In Lithuania, my husband’s grandparents have the most wonderful, weightless, incarnation-of-joy, farm dog in the entire world.  His name is Sharikas, and even though I am admittedly not a dog person, seeing him bouncing through the dried grass and herding hens that are bigger than he is breaks my heart from happiness.

However, he moves so fast that I can never seem to capture him with the camera; in photos, he is only ever a blur of gray smeared across the farm yard, and if I increase the shutter speed, he seems too still to be the same animal.  So, in an effort to share more of Sharik’s essence, I thought I’d try to introduce him to you the U.S. Patent way (I knew all that graphic design homework would come in handy some day…):

Perhaps it is impossible to patent joy because it has so many sides that no one could ever claim it completely.  Even so, I hope these six make you as happy as Sharikas makes me.

We’ve been working with a lot of new patterns recently in the studio, so I kept my eyes peeled for inspiration while we were in Lithuania a few weeks ago.  This particular shop window in the Vilnius old town displayed some patterns that remind me of old French tapestries and others that look like they originated in the 80s – and yet they seemed to complement each other nicely.

The trees wanted in on the composition as well, as you can see, so this picture reminds me a bit of some early debates about esthetics – as if the trees are insisting, “All of man’s art originates in nature.”

Spring has sprung in Austin.  Every time I pass a Wysteria tree, I am instantly 9 years old. When I was growing up in West Texas, we had a wysteria bush in our front yard.  It was very low to the ground, so each spring, when it put on its purple-only frock (no leaves until later), my sister and I could start our season of playing in the “wysteria fort.”  Our wysteria bush was so thick with flowers (and later with leaves) that we could hide inside under all the foliage and no one could see us.  We could plan our strategies against the neighborhood boys who had a real fort, with pointy wood sides and everything.  But our fort was much more subtle … ours looked as if it were a wysteria bush–much better for a surprise seige!  So if you happen to walk by a wysteria bush this spring, beware, there might be some plans of attack going on underneath all those petals of sweet perfume.

The California office is now back from Lithuania and enjoying the flower-perfumed air of Berkeley.  It was still chilly over the Easter weekend up there, but it was fun to be able to see the countryside in its pre-verdant state.  Lots of puddles!  I will post more about the trip in the coming weeks, but first, here’s a glimpse from the beginning of the holiday of the neighbor’s tidy snow rows:

and another after the rains began:

In the Lithuanian language, they make it very easy to say, “It is raining” – lyja.  But all those April showers are sure to make it a gorgeous summer!

We recently discovered a paint-your-own-pottery studio here in Berkeley’s “Potter’s Ghetto.”  Brushstrokes is a great place to go on a rainy day – or in our case, a Monday evening, when it’s pretty quiet and they waive the studio fee if you bring contributions to the Alameda County Food Bank.  The delayed gratification of painting a piece in dusty un-revealed colors, waiting a week, and then meeting your new now-shiny creation makes the whole experience very satisfying.

If you have any hand-painted creations you’re proud of, we’d love to see some other favorite cereal bowls and coffee mugs out there!  Just send us pictures here – we’re looking forward to it!

Texans love bluebonnets and we love taking bluebonnet portraits.  The sturdy blue flowers grow in abundance along the highways in the early spring, thanks to the foresight of Lady Bird Johnson. For most of us, at some point in our lives, we have had to squat down in a sea of bluebonnets on the side of the road for our official bluebonnet picture … all the while hoping that a car would not run over us and the fire ants would not bite us.  But, after the event (if there had not been too much crying) we had a portrait de beauté. And, we were proud.

So, it was just natural that I felt that I needed to take a bluebonnet portrait of our one-year-old pup, Neville, amongst the state flowers.  However, when a friend caught us shooting Neville’s bluebonnet photo, I knew I was in trouble. “Really, you’re kidding, right?  Your’re not taking a bluebonnet picture of Neville … are you?”

At first, I tried to pretend that he was just sniffing for squirrels, but alas, he was all primped up and posing and it was just too obvious.  So I confessed. “Yes, as a Texan dog, he knows this just comes with the territory.”

And, when I was questioned as to whether I had portraits of my human children, I was relieved that I could say, “Yes I do.” So, here are a few pieces of proof that I treated my first three just as specially as our newest addition … if you can call forcing your children to dress up and sit near possible varmint holes special.

And speaking of bluebonnets, WHAT a season we are having … the prettiest in years.  See below for a great weekend tip for bluebonnet sightings if you are in the Austin area.  Some people are suggesting that this weekend may be the peak, while others are pointing to next weekend.  But either way, I hope everyone can take a bit of time off to just enjoy this little Texas miracle.

And, if you see someone on the side of the highway shooting bluebonnet pictures of her dog, she is not me.

Below are some pictures taken of our girls, friends and cousins, who, as card-toting Texans, were kindly posing for the required Texas Bluebonnet Portrait when they were little … proof positive that Neville was just partaking in family tradition.

A wonderful teacher from our school shared these great bluebonnet sighting tips if you are around the Austin area this weekend.

“In 45 years of driving the Central Texas hill country, I’ve never seen bluebonnets as lush as we saw this afternoon on Hwy. 71 between the end of metropolitan Austin and Llano (app. 60 miles).  In good years, this has been one of my favorite bluebonnet roads.  Difference this year?  For mile after mile after mile, they wrap right up to both sides of the highway and extend into the fields on both sides–in puffy blankets.  Every time you crest a little rolling hill and think you’ve seen the best, you get a view of a blue sea that runs for 3 more hills, and often well out into the fields on either side of the road.

If you’re from this area, you know that some years are great, some are meager, most are “average” (still beautiful), and the bluebonnet season is relatively short.  I’m sending this because this is the best I’ve ever seen, and there are probably one or two good weekends left.  Our drive took 4-5 hrs.

The other spectacular road we took was Hwy. 152 between Llano and Castell.  It wasn’t shabby south of Castell to Hwy. 87, which runs from Mason to Fredericksburg.  What’s different about Hwy. 152?  It’s a county road–smaller, less traveled, but very good surface.  More curves, more dips, more creek crossings (dry today).  More opportunities for one breathtaking view after another, even more luscious, pillow-like flights of bluebonnets, even more other wildflowers mixed-in, for yellows, golds, oranges, purples, other blues, and whites.”

Enjoy the bluebonnets, and don’t forget your cameras.

Every year, right before our niece’s birthday in February, the Caldecott Awards are announced, and we are able to give her a brand new fresh Caldecott award-winning book.  (Okay, I admit it, I give myself the same book.  Happy Grace’s Birthday to me!)  This year, when I realized that the award might have been announced, I zipped to the ALA site to find the winner.

When I saw that the Caldecott Medal winner for 2010 was the Lion & the Mouse, by Jerry Pinkney, I had to have a little smile remembering another little girl I know, who loved the stories illustrated by Jerry Pinkney.  In fact, that little girl, who happens to be the co-writer and artist of this blog, wrote a second-grade report on Mr. Pinkney in 1992 .  And, miraculously, I was able to find that very report.  I think the assignment was to deliver an oral presentation pretending to be someone with a career you might like to have someday.  Afterward, each student wrote about his or her experience.  Below is Ellen’s report on her report.

Here are several studies of Mr. Pinkney using a variety of mediums, which she included in the pretend portfolio she used with her speech.

Then, coincidentally, several weeks later, Jerry Pinkney was having a book signing at a little book store near us in Connecticut.  Here is Ellen (and her little sister) meeting Mr. Pinkney in person.  Jerry Pinkney, and many others, had a big part in inspiring this little gal to be an artist when she grew up, and, now that she is, I think she might say, just as she did in second grade, “It is gret being an artist.”  (You can see how Ellen’s work has evolved here.)

Do you have a budding artist in your house?  If so, what artists spark the creativity of your little ones?  Do you have a favorite Caldecott book?  Comment below so everyone can be inspired.

Have you already made deviled eggs, egg salad, egg casserole, creamed eggs, and yet, you are still feeling a little egg-recipe challenged?  If you are looking for one more method for finishing all those glorious Easter eggs, here is an idea: Hard Boiled Eggs In Cognito.

After the first Easter that our little family had an Easter egg hunt, I discovered that my loved ones weren’t crazy about the creamed hard-boiled eggs that had been a part of my Easter morning ritual when I was growing up. So, I began to search for a few alternative recipes for the purpose of using up the baskets full of hard-boiled eggs.

I found this idea in a recipe book, The Penny Whistle Lunch Box Book, in which the authors recommended filling egg whites with your child’s favorite fillings, such as tuna fish salad or salmon-cream cheese filling, both of which my gals really like.  They even recommended just mixing the yolk into the different fillings to give a little hidden protein to your kiddos.

Because I am not a big lover of egg whites, I take the same fillings and make tea sandwiches. It’s win-win for everyone and we are usually able to use up most of our eggs.  Once we can’t eat another egg in any manifestation, we pass them on to Neville, our pup, who does not seem to tire of any food item.

Here are the fillings that I used this time:

First, loosen the yolks so that they are crumbled, but not packed, and then make fillings that your family likes best. Here are the fillings that I used:

1. Curried Deviled Egg Filling: I took about one-third of my crumbled yolks and added  a mayonnaise/sour cream blend to moisten.  Add some finely chopped onion, a little dry mustard, a squeeze of lemon, and curry powder to taste.  Use a small spoon to fill the white egg halves, and then sprinkle with a bit of paprika.

2. Tuna Fish Salad:  Make the kind of tuna that you like, but mix it so that it is a little creamier than you might normally make it, so that it can easily fill the egg openings.  I added about a third of the yolks and one egg white, finely chopped, to my tuna mixture. Fill the white egg halves with a small spoon. Garnish with sliced cornichon pickles.

3. Salmon and Cream Cheese: I used a 4-ounce package of smoked salmon and chopped it finely in a mini food processor, or you can chop it finely with a knife.  Mix in a small amount of cream cheese (maybe a tablespoon) and same amount of sour cream.  Add about a teaspoon of onion and a teaspoon of chives.  Add about 1/2 tsp of lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon.  I added  some of the egg yolks but I prefer them better in the other fillings.  Fill the egg white halves with a small spoon and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh dill.

For the little tea sandwiches, I used Pepperidge Farm very thin white bread.  Cut the crusts first, then fill with each filling.  Adios Easter eggs … until next year!

Happy Easter from all of us at Cathy Heck Studio.

Margaret is most proud of this egg, because this egg holds the honor of being the “First Egg Margaret Actually Finished.”  When we started making these tedious jewels, Margaret was a toddler, while her sisters were five and ten years older.  So, although she tried, many of her early eggs are only decorated on one side.  (And, actually, if you think about it, her half-egg method was probably a very efficient use of time and effort … since, when displayed, only one side shows to the egg-admiring public, anyway.)  Nevertheless, while we love Margaret’s half-eggs just as much as all the others, she loves this one the most!

P.S. Margaret has continued to complete her eggs ever since this one, but, if you ever start to get antsy when you are making your own Ukranian eggs, I recommend the excellent half-egg time management approach.