Mariah DeMarco

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy Mothers Day Mom... it's going much too fast for sure, but my love & admiration for you grow more everyday.. I'm so glad you're my mother.. thank you so much for all the love, support, hugs & late night talks over the years. Thank you for being there when I need you and for sharing in all of the joys & challenges that I've faced. And, thank you so very much for keeping me always in your prayers. I love you dearly. Love, Your favorite ;)

Illustration Friday - {Parade}

ok, so time for a confession...

 I can not draw profiles.. 

well, I can't draw them well anyway.  I always draw people facing front... never from the side.. major problem if I'm ever to become a Children's Illustrator...

well, I've been working hard to get more comfortable with it .. the thing is, if I had a job that required 50 different poses included side views, I know I could do it... it's just not easy for me... and.. 

are you ready for confession #2?  

All my life, I thought that if something was not super easy for you, then you were no good at it.  For instance, if I admit that drawing profiles was difficult for me, then.. I'm not really an artist or illustrator, or worse yet..I shouldn't try to become one.... at which point, my heart would shatter into a million sad little pieces..

So... yeah, I *know* better now.. but its a haunting thing and it feels like I'm always pushing it back... telling myself it's ok if I can't draw something instantly & perfectly right away.  So, I did not shy away from the profile this time.. I faced it and this is what came out of it!  Not terribly bad, definitely not easy.. . but that's ok.  ^_^   I hope you enjoy it!  xoxoxoxox, Mariah

For my sister...

Happy birthday Shell!  I miss you terribly and wish so much that we lived closer... Michelle, you are so special to me.  My big sister and also my friend.  I wonder if you know how beautiful & talented you are?!  Your quite an extra-ordinary woman.   I hope this year will bring you closer to your dreams and that you'll gain that much more confidence in your ability to photograph people!  Shell, you have a way of putting others at ease and finding the beauty in them which causes them to truly *feel* beautiful.  This makes for a magical moment that you then catch with your camera... you dont just shoot photos, you create significant moments for people where they feel all the beauty that's within them, even bits they didn't know they had... not many photographers have that ability, but for you it comes naturally.  It's a true blessing Michelle, and so, are you.  I love you so much!  Thank you for loving me, "just as I am" and happy, happy birthday!

xoxoxoxox, Riah

I love numbers! ^_^

Man, I've been busy!  We are nearing the end of the school year, my new website is in the works and set to be unveiled really soon and oh! I have so much more to share, but right now, I just wanted to check in with you really quick before too much time has passed... it slips away so quickly and suddenly before I know it 2 months have gone by without a post and then well, then it's just really hard to get started again for whatever reason!  So, I give you.... dun dun dUuuuuuun... Magnets!  Magnets that are not only super adorable but also super useful! ^_^ They will be in the SHOP soon!  I hope you like them!  I'll post more about what's been going on behind the scenes here very soon!  Until then, have a wonder filled day and dont forget to look up! ;) xoxoxox, Mariah

PS - I've got 2 sets of ALPHABET MAGNETS coming soon too!  More on THAT soon! :D

Cake for you.

Just a quick note before I head off to bed... Our weekend is over  but it was such a nice one!  My favorite moment was when we all bundled up on the couch (kind of a dog pile on daddy) and snuggled and giggled... for much longer than we had time for really... but it only took a second for us to decide that it was just too nice to rush :)  

That was the best part, but there were a lot of good times.  I had the best blueberry muffin this weekend, I think I'm going to make some tomorrow for good measure ;) Mmmmm... I am looking forward to that!  

I also had a long chat with my best best friend who I dont get to talk with enough, sadly... so of course that was so, so nice... I miss her so much.

Things at work for Mr. T have been difficult lately to say the least, so I think it was good to surround him with some love & laughter in whatever moments we could find to do so!  

Now, it's back to work and school and missing each other... man do I love weekends.... 

*sigh*

I am so grateful for my family.  I hope your weekend was lovely as well, nothing beats a good long weekend full of snuggles & love! ^_^   

Holy Smokes *Graffiti* is fun!!!

I saw this app over on facebook and had to share it! The drawing's are pretty cruddy, but I was too impatient & had to see the playback, finished & good or not! xoox, Mariah

Today's verdict: "Cute's all she's got."

Man, today's been a rough day (artistically speaking).  All these doubts about my work... all this sadness about my drawings not being good, fear of them being boring.... Today I've been struggling with what I like to call, "The cute effect" : I like cute things, I draw cute things and typically am known for my 'cute'...and almost all of the time, that's so wonderful and I am so happy about it!  I mean, I'm known for something nice, and that's great, right?  But, sometimes.. every once in a while I start feeling suffocated by 'the cute'  I start feeling like people think I'm all sunshine and rainbows all the time.. . and that I dont have a dark or sexy bone in me... I dont know why that bothers me..... but sometimes... every so often... once in a great while...  it does. ...and today, is one of those days... It's when I feel the fine artist in me struggling with the cute... and dark clouds begin to brew behind my eyes...   I think that I fear people will pass by my work thinking the only thing I've got is "cute" - when there is so much more here...  I dunno.  I'll probably delete this post... it's not very becoming I suppose...

Learning to get back up + the adders...

{Add●er ❘ noun: a person who adds goodness/joy/happiness to other people's lives. One who does not take away, but adds.  she encouraged me when I needed it most and my life was made better because of her care for me.} 

A while back, my husband and I took our son out every evening for one week and filmed him learning to ride his bike... as we helped him through it we took photo's and video and thought it would make a great memory for him to keep... kind of hoping that later in life if things seem like they will never work out, or feel too overwhelming to get up and face, that he will be reminded of this time...
It's so hard to fall over and over and over... there were moments when things seemed very bleak, he was tired and angry and he just didn't want to keep going, didn't even want to get up... but he did!  He found the courage to try again.. facing failure with uncertainty again.... he got up.... and after a while, he 'got it'....
and things..
began...
to turn..
around.

Soon, he understood what he'd been working so hard for and he was lovin' it!  He learned a lot more than just how to ride a  bike...*we* learned a lot too  ...the importance of not just persistence & courage, but also, the will to get back up and not let frustration beat you, and maybe most importantly, we were all reminded that we need each other... we need the 'adders' in our lives and we need to *be* 'adders* in each others lives.  It's ok to lean on a friend for encouragement when you feel you can't get up again... that's what it's all about, that's the kind of people we strive to be.  Life can be hard... we need each other to get to all the good parts!

Learning to ride... from Mariah DeMarco on Vimeo
Afterwards, Mr. T made a really really good video that took him a super long time and then, something happened {we still dont know what} and it got all messed up, parts were missing and it was all out of order... Sooooo, he threw back what he could and it's no longer in the perfect order it was before, but honestly, it is still a very sweet video.. . I am biased, but, it melts my heart and makes me all mushy inside...
 I love it and I hope you do too!   ... mostly though, I hope that you will take heart and be encouraged!  We all learned to ride a bike the same way, lots of falling, and lots of getting back up to try yet again.. and we did it!  Don't miss or underestimate the strength you posses.  Don't stay down, we are resilient!  .. and if you do need a friend... don't be too proud to give them a call... you might be surprised at how good it feels just to know that you don't have to go through it alone... and that
you.
are.
loved.

Enjoy your weekend!xoxoxo, Mariah

I *love* THIS:

...sooooo much.  I saw it in the shop over at Vectips. It's so perfect! 

For those of you who aren't familiar with Adobe Illustrator/Photoshop... this little pencil is what I use almost the entire time I work :)  .... yep, that little tool is what makes all of this possible!  What a perfect little shirt, I may have to order me one soon!  xoxox, Mariah

One tired bunny....

Well, the Easter baskets are out and ready to be discovered... lots of fun things like play doh, construction paper & google-y eyes! I was one tired bunny after all that 'arranging' and was happily heading to bed, when I thought, well... I'll just go harvest my strawberries *really quick* on my "farm" over at facebook... something that I have become increasingly obsessed er, um... fond of doing. Yeah, I know it's not a REAL farm.. and I am NOT {despite my longing to be} a REAL farmer... but lets try to stay focused here..

That {harvesting my strawberries} was about 3 hours ago...

See, I found {through some crazy amount of semi-random clicks after selling my harvested fruit & buying some more fences} THIS MANS BLOG which inevitably lead me to his super funny video's about being a children's illustrator & author... I think... he is a genius.

and...I think children's book illustrators are a very odd and wonderful group of people.. they are a strange & extra-ordinary bunch.. and it comforts me a great deal to see them connecting & making little movies like the ones Mr.Krosoczka makes. He astounds me.. so many illustrators do... they've got good stories and deep roots.. They are solitary but they need people desperately... they need people, but can only be with them in bursts... They see things that others miss and are passionate down to their core... and one day, someday... I hope to join them. Thank you Mr. Krosoczka for sharing your humor & talent... you are so lovely...on so many levels.

Happy Easter everyone! Make it a good one!