i figger - you gotta document moments like this - it's an American tradition, no?  (or is this universal?) Laughing hysterically is my son Eli; looking temporarily innocent, is my neice Ava.  Age 4 seems to be the onset of storytelling ability...last night Eli invented an epic tale about a wolf, a robot & a kitten, named "Shankin, Furge & Drod".  Something involving a waterfall, a mountain, & the mysterious ability of the characters to die & come to life again, repeatedly.

My good friend, neighbor, & illustration compadre here in El Rito, has completed a very thoroughly entrancing website overhaul...lots of fun features, archived artwork, + store - in which you can get lovely products & children's books.

Be sure to procrastinate on your today's-to-do list by experiencing the Dancing Elephant Studio & you'll want to add her blog to your RSS feed  - she posts plenty of brilliant photos of northern New Mexico, it'll make you want to move here!

order from me: ehaidle@gmail    -  archival print  -  6"x 9"  (price goes up after July 31)

Anyhow - one of the hikes i've done into the Rio Grande Gorge recently included an awe-inspiring tour of ancient petroglyphs. I'd heard about them before, but seeing was another thing--I was surprised to see them at eye-level, you could walk right up to them and feel them! I haven't yet retrieved the photos from my friend's camera, but I will post them soon. To tide you over, here's a fantastic shot of petroglyphs I found in a magazine:  (Wind River Reservation, Wyoming)

I'm researching wierd & strange undersea creatures for a project...jellyfish, plankton, more diatoms (a favorite subject of mine)  Perfect sci-fi fodder...speaking of which, I'm reading Phillip K.Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?....which the movie "Bladerunner" was based on... however the book is immensely more funny &  I recommend it.

Here's a fun group blog (glog?) that I've recently joined: GIRLS WHO DRAW ...check back often for new posts from a line-up of quality art gals. My first post shows roughs from a World Mythology series I've embarked upon:

Minotaur + Labyrinth (Greek), Coyote Shape-shifter (Mexico/ southwest) a Chinese Creator-god (half woman, snake) & below that: Bastet, Egyptian goddess of sexuality & childbirth.