2010 Modern Art Calendar

It's finally done, well the art part anyway. Putting a new calendar together is a lot of work - the pressure of producing something "fresh", along with getting all the dates right in time for the holiday shopping season is intense. I typically begin designing it in mid-summer, with the goal of finishing by October. Last year was the first year I'd ever done a calendar, so ALL the artwork was new. This year, while I've mananged to design a few brand new pieces since the end of the Christmas rush, there was no way I could have 12 virgin designs ready to go for the new one - I'm not a factory, thank you very much - so I had to tap deep into my creativity for a solution. I'd toyed with a few unexciting sketches, before the idea came to me while I was working on another project. I'd started designing patterns, to be background images for some new artwork and suddenly I got a flash of inspiration (yes, it really does happen). I wondered what it would look like if I zoomed in on portions of my existing designs and did a little rearranging. After a couple experiments, I fell in love with the "new look". I find it abstract, yet intriguing and I tried to choose shapes and colors that I felt told the story of the seasons. Perhaps the story will be just a little different for each person that looks at my calendar and that, I think, is a beautiful thing.

Now, I just have to fill in all the numbers, still a daunting task, which is why I'm offering my new calendar as a pre-order for a limited time, while I work to get all the dates in place (checked, double-checked and triple-checked - thank God for Google Calendars!) for the new year. Through the end of July at least, customers can get my 2010 calendar at 60% off the price it will retail at when I officially debut it in October, saving them money AND the holiday-rush hassle with the post office. Don't you just LOVE Christmas in July?