Up To My Armpits in Cows and Eating Elephants...

I forget where I first heard the expression “Eat your elephant one bite at a time”... but being a visual person, I loved the idea that something so huge could be tackled one little bit at a time. Notice that it doesn’t say “in one sitting”. With our deadline conscious world and frantic pace, it is often easy to think that we must accomplish everything on our “to do” list each day... then we beat ourselves up if we don’t get through it all!

I am up to my armpits in cows... but luckily not cow patties. A few years ago, I was one of a few artists to submit a mascot for the Elementary School Milk program that the Dairy Farmers of Canada - Maritimes promotes throughout the schools. My “pikacow” (I told them that short, cute and pudgy à la Pokémon style was in...) called Moo-Moo got the best reviews from the panel of test kids and I have been drawing cows for school posters and newsletters ever since. Due to some TV campaigns and other marketing things this year, the information was a bit late coming my way, but we still have press deadlines to meet... so the cows and I have been spending more quality time together than I would like on evenings and weekends. The English layouts are now completed and waiting to be proofed and approved. Once the translations are complete, I just have to take the same layouts and squeeze the French text into the appropriate places. French is usually longer, so you have to play with the spacing a bit... but essentially, once the layout and design is done, creating the French version is relatively easy.

So I feel as if my elephant is getting eaten.. but with the CSNF show in Toronto just 19 days away, the two projects have overlapped WAY closer than I’ve liked!! The only wonderful things is that, in the middle of the chaos, I am able to go outside and hang a load of laundry or save a brown and black fuzzy caterpillar from being sunburned on our deck or look out at the sweep of trees finally changing colours in the park at the end of the street. Remembering to take those pauses... those moments between bites... is SO essential -
otherwise you choke!