Little Bo Peep has lost her sheep. . .

It felt good to break out the sketchbook today. I thought it was the perfect thing to take along to town meeting. Here in Vermont, we still hold town meeting once a year to have a community vote on town budget and planning. The votes are still counted by a spoken yea or nay. There was a good mix of people, lots with beards, winter jackets and even some in suspenders. Here's a little sketch of a community member standing and speaking about affordable housing in Charlotte.

I just got back from the Kindling Words retreat. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by so many wonderful authors and illustrators.
What I found most interesting was deconstructing both images and writing and analyzing their structure. I could go on about this, but I will just post a little sample image I played with in a session with the wonderful illustrator Mary Jane Begin (http://maryjanebegin.com/).

Our new pets made their way into some artwork.

One of my favorite winter things to do is sledding. We like to go up a very small mountain that is adjacent to our yard and sled down the road that leads to the bottom on the other side.
I like to be the one in the front like the otter!

Share a meal with a friend:

Happy New Year!

Are you having trouble finding things to do with all the loofahs that your husband grew in the garden? I am, but I came up with this idea:

More sketches with a watercolor pencil. This time I never got around to using water, though.

I think I am starting to create a little village of animals in the woods.

I am playing with a pencil that was recommended by a couple of friends. Turns out I had one tucked in with my regular pencils. This is my first drawing and I think I like it.

Holiday greetings a little early!

If you are interested in purchasing note cards, mugs or tee shirts printed with my images, please visit my new store at www.cafepress.com/lizawoodruff

My feelings this morning are pretty much summed up in this illustration:

Does this goose look a little scary? I sometimes think they are when they waddle toward you while hissing. I think they could do some damage with those strong wings of theirs!

We have had a beautiful week in Vermont. The weather has only a hint of chill in the morning, the leaves are blazing and the sky is blue.

Here's a design/illustration project I am working on for the kids' school:

This is a rough idea for an identity for my design/illustration work. I am learning Adobe CS3 programs, so I am pretty excited when I figure out how to do simple things like this.

It's past Labor Day and school is in full swing. The kids are busy all day, so I now have no excuses. Here's what I am working on for the foreseeable future. It's a pretty fun project now that the ball is rolling.

It is wet and we're stuck inside, so I have broken out my needle felting again. Here are my two latest creations. I am naming the Siamese cat Kimmy after my parents cat that ate wool.
Ironic. . ?