Looking Beyond The Everyday Clutter

6:21 AM


Hard Working Chucks
© Laure Ferlita
Watercolor and Ink
Stillman and Birn Bound Zeta Sketchbook
5.5 x 8.5 inches
It sometimes take seeing someone else sketch something to open our eyes to what is and has been around us all along.

Take for instance these dilapidated, falling-apart Chucks that belong to my husband.

They are his yard shoes. The ones that aren't good for anything else, but he can't quite bring himself to part with them.

As I stood in the kitchen, I found myself sketching them in my head.

This was after I pondered why they were lying in the middle of the breakfast nook. Look no further than the two kittens that reside with us for an answer—those strings make fabulous toys!

Gazing at them, I wondered why I hadn't realized before now they would make good sketching material. After all, they'd been there for a few weeks.

It's because I saw Jean McKay's sneaker sketch. You'll have to have a Facebook account tho see the sketch.

Her sketch provided the inspiration to make me take notice of the ordinary.

I truly enjoy sketching and viewing sketches when I see something elevated out of the everyday flotsam and jetsam that largely passes by unnoticed.

It makes me wonder what else have I missed, what else has the potential to become something special in my sketchbook if I pay attention.

Even though our sketches have little in common besides both being sneakers, it's fun to see the different ways we manifest our surroundings in our sketchbooks.

What have you elevated to the extraordinary lately?

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7 Creative Thought(s)

  1. Dear Laure - I always gain so much from your sight when I visit. There are so many fabulous things to sketch but often times I miss out on the ordinary. Your hubby's shoes made me smile especially concerning the two kittens. Nothing like a house with two little ones diving in and out of trouble! This is a great sketch as well as a super idea. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Love the sneaker. Perhaps an "Ordinary Item Sketch of the Week" is in order?

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  3. I am fascinated by how extarordinary common place objects become when elevated as you have this old sneaker. Just when one thinks there is nothing to sketch pop goes a blog post. Thanks so much. Smiling all the way to the sketchbook.

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  4. oh.. those chucks had a good life.. the stories I'm sure they could tell! Well done, lovely work!

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  5. I absolutely love your sketch. There really is something about sketching something so ordinary that makes it extraordinary. Unfortunately I haven't been doing much of any sketching lately. However, I have been quilting a lot, so at least I'm still creating. I happened to see recently a sketch I did a long time ago of one of my shoes, and I really liked it. Not sure why I'm not sketching these days - just busy with other things I guess. I'll get back to it soon (I hope). I like Kathy's idea of "ordinary item sketch of the week."

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  6. And you're lucky the laces aren't chewed in two - they would be in my house! And my kitty is 4 years old already - not so much of a kitten anymore.

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  7. Great job on that shoe! It looks terrific! I forget to do the ordinary. Once I painted a bowl that was a wedding gift. I'd used it so much and then it developed a crack. I painted it so I could remember it always and wouldn't you know it, it broke completely that same week! But I have the picture of the bowl that made all the family cookies, pancakes, cakes and more. I need to remember to do more of these kinds of ordinary items!

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