January - Below zero

I do not love blowing snow and below-zero wind chills.   There have been hazardous driving conditions, closed schools, and dark, grey days this week.  But here are a couple of sketches I produced; just finding beauty where I am, rather than trekking out to find it.

Just to loosen up, playing with watercolors; for color and joy.

And then, just for kicks, sketched the candlesticks and lace runner on top of the piano, while watching (well, listening to) TV with my hubby.   A quiet, dark winter evening at home.  Discovered that the Uniball Vision pen I used isn't water-tight; so I left it in black and white.

Finally, I got going, ready to bundle up and head out (with winter storm warnings, again), on Friday morning.  But the sight of the blue spruce, covered in show, thru my bathroom window caught my attention.  So I stopped, pulled up a chair, and sketched again.  Took a couple of hours of pen drawing.  Then today, added color, with watercolors, Derwent color pencils, and Staedler watercolor pencils.  (Again, the uniball...  I'm a slow learner.)  Have been using a new Cotman 90# multimedia sketchbook, 9x12, for these more detailed drawings.   Feels well-suited to my style.    Why -- oh why -- do I have so many lace curtains to sketch, tho?!

Next week is predicted to be drier, and around 32 degrees; so I'm planning a day out at a museum for a change of scenery.

Something New for 2015

For the new year:  I traded my NY Times Sunday subscription for a Y membership.  Instead of sitting and reading the paper, I'm going for aquatic therapy for my tired old, sedentary, arthritic body.  If I can't move so well on land, going for the water!  After all, I'm a Pisces.  

My new doc said it in a way I could (finally) understand:  "I know it's expensive.  But, it's your body.  And it costs less than a cell phone."  Yes, I have to pay:  Anthem BC/BS here will not cover the Silver Sneakers (free) program.

So I toughed it out yesterday.  Went over to the Madison Y, signed up, and met a couple of new friends there already.  [Jeez, the young gents in the weight room. . .  a little intimidating.]  

I absolutely REFUSE to be too old to change, right?!    Are you making any changes for the new year?

What next?!

What to do when Sketchbook Skool online class is over?  Why not something entirely new?  So answered the invite from a few friends to try glassblowing class, making simple Christmas ornaments, of course.  Had a great time, enjoyed the HEAT of it all.  Thanks to The Glass Asylum artisans for their patience, guidance, and enthusiasm for making it a great experience.  Even managed a few quick sketches while waiting my turn... studio folks concentrating on creating glass art.  (Yes, I took my sketchbook with me!) 

The Challenge

OK.  I admit, I tend to "lurk" rather than blog.  But this was the coldest, snowiest, November week I can remember.  I didn't want to go out, so I resorted to my studio to gather supplies, determined to complete a lesson in Sketchbook Skool.  Instruktors (yes, they spell everything they can with a "K") are some really inspiring artists, many of whose blogs I have followed for some time. Felt in need of inspiration, direction, and guidance.

So this week's assignment was to 'draw your kitchen.'  Sounds kinda dull, right?!  Well, not when the talented and whacky Tommy Kane is demonstrating how to see details, commit them to paper, and especially not to start over or give up.  Here's the feedback I wrote to him:

Challenging.  Inspiring.  Thought-provoking.  And, in the end, incredibly satisfying.  I tend to get overly sketchy, critical of myself,  frustrated, and usually give up when I start a big task like this.  But I watched, and re-watched, the video.  Reverted to quick-sketching from previous lessons.  And finally, in the end, I sat down and focused on the work -- for 6 hours!-- and completed the damn homework and followed the rules.  Lo and behold, my best work in many, many years!  My hubby kept carrying it around the house with him, saying how amazing a work it was.  Hunting for a frame, even!  Lots of compliments from Klassmates--well over 100--and friends (yeah, I posted it everywhere ;) ).  Feel so satisfied.  Satisfied.  Now there's a word my Monkey has kept from me for a long, long time.  Giving me permission to sit still for HOURS was the best gift.  EVER.

This week: sketching LIVE

Chinese kite; inspiration in my studio on a rainy day.

Best of the week:  learning to use color to capture the shape, single pen 'serious' composition and a big, blank sheet of watercolor paper and pencils and erasers, and techniques, and brushes, and . . .
line to suggest detail, and getting it done . . . one simple sketch a day.  I'm finding it really (really) energizing to just flip the page and create again.  That quiets my critical monkey, who tends to arise when I'm faced with a

The Gossiping Goddess: A Very Late Bead Fest Giveaway....

My friend Lesley Watt is hosting a very special giveaway; her own elements, and others from some very creative ladies!  Check our her blog, and prizes offered, here:
The Gossiping Goddess: A Very Late Bead Fest Giveaway....: OK I know Bead Fest was weeks ago now but I did promised that when I got back I would give away some goodies. Well September kind of got away from me and snook out the back door and now here we are running headlong into October. Better late than never though especially when it comes to a giveaway and here's what's up for grabs...

Media has been masking the voice of my Spirit.

"The Medium is the Message"; Marshall McLuhan

Although I dislike blogging, it occurred to me that I had been sitting still, trying to read the Sunday New York Times, but had been distracted for most of the afternoon from doing so attentively because cable was on, making "noise, noise, noise, noise, noise" (apologies to Dr. Seuss). 

Fifty years ago, in his book Understanding Media:  The Extensions of Man, Marshall McLuhan argued that the media shapes and controls “the scale and form of human association and action”.

Borrowing a summary from the dreaded Wikipedia:  McLuhan compares the "content" of a medium to a juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind. In the process of attending to the content, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time. As society's values, norms, and ways of doing things change because of the technology, it is then we realize the social implications of the medium, whether in regards to cultural or religious issues, historical fact or fiction, or even artistic and creative processes.  

I know that I, like many others, am susceptible to the suggestion that I NEED things to carry out my mission in life -- to feel fulfilled.  And I those ideas are paralyzingly reinforced when I find myself mindlessly taking in external messages--especially from television and social media.  

At any rate, tonight I step away.  I am checking in with some creative friends for inspiration and encouragement, and sharing my reflections here.  But I am so done with allowing myself to be passively 'entertained' while my own creative energies sleep.  

So here's to creation, rather than consumption, for tonight.  May your own energies find wings to fly as well! Here's a kite to remind me . . .