LydMc

This week's blog is part of a recurring series of special Celebration Shout Outs. While most of the entries here at LydMc are chronicling my own adventures in creativity, there are many other folks out there exploring,  creating  and inspiring all the time.  As these people and projects encourage me, I want to help encourage them and spread the word. The following video is by  Tasha (of  Tashlandia   fame), a good friend and co-creator who is very near and dear to me. Along with being an amazing director, a beautiful person and just plain awesome in every imaginable way, she is a domestic violence survivor. Thanks to her strength and creativity  she has turned something horrific into something empowering. The people of Newington, Connecticut and countless others have done the same and are changing lives because of it.  I was so inspired after watching this video (and rewatching it about five more times), that I spent the next few hours in...

Go Fish! It was about a week before Father’s Day, and I hadn't gotten my dad a gift yet. I had a backup plan in case nothing else presented itself - a pretty cool looking puzzle book filled with Sudoku and such - but the truth is I resort to that backup plan a lot. It's the equivalent of most kids giving their dads a tie each holiday, except that my dad prefers brainteasers.  But just when I thought another book would join his dusty collection, the perfect gift appeared. Lying in a bin, nestled between a satellite dish and a vintage camera case, a five foot long stuffed fish with googly eyes stared me down. My first response was to laugh out loud, but then I realized this fish would be the perfect addition to my dad's man cave. Without another thought, I carried the fish to the checkout and brought him home with me. Going to sleep with the fishes... As I found this magnificent creature at a second hand store (the sort of place where I find many of m...

I sense a project coming on... I like to draw. Quite a bit actually. So much so that when I set out to do a drawing, I somehow end up doing five. Such was the case one day, when I received a nice little Guess catalog in the mail and thought it might be fun to doodle some of the clothes. Ten outfits and many hours later, here I am.  Throughout the years, I've come to realize referencing catalogs is a great source of art practice. I've used them since high school to hone my skills, getting experience drawing real, balanced poses along with different fabric textures, weights and drapery.  I highly recommend it to any aspiring artist. That said, let's get started! They seem a little sketchy. As much as I enjoy digital drawing, I'm a traditional artist at heart. That means the first step is usually the basic pencil sketch. The only thing I'm trying to do here is get the poses, proportions and general shapes in the right place. If you compare this sketc...

Sushiwoks: Adorable & Delicious   One of the great joys I have in life is celebrating with friends. Beyond the typical birthdays and holidays, I make it a point to find and/or create as many reasons to cook, chat and laugh together as possible. Luckily, with friends like mine, that’s not too hard. The reason behind this particular occasion? The continuation of our three part Star Wars marathon. Three movies (the classics), three hosting teams, three batches of awesome thematic food. The first two hosts raised the bar high with colored white chocolate dipped pretzel rod lightsabers and Princess Leia cupcakes, so I had to think of something good. It didn't take too long, though, as the third Star Wars film stars some of my favorite fictional creatures, the Ewoks. Since I’d already had it in mind to make sushi, the answer was clear – Sushiwoks. The Dark Side of the Rice Come party day, the first thing on my to-do list was prep the rice. I was fortunate enoug...