Artists. I recently saw Al Lopez, a California Caricaturist who specializes in Pin-Ups. Finally got him to draw this picture of me. So Cute!

It's unusual for me to be wearing a big t-shirt, but I'm glad I did this time. I was wearing a souvenier that I had bought on the street in NYC. Now that Al included that in this picture, I guess I can dub myself Ms New York? Smile.

One of these days I'm going to draw a picture that shows how charming he is. Meanwhile, all I did was to focus on expanding 3-D forms with just line when I was drawing him. It's just what I was into that day:

I went to a 6-year old's party in NJ today. I was having an upright time with a helpful 6-year-old who seemed so mature. Surprised me when she reminded me that she couldn't read yet - She's working on it, and can spell her big name already: Stephanie.

Here's the picture that Stephanie drew of me. So you're probably wondering - who am I really? I am too. Is Stephanie right? Is Al right? Some other Artist perhaps? All I know is that I'm having fun and meeting wonderful people.

My father-in-law used to tell a story - A story about the worm in the horseradish. The gist of the story is that a worm could be so happy to have found enough food to feed him for a lifetime - if he found a bitter horseradish. Because he can't see another worm's experience - he can't know what life is like for some worm that finds an apple!

Well, people's lives aren't as clear-cut as apples and horseradishes. I see so many people - having all sorts of different life-experiences. I can't say which is a bitter life or which is a sweet life. But I can peek inside their realities - I can see so many different ways to live. It's so interesting.

Here are a few pictures from a couple of parties I recently worked at. It includes pictures from a party at a 'group-home', an 'assisted living' situation in the suburbs. And from a party in the backyard of a small attached-house full of extended family - city-life with kids who always had plenty of people around - whether they were inside or outside. Both of those situations are so different from my own.

Sometimes guests are inspired to draw when they see me drawing.

Today, I worked at a 40-year-old's Birthday Party. Some of the guests stationed themselves with me - watching, talking .... and they wanted to draw also.

Two of the younger girls gave me their pictures. I want to post them because I was really impressed.

Lisa drew the whole scene - that's me drawing. I was very impressed with her choice of what to include and her ability to draw depth - she was only nine years old!

Ashley drew some beautifully diverse faces. And I could see that she was free - playing with what came out. Ashley was 10 or 11 years old.

I can really appreciate their talent. Young and undeveloped of course, but still raw and honest.

I meet so many neat people at these parties. Just within the past month, some of the people I remember meeting include:

a young mother of a one-year-old who keeps extended family together - actually managed to have something like Nine Grandmothers at the party (long story I guess - it wasn't explained to me, but everybody was very happy to fawn over this little girl - what a beautiful gift of family this mother was giving her baby).

an older mother who set up a beautiful life for her learning-disabled 40-year-old son. in an assisted living situation with other learning-disabled adults.

a mother of an autistic boy who was able to handle all those extra demands while still keeping a beautiful home (and the autistic boy himself who has been encouraged enough that he was able to smile and relate to me and the picture I drew of him).

an extremely tattooed he-man who's been hiring me a couple of times each year - because he makes family/friendly parties regularly - he's the one who keeps the group together - it's because of extroverted people like him that children can grow up 'belonging'.

a woman who has a fundraiser once per year to honor her father who passed away from Alzheimer's about 7 years ago.

people of all ages - the young boys with the comic books, the young girls who liked to look like Bratz-dolls, the (70 year old? 80 year old?) woman who claimed to be the oldest one here - and then turned with gyrating hips encouraging the 11-year old to Go!.

the 'Beach Mayor' out east who helps me set up every year that I do the Kitefly. I end up knowing all about him, his daughter (just got married this year), his wife who passed away 14-years-ago from breast cancer, his special house.

the litle girl that I call 'the strawberry girl' - she's now about 5 or 6 years old, but I always remember the first time I drew her - she had been about one-year-old at that time and her mother had had her dressed up in the cutest little hat that had strawberries on it.

the dark-eyed family (I think they might have been of Spanish background) that hired me to draw Clownicatures (Caricatures that are decorated to make each guest look like a Clown) last year. This year they had me back, but this time they had me draw Piratecatures (Great Pirate theme decorated their yard)

Oh! The Barnes and Noble crowd - all those people who followed the series. Most of them came dressed up like the Harry Potter characters. Or at least had a scar and a pair of round glasses on.

The delightfully appreciative woman who was talking to me with Yiddish. She was telling me how important it is to keep that old language alive because of the descriptive expressions in it. Things like fadrei-a-cup, and foreist-a-hemp-and-kratzach. The first one has to do with a worrying head. The second one is something about 'tear your undershirt (hemp) and scratch (kratzach)'. She so appreciated words, pictures, songs, dances, and the people around us.

And and the nine-year old who finally taught me how to stick my neck out like a pigeon! She described it as bringing the top bone of the back of my neck together with the bottom bone of the back of my neck. I'm so happy to finally know that! It will help keep my neck loose.

I love my clients. I love their guests. I love to draw. I love Life! Even with all the other stresses and excitements that it includes.