Postcard swap

This looks fun - a postcard swap. Make 10 and receive 10. I'll post photos in a week when I'm done.

iHanna Blog Postcard Swap

January 2010 - the Quiet Returns

Sadie drawn from above with a purple Sai pen, December 2009

Our holidays are almost over - we had another Christmas party with Bob's parents on Saturday, they leave Wednesday and we can put everything away for this year. The festivities really are enjoyable, but are all-consuming. Today I slept a long time, then kept quiet for the afternoon. I haven't spent much time making art - although wrapping presents and baking cookies are still creative endeavors. I'm looking forward to easing back into painting and encaustic.

I did start attending an Intermediate Drawing Class last week with my friend Jan at the Drawing Studio. It's nice to have a scheduled evening of art to look forward to! As I keep hearing, consistent creativity keeps you in the flow! The fun thing about the intermediate class is that we can use paints in addition to charcoal and graphite. The class is longer at three hours so there are 2 breaks, more sessions with live models and freedom not to do all of the assigned exercises. The instructor points out that interesting work may be produced in the last hour when everyone is tired out.

Journaling Update

The journaling has been going OK. I feel like I probably won't continue as much with words and pictures together. For writing, I prefer to write a lot and very fast. For art, I'd rather concentrate on the picture by itself and perhaps add a title. It is fun to be part of a group and to see what others come up with for the prompts. I am already rebelling against the prompts: "I don't need no stinking prompts." Famous last words - I'll probably be crying about not having any ideas next time. I'm just making the prompts fit with what I want to do.

Art Journal Challenge

I found out about an Art Journal Challenge from Bridget Benton's tweets. Starting today, November 1, through the end of the month, work on a page or part of a page of an art journal. Sounds fun - I think I'll try it!

It's call NaNoJouMo (National Nonstop Journaling Month) and you can go to http://www.dblogala.com/ to find out about it. I've posted links to the blog, the Flickr group and to my Flickr stream on the Links list to the right.

In case you don't know, there are other challenges out there such as NaNoWriMo*, NaNoBlogMo, etc. Kind of silly names, but kind of fun too!

Notes on my creative progress: I didn't quite make some goals I had of finishing some work projects and billing goals in September, so I kept working into October without taking a break for art. I started getting really grumpy and angry. Finally, I realized I had better take some time for myself. I am so much happier this past week, but I'm slipping on my "day job" a bit. Such a challenge for me to keep up with both, but obviously necessary!

I went to a drop-in life drawing class last Wednesday at Hip Bone Studio in Portland (http://hipbonestudio.com/.) It was incredibly fun for me! I brought charcoal and watercolors and switched back and forth between the two. The three hours went by in a flash. Since everything I did was of a nekid woman (NSFW**), I won't post it right now, but I had the best time. And it's only $10 a session! Such a deal.

*National Novel Writing Month

**Not Safe for Work

October Zombies

As I promised, I am showing some of my "zombie" paintings. These were not done intentionally - just accidents that happened when I lost control of the paints. This is very easy to do with watercolors. One day it will be 105 degrees F with low humidity, and a week later, it will be 70 degrees F and raining. Paper and paint dry at completely different rates depending on the weather and, of course, how much water I slop on. Also, I actually forget how to paint if I haven't done it for a week or so. That's why it's often a good idea to warm up first!

So, Happy Halloween everyone!

My beautiful sister Rachael and her daughter Emma. Not what I intended, but you both look kind of cool, actually.

Jon Stewart in July. No offense - we love you Jon!

I can't remember who this was. I was trying out a Chinese Water Pen and using my Koi pan water colors. The paper was too wet, but I kind of like the moodiness of it now.

Adult Responsibilities

Here's Sadie resting from her responsibility of
guarding the house from the letter carrier.

My drawing teacher used the term "Adult Responsibilities" while talking about having time to practice art. Sometimes we need to focus on those responsibilities. I was having fun and feeling like I had moved to the next level, that I would be able to create art at least half time.

Then, my husband became ill - in a cycle lasting several weeks, the summer temperatures were very hot, my energy level dropped, and most importantly, I realized our bank account was empty!

Hmm, time to focus on my work again! I've been trying to be as diligent as possible, working hard and making enough to cover our bills and upcoming bills.

Now, my next task is trying to integrate art and nature back into my life. We're having a warm beginning of fall this year. I hope that as the weather turns cooler, I make the time to go for a hike. It's probably time to back off on watching TV if I want to spend some time in my "studio" in the basement. I am beginning to sketch and draw a bit.

Anyway, not to give up, not to declare that I can never create again, just trying to keep life in perspective, take care of my adult responsibilities and continue on!

Speedy with "Lost Edges"

I really enjoyed painting this - the Canal paper is very absorbent. It's a little difficult to control the paint, but it is fun to try.

When I paint people, and lose control, I end up with "zombies." I won't post those - although, maybe at Halloween... The boys in the previous post are rather close.

In case you don't know, lost edges (or soft edges) are where the borders between two areas blur a bit as compared to "hard" edges which are clearly delineated. It's a concept that may be obvious to others, but I admit was very difficult for me to understand at first.