Well, this is long overdue! Happy Holidays.

Happy holidays, one and all! This year, we will be in the 80s fahrenheit here in the Houston area. There are finally leaves all over the ground in my neighborhood- just in time for winter solstice- but it’s definitely still short sleeve t-shirt weather.

Anyhow, for this year’s e-card, I am sending along a pencil and watercolor sketch referencing a sequence I fully cut from the production of Wind in the Willows I directed in the spring. For those of you who are not familiar with the story, a group of field mouse carolers come to sing at Mole End for Christmas, and traditionally it is an excuse to cast a bunch of children into productions of the play. While I cut that bit from the production for any number of reasons, it occurred to me that it would be great on a holiday card!  Granted, rather than bundle the carolers up (like they usually do in illustrated editions of the book), I drew them in warmer weather clothing and I have Ratty and Mole prepared to serve them all iced beverages (very Texas-appropriate, I assure you). For the record, while we don’t have a ton of water voles or moles here on the gulf coast, we do have plenty of field mice!

I hope everyone has a safe and festive holiday season, and I wish you all the best in the new year. Hey, maybe I’ll even post about one of the many shows I wind up working on in the new year! I keep falling super behind on that. – E.G.D.