I have all these random ideas swirling around in my brain... They keep surfacing from that unknown abyss we call the "subconscious". Most of the time I have no idea how they're born. I just sit in front of the TV, or the computer, or reading a book, or I'm out in the woods, watching the leaves fall around me and the clouds race across the sky, and this image, this idea just pops into my head. I can see it as clearly as I see the real objects around me; the only way to get rid of it is to transfer it onto paper.

Sometimes I wonder if all artists are a bit mad. If indeed they are, what a beautiful madness it is...! Creating something out of nothing, regardless of the medium we use, is the one & only thing that clearly elevates us above the other creatures inhabiting this world. If Man chooses to neglect creativity he is nothing more than an average beast: condemned to hunt, gather, consume, reproduce & then die.

As I'm writing this, the days are getting shorter, and another year is drawing to an end. A year that brought much pain and little joy, but even the hardest trials can teach us something, if we're willing to learn. I have learned to remember the precious few joyous moments I had in the past, and to hang onto them when things get difficult, telling myself that happiness is just around the corner. Just a few more steps... and I'm there.

I can't wait for the first snow. There is nothing more soothing, comforting and beautiful than the silence of vast forests and mountains slumbering under a cold grey sky while the snowflakes descend like little fallen stars, covering everything in sparkling stardust; each breath of crisp, cold air holding the promise of summer.

-Anna