I just spent the morning with good friend and wonderful artist Mary Todd Beam, who was in Cincinnati working on a new book, The Creative Edge, scheduled to be released in spring 2009. If you've ever taken a class with Mary, you know what a charmer she is. I was there to watch her demonstrate a few new techniques she's been experimenting with, and before I knew it, she had me in a smock and dribbling tar gel on a fun little painting of a fish that she'd started. (Don't hate me; it's my job.)

A colleague shot some video of Mary painting (and yes, I'm in there with the little fish). We should have it ready for you in the next couple of weeks.

Of course, this isn't Mary's first time in front of the camera. She's the star of An Acrylic Journey: From Trash to Treasure (a DVD distributed by Creative Catalyst Productions).

Mary won the Gold Medal of Honor in the American Watercolor Society's l35th annual exhibition for When Words Aren't Enough, Art Speaks (above).