Small Odd Things

3.5 x 5, mixed media. Too small for normal prints, but original is for sale, and I might be able to do a mini-print.

Crowns are one of those symbols I hardly ever use, and I couldn’t really tell you why. I think the polar bear in Polar Court had a tiara, but that’s the only one I can think of off-hand. They may just be too Fraught With Symbolism for my taste. I prefer eggs to roses. Nobody’s ever sure what’s up with the gg.

Possibly it’s that I never went through the princess phase as a little girl. I wanted to be a shapechanging Vulcan diplomat. (Come to think of it, adult me still thinks that would be pretty cool…) No crowns for me, thanks.

I also find it amusing to reflect that I can do these little guys now, and I couldn’t have ten years ago. Not because they’re particularly complex or difficult, but because they aren’t. Ten years ago, while I could have done the drawings, I would have been terrified that if I did something so minimal, somebody might think I didn’t know how to draw!

So I would probably have hung it all over with swords and knapsacks and pouches and given it detailed muscle-y bits and whatnot, because lord knows, my self-esteem could not have handled some stranger on the internet thinking for a second that my skills were not up to snuff.

Like so many things, it took awhile for me to beat into my thick skull that short stories could be as valuable as epics,* and small images are worthwhile in their own right, and the art doesn’t really care about my ego, sometimes it just wants to exist as what it is.

I still have no idea what these things are, or why this one has a crown. Perhaps he is the prince of small odd things, or maybe he just found it somewhere and is not entirely sure why he is wearing it.

*Case in point–I can’t remember a damn thing about Robert Jordan’s books which I slogged through for weeks of my life, but I still occasionally mutter to myself about how somebody deserves to be sent away to the cornfield, and don’t get me started on yellow wallpaper.

3 thoughts on “Small Odd Things

  1. E. Scribo says:

    At times these remind me of Tove Jansson’s Hattifatteners, but they have more individuality.

    It is very interesting to watch you work, as it were. Thank you for allowing the world to stare over your shoulder!

  2. Shanna says:

    Sorry, but this isn’t specifically a comment about your Small Odd Thing (although I do like them a lot). I was looking to see if you have any calendars for next year available for sale and didn’t see any links on your site. I am enjoying the random moment in the life of a happy troll this month and wanted to repeat the madness next year. Will calendars be available?

    Also, I really want to suggest a calendar sometime of your Vivid animal pics. I love them beyond reason.

  3. admin says:

    Hey, Shanna! Sadly, sales on the last calendar weren’t great, and the woman doing the merchandising got out of the biz, so there aren’t any plans to do one next year. I won’t swear there won’t ever be another calendar, but not for a bit yet, alas.

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