonky or bizarre faces. I went for just quirky and a bit cute. It seems we do tend to 'go with what we know' much of the time.

T.I.D.A.C. part one

Recently I went to our denomination's church camp as a resource leader for family camp. Fun week of being part of a community on the lakeshore and doing much of what I do in a given week; but at a more relaxed pace and without the phones and office stuff. Afternoons were free and I used them in a variety of ways including what has become material for this feature. "Things I Did At Camp".

Lions made from air dry clay and pine cones

These guys were fun to make and fairly easy; the pine cone lion was a craft designed for simplicity and fun for people of all ages. I added some of my own take on the project. I went for fun and wonky details in the face and could have spent hours and days just tweaking them. As it was, we had other fun things to do and yes, a bit of work too. Once the pieces were assembled, it was time to paint. The craft leader showed us a big tub filled with bottles of acrylic paint, and my little heart leapt with glee at all the possibilities.
Later.....We  found that the figures popped apart because the 'hot clue' didn't hold and this air dry clay tends to become crumbly. For now, here are two versions of "Luther", the lavender lion.

This Just In

   A group of us were talking about being inundated with incredible amounts of disturbing news and feeling helpless in the face of all that's going on around us. Vexed as we are, we kvetch, dismiss our actions as futile in the face of such cussedness and then log in (or fire up the tee vee) in search of the next outrageous headline.
    One of my comedy writers* talked about how we post and share onto social media platforms all of the articles that irk us--. sometimes the flow of "passed along outrage" is nearly as constant as the news chatter from your favorite(?) news outlets!
 

Gimme a break! I'm only capable of so much outrage at a time!

* (Sorry Jason, given our budget, you'll be receiving your customary monetary compensation of nada....thanks for the humor, though!)

In the moment

   Yesterday I walked into a hallway leading toward the kitchen only to be waylaid by a ten pound mini dachshund's withering gaze. Evidently she had a stake out going and was waiting to intercept me so I'd grab some kibble for her mid afternoon snack. Little moments don't always generate the stuff of priceless anecdote, but I savored that moment nonetheless.

Wellll????

Remember Harold's Purple Crayon?

Our pen jar is full of interesting writing implements including pens with colored ink. On this rainy gray day, I spied a purple pen and remembered the little story about Harold's purple crayon. Great drawing in that little book! I figured  drawing with a bright colored pen while I savor a nice pressed cup of fresh  morning coffee would brighten things up.

"A tip jar? You're taking tips now?"

This event actually happened. I had a mug of water with me during the service as I'm shrugging off some sort of sinusy alllergy thingee. Somebody asked if the mugs was a tip jar and if I was supplementing my income. Fun to be around people with a keen sense of humor. I think they were kidding....

A point? I just drew the guy while I waited for breakfast

Having Coffee and wearing the "summer glasses"
Note the way cool Mug by Gary with a beagle on the handle!

I saw my first ever episodes of "Comedians in Cars Going for Coffee". Love that show! All those fancy cars, cool coffee shops and snippets of clever repartee and friendly conversation. Maybe I'll have to invent "Cartoonists wearing tennis shoes going for coffee"--the nearest REAL coffee place is about an hour from here. sigh.

Time Warp Tuesday

Circa 1961-ish...'Where's my sketchbook?'

When Mathematicians laugh (from the bartster archives)

    You look at the expression of the little tot pictured a top of this post and you wonder if he thinks ANYTHING is funny. Parents and older siblings report that the kid didn't speak until he was nearly four. The story goes that one day, the little bartster toddled down to breakfast and for some odd reason decided that particular day suited him to begin speaking in complete sentences.
   As I look at the 'encore presentation toon' I can see where I would tweak a few details. The big stack o' sketchbooks probably contain a few funnies I could re-do. Most of the sketches are just little faces or people standing around--just because.