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A quick scanned revealed no small bodies on the ground near the windows.
A small quiver of movement drew my eyes to the fence where this wobbly puffball was hanging on for dear life! My concerns of the baby having fallen from the nest quickly evaporated as I watched a parent land on a nearby branch to oversee the hysterics.
This brave little soul flapped around on the fence before getting a little more adventuresome and heading over to a branch a little lower than the parent was perched on. It then went into a tumbling dive that had it landing (mostly) on its feet in the grass before it launched for the top of the fence again.
Luckily for me, the fuzz puff on the fence was backlit and I was able to see all those sweet downy bits trying to escape!!
Such a cutie as it bumbled around, trying to figure out those flappy things called wings.
That's what happened with the page above. I used the stamp shown below with a very light colored stamping ink. The ink was pigmented and for some reason, the detail turned into undefined blobs. It was impossible to make heads or tails out of and never mind reading any of the words. It was like the ink melted like ice cream does! It should have looked like this, but lighter:
Instead, it looked icky. The only parts that were recognizable were the wings and part of the brush.
It's in my everyday sketchbook* (which I show in this video) and I had to decide if I wanted to try and salvage the page, cover it up with another sheet of paper or maybe gesso over it. I was pretty sure I couldn't just ignore it.
*My everyday sketchbook is the sketchbook that goes everywhere with me and that I use to capture happenings from my days. I seldom work everyday in this journal as that isn't realistic for me. I create when I have something I want to remember, that speaks to me.
As I said, ignoring the page wasn't going to work. It was too hideous. So that left covering it up or salvaging the page.
Since I figured covering it up with another piece of paper or paint was going to be my last effort, it was time to begin the salvage effort. My thinking was that if the salvage effort failed, I could buried it.
Due to the lightness of the ink, it was actually easier to convert the design into something else than I expected it to be. If it had been dark ink, I probably wouldn't have been successful.
Because most of the ink melted in the thicker areas of the wings, I decided to use the shape of the heart to distract from that. Then, because I could make out a few details of the wings, I added those with black ink. The brush was more of a suggested blob so I created my own. The circles were more blobs so I used paint to hint at the shapes.
Last, I add a whole lot of color to the page and finished up with a washi flake of the bird.
I had also added a quote underneath the map washi tape at the bottom of the page before I realized I had misspelled not one, but three words (are you beginning to sense this was not a happy creating time for me?!).
Rather than fight with fixing it, I opted to cover it.
I was about done with the whole mess at this point.
While I'm not thrilled that my page came out NOTHING like I wanted it to, I am thrilled that I was able to salvage it without resorting to another piece of paper to cover it up and start over.
What have you botched lately?
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| "Shards of A Splintered Heart" - Painted with watercolor, memories and tears |
A tear.
As I often get "lost" in the process of creating and go off in my mind to other worlds within this one, it wasn't really a surprise. It's happened before. Creating seems to lower my mental walls just enough to allow me to revisit old memory and witness a new perspective on some experience or relationship.
So, no, the tear didn't surprise me too much until I started following my thought-thread back to find the source of the moisture. Until that moment, I didn't realize I was giving voice to the pain—and healing—of losing my mother after a particularly long and vicious battle with dementia.
My mother was a seamstress of great talent, but making quilts were never her thing though she did make a few. She was more of a collector and she enjoyed them in her everyday world rather than keeping them for "company" or special occasions.
As I followed my thoughts more consciously, I decided to give witness to the pain, guilt, loneliness, anger, frustration, and yes, even happiness, that her death brought. The swirling mess of volatile emotions, some seemingly at war with one another, were slowly brought to life on the page of my sketchbook.
When I began to lay out the quilt idea on the page, I made several changes from the original pattern I found. The shape of the heart (I made it fuller), the outer edges of the heart shape (I wanted it to be less fragmented) and the small splintered pieces inside (to represent my own emotional shards that have yet to settle) were either changed or added as I went along.
Much of the relief (and happiness) I've felt is in knowing she has set down the burden of her illness. The feeling of being lost and lonely sidle up next to the gaping hole of lost love I will no doubt feel until I no longer walk this earth. Anger that I lost so many years with her to this insidious disease and bewilderment that she's truly gone. All of this was and is overlaid with frustration that there was nothing, absolutely nothing which could be done to slow or stop the illness.
As I poured forth that complicated mess of feelings, I began to feel lighter, a lessening of the weight that seems to have been stifling my soul for months now. And while the weight is not completely gone, the slight lightening gives me hope that it will eventually be transformed into something different and new.
They say time heals. I say art heals more. I am ever so thankful to have an outlet by which I can process the big and little hurts we all encounter as we stroll upon the surface of the earth.
I call the image above Quilted Madness. There are 100 little squares in that piece and every single one of them is different from the others. Oh, and the overall size of the art is 4.5 inches by 4.5 inches!
Crazy?
Yes, but it served its purpose.
I detest sitting around without something to do and if you've spent much time in doctor's offices or physical therapist's offices, you know there isn't much to do except stare at gossip magazines, other patients or at the generic art on the walls.
Since wait times are a necessary evil in our society and because I've been spending far more time in these offices than I normally would due to my father's back surgery and physical therapy, I had to come up with a way to combat the dreaded staring.
Yes, I could have read a book, and yes, that would have been entertaining, it's usually not creative.
I started coming up with projects that I could stretch over several appointments where each step took only a small amount of time. This allowed me to stop in the middle without it being critical to the piece of work.
I also didn't have to worry if I would remember where I left off and what I had in mind when I did stop abruptly because my father's name was called.
These types of projects worked well to keep creativity at the forefront of my mind but without stressing myself out.
The quilt was especially challenging (more than I realized) as I had to really push myself to come up with different textures for each square. Many are similar but none are identical. Then I had to think about color. I started in the center and planned to work out to the edges, but somewhere along the way I forgot my plan.
The next thing I knew, I'd put a colored block into a section I had intended to leave white. Instead of scrapping the project, I simply made an adjustment to the layout and kept going. I still didn't stick to my plan though. By the time it was done, I had sections filled in all over the place.
I had to check and recheck to make sure I was in the right square, but it did a beautiful job of filling those long, boring minutes with something creative and fun.
Am I always successful at creating on these doctor visits?
No.
Sometimes, I needed to change it up. Art wasn't always the answer and reading didn't always get it, but between the two, I always managed to pass the time.
Another take type of project is to take a line for a walk:
I started in the lower right side of the paper with the paisley shape and I simply kept adding until I had filled most of the page. While it looks kinda zentangle-ish, it's not. It's more about drawing a line in a random pattern and then filling the spaces with shapes and pattern. It's generally not organized and rather chaotic.
I did most of the drawing during office visits and then added color all at once as that was a bit more intensive than the drawing. Painting in some of the smaller shapes would have been quite doable in the office, but the background would have provided a far bigger challenge.
Being creative with downtime can be pretty simple and easy to do if you choose the right kind of projects. These may not appeal to you. Several artists I know use these (supposably) short windows of time to challenge themselves to sketch other patients and visitors. I do that too on occasion, but I tend to like the projects that don't require as much brain power!
One of the payoffs of working during these waiting periods is improved concentration. I can focus on the art and still pay attention to what's going on around me (listening for my dad's name, dealing with distractions and questions from other curious onlookers, etc.). I find that when I'm sketching around other people now, I'm not as bother by a break in my concentration or by questions.
It also seems like my hand and eye coordination have strengthened and I know my ability to see and create patterns has improved!
Whatever appeals to you is what will work best. Knitting, crocheting, drawing, sketching, any creative endeavor works. I find keeping it simple works best for me. If I don't get back to it for a while, I can still pick up where I left off. Don't overlook those small pockets of time—you'll come to appreciate them as small gifts when you start getting into the groove of working quick.
If you do something similar, please leave a comment below with a link to your project. I'd love to see other ways of spending my time in more productive ways!
Do you have a voice that whispers to you sometimes? "Do this", "don't do that", "go ahead and give this new thing a whirl" are often the spoken words I hear in my mind, but never so clearly as I heard them a few weeks ago.
It's been ridiculously hot in Florida lately and I had just returned from my father's doctor appointment.
I. Was. Hot.
The dog needed and wanted to go outside, but having just come in from the hell-on-earth, I wasn't to keen on the idea. As I opened the backdoor, a wall of stifling, hot air, like I imagine a breeze on the surface of the sun would feel, washed over me.
Shelby eagerly stepped out and turned back to look at me as if to say, "aren't you coming?" I had no intention of going out in the yard...until I heard that small, quiet voice in my head urging me to do just that.
"Go look," it urged. "Go and see," the voice kept insisting. I could almost feel a gentle pressure on the center of my back just below my shoulder blades. No one else was home so I was quite aware there wasn't anyone attempting to push me out the door.
Given the insistence and the urgency in the voice, I gave in and stepped out. I wandered over to the south side of our property where there is a long stand of trees and in less than twenty steps, I stood looking down at a small, broken, bird egg.
I bent down and carefully picked up the broken pieces and laid them in my hand. This was what the voice was urging me to go and find though I didn't understand the urgency. Until Shelby arrived a minute later.
She could smell the broken egg and immediately zeroed in on the location of where the egg had been. She began to dig almost before I could register that her nose had shown her what my eyes had seen. If I'd been any slower in finding this small, broken treasure, there would have been nothing but a few tiny shards left after she was done excavating.
Leaving the dog to continue her explorations, I carried my prize inside and sorted it out on the counter. I knew as soon as I'd set eyes on the shell fragments that I'd be drawing and painting it into my journal. A little research lead me to decide it was a Cardinal's egg and since we have a large population, it wasn't to much of a stretch to think that was what type of shell I had found.
After I creating the art in my journal, I pondered what to do with the leftover pieces. I didn't really want to part with them, but nor were they suitable for any type of display. I finally decided I would add them to the actual page of the journal, but I hesitated.
My journal tumbles around in my purse and goes everywhere with me. I didn't feel the shells would have much of a chance of remaining on the page since the journal is only about a third-of-the-way complete.
Instead, I coated a round piece of paper I had previously stamped with matte medium. I carefully placed the shell shards on the paper while the medium was still wet. In some cases, I had to break the shells to get them to lay flat to the paper. Once the first coat was dry, I add a second and set it aside.
Rather than adding the paper, I'm going to wait until I am finished with the journal and will then glue it into a place I've reserved for this small treasure.
And the next time I get a message to do something I don't want to do? I may be a little more receptive to doing what the voice asks me to do!
It's been ridiculously hot in Florida lately and I had just returned from my father's doctor appointment.
I. Was. Hot.
The dog needed and wanted to go outside, but having just come in from the hell-on-earth, I wasn't to keen on the idea. As I opened the backdoor, a wall of stifling, hot air, like I imagine a breeze on the surface of the sun would feel, washed over me.
Shelby eagerly stepped out and turned back to look at me as if to say, "aren't you coming?" I had no intention of going out in the yard...until I heard that small, quiet voice in my head urging me to do just that.
"Go look," it urged. "Go and see," the voice kept insisting. I could almost feel a gentle pressure on the center of my back just below my shoulder blades. No one else was home so I was quite aware there wasn't anyone attempting to push me out the door.
Given the insistence and the urgency in the voice, I gave in and stepped out. I wandered over to the south side of our property where there is a long stand of trees and in less than twenty steps, I stood looking down at a small, broken, bird egg.
I bent down and carefully picked up the broken pieces and laid them in my hand. This was what the voice was urging me to go and find though I didn't understand the urgency. Until Shelby arrived a minute later.
She could smell the broken egg and immediately zeroed in on the location of where the egg had been. She began to dig almost before I could register that her nose had shown her what my eyes had seen. If I'd been any slower in finding this small, broken treasure, there would have been nothing but a few tiny shards left after she was done excavating.
Leaving the dog to continue her explorations, I carried my prize inside and sorted it out on the counter. I knew as soon as I'd set eyes on the shell fragments that I'd be drawing and painting it into my journal. A little research lead me to decide it was a Cardinal's egg and since we have a large population, it wasn't to much of a stretch to think that was what type of shell I had found.
After I creating the art in my journal, I pondered what to do with the leftover pieces. I didn't really want to part with them, but nor were they suitable for any type of display. I finally decided I would add them to the actual page of the journal, but I hesitated.
My journal tumbles around in my purse and goes everywhere with me. I didn't feel the shells would have much of a chance of remaining on the page since the journal is only about a third-of-the-way complete.
Instead, I coated a round piece of paper I had previously stamped with matte medium. I carefully placed the shell shards on the paper while the medium was still wet. In some cases, I had to break the shells to get them to lay flat to the paper. Once the first coat was dry, I add a second and set it aside.
Rather than adding the paper, I'm going to wait until I am finished with the journal and will then glue it into a place I've reserved for this small treasure.
And the next time I get a message to do something I don't want to do? I may be a little more receptive to doing what the voice asks me to do!
5-Day Sketching Workshop
Work on location with Laure at Jekyll Island, see live demos on sketching birds, dolphins, beach treasures, native flora, fauna, the inescapable beach kitsch and more! You’ll receive a full color handout with step-by-step instructions on many of these subjects PLUS one-on-one feedback and help on your work.
The workshop will start each day at 9:30 a.m. and finish up in the late afternoon, leaving you with plenty of time to strike out on your own for a little exploring, relaxing, shopping or whatever your heart desires!
Jekyll Island
One of the four barrier islands along the coast of Georgia known as the Golden Isles, Jekyll Island has a long but quiet history. Guale and Muskogian Indian tribes once made their home on the island before it was discovered by Europeans in 1510. Eventually, the English gained occupation. The island was home to a number of plantations.
In the late 1800’s, a plan was created to turn the island into a winter playground for the wealthy. Members joined the Jekyll Island Club of one hundred patrons and began building “cottages.” These mansion-sized residences were the homes of the Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, Morgan, and Pulitzer families. They played and vacationed on the island up until World War II.
After the war, the island was eventually bought by the state and the Jekyll Island Resort Club was opened in 1985 as a luxury resort hotel.
For more information on Jekyll Island, please click here. For more information on the club, please click here.
Our Visit
Each day will have us exploring the island with time in the historic district, visiting the beaches, spending time with some turtles, enjoying the Mosaic Museum and nearby areas.
We will be capturing these visits and more in our sketchbooks so we can enjoy them long after we leave the island.
Activities Galore!
Whether you’re into kayaking, hiking, walking, birdwatching, or simply soaking up the warmth of the sun, there’s plenty to do on the island and in the nearby areas of St. Simons and Brunswick!
Want To Join The Fun?!
Please click here to learn all the details and to download the Registration Form! As always, I hope you can join me as it's going to be soooo much fun! Please let me know if I can answer any questions.
Wishing all of America a safe and happy celebration!
I stumbled across this Free illustration course over on Facebook. The course is offered by edx.org and features two experts from the University of Newcastle in Australia.
