Speaking of Candy

Halloween is right around the corner, which means Candygrams are BACK! Candygrams are odes to candy by guest authors during the month of October on Jason Santa Maria‘s blog. I loved these posts last year, so I was thrilled when Jason asked me to participate this go ‘round, but I had trouble choosing a single candy to write about because I’m actually excessively fond of ALL candy. (Remember when I couldn’t choose a single color for my Rainbow Birthday so I decided to wear every color? It’s a lot like that.)

When I love something, I really love something. I think that’s called obsession, right? Well in this case, the thing I’m obsessed with actually has the power to make me physically ill. Hence the title of my Candygram: Love Sick. I basically challenged myself to keep a diary about my love of candy for a week and then share the results with the world. Luckily, my friends Courtney Martin and Mandy Brown were kind enough to offer constructive criticism and their crackerjack editing skills.

To build the illustration, I purchased candy at my local candystore Dewey’s. For some of the wackier items like circus peanuts, I had to have my mom make a shipment from Mississippi. Zoning out and arranging the candy (it formed a rainbow all on its own, I swear) was such a happy time for me. Frank Chimero suggests I now have a future meticulously arranging things.

Designing the post with Jason was really cool. After admiring his design skills for years, I still can’t get over the fact that he now shares our studio space and sits a mere 30 feet away from me. When you’re as talented as Jason, you can be a total jerk. You can kick puppies and people wouldn’t say a word. So it makes no sense that Jason is one of the kindest, most generous people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know. I also feel compelled to mention that he’s mind-blowingly awesome at Rock Band.