text: It’s the 4th of July today, so for your inspiration this week, I’d like you to consider Independence Day. What does Independence Day mean to you? Is it about get-togethers, picnics and cookouts? Family time and fun in the sun? Do you spend the day at the beach or the park or just in your own backyard? Is it about the fireworks? Is it about remembering where we, as a country, came from and celebrating our freedom?
  I think for me, what I remember most was as a kid we’d get sparklers and smoke bombs and those strange black pellets that you light on fire and they grow into long, curly black ‘snake’ ropes. My siblings and I had a great time setting those off every year. We never had any real serious fireworks. They were illegal at the time and I think my parents always considered them a waste of money. We had a neighbor that would set off some pretty impressive displays of illegal fireworks though, so we always got to see them anyway!
  What do you associate with Independence Day and how can you bring that into your art? I’d love to see what you come up with!
  Want to keep updated and see more of what I’m working on? Sign up for my mailing list here and get a totally FREE digital download of a tiger linocut print. (I promise not to be spammy with my emails—I hate that too!)