Favorite Things: Golden Nature Books

A lot of MAD visitors ask me about my inspiration. Where do I get all my ideas and images? My response is that I make a lot of drawings. When ever I teach a workshop that's longer than an afternoon, a big component is always drawing. I probably make a hundred ho hum drawings for every one that is really good. It's a warm up exercise, like those stretches that I'm supposed to do before working out (I'm much better about drawing!)  I also do a lot of writing, and a lot of jotting down of quick thoughts before they float out of my brain forever.   I try to always have a sketchbook nearby, but sometimes I write on any old piece of paper and glue it into the book later.  Good thing I'm into that layered look!

Like most people, I don't inherently know how to draw a lot of things, so I have a ton of resources that I look at and draw from. Some of my favorites are the Golden Nature books. They fit in my hand just so, and I love the drawings....the bird books are my favorites, especially the one that has my Grandma's notes in the margins.  The best part of these vintage copies is that when I open them up, they smell just like the cottage I grew up going to.