The concept I ended up going with was the good/bad dichotomy and flatware.

Heavenly spoon by Gwen Richards for heavytable.com

I thought it would be easy solution to doing my own e-com, which is hard. I know hard. When I had a e-comerence shop hosted one my site, I was handcoding roll-overs and the info for many, many Paypal buttons.

Just copy the link from my store and add it. But strangely, I was wrong. I kept getting a page that said “Uh oh! No user ID was sent..”
“But it’s the link to my store!” I yelled in my head in frustration!

The solution is sub-domains. Etsy makes your username a sub-domain that redirects to your store. It has to do with PHP. My store/user name is Gwendolynart, so the link is http://gwendolynart.etsy.com redirects to my store http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5906258.

Where does that pop culture idea come from that goats will eat anything, including tin cans? I’ve always had it in my head, probably got it from TV. So much so I fed a can to a goat when I was 7 or 8 because I thought that’s what they like to eat. I told my sister this story the other day.

I was joking around with my sister and she started making up a song, mentioning goats. I pop out with “Goats will eat cans!” She was very “what?”, so I explained I know for a fact goats eat cans because I fed one to a goat.

She was of course was confused (and had this look like “when did Gwe have time last week to go do that?”), so I told her about a field trip I had in 2nd or 3rd grade where we went to the petting zoo (I think at the MN zoo) and I was so excited. I knew there would be goats and goat love to eat tins cans, so I brought one along as a treat for them, because my visit was special

Yep, packed a can and just carried it around in my backpack till we go to the goats. Eveyone crowded around the fence and was feeding them grain for a vending machine., and I pull out my can. I think I fed it to a black and white one.

But wait! There’s more. I was caught by the attendant/zoo guide. I recalled he was very surprised, very “did you just feed them a can?”

I said “Yes. Goats love cans, I brought it as a treat!” with the surety you have as a kid, that if you know or believe something, it’s 100% true. He gentaly told yes, goat eat cans, but they’re not good for them to eat. It’s beeter if they just eat what the zoo gives them.

I was so crushed! Ah, childhood.^_^

[Photo courtesy of jindivik12]

So, the cover is due next week. My process was reading the description and then I did several roughs. I gave myself a goal of making at least 10. What I’ve found is that pressure of making so many, can push you in a new direction. instead of always staying in your comfort zone of doing what you know you can draw/paint well.  but cut it down to 2 that had the most promise. These are the 2 best, in tighter sketches:

More soon!

This is my first step on my way to being a famous children’s illustrator like Eric Carle, Steven Kellogg, and Mary Grane-Prea (some of my person favorites).

I will keep you all posted on my process as I go along.

Show your bovine love with a Moo Cow bag.

Based on “Betsy,” the Moo Cow messenger bag I made pictured below, I am making 3 Moo Cow totes in the next month. One is reserve

Each tote is unique, and features a one of a kind (OOAK) original painting of a Moo Cow, similar in style to “Betsy”. The next three available are:

“Buttercup” (reserved)
“Oreo”
“Colleen”

All bags have a denim exterior and cotton cow print lining. Approximate dimensions are 12×10x3. Button closure, 1 outer pocket, 3 inner pockets. Bags are machine washable in cold water, but hand-washing will dramatically increase the bag’s life.

Payments by check or paypal:
Cost $55.00
To reserve $30.00

Shipping will probable be under $6 bucks. And Local pickup or meet up at a Dunn Brothers if you live in the Twin Cities.

Artwork is Copyrighted 2008 by Gwendolyn Richards and may not be resold, reproduced, or altered in any way without permission of the artist.

Thanks for looking at my work!