In the tradition of unconventional Klein Family Christmas cards this year’s offering may seem a bit more unusual than times past. The “Schrodinger’s Cat” card of 2016 and the pen & ink “Mouse Walking Across a Christmas Letter” of 1990 come to mind, and as with those previous incardnations this one was born out of necessity – quickly done due to a variety of stressful events (physical and emotional) that made working on a detailed time-sensitive original illustration mentally and physically challenging (in the case of the Mouse card, for example, Jesse was born in August 1989, so as a newbie Mom with a 1 year old baby, Creative Juices were in short supply in 1990).
2019’s annual Christmas greeting falls into both the Physical and Mental Exhaustion categories in terms of time (or lack-there-of) to come up with an original illustration, but the use of this particular card not only still grants us the opportunity to tell Friends and Family we are thinking of Them/You during the holidays, but also serves a very practical means of sharing New (or Gnu) information. Specifically, after 22 years in St. Augustine, Bob and i (and Jesse’s stuff that was still in the house) have moved. To Orlando! (because where else can one hear fireworks every night and use a volcano as a directional landmark).
While this might seem like an Out-of-the-Blue, impetuous decision, it was really in the back of our minds for awhile. It started when Bob began flying all over the world and i thought how nice it would be NOT to have a yard or house to worry about, and instead have a place we could just button up and leave for trips (obviously the animals would still need to be considered, but we’d figure that part out). Then the back-to-back hurricane assaults of Matthew and Irma kicked things into higher, more serious consideration, gear.
We absolutely adore St. Augustine. Our neighborhood is The Best. And our neighbors (and my Technical Support folks) are the people of Myth and Legend. Caring. Generous. They are our Family of the Heart (and have automatic Drop-In/Stay-Over privileges whenever they are in, or passing thru, Orlando). But Bob and i were also just ready for a change. While i loved saying we lived on an island, truth be told we really hadn’t been to the beach in ages (even when Jess came home for a visit, we TALKED about going but often never quite made it there). Bob is off flying and i’m holed up in the Art Room drawing. Heck, we didn’t even got downtown much. It was simply time for a New Adventure.
So in August i floated the idea of selling the house, and after securing the approval of Jesse and the neighbors, Bob and i put the house on the market. Just as Hurricane Dorian made his protracted visit (REALLY!). Once Dorian left the area, the For Sale sign went up, and then much sooner than we expected, or i was ready for, we got an offer. And i immediately went into frantic Hunting For a New Place to Live/Packing/Worrying the Sale Wouldn’t Go Thru/Physically Moving/Panic Mode. A state that lasted from September until well past Closing (Nov 18).
The Move behind us (tho still a TON of boxes, mostly books, still to unpack) my thoughts turned to a Move Announcement, AND the family Christmas card. That’s when it dawned on me – why not do both!
And if you remember this illustration from the past – Yes, i’ll admit. I’m recycling. I already had this “What’s Gnu?” card (originally done to highlight Invented Images/Laurie Klein Art events) but never used it, so i decided to give it a new life and dual purpose as the 2019 Klein Family Adventure ~ Change of Address/Christmas card. Done in the style of a J C Leyendecker Arrow Shirt ad i always thought the Gnu looked suitably festive in his red robe, and now i just imagine he is reading his paper Christmas morning. But more importantly, i like that not only can we still share our annual holiday greeting with you, but we can also include you in this brand GNU Adventure and our brand GNU address as well.
To Christmas, when anything is possible & dear Friends help make it happen.
Oh, and of course… Happy Gnu Year!!! LAK2019