Have you ever found yourself going round and round?
What do you do, when life changes the way you think? When you are not seeing in color?
How do you get back to this....
......I ask you
Miscellany
Honor Flight
On a recent trip south, I had a layover at Baltimore/Washington Airport. An announcement was given alerting waiting passengers of the approach of an Honor Flight. I had never witnessed this before. In the air, the plane was escorted in by military planes, with some flourish added! This particular plane carried 25 WW II veterans, coming to Washington to see their WWII Memorial, which most, had never seen. People flocked to the gate to welcome them. Some vets were in wheelchairs, and some came under their own steam. Some smiled and waved to the crowd like royalty, and others were overcome to tears by the welcome. It was very moving and I felt like a very very proud American to have caught a glimpse of these heroes from an earlier era.
.......volunteer for this, if you live anywhere near these destinations!
Life Sometimes Throws You A Monkey Wrench
.......when a girl is shaved to her hip, it's a bit humiliating!
We Will Never Forget
It has been 10 years. Ten. The horror of it just as fresh in every American's mind, today, as when we first saw it. We are thinking of those we lost, and their loved ones who still suffer because of it. I kept a file of clippings, when the attacks happened in 2001. Looking through it today, I found this picture drawn by a 5th grader. Powerful then, and now.
..........today, our cry remains, God help America
Image Source
Are you tired of searching the web for useable images? You need to take a look at The Graphics Fairy! Not only does she provide fantastic vintage paper goodness, but also gives tutorials on making things with them. Can't beat that. Here is a gorgeous example of something I found on her site.
...I am trying to imagine sketching THAT page!
BEFORE....and AFTER!
Over some months, I have fielded a few gracious comments that suggest that the reader can't imagine themselves drawing as well as some of the things I show here. I felt a blog post coming on!
I am crazy in love with art journaling.....nothing like layering and all that. But I have developed a soft spot for capturing an image through drawing, as well. Around 2001 I was reading the book How To Make A Journal of Your Life, by Dan Price and he later inspired Danny Gregory's Everyday Matters book. They were telling me to just draw with the ability I had, and it would be great. The key was to get down bits of your life, in real time, instead of practicing to become 'good enough' and then start to work daily masterpieces years down the road. So I believed them, and thought my renderings were pretty awesome. Prepare yourselves. Here are some from my early days:
As you can see, I wasn't even aware the paper wasn't that great. It was very thin, and you could see ghosting from the next page's work. Then there were a lot of these:
The last two were pages of hodge podge subjects...whatever was happening around me. I was simply practicing sketching something to look like something! I did dozens of these (threw most away but they served a purpose!). If I was at an outdoor concert, I did pages. If I was on the beach, I did pages. Anywhere I was just sitting, I had scrap paper to practice whatever was in my line of vision. I think it was helpful, in the end. I wasn't trying to do 'finished' pages, which was rather freeing.
Eventually, (and this is the POINT of this post!) my sketches morphed into things that looked like this:
Hopefully you can see some improvement over the years. This is not meant as a brag, for anyone that sketches, can see plenty of room for improvement. I am an elementary art teacher, and I don't allow my students to say "I can't draw". I think these pages show you that it is certainly something anyone can learn, if they keep at it. Do I draw day and night? No! Sometimes months go by while I am thoroughly engrossed in my art journaling pages, and nothing gets sketched. Other times, I am on a sketching kick.
If you need inspiration, join the Everyday Matters Yahoo Group. They have a list of subjects in their files (you can see my EDM # designations in some of the pics above) that are suggested weekly. You can work at your own pace. It is a very supportive environment, from beginner to advanced.
Let me encourage you to start where you are and just accept it for what it is...even if we are talking stickmen! Come on.... did you see my cow and bird?! (refer back to second pic!)
If you are holding back "for fear of...." rethink your excuse. Get that pencil and get busy! What will you attempt to draw today?
History in Stone
I don't know why they attract me, but ever since moving to New England, I have loved the sight of the old stone walls. They emerge randomly, as gray zippers that cris-cross acres of land, once setting farm boundaries and curtailing livestock. Now, they are pieces of the past, emitting strength and durability in these changing times. Because stone was plentiful, many of our UK ancestors did what came naturally. Built stone walls! Have you ever been to Ireland? Unmistakable connection. While there are no definitive laws protecting them, many people see them as state treasures and want measures taken to preserve them, as they are.
The majority of stone walls were built between the Revolutionary War and the Civil War. All 240,000 miles of them! The stories they could tell us....
Quality Time With My Girl
Well, my girl, of the canine variety! Sunday was just a beautiful summer day, and we decided to go for a bikeride. Ivy took her seat at the helm and charted our course. When she saw something peak her interest, I turned that direction. When she wanted the wind to blow her hair, we rode downhill. It was all for the girl.
....I wish someone would pedal me around!
Boston Globe-Sunday
A coupon for a local sports club says it all....
FREEDOM'S ROLL CALL
