EDM Challenge #34 - Draw a Leaf

An ATC I made tonight for my friend, Dede. From Max's collection of things he found on the ground, which is temporarily contained in a pink Barbie sand bucket...soon to be represented in it's entirety on paper - for challenge 33 (? I think.)

Blind Contour Friday...My Lava Lamp

Sam picked up this lava lamp at a yard sale this summer. He was going to try to sell it on ebay, but they don't usually bring a lot of $ so I convinced him to let me keep it on my desk. I usually have it on when I am working. But it looks really cool in the dark, the lava has beautiful hues of violet, magenta and fuschia! I love it! And just in case you are wondering, I was very good on this one...I did not cheat.

You need to check out all the other cool Blind Contour Friday entries...go to inkfinger

The Incontinent Vulture

My 5th graders had just walked into art class and sat down when the fire alarm went off. It was just a fire drill and we quickly filed out of the room to the playground where we stood atop a small hill in a line. For some reason the fire drills at that school seem to take forever, and as we were standing there waiting to go back inside, we noticed a huge vulture that was circling around in the air near where we were standing. There was nothing else to do, but stare at this huge bird so gracefully gliding in the air. Not once while he was circling up there did he flap his wings. I thought that in itself was kind of interesting. The kids grew excited as they shouted, "Look, a bald eagle, a hawk, etc.!" while the teachers were reminding them to stay quiet. By that time pretty much everyone of the 50 or so kids out there was watching the vulture. And then he dropped a bomb, with all of us watching. We all watched it fall to the earth, a big white blob! You can imagine the snickering and giggling that took place after that...not only from the kids but the teachers and aids too. But the funniest part was how one of our third grade teachers tried to impose a serious attitude as she presented a mini nature lesson on how birds do not have a sphincter muscle and when they have to poop, it just comes out what ever they are doing or where ever they are. I was cracking up. And those kids...most of them got serious and listened to her trying to explain a sphincter muscle. I could not keep a straight face. It was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time! During my break, later, I pulled out a book on how to draw grassland animals. It's an African vulture...white back or something...but I made it all black in my drawing, like the one we saw. Hopefully your not an ornithologist, and I can pass off this drawing as representative of a vulture that lives in Michigan (turkey vulture?). If you are, my apologies to you...all I had as a reference for the drawing was what I remembered seeing for a few short minutes and a kid's drawing book.

Crazy Weekend

On Friday, Sam left with his mom to travel to Indonesia to visit his sister and her family. They are missionaries there. We haven't seen them since they stayed with us while they were home on furlough...that was when Karson was born. He just turned two. Things have been crazy since the night before they left. Because of hurricane Rita, his first flight to LA was canceled. It was supposed to stop in Houston. So Sam had to stay up late on Thursday night trying to figure out what to do, after having no luck at finding out if the flight would be rerouted, he decided at about 2:30 in the morning to purchase new tickets for that first part of his trip. The new tickets were for an earlier flight, so they pulled out of here on Friday morning at about 9:30. I had taken the day off work for Karson's dr. appointment and was so glad to have a chance to catch up on sleep in the afternoon while the boys were napping. Friday night Savannah got sick at a slumber party and had to come home. She layed around all day on Saturday and missed her first soccer game. Sunday Karson was sick. What a weekend. Today it was back to work and everyone is doing much better. Sam made it to Bali where he met his brother in law. They hung out at a resort for a day or so and then flew to their home in Wamena sometime today. He should be there by now...but he hasn't contacted me yet. Although...he has really just started his day there...as it is about 12 hours ahead of us. I haven't really had a chance to do much drawing, or blogging...but tonight I did spend a little time working on some ATCs. It was fun, but took a while. This is for a "Vintage Circus" swap. It is taken from an original sideshow banner painted in the 1970s by Snapp Wyatt.

Blind Contour Friday...A Box of Crayons

I tried to add color to this drawing three times and was never satisfied with where it was going, so here it is in raw form. It was fun trying out the lettering on the box & crayons after being inspired by all of bcf's other participants last week. I've done 3 blind contour friday posts in past weeks, but only ever submitted one...but now I'm a regular. See you here next week, if not sooner.

(Added 9-23-05)
I probably should say that when I finished this and looked at it...it just didn't look right without shadows. I did look only to locate my pencil back onto the drawing so I could add them in...because I had stopped when I thought I was done. So all those of you who are wondering how I possibly got the shadows in the right place (and not ALL of them are), I guess you could say that I did cheat a little. Sorry.

And if you want to check out the other 27! Blind Contour Friday entries...go to inkfinger.

lunch leftover

After my lunch today, I wanted to draw...I had about 20 minutes before I needed to get ready for my class, so I did a quick sketch of my bag, all crumpled up with the receipt stapled to it. I sketched it in pencil - just the outlines - and then using my rapidograph pen, did the ink drawing. I have to be careful with this paper though...The fibers catch the tip sometime and I know it's not good for the pen to be drawing on that kind of surface. I ran out of time, so I stashed all my stuff over on my desk including my bag and when recess time came along, I finished the drawing. Later, my fourth graders were using colored pencils on their henna designs, so I added the colored pencil. It was funny, they all thought I was just coloring in a book. When they realized I had actually drawn it, and that it was my arbys bag, they kept getting up a few at a time, as word spread around the room, and looking at the bag on my desk and then at my drawing. It was fun. I let a few of them look through the other drawings in my journal. I think it's great to let the students see me drawing once in a while. When I sit and work on something, the are interested in how I solve problems in my art and how I draw different things. They ask me questions...and they remember it, because often one or two will ask me about it later (like if its not finished). I've even had a few students bring in sketchbooks/journals to show me. Very cool!

EDM Challenge #32 - Draw something metallic

Sam bought this at either an auction or a garage sale...I am not sure which. I think he intends to sell it on ebay...but it's not my kind of thing and I personally don't really care for it. It is a junk sculpture...I can tell the wheels are parts of pipes...the rest of it I am not sure about. The numbers have been etched into the metal with some kind of tool...very rough. I drew it with a very soft pencil...it's what I had on hand, and I don't like how it came out on this paper. The drawing looks very fuzzy to me. It was hard to get even tones when I was laying in the values because of the texture of the paper. I added in the rusty areas with my waterbrush and watercolor paint. Don't you think the figure in the car is kind of scary looking?

Being creative with drawing

Well, the drawing itself isn't all that creative...but drawing it on my hand, that could be. Tonight I took Savannah to her first soccer practice. She loved it. I had the boys with me so they played on the playground while the girls did drills and games. Savannah told me she is so glad I got her into soccer. While we were hanging out on the playground, I did a sketch of the girls kicking and whatever they were doing. I write on my hand all the time...mostly just to remember things. This is the first time I ever drew a picture on my hand though. I guess I wanted to remember it.

Blind Contour Friday...Sam's stuff

My Weekend Project

Actually...it wouldn't have been my weekend project had I not procrastinated. But isn't that a typical characteristic of an artist? Anyway...I mentioned several weeks ago about a piece I was doing for the Alumni Show at Spring Arbor University (where I graduated from). My original idea was to create a piece that reflects the art I do at this point in my life which is mostly in my journals. I read somewhere recently that journaling isn't art...it's playing. Well, I don't know if I understand the difference...and I came to the conclusion after much stressing about this piece I wanted to create...that it's ok. This is where I am in my life. I am a busy woman. I work full time. I teach a class in the evening once a week. I am involved in my church and my family pretty much demands the rest of my time. Yet, I still try to find time each day (and somedays that isn't possible) to capture the moments of my life, of which I consider every one of them a gift. I decided it's ok that I don't create a paintings or drawings that can be entered in competitions or hang in gallerys (although that's not totally out of the question). In five or ten years, or maybe at this time next year (who knows?) my perspective and priorities may be different. I hope that someday I will have the opportunity to spend more of my time creating artwork...but it is unrealistic for me to expect myself to be able to produce paintings or drawings that demand 30+ hours to complete. So my idea was to take some of the actual drawings/sketches from my journal and I put them into a grid that captures "snapshots" of my typical everyday life. Nothing fancy...just me. This is who I am and for me right now, this says everything about who I am and the kind of art I create at this point in my life. I have to tell you...it was SO hard to take my knife and cut those moments of my life out of my journals...but I love the piece as a whole. What do you think? Here is what I wrote in the last square.

I seriously would like to know what you think of this piece since it is a little different than what you might expect to see at this kind of show...It's going to be hanging next to book illustrators and some an artist who has had paintings commissioned from the Pentagon! Yikes!

I should tell you the reason why this took all weekend. This mat that I needed cut on Saturday, well no one would do it... and even with a week to do it they would have to charge at least 100.00 for it! So I bought a piece (actually 2 because I didn't have a lot of confidence in my mat cutting skills) and some new blades for my Logan mat cutter that I bought when I was framing my Senior Art Show in College! It took me a couple of hours to measure and draw it all out...and lots longer to cut it. But I only messed up once and it was able to be fixed so I only used the one piece of mat board. It looks cool but trust me it WAS a big project.

Blind Contour Friday...a little late

We went out to dinner at Big Boy and had a very enjoyable meal with the kids (rare! - trust me) and then took them to Walgreens across the street and let them each pick out a cheap little prize. We stopped @ Home Depot so sam could pick up this huge bolt that he's going to do some kind of trick with (he's been spending too much time on the internet I think!). I tried drawing a Home Depot truck parked out front but I messed it up (I am not showing you that one) so I decided since I couldn't draw it right anyway, I might as well just do a Blind Contour of it...so I did, but then some guy came & drove it away! Then I drew a cart and on the way home we stopped at Super Liquor and I drew the Newspaper stands (or whatever they are called). So there we go...it's just a little late! I added the blue in the background in Photoshop...it kind of looks cool with the texture of my journal paper.

A Smile for You!

I mentioned that I would try watercolor in my journal and see how it handled on the handmade paper in my journal. Today, I was sitting in my classroom and I noticed this bouquet of flowers sitting on top of the piano. It was obviously Donna's - the music teacher who shares a classroom with me. She has been sick, and I just wonder if it might be from our staff. Anyway, regardless of who it is from, I am sure it brightened her day as it did mine. Sometimes just seeing a cheery smile can lift my spirits. As far as the watercolor goes...it worked ok. It did bleed through the paper. I actually thought ahead to put a blotter sheet behind the page...only two pages stuck together, they are so thin, so that was pretty useless. The paper is much more absorbent than I am used to with watercolor...it soaked the color right up, while the paper stayed damp so I could blend colors, it was hard to do light washes...the paint wouldn't flow. But I didn't mind so much, I liked the bright colors. I also left a few flowers out because I ran out of time...the arrangement was much more full than I painted it.

EDM Challenge #27 - Draw a book

Last weekend we loaded up the kids, snacks, the wagon & stroller and headed about 40 minutes away to Thurston's Flea Market. There were a ton of vendors there since it was Labor Day weekend. I wasn't terribly excited about going, especially after the last time & having a bad experience with tired kids. But I decided to have a good attitude & go along, because Sam and the kids really wanted to. I am glad I did because we really had a nice time together. Not to mention the fact that we found some really neat things. Max got a Hulk lunchbox and a Spiderman "watch" that projects the image of a spider web in red light on the wall. It was a quarter! Savannah bought some cute sunglasses and a stuffed puppy with her dollar. She took the puppy to school for show and tell today, making sure to tell everyone that she got it at the flea market for a quarter. Her puppy's name is Zoe. Karson got a book...I think that is all...he just liked riding along. Sam found a great game for the kids for 4.00 that they absolutely love. He bought a record player. (I don't think we have any records though...so I don't know if he'll ever use it...but I think he just bought it for its nostalgic value). We got some cool glasses from the 50's with carousel animals on them...I will have to draw them sometime because they are really cool. I found these three books. This guy was selling them three for a dollar. The Italy one is actually a recipe book...but on each page, the recipe takes up about 1/3 of the page and above it is a photo of a place in Italy - usually somewhere that relates to the recipe. They are black & white photos. Many of them of places I visited when I went to Italy about 12 years ago. I mentioned before about wanting to redo my journal & make an illustrated journal of my trip to Europe...and this is so perfect. I will have to alter it a bit, but it is in great condition...and will be perfect for that. I am most excited about this project! But I also found the agriculture book of insects. I am hosting an ATC swap of Creepy Crawlies and this is such a great find that I am going to make everyone a Title card for the swap with the great ink illustrations of insects this book is filled with! I have already started to cut it up! The Nature Wonders book I thought would make a good altered book journal, which I have never actually made, but it has a lot of beautiful pictures in it. So there is my flea market treasure. The paper in my new journal is kind of brownish and is handmade in Nepal...just in case anyone is curious why the background looks different in my drawings. Also this drawing is drawn with a Sepia Micron 05 pen and Prismacolor pencils.

EDM Challenge #28 - Draw an appliance

Hi again! I have people e-mailing me asking if I am ok...chances are you are wondering what has happened to me too...if you are a regular visitor. I am an elementary art teacher...and school started last week and that is pretty much the main reason why I haven't posted since a week ago last Friday! I have been slightly overwhelmed and exhausted as well...trying to get back into the swing of things, trying to figure out new morning routines (with Savannah going to school everyday) and trying to stay ahead of everything...which I don't think I am doing very well. But tonight as I was doing my laundry, I was noticing things I always am overlooking and I started thinking that my laundry room (in it's sad state) is actually really interesting. Pipes on the walls, cracks in the floors, drains, clothes, rugs, rust, detergent bottles, and so many other things...some which really should be cleaned up, but I just drew it like it is...that's the reality. Someday I would love to have a really beautiful laundry room with clean floors, walls that don't have paint peeling off, and NO cobwebs! But for now, I will just appreciate that I *have* a laundry room with working appliances and space and that it makes a rather interesting subject for a drawing. I really wanted to draw more of the room...but I will save that for another day. I must say, I haven't drawn for several days and taking 45 minutes to sit and draw uninterrupted was like heaven for me. I so enjoyed drawing tonight. I have to remember how much fun it is...because the last few days, in the evening, I have been so worn out that I just veg out in front of the tv for a couple of hours in the evening until I fall asleep. How I spent my night tonight made me feel so much better about myself and my life. I am so thankful I can draw.