Creativity With Attitude!

Welcome! I’m Elisa R. Goodman and thank you so much for taking an interest in my work. I’ll get right to it and answer the #1 asked question I’m always asked: “What the HELL is a CURMUDGEON CARD? Here’s what I can tell you…

CURMUDGEON CARDS is not just about the types of cards I design. It’s about the person behind the name. In 2000, after retiring from two decades as a casting director for television and movies, I felt the need to reinvent myself. I had a mishmash of un-credentialed skills – but I was a visual creative, a self-starter, an Idea Girl. Casting is a collage medium in its own right – and I had started to design a line of collage greeting cards using postage stamps with recycled textiles which just happened to be Blank. When I needed a name for my little card venture, Curmudgeon Cards popped out of my head. I loved the snappy alliteration and thought that my late father, the comedy writer Hal Goodman, would have found this funny. He, along with many of his friends were artistic curmudgeons – and so I re-branded them as “Loveable – but Crusty.” I describe my own personality as someone who embodies “Creativity with Attitude!”

Over the years, many of the store owners who carried my handmade cards told me that the name was memorable and that I shouldn’t change it. And so I didn’t.

However, in 2008, I would come to fully embody the name. When my husband Ken was losing his ability to SEE, I started to design a snarky line of encouragement cards that used the metaphor of SIGHT to look at challenges with a fresh perspective with humor & heart.

My husband had undergone a successful kidney transplant in 1982 when he was only 28. Unfortunately, after being on low-dose anti-rejection drugs for almost 30 years, he found himself dealing with an advanced form of squamous cell skin cancer which ultimately affected his ability to SEE.

I participated in a cancer support group for caregivers and decided to share my existential crisis musings and doodles with my group. They found the whimsy and offbeat humor positive and uplifting.

The way we choose to LOOK at our situations can positively or negatively influence the way we move into (and through) our own grief experiences. I wanted to explore the in-between spaces of not knowing what to say – in order to help people better connect – and to bring some levity into the situation – when it felt appropriate to do so.

As a self-taught artist and writer, I have been able to turn my grief journey into a joyful and successful artistic venture. My whimsical illustrations are both colorful & quirky – spiritual, yet snarky…while my writer muse blends my observational humor and life wisdom around the topics of Reinvention, Creativity & Time. Ken did pass away at the end of 2010 – when he was just 58 yrs. old.

Whether you need to send a handmade card that delivers the WOW factor – or you need a little WHIMSY to ease someone through a difficult time, my greeting cards and art can help you up-level any occasion.  People are craving connection right now and are so deeply appreciative when you take the time to find the perfect card – or send out a Paper Hug.

And so I leave you with this.  Back in 2007 I had a hand-analysis session with Baeth Davis (www.yourpurpose.com) who revealed these essential truths about my artistic nature in my hand reading. I am an Artist, Writer, Mentor, Healer…in the Spotlight.  “In the Spotlight” just means I need to share my gifts with others and cannot keep my GIFTS to myself.

I now understand that my unique art form is dedicated to enhancing lives through Creative Expression, Impactful Communication, and Inspired Art!

Thank you for enjoying my work!