There's not much of a chance to build a snowman or throw a few snowballs right now, but you can get an avalanche of illustrations to tell the story of your product, service, book, or corporate journey from me. I’ve worked for a world-wide roster of brands and am ready to work for you. What can I draw for you today?
Inspired by "The Big Lebowski" I included a cartoon of Jeff Lebowski as decoration on my holiday card . Followed up with Walter Sobchak (John Goodman) as a big ol' bear getting ready to roll for the new year. So I've always liked bowling. My dad was a pretty good bowler who met my mother when he was competing at a bowling tournament in Akron, OH, so I think bowling was ingrained in my DNA. After my father died while we lived in Florida, we moved to Akron-which was my mom's hometown ( and at the time, the home of the PBA- the Professional Bowlers Association). Her father/my grandfather would bring me to his Friday night league to keep score for his team. With the air filled with cigarette and cigar smoke and profane jokes, I watched and listened and learned. Thankfully the guys were not too bad with the booze, smoke, and jokes ( I was 12 and most of what I heard probably went over my head) but anyway I got into the bowling scene, and joined several leagues in high school. Could crank out some 200+ games as much as I hit low scores in the 120's-so I never could get to a consistent level. Though I "consistently" threw bowling parties for my birthday over a few years while living in Chicago. So bottom line- let the good times roll into 2025!
Either late for the holidays or ready for next year? I used this holiday greetings card I did a few years ago and added a couple new details: filled out the bottom of the tree to give the gnome a little heavier load to carry, and replaced "Buddy the Elf" with Jeffery "The Dude" Lebowski (yeah, from the movie). Didn't get a card printed or emailed it to my friends and clients, just posted it on Facebook and Instagram. Got a great idea (maybe great idea?): since I spend most of my "holiday time" making cards for other people and doing my card last (if I do it at all) how about using this tree and replacing all the details with a all-new collection of holiday characters and elements? Stay tuned. And look for another "Lebowski" reference in the next blog post.
Dreading the next meeting you'll lead? Tired of dull topics and time-wasting marathon sessions? Time to pick up "How to Make Meetings not Suck" and find tips to run an inspiring and efficient meeting.
Authors Jonathan Vehar and Cathi Brese Doebler are both facilitators at the world-renowned Center for Creative Leadership, where they work with senior executives to help them be more effective in their leadership. In their own businesses they’ve worked with teams and executives at companies like Subaru, T. Rowe Price, NASA, National Grid, and the US Joint Special Forces University. Now they've not only written an invaluable guide to run effective meetings, but they took it up a notch by writing a series of clever cartoons that appear throughout the book to help drive home their message with a smile. Even better yet, they enlisted me to illustrate those cartoons and I'm honored to have brought their ideas to life!
Here's my cartoons and a link to their fantastic new book: "How to Make Meetings not Suck"
Hats were worn and paint was spilled (and thanks to daughter Frannie for the gift of supplies and a day of painting). Easing into another year. Looking forward to it.
