Jocelyn Curry

Art & Joie de Vivre

Category: Uncategorized

  • A Guided Private Lesson in Journaling Art

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    After teaching Nature Journaling at the North Cascades Institute Learning Center last July, I was asked by Marlene, one of the 15 students in the class, whether I would give her a private lesson sometime in quick sketching and light journal writing techniques. A keen learner with specific goals, she knew she'd benefit by this…

  • Inspired by Bygone Writing: Contemporary Use of Script Calligraphy

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    Some clients become career-long favorites. Tamarack Cellars Winery in Walla Walla is one such favorite of mine. Several years ago I was contacted by Hornall Anderson Design Works in Seattle to do the delicate, antique-ish script for the wine varieties being produced by Tamarack. Ron Coleman, owner, has since regularly assigned me to do the…

  • Spring Excursion: Port Angeles to Victoria, BC on the Coho

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    The Black Ball ferry Coho waits at the end of the dock. A bench from which I took this photo provided our picnic spot while we waited to board. I'd always wanted to take the ferry from Port Angeles (on the north side of the Washington State Olympic Peninsula) to Victoria, BC. The visit by…

  • Seattle’s Best Coffee Ice Cream: Lettering for Package Design

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    The handsome, overall package design for SBC's ice cream line was created by Hornall Anderson Design Works in Seattle. I was hired to do the flavor names. If you were to look at these cartons of ice cream, would you be able to tell that the lettering for the flavors was done all by hand?…

  • Ancient Cedars: Family Boating to Wildlife Refuge

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    Living in the Pacific Northwest offers unending opportunities to see nature's marvels. Some of these can only be had if one has a boat! Marvelously, our son and his wife Amy ended up being extraordinary outdoorspeople ~ with a boat. Lucky us. I've always wanted to see the grove of ancient Western Red Cedars on…

  • Butterflies

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    Continuing with the theme of brush-rendered animal illustrations, here is a trio of butterflies. To see what design project they were a part of, please click on the image to be taken to that page. These butterflies are available for licensing!

  • Illustrating for Embossing Dies

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    As an illustrator, I have learned a lot about commercial printing and production. To show how a simple illustration serves as a pattern for a fancy die, here are four images I created for embossed die imprints for gift bags. The brush-rendered butterflies were options given for a style choice. Ultimately, a simple line-drawn style…

  • Swans Lifting Off: an Illustration Assignment

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    A swan taking off from a lake or a pond is not as endearing an image as one romantically swimming calmly across the water. Nevertheless, this is what was asked of me: to create an illustration of the splashingly awkward and chaotic swan at liftoff. Below are four of the sketches I submitted to the…

  • By the Lake, and Within the Wood

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    For the past three days, Millersylvania State Park offered a few friends and myself a tranquil refuge. Our cottage was situated at the edge of Deep Lake; surrounding us were the towering trees, wetlands, old orchards and a web of trails around and throughout the park features. Extending out into the lake was a dock…

  • Weekend in Castle Rock: Geese, Daffodils

    November 23, 2025

    Did I need a deep plunge into a new blog site, right when such a time-consuming challenge really didn’t fit into my crowded calendar? The answer, no surprise, is “no” but at least I was able to navigate the mind-befuddling process of transferring the data from my old platform to this new, AI-enhanced version of good ol’ WordPress. My previous experience of working on good ol’ WordPress wasn’t stellar, so I’m hoping to improve my relationship with it asap. So far I have been able to upload my seasonally appropriate squash painting! But now, HOW do I get rid of “Hello World!” which was placed there by Good Ol. I’m not sure about this, but I think Good Ol’s default tips will stay on this, my First Post until I figure out how to discretely remove them without being told “This is not a good idea.” At least I got my squash up on this new site for your viewing pleasure! Happy Thanksgiving :-).

    We left the city for Eli and Amy's farm, driving the 2.5 hours south of Seattle in bright sunshine. Work is ongoing in the farmhouse as well as in the farmyard! We've had a productive time of it this weekend, with my painting bedroom door and window mouldings cut and nailed in place by Rick,…