View from the Zoo

Look what I got in the mail a few days ago! Oceans of thanks to you too, Kara, from Egg Press for this wonderful letterpress printed card from their Everyday Notes collection in their 2008 catalogue. Letterpress printing produces a very tactile result - you can feel where the ink has been pressed into the card. I can tell a lot of thought has gone into the choice of envelopes, too. This one is a beautiful soft green that matches the color of the octopus. Receiving a letterpress card today is like receiving a small work of art. I am looking forward to your new letterpressed wall calendars – any animals in them?

All the koekjes and noten are gone! My daughter Audrey, who is raising funds to finance her studies in Holland, has achieved her objective with this campaign. 2800 gourmet nut and butter cookies and 25 kilos (55 pounds) of sugared pecans sold in just 4 months. There are a few people who have put on a few extra pounds as a result… PS : for those of you in Europe to whom we have promised a bag or two, don’t worry. Audrey will make an extra batch which we will deliver personally!

I love zebras. When I started looking at them closely I realized it was a wonder of nature how those stripes flow around the body without getting mixed up and how it is difficult to tell if the animal is black with white stripes or vice versa. I finally got to draw one – this is for the Tigerprint jigsaw puzzle competition which finishes at the end of July. You can see my other entries and those of other illustrators as well. So is the smile a stripe or really a smile?

Wow! «View from the Zoo» has been accepted by delightfulblogs.com - thanks Lynda! Delightfulblogs.com is an edited listing of blogs that are «personal, passionate and stylish». Over 20,000 visitors peruse the directory every month. Go over there and vote for «View from the Zoo»! What a great logo!