There and Back Again... Again, AGAIN: 730 + 4 Days

This past Friday, March 18th, was the second anniversary of working from home due to the COVID19 pandemic. We attempted to return not once but twice in the past two years, only to find ourselves working from home as Delta, and then Omicron circled the globe. Now, 730 days plus four more, I find myself back in the office for part of the week. Mietze is not happy about this move since, for most of his life, he has had me at home every day to see to his every need. And I can't say I am a fan either, but I have been living at work for over two years now, and it is time to get some of the stress, responsibility, and computer equipment out of the house and back to the office where it belongs. 

While these types of steps do need to happen, and it should be a sign that things are improving, if there is one thing I have learned over the past two years is you can't trust anyone else with your safety. I will continue to err on the side of caution for my peace of mind and the safety of those I interact with outside of work. The good thing is that I am once again around part of my collection and can enjoy it during the workday. Everything seems to be as I left it. So, until they send us all home again when the next variant comes through, I am back at the office.

March 22nd, 2022 - Back in the office again, again... AGAIN.

Looks like everything is where I left it.

That's all for another exciting Tuesday. See you back here next time! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

There and Back Again... AGAIN: 2020 - 2021

At the beginning of August, as the Delta variant surged, we were asked to return to the office. As previously mentioned, we were sent home on March 17th, 2020, and it felt like that would be the way of things for the foreseeable future. While it still feels too soon, August was definitely too soon, and it turned out that it was as we were sent home again only a few weeks after returning. I had hoped we had longer before we made this transition again, but I am not in control of such things, and as of today, we are back in the office. While everything is where I left it, nothing feels correct, and it is all out of sorts. I am sure that is part of the adjustment, but it is unsettling to be sure. My home assistant is not happy about this return, and I am likely to hear more about his dissatisfaction with the state of things when I return home. For now, we make the best of it and hope that the office is as safe as it can be.

 

November 15th, 2021 - Back in the office... AGAIN.

My faithful assistant continued to stay on duty through the ups and downs.

He is once again not happy about the current state of things.

That is all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

There and Back Again 2020 - 2021

For some, this day has already come to pass. For others, it has yet to come or might not even be on the table anymore. Today was the day I returned to the office after working from home since March 2020. While I am reluctant to return, especially since I was comfortable working from home and my productivity was way up, I am not happy with the surge of COVID cases as we are returning. Nothing can be done about it now, the decisions we made and the orders given. I think the loudest cries regarding this move have been from my assistant. He is very much not happy about my return to the office.

 

March 17th, 2020 - The first day I began working from home. 

My assistant was immediately on duty and never left my side.

He is not happy about the current state of things.

 

August 2nd, 2021 - Back in the office as the Delta variant spreads like wildfire.

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog. See you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Destroyed is Nothing More Than Destroyed

If you know me through Facebook, you likely saw a post from a few weeks ago featuring a flash sale on a Dungeons & Dragons drawing that was destroyed by my cat. He gained access to my flat-file and proceeded to dig. He loves to dig in the dirt when I walk him, and he also loves to play in boxes full of paper where he will bite the paper and dig. The cracked flat-file ticked all these boxes and provided a new tactile experience for him. Unfortunately, what he was digging and biting was not dirt but several drawings from client projects. The most severely damaged drawing was the one that had the most protection and was sealed in plastic. It was also the only drawing of the bunch that I can share. It will likely be March before I can share the other drawings, and at that time, there will be another discussion about this. To start things off, here is the drawing that was destroyed. 

Elemental Essence Shard

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything 

11 x 14 - Pencil on paper 

Original - SOLD after being damaged by my cat

Art Director - Kate Irwin 

© 2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC

 

This drawing is damaged beyond repair, or to put it another way - it is destroyed. Nothing can be done to address the damage and restore it, save for completely drawing it again. This piece of paper only has two options now, to be thrown away or to be sold at a significant discount to someone that takes pity on my loss. Thankfully, a friend stepped forward and purchased the drawing so that it was not a complete loss of my time and energy. 

 

At the time of my post, there was a lot of talk that this was now worth more because my cat destroyed it. That this destroyed drawing was now a collaboration between him and I. Let me be clear that is NOT a thing. One of my drawings is not worth more because it is now destroyed. To think this is extremely disrespectful to the time and energy I put into my work, not to mention the decades of my life that I have put into honing my skills and building my career. My cat did not add anything or contribute anything except to destroy the drawing. No one had yet to step forward to buy the drawing at a price I was asking, why would someone suddenly pay more now that my cat put holes in it? That is not a thing that happens. 

Artists will sometimes destroy their work. This work is sometimes very old, represents failed efforts, or merely results in more frustration than enjoyment in its creation. While this practice doesn't sit well with me, I have destroyed my work from time to time, and I will never interfere in another artist destroying their work. It is likely one of the two real powers of an artist. We can create, and thus, we can destroy. When it is our choice, it can be liberating, and when it is done to our work against our will, it can be extremely painful. Seeing this and the other destroyed drawings caused, and still causes, me a great deal of pain and frustration. To make light of it with comments about it being worth more does nothing but rub salt in the wounds. Think twice about how you speak of the destroyed art of the artist you know in the future.

Here are additional images of the damage to the drawing.

I will leave you with the one responsible for the destruction. After I save him from the park as an abandoned four-week-old kitten, this is how he repays me. Note that he is biting my thumb as I try to take a photo of him so that I might shame him on the internet.

Mietze the Destroyer

That's all for another exciting Thursday on the blog. See you back here on Friday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

Mietze's Forever Home Two Year Anniversary

We interrupt today's' art post with pictures of a cat. Not just any cat, but my cat, Mietze (rhymes with pizza - 'meetzah'). Two years ago today, I found him in the tall grass at the park crying all alone. I kneeled to investigate and to see if he was, in fact, alone. He hissed at me and jumped back. As I combed through the grass, the tiny kitten walked over to me, leaned against my leg, crouched down, and began to purr. I knew then I had a new cat. Mietze was barely four weeks old but was on semisolid food and could go to the bathroom by himself - two critical things. He came with me to the office for several weeks until we were confident that he could be trusted being alone during the day.

A year ago today, I began to take him outside on a leash and harness for walks. He has some wild cat in him and needs the stimulus of adventuring outdoors to tame his aggression. We walk in the mornings and afternoons, and he took to it immediately. He waits at the door after I call him for his walk. I put his 'jacket' on, and we go out in the yard to explore and hunt. He loves to climb and will sit on my shoulder to get a better view, especially of the neighbor's yard. He has been entirely my cat since the moment I found him.  

Here are some of my favorite photos of Miezte from the past two years.

 

Mietze on the way to the vet after leaving the park.

 October 30, 2018

Mietze is helping me work.

October 30, 2020

That's all for another exciting week on the blog. See you back here on Monday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability, head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com

The Kitten That Ate My Blog

Last Tuesday I walked into the same park I walk every day. Last Tuesday was different. Last Tuesday there was a very small kitten all alone and crying in the tall grass. Momma cat was nowhere to be found and there were no other kittens. I found the nest that the kitten was a couple of feet away from and it too was empty. After a hiss or two the kitten was snuggled up against my leg as I knelled in the grass looking for other kittens. It did not resist me picking it up and at that moment I knew I most likely had a kitten. Walked home with a kitten tucked in my shirt and made a quick drive to our vet. The kitten was pronounced healthy and was about three to four weeks old. Kitten spent the rest of the day at the vet while I got things situated. He does not want a bottle and is learning to eat cat food with kitten formula mixed in AND, most importantly, he uses the litter box like a champ. He is coming with me to the office for feeding and care part of the week. He has also devoured my ability to get any work done at home. I was able to make some notes for revisions to some of my writing last week, but I was not able to get anything actually written until yesterday. The kitten has become more mobile and is exploring more and sleeping a lot. So I have finally been able to carve out time to work.

This is little Mietze (rhymes with pizza) and he is being the cutest little distraction possible...

 Jonsey is not happy about the arrival of Mietze, hopefully in time it will change.

That's all for another exciting Monday on the blog, see you back here on Wednesday! Until then...

For more samples of my work or to contact me regarding my availability head over to my website: www.christopherburdett.com