Marilyn Scott-Waters's Blog

Rebbie

 My lovely friend, Celia over at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial writes about Phoenix projects. She rescues lovely bits of clothing that are worn out and mends them into works of art. 

While my mom has been recovering from breaking her leg I've been going through decades of stuff, sorting, donating, throwing away. In the closet of my old room, in a box that hasn't been touched since the seventies I found Rebbie. He was the beloved animal friend of my little brother Tom, who passed away when he was 16. 

Rebbie might not look like much at age sixty, but he was the King of the Toys. He was sassy and liked to surf. He was popular and had a thick California beach accent. He was the kind of dog that said "Dude" a lot. We wrote comic books about him and his friends. When I found him I became most sentimental.

So he has come to my house for a bit of makeover. 

Here he is on my desk, ready for a spa day.

A nice warm bath. 

Look! He really is pink and white, sort of. He got a soft brushing and a bit of a blow dry. 

After a nice nap on the windowsill he's ready for new stuffing. 

On to the mending. All the bald spots are going to take some time to patch. But I think he's looking much better, don't you?

Who was your animal friend growing up? 

Love and hugs,

Marilyn.

---

Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. 

But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.

Fred Rogers

A Year for Growing.

One year ago today, I had my last chemo treatment. By June I was bald as a billiard ball. I thought that my hair would come back right away but it honestly took a long time.
 July 9, 2019. Very Uncle Fester.
September 11th, 2019. Not a lot but making progress. The weather got hot so I ditched the hats.

Going through radiation. 
By October it was starting to get a peak. Bunny Butt!
November, feeling pretty punk rock with my silver hair.
January was feeling pretty Eddie Munster. :-)
By March I had trimmed the back and sides a bit because I was looking like an Oompa Loompa.
After a year, my hair is pretty much crazy town. 
2020 has been quite a year. All my cancer tests have come back clean, so for that I am grateful.   I hope that wherever you are you are safe and healthy.
Love and hugs,
Marilyn.
PS The Small Dog send his best thoughts.
 

What You Need to be Warm by Neil Gaiman

I thought that this poem by Neil Gaiman was so lovely that I made drawings to go with it. Wishing you a happy, healthy and creative New Year my friends.
















 

Checking in. How are you?

Hello and hello! How are you?

Had my first radiation appointment this week. 

My 80th doctor visit of the year. I should be done by Thanksgiving WoOt! 

Please admire my bunny butt hair.:-)




 

 All in all, things are going great. I am so extremely grateful for my super family, friends and all the love and friendship there is in the world. 
Best thoughts,
Marilyn.
---
Give every day the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life. ~ Mark Twain

Inktober

Last month I to part in Inktober, where artists all over the world do a drawing every day. It was great fun and quite a challenge.

If you would like to see the full set they are all posted on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/thetoymakers/

Wishing you a creative week,

Marilyn.

Alice

I am missing Alice Provensen, who would have been 100 years old today. She was an amazing illustrator of children's books and my friend,

Midsummer Paint

I've been painting a lot this summer here and there. I think I need a tropical vacation. :-)






I can't seem to be able to reply to blog posts for some reason. I hope your summer is going well,

Marilyn.

---

If we give ourselves half an hour a day
with our creativity,
our dreams, our music,
the soul becomes quiet.
We are in our body
and we feel nourished. 

~  Marion Woodman

Summer is a coming in...

It's June and summer is rolling in. Just one more day and the hub is on vacation. WoOt!

I painted a couple of little boxes for my growing Tiny Book collection.




 
And I baked a loaf of rye bread for my yoga potluck.

 
Last Sunday I had a lovely day visiting my friend Karen Provensen along with 25 other artists and fans of her parents Martin and Alice. Karen had covered every table in her house with wonderful piles of art from the hundreds of children's books that they illustrated. It was glory.
Mister Mischief got into the attic through a vent on the roof. It took me an hour to get him out and there was much howling and crying from both parties.


 I drove the boy to summer school because his car was in the shop. He was looking rather rockstar.
 
Here's the lid to one of the Tiny Book boxes....

Hope you are having a creative week!

Best thoughts,

Marilyn.

---

Whenever you read a good book, somewhere in the world a door opens to allow in more light.
~ Vera Nazarian

Tiny Sketchbooks

I’ve been listening to audio books while obsessively making tiny books out of scrap paper and painting little pictures inside. 

Here’s instructions on how to make your own…
http://www.thetoymaker.com/Toypages2/101TinyBooks/101TinyBooks.html
 
 
Wishing you a creative week, Marilyn.
I want you to promise me that you will pick one small, seemingly insignificant thing in your life that you will care about passionately as a craft. It doesn’t matter what it is, but I want [you] to promise that you’ll pick one thing. Whenever you are feeling uninspired about your own life, you will turn to this art that you’ve chosen and do it with as much passion as you can muster ~ Jan Guenther Brau

Happy Mother's Day!

 To this little weirdo.... 




Joel – age 12
1. What is something mom always says to you? How was school?
2. What makes mom happy? When I raid with her.
3. What makes mom mad? When I don’t do what she says
4. How does your mom make you laugh? Holding the cat.
5. What was your mom like as a child? I don’t know, I don’t have a time machine.
6. How old is your mom? Fifty
7. How tall is your mom? Five feet something
8. What is her favorite thing to do? Play WoW
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? Work
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? Drawing
11. What is your mom really good at? Drawing
12. What is your mom not very good at? Running
13. What does your mom do for a job? She doesn’t have a job, she’s an artist.
14. What is your mom's favorite food? Stuff without meat.
15. What makes you proud of your mom? She’s nice.
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? Velma from Scoobie Doo
17. What do you and your mom do together? Play WoW
18. How are you and your mom the same? We love each other.
19. How are you and your mom different? I eat meat, she doesn’t.
20. How do you know your mom loves you? Cause she says so.
21. What does your mom like most about your dad? He’s smart and other stuff.
22. Where is your mom's favorite place to go? She doesn’t go anywhere.

He's all grown up now, ten years later... but I'm still a mom. I still ask about school, don't eat meat or run unless wild tigers are chasing me. I don't play World of Warcraft anymore. Most of all I still love this kid because I say so.