The Holiday Season Continues

People who know me know that my Christmas cards rarely arrive in time for Christmas.  Mostly because of my work schedule, in which the colleges I teach at like classes to run up until just a few days before Christmas, to be followed by grading requirements, which come with a deadline (fair enough- students deserve to know) and more demands every year.  Plus, for decades now I have been making my own cards, kind of an artist thing, and then writing them out by hand.

I begin the process early, and have a goal to get at least one printed and colored in time for Christmas Day, so I can post it here, and this blog will show how I met that goal if anyone cares to look back.  This year I had picked the idea weeks ago, drew, cut, and printed the block during the week before Christmas, and had one colored by Christmas Eve.  Photographed that morning, so I could post it to the web between the morning presents and the late day dinner.  A few family members have theirs now.

Cards that will need to travel by mail are still a work in progress.  Had the whole batch printed last week, but coloring is still in progress.  Yesterday's visit was devoted to printing, but today I was there to color.

I decided that one of the cards I had was a little bit smeared, but that left 6 usable copies to be colored, enough for the people I currently owe or promised cards to.  In the interest of efficiency, I apply a color to the appropriate pieces of the whole set, then move on to the second color.  Not being sure about the status of the Studio over the holiday, I had brought all my watercolors home last week, just in case, and colored the first few to be distributed at home.  However, with big tables and fewer distractions, working in the Studio is always better.  Took all the paints, the blank cards, and headed up there in the afternoon.  When I got there I realized I had forgotten to bring my water can (a canned macaroni can I have been using since I quickly needed something in time for watercolor class back in the 80's) and my brushes.  Found an empty plastic cup on Molly's table, and a few brushes in my cabinet- not the best sizes, but would allow me to do some work.

Some parts would requires more fine brushes than I had today, but I was still able to apply 8 different colors to the cards today, then packed everything for the trip home.  I can do the remaining colors with better brushes at home, and likely still get them in the mail before New Year's Day, still within the holiday period as far as I am concerned.  Weather reports are that tomorrow will be a miserable day, a good day to stay home, finally finish all the grading (mostly complete, but all those papers take a long time to get through), and get my cards all colored.