Tara is applying for scholarships. We are both interested in as much financial assistance as possible. Oregon State University is not the most expensive school, and there is in-state tuition, but the fact remains that college is startlingly expensive for regular folks like us.
Here’s one from dosomething.org: Thank You cards for wildlife rangers.
Students make cards for wildlife rangers who are involved with protecting endangered species. The theme of the cards must be from the list of key species, including elephants, marine turtles, tigers, giant pandas, and rhinocerouses. Rhinoceri. Rhinocerim. Rhinos.
For every two cards a person submits, their name is entered into a drawing one time. There is a limit of 10 cards, and therefore 5 chances to win. The prize is a $10,000 scholarship. Totally worth the effort!
Tara and I and a friend got together at a coffee shop and brought art supplies and pulled up images of endangered species on our smart phones… and started drawing.
Drawing is slow work. Luckily, Tara already had a bunch of elephant block prints from last year’s art class. I aboslutely love this elephant. You’ve seen it previously, on my Good Things Jar (where it remains, of course). There were several other versions of the same elephant in Tara’s art folder, so they cut them up and pasted them to handmade cards.
I have called myself an artist for a long time, but I don’t prove it to myself often enough. I consider my writing an art, and my photography is an art. The way I think about the world is through an artists eyes and ears. But look, I can draw too! (I drew the rhino) And look what Tara can do! (Tara drew the tiger) We went in jointly on the sea turtle – Tara drew the first draft, and I finished up the details and did the colours. After the fact, it occurred to me that we had just copied a copyright image (Crush from Finding Nemo), so I made the turtle purple and yellow in a weak attempt to say “This is not Crush, this is a different turtle.” Our friend did the other sea turtle, insisting that all he could do was stick figures, and look how good it turned out!
Cross your fingers for us in getting a few scholarships this year to help soften the blow.
P.S. Last minute addition below. We discovered that we had only 10 cards, so Tara quickly folded a scrap piece of paper in half and handed it to me. Since it was small, I thought just a face would have to suffice.
Conscious Engagement 
This is all good stuff, and the rhino is especially skilled. Jackie, too, is left-handed
Thank you Derrick! Yep, I have a soft spot for South Paws. Glad to hear Jackie is in the tribe.
I like the rhino as well… but the first turtle is very funny!!! Good luck…
Thank you Rosa! We had fun with that turtle. 🙂
Hey, my friend! I need your address again because I cannot find it. And I can’t remember which email account we used, ha ha. Please send me a new email with your address again. This time I will write it in my address book. 🙂
You sure are an artist! I love the idea of coffee shop collaboration too – great fun! Good luck with the scholarship funding!
Thank you Pauline! It was a splendid idea and I am grateful to Tara for coming up with it. (Also, we had to get out of the house that day, for people to walk through) Artists really do need to make time for art in their lives, as you will know because you are an artist. My practical mind is always nagging me, telling me there are other more important things, but to an artist, creating is part of being alive. I need to do more of it.
I loved them all. The turtle looks happy. Made me smile. What fun you must have had doing them all together. My daughter is a lefty too. 🙂 She doesn’t draw. 😦 Those are amazing. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and hope there is very little competition.
I know! Wouldn’t it be a huge and wonderful boon?! I am heartened by knowing there is a 5 entry limit for everyone, so no one will have an extraordinary advantage. We did have fun doing them together. I am totally willing to pitch in on any other creative scholarships, ha ha!
Great stuff – I like them!
Thank you Andrew! It’s a triple-win: 1) chance at a scholarship, 2) we all had a blast, and 3) we made beautiful cards
That’s one heck of a rhino. Well done, Crystal. The cost of school, well…I know that you know.
Thanks, Bruce! It was intimidating at first, then when I sketched it out, I realized half of what makes the drawing impressive is that rhinos are impressive. It’s like taking photos at Arches National Monument or something: it’s really hard to go wrong. The more I got excited about how beautiful the animal is, the harder I worked at the drawing. It was a totally beneficial spiral.
A rhino ride to the finish line.
What fabulous drawings. Well done. Great team work. Hope tara get’s her scholarship xx
Thank you! We had so much fun together!
What a great idea! They are all wonderful … if I were forced to choose, I’d have to pick the elephant, but truly they are all winners!
I also love that you are working together to find creative ways to pay for college.
Thanks for letting me know about Tara’s choice of schools, and her dream of the future. Pretty exciting!
I agree that they all turned out beautiful. Tara’s elephant is awesome and I also like the different versions in different colours.
Oregon State University is in Corvallis, Oregon, which is about an hour and a half from where I live now and about 2 1/2 from the new place if I get it. That’s really close, which may be a good thing for us. We’ve been the Crystal and Tara team ever since she was a baby. It will be a big adjustment not to have my partner in crime around.
What a great way to win a scholarship, and so much fun too.
Oh Michael, what a perfect time for you to stop by and see the latest. I almost never post my drawings, and now you got a chance to see them. It’s part of why I am so interested in your sketches: because I am an artist too.
Even if Tara does not win the scholarship, you are right, we did have so much fun drawing together at a coffee shop. Unlike you, however, we were not instantly surrounded by a group of locals asking questions, ha ha!
You should post more, its always fun to see other artwork. The more things she enters, the more chances she has at winning.
All great stuff.
Really nice ☺
Thank you! And thanks for stopping by.