"Arella" (sold), "Arella in the Barn" and "The Storyteller's Apprentice" each 17" x 12" (framed dimensions) mixed media on aquabord.  Part of The Art of Illustration show at ArtServe, now through November 27.   Available here and at ArtServe.

What an exciting week this is!  The culmination of years of collaboration with a month-long show and a book signing.  But what is really, REALLY making me smile is this brave character, Arella, who has become such a part of my life.  Ever since author Dana Kumerow wrote  Arella into existence, she has been a kindred spirit.

Arella has a stubborn streak...difficulty listening to people and reading the signs in life.  She is tenacious and headstrong and determined - sometimes to her own detriment. Wait - am I talking about Arella or myself?   So many of the lessons Arella learns in The Storyteller's Apprentice are lessons I am still learning.  

​Arella has trouble accepting her own talents.  She wants so much for her gift to be like the one someone else has - something more flashy, more exciting and different.  She works hard to develop a gift that isn't hers to have, until finally learning to treasure the talent she had all along.

I remember when my dad once called me the family "pit bull", meaning I would fiercely and doggedly get things done, whatever it took, however unglamorous it may be.  My sister, on the other hand, was a "golden retriever" - getting along with everyone, making people happy, being easy to be with.  I wanted so much to be a soft, golden dog.  It just seemed better.

Since that time, however, my inner "pit bull" has become something I rather count on.  She gets the hard stuff done regardless of how uncomfortable it is (or how many people she ticks off!) and is a source of strength.  And my sister is way better at being golden. :)

​Arella also begins as a bit of a perfectionist..her hair just so, ribbons straight, everything right as rain.  Her adventures ultimately give her no choice but to embrace the messiness of life, including her own wild hair and things around her being less than perfectly neat.

No one in my house would tell you that I've embraced messiness yet!  But the older I am, the more my own unmanageable hair becomes just right the way it is.  And perhaps there is hope for me to embrace the messes in life  because a certain storybook hero of mine points the way.