Backgrounds

An example of backgrounds created with tube watercolors and plastic wrap. Love the texture.

Playing with backgrounds reminds of the backgrounds/backdrops of our lives. We live in a layered way - adding, subtracting, revising parts of the backdrops of our lives. And while we might make mistakes or go down the wrong road, if we take the time to reflect and synthesize these experiences we just might end up with a deeply textured background to our own lives. Something beautiful and meaningful.

Journal pages

After last night's rain and wind, there are not many leaves clinging on to the almost bare trees. I love the colors, light and smell of fall. I love going for walks and hearing the crunch of leaves underfoot. Love looking up and watching the leaves let go and swirl and float their way down. Beautiful.

Hands

Trying to draw hands makes me appreciate the old masters.

Played with contour and blind contour drawing and like the results - somehow captures the essence better I think. Don't think I'd really seen the connection of thumb to forefinger before. I mean take a moment and really look at your hand. Incredible no?

I've never understood how people get bored. Shows a lack of imagination I think.

Journal pages

A Picasso inspired page. Since getting the clutter out of my study have been on a creative ride - so fun.

We continue to have a beautiful fall out in these parts. It was almost 70 degrees on Sat! Incredible for this time of year when it could just as easily snow. Well, am sure there is some of that headed our way as well.


Here is quote to ponder:
A perfectly kept house is the sign of a misspent life.

Recent Reads

1. Faithful Place
This book got great reviews and I'm not sure what all the fuss is about. A murder mystery of sorts, set in Dublin. While I enjoyed the ambiance, and story idea, the characters were all dysfunctional in their own ways. I stuck with it primarily for the local color. The writing itself was not compelling.

2. House Rules
I know the bar for the author has been set unreasonably high by this book, so was not surprised that I did not love this one. The author has a predictable formula at this point - the story is told from multiple voices, there is a medical condition, there is a court case. What I enjoyed was learning more about Autism and Aspergers - have taught students with both and after reading this book have a little better understanding of those conditions. Not a rush out and buy book.

3. Sketchbook
Interesting to see the ideas behind the final product and how people use their sketchbooks to work things out.

4. Journal Junkies Workshop
A good starter book for anyone who'd like to keep a visual journal. Some interesting ideas.

5. The Concord Life
I have a soft spot for self-published books. This one describes some of the sights in the nearby town of Concord.

6. And the Pursuit of Happiness
Was so excited when this little piece of eye candy showed up. Loved it, as I've loved all her work. A little history, a little sightseeing, lots of paintings. Loved it.

Sketch crawl

A sketch crawl is the artistic/visual version of the classic pub crawl - walk and sample. Took myself on one in Charlestown earlier this fall. I walk this route regularly, but I see more when I slow down and actually look at what my eyes see.

Journal pages

My art journal group met last weekend. The prompt I assigned was inspired by Carla Sonheim - go to your local library or bookstore. Flip through magazines and draw what captures you. The goal being to draw.

Love how this page turned out. I've already posted other pages based on this prompt here and here.

The group discussed various topics including how to get unstuck, how to push past resistance and how art helps us heal.

Dad's Birthday

Here is a pic of the two of us from many moons ago. Not sure what I'm doing with that jug of Kallu (Palm wine) which my Dad is sampling - guess the drinking age was different in those days.

Happy birthday Dad.

Journal pages

Hands. Wouldn't be my journal without hands. Love the details I get with my new technical pen.

It has been raining for days - feels like weeks. I miss the sun. While I wait for it am loving my life with Susan, playing with my adorable nephews and catching up with my sis who is visiting.

Life is good.

Page One

I've written before about how hard it is for me to make a mark on the first page of an art journal. I usually get to it after I've already made friends with the book. This new journal was different. Took a deep breath and plunged in - started on the first page. Pushing past the critical voices and resistance. Here is what I ended up with. I like it.

New Journal

It is that time again - time for a new journal. I find myself resisting it. Why? After sitting with that question, this is what I've come up with - a new journal is a stranger. We are not yet intimate or even friendly with each other. I am loathe to leave behind the last journal that feels like a a part of me. An intimate. But I push myself. Cherish the old one, but let it go. Embrace beginnings. Start again. A good life philosophy too. So here is the cover to my new journal - one I bound with colors of the fall.

Fruitlands

You know me you know I am a huge Louisa May Alcott fan. So I loved our little excursion to Fruitlands yesterday. I had no idea that Louisa's father had moved the family out here to Harvard to start an Utopian society that lived off the land and oppress neither people nor animals. The experiment lasted about 7 months and they moved to Concord. The docent was full of fascinating facts and clearly loved the topic. Yes, there were other cool things to explore as well, but I was most fascinated walking in the Alcott house and hearing about this story. Fascinating.

You can see pics of the excursion here.

Quote of the day

Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim.
-Elie Wiesel

Happy Deepavali

Happy Deepavali/Divali. May you be the light that chases away the darkness.

Taking a time out from cleaning, painting, sorting, etc for a fun play excursion. Details when I return.

This page captures the fun I had reading The Hunger Games trilogy. Dark, dark world, but a fun read.

Snippets of time

Click on image to see larger.

While browsing through 21 Secrets was delighted to find the Get Carded workshop by Dawn DeVries Sokol.

I love scraping paint on pages with credit cards, gift cards, etc. Many of my backgrounds are created in just this way.

I also believe that a little art every day goes a long way. These pages are a good example of what I mean.

• It took about 10 minutes to scrape several shades of acrylic blue paint on the un-prepped pages (no gesso).
  
• A different day I brushed gesso on some leaves I had collected on my walk and stamped the pages - 10 minutes. I love the texture the gesso created.
• I colored the leaves with water soluble oil pastels and wrote the text with a sharpie paint pen - 15 minutes.
  

If I had waited to find time to do the entire layout, I would still be waiting. I snatch a little time when I can, and I find that the process of leaving the page and coming back later changes what I end up doing - different ideas come to me. Instead of waiting for that perfect (read not gonna happen) time to create, why not try creating using little snippets of time?

Journal pages

Here is another page inspired by a magazine I was flipping through. Created just before Halloween using pen, ink and watercolors.

Reading with kids

1. Duck, Duck, Moose
Had Jonah on a solo visit yesterday and after homework we got out books to read. I read him this story and he loved it - a cute story of migration.

2. Alphabeasties
We both loved this book. So cool how kids are introduced to different fonts and the graphics are fab.

Ephemera

Continue to love how these pages capture a place and time.

I am not a witch

Only in Nevada could a candidate use that as the intro to her TV ad and still expect to get elected. Thankfully the good people of Nevada proved her wrong. Incredible!

I love flipping through magazines looking for inspiration - drew this one at the store and added color at home - made it my own.

Hands

Am starting to realize how much hands are a part of my lexicon. They speak volumes without a single word.

This page was created while I was reading The Big Short, and getting mad. Seems to me that the stop the insanity motto holds up just as well today on election day.

Election Day

Am headed out to vote right now. Please vote today.

Random Musings

And just like that it is November. Where the heck does the time go?

• Been hard at work cleaning out and re-arranging my study. Found a changing table - the one used for little ones when they are still in diapers - and guess what? They are an excellent addition to my study. No, no diapers on the horizon - but great storage and the perfect height to create while standing - which I tend to do most of the time. Decided that rather than simply stuff it in, to take this opportunity to clean, re-organize and purge. Has taken me days - but so worth it. Love the new space - much better wa.

• Watched a good football game yesterday between the Vikings and the Patriots. I'm a huge Farve fan - gotta love the guy who plays with a broken ankle AND broken heel. Who does that? Especially at 41. When he got hit and was helped off towards the end of the game, the wind went out of my sails - it is no fun watching games where players get bloodied. Guess stitches are better than a broken jaw and concussion. Wonder if he'll start next week.

• Did not get as many trick-or-treaters as usual. The little ones are so adorable. And they take only one piece of candy. The gangs of older kids are not as fun and are greedy to boot. Well, I'm surprised that there was any candy left for the kids after my candy spree this past week. Asked Susan to hide the rest someplace I cannot get to without a shovel. Stay tuned.
  

Home Ownership

There are times I really want a condo. Home ownership is a lot of work - but I do love our home - so that evens things out.

Lately, I am feeling quite accomplished. Fixed three things:

• opened up the Honda manual and figured out how to fix my car
• got out the ladder and roof patch and crawled around on the shingles in preparation for winter
• wrestled a slimy snake through the trap to unclog the bathroom drains

Who knew I was so handy with tools?

Recent Reads

1. Creative Wildfire
Fun colors, good ideas and fun ways to bind books that I will certainly play with.

2. Nature Inspired
The ideas are fun, but the pages are too frilly for my taste.

3. Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
Quite enjoyed this book. Sedaris explores human traits using animal characters in short vignette form. Loved the drawings - but be warned, the subject matter is rather dark.

It Gets Better

Take a zero-tolerance attitude to bullying. You could save a kid's life.
To learn more, click here.

Recent Reads

1. The Big Short
My book club selection this month rocked my world. It changed my mental models and helped me connect dots I had not understood before. I have always heard about how the middle class adds stability to a country and while reading this book, I finally understood what that means - the real reason why we did not have a bloody revolution after this latest financial market fiasco. The fact that much of what went on was not understood even by the principal players, does not explain to me why it was actually not illegal. Much to ponder and marinate on. Loved this book.

2. Sh*t My Father Says
This funny little book was the prefect antidote to reading the one above. When I took a break from arm waving, was able to read and laugh out loud at some of these funny pieces. I hear that William Shatner will play the Dad on a new TV show based on the book. He would be prefect.

3. Nine Dragons
Listened to this book on the road trip to A2. While I really like Harry Bosch, this series is losing steam. This was not a good book - convoluted plot and the action made Jack Bauer look like a wuss.

4. My Life So Far
I've always liked Jane Fonda. Listened to about half of this on the ride back from A2. Interesting parts, but not compelling enough to finish it.

5. Swimming Lessons
You know that nagging feeling that you've read a book before? Well, had it for this one. Chick lit with a nature twist. Found the turtle info interesting, but the story itself was a little juvie for my tastes.

Pumpkin

My photo group theme for the month is Pumpkin. Here are my photos.

Dry Dock

The USS Cassin Young is being worked on. So very cool to be able to see what she looks like below the water line.

Inspiration

The prompt I had given my local art journal group was to create pages inspired by the works of famous/or not-so-famous artists. What is it about their work that inspires us? Had a fun discussion on these topics and as always left with great ideas to try out myself.

I've already posted my pages based on Bua's work here and here.
These are ones inspired by Jackson Pollock. Have always been mesmerized by his canvases - he always has such energy to his works. Mine were created on colored card stock using a candle and a box of Crayola crayons. Cool no? Love these so much that I might create a larger canvas piece using the same idea.

Recent Reads

1. Inspired to Quilt
I don't quilt, but many of these ideas work for journals as well. Fun book to browse for inspiration.

2. Collage Lab
Another idea book from the Lab series. Good to get you started if you are stuck.

3. The English Assassin
Slowly working my way through this series - am not loving it, but it holds my interest.

4. The Help
First ebook I bought and I love it. I am always fascinated by the servant/master relationship and particularly by how that played out in the south post slavery. A really good, if disturbing, read.

5. Mockingjay
The final book in the YA Hunger Games trilogy has been much anticipated. This is as good a read as the others in the series - dark, but good.

Injury Time Out

Pulled a muscle in my left leg and have been hobbling around like Quasimodo. Wish I had an interesting story to tell - like I pulled it while climbing Everest, or some other adventure. Am left with an appreciation of what I take for granted - being able to walk pain free.

Love how this page turned out - the background was created using bubble wrap. Fun.

21 Secrets

I decided to play with others online. Signed up for 21 Secrets and am getting some great ideas. Have worked my way through several of the workshops, and while not all are good, am having fun.

Another page inspired by the work of Justin Bua.

Celebrations

Well, not sure that everyone celebrates the "discovery" of the new world by Columbus, but in our house we have much to celebrate. A 19 year anniversary. Time sure does fly.
Happy versary Babes. 82.

10.10.10

10.10.10. So cool a calender date no?

The thing about trips where you spend time with lots of people, don't get enough sleep, etc, is that you have fun, but usually also pick up some dudus. Am sick and making good use of recovery days.

Watched a good game between Michigan and Michigan State yesterday. Such energy in that stadium in Ann Arbor - I've attended a game there, so I know. You feel your very bones vibrate. Since Susan is a State alum, we were rooting for them - though that dang Go Blue song is dang catchy. The Spartans won, so the Paul Bunyan trophy will continue to reside in Lansing for the fourth consecutive year. Such quaint traditions in college games.

October

And just like that it is October. There is something disconcerting about taking a trip during which the months change. Always leaves me discombobulated for a while. Kinda like I misplaced days somewhere. Know what I mean?

Anyways, am back home after a trip to Ann Arbor and Chicago. So many fun things about the trip - road trip, train trip, lunch with a fellow traveler, reunion with family and friends. Am home and letting it all percolate. To see pics click here.

Travel journal

I made a new travel journal for an upcoming trip. Love the process of making a new book and playing with all the supplies - paper, wallpaper samples, fabric samples, thread. I really liked Teesha Moore's Amazing 16 page journal idea, and decided to bind five of these into a book with hard covers. I used smaller sheets to start with, so my book is about 4.5 x 6 inches. To keep the book closed, I stamped a piece of elastic and create a loop. Cannot wait to fill it up.

Beauty

Beauty is where you find it. I found this at the marina gate. Simply fab.

Recent Reads

Happy Autumnal Equinox. One of two days each year with equal light and dark. Something quite auspicious about that no?

1. Sara Midda's South of France
Delightful gem of a little book. Read it again to inspire me for an upcoming trip.

2. The Confident Creative
There are a lot of good ideas and reflections in this book. However I found the way the author writes to be annoying.

3. The Illustrated Life
A book I never tire looking at. It is on my nightstand - always there when I am in the mood to be delighted.

4. When Wanderers Cease to Roam
This is an illustrated journal with a section for each month a year. Loved it.

5. The Kill Artist
First book I've read by the author, and first in the Gabriel Allon series. An old style thriller - while not fantastic is a good read. I am currently reading the next book in the series.

6. The Beat of Urban Art
Stumbled across this graffiti artist while browsing my local library shelves and love, love his style.

New Journal

I like to vary the size of my journals. I finished making this one today - about 4.5 x 6 inches. Outside cover is scrapbook paper, the inside cover is wallpaper samples and the pages are watercolor paper. I used the coptic stitch - can never quite make it look the way I expect. I think the thread I used is too thin to really show the coptic chain. Cannot wait to play in it.

Bag-o-phile

You know me, you know I gotta thing for bags. Don't know what it is. Maybe I need to be ready for a quick escape. Love bags. Never met a bag I did not like. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. So much fun. I've been giving some of my bags away - to good homes. I mean why tote things around in one of those horrible plastic shopping bags when you could use a fun bag instead? I do not own the bags drawn below. I saw a stamp that had bags and was inspired to capture some of the fun of bags.

Specs

You might recall that I bought my first pair of reading glasses last year in Thailand. Actually bought them to read The Mosquito Coast which was printed in this tiny horrible print, though I loved the book. Since then, have not really needed them. This summer I started reading on my nook, and could simply change font size - so was lulled into this false sense of being able to see just fine. Umm, am here to report that I've been using my reading glasses for the past week and actually need them. Even more interesting is that I had them on while eating breakfast one morning and could actually see details of my meal that I could not before. Wonder how much we don't actually see and don't even realize. Fascinating.

Faces are tough to draw - there are always emotions tied to a human face.

Masks

The prompt I had given my art journal group was to create pages using masks or stencils. At the meeting today, it was fun to see what others had created. So many good ideas to explore further. What fun.

Here are my pages. For this one which I had posted earlier, I used the image from a magazine as my mask. For the pages below, I used pics of my nephews that they had given me recently. I also decided to capture some thoughts about them at this age. Each line of text starts with their current age - so Luke's all start with @ seven, and Jonah's @ five. For the background I used a couple of Tim Holtz masks and my own stencils. You'd be surprised at what you can do with that netting that comes with a box of clementines. Love how these turned out.

Clocks

At our latitude, sunset is getting earlier and earlier. At this point we have lost about one and a half hours of daylight. And it will only get worse before it gets better. My animal body wants to do as all the other animals and go to bed when it gets dark out. Realized yesterday that it was only 7:00pm when that occurred. Time to retrain my internal clock.

This is one of my fave buildings in the Navy yard.