This picture is a gift for my Mom 24 years in the making. Let me tell you a story.
When I was 5 years old, it was the first Halloween where I got to choose what I wanted to be. My mom asked me what I wanted to choose.
I told her I wanted to be a bearsnake.
She told me bearsnakes didn't exist, to which I replied, "Well, it should. Let's make one then."
She spent days mapping out, sketching, and ultimating sewing the costume. And even with my silly small tweaks (such as when she gave it the body of a snake I told her it was imperative the bear was the body), she persisted.
It gave me my first ever Halloween costume: something I had brought to life from a vision I had. She spent days of time and effort bringing this thing to life. This tireless creative work is a trait I learned from her.
From there on, the Bearsnake became a thing between me and her. Kind of a symbol of my creativity and personality for me, and the hard work she always put in.
I didn't know how I could ever repay her for this.
There's this Magic set I'm working on called Mystery Booster. It has these 121 playtest cards - cards that look like they're handdrawn cards, with wild abilities and names - and I'm leading the design of them.
It's a project that I poured many, many days of effort into. It took a ton of effort to get this thing made. It was a product I had a vision for, and worked to bring to life from start to finish.
My childhood imagination. My mother's work. In Magic card form.
And I put a little something in there that was personal. Something special. I created Magic's first, and only, Bear Snake. And to really make it more incredible... I got to draw the ridiculous sketch artwork too.
Truly an amalgamation of my life so far.
The set debuted back in November, but I didn't tell her about this piece at all. And for Christmas, I got her a display piece with the whole saga.
The card I designed and drew.
The original sketches and artwork for the card.
And, of course, a picture of me in the foundational bearsnake costume that started it all.
I love you, mom. Thanks for everything over the years and helping make me who I am today. Merry Christmas. ❤
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