One sketchbook at a time.

For years I used to buy those crappy, black sketchbooks. You know, the ones with thin, uninviting pages. I would draw a few pictures - put it aside, lose my focus, then misplace it. Buy another. Then repeat..repeat..repeat. I must have 10 of them - barely filled in. I had good intentions but I just couldn't keep it going. A few years ago I decided to work in only one sketchbook at a time. And to draw regularly! That commitment to regular drawing in one place helped...and got me on the right track. (And there is a wonderful new world of high quality sketchbooks out there - more on that another time.) I find I am much happier with a one-book-at-a-time approach. I draw more often and more consistently. And I love the types of things I now choose to draw about, our travels of course, but also more mundane daily events - visitors, meals, purchases, pets, etc. And I hadn't anticipated the upside which is having a visual diary that I can flip through and remember the past few years. So I keep moving forward - one drawing at a time - one sketchbook at a time. I will try to post here more often...one post at a time.

Changes to blog - changes to life

Above is the new sub-title for my blog (well, barely a blog since a hardly ever post). Here is the old sub-title: "I have a wonderful new studio on my third floor. Nice space and lots of unfinished projects. The plan? Kick my butt out of the kitchen, off the couch, and get working. Doing what? We'll see. I'll be upstairs." Well, that was awhile ago (actually quite awhile ago). We were living in the country then, with dog, cat and kids underfoot inside and bears and deer outside.

Where are we now? Well, the kids are out of the house (mostly grown - empty nest) and we have moved to just on the edge of a small city, to a new state. We are getting used to a new way of life. There is much to inspire me here, many opportunities, more time to create and yet life frequently seems to get in the way. Or maybe it is ME that gets in the way. Either way, I need to create more, stress less. I still have a lovely studio but now it is out of the house so I need to make a more concerted effort to get there and work. Sounds like a good New Years Resolution to me!

This blog went totally dormant. But Life did not! The kids went off to college. We have moved to a new home in a new state. My husband and I are enjoying exploring our new locale. And I have a new studio to work in, and more time to spend doing art. For the first time in…well, forever...my studio space isn't in the house and it is still in the process of getting set up. This will be an adjustment. Lots to do. Lots of changes. All good. More soon…I hope.

Boy, has it been awhile!

The summer flew by me... and then it was back-to-school time for the kids. But things have been happening and I know I should update and post and I will over the next few weeks.. I promise. (Summer involved a trip to Costa Rica and then a trip out to the Seattle area. I will post some pics about those later.) But I will work backwards.

First off... current issues: my eyes. I have been having eye issues for the last few years (feels like forever - a sudden retina problem, double vision, decreasing vision and frustration) and recently it was decided that I have cataracts! Well, that news made me feel old.. which I am not.. just unlucky, I guess. But it was also a relief. For many months, before the diagnosis, I would wander around my studio getting nothing done, misplacing things, finding I couldn't focus. I realized how much my eyes connect me to the world. I know that is true of everyone... but, for me, not seeing well makes me feel stupid.. out of touch.. incapable.  But now I understood why I have been feeling only half-here. Finally an answer.

So, I have had one cataract removed and the difference in the one eye they have done so far is AMAZING. The next one is scheduled for next week... meanwhile, I CAN'T WAIT!! But I am trying to be patient.. I can't drive.. can't wear my glasses so now I have one good eye and one very, very bad one and am wandering around the house, trying not to trip over things or trim my finger tips as I chop. It is very disconcerting, this sort of half seeing.

Above I said I guess I am unlucky.. but that isn't really how I feel. I feel amazingly lucky. Lucky that medicine today can solve this problem. Lucky that I have health insurance to cover the cost and that what it doesn't cover I can easily pay for. Lucky that I have a helpful and supportive husband who has reassured me that things would get better. And now I can see, and believe, that they will.

So, when the second operation is done I hope to be spending more time upstairs in my studio. Feeling connected - inspired - productive.

And I might even be glasses free! I've been wearing these forever... so we'll see how close the Docs can get me to 20/20. They are hopeful. I will just be glad to see.

Back to Work

I have not been producing much art lately but feel like the last several weeks have been creative none-the-less.  First, went to the NESCBWI conference in May. Amazing! Fantastic! Educational! Lots of people have blogged about their inspiring, fun filled weekend and I don't really have anything to add - except to echo a "well done" to all the organizers, volunteers and workshop leaders. Thanks! Then when I got home it was time to prepare for a trip to Michigan (driving!) for the Odyssey of the Mind World Finals. For any who don't know, it is an international, educational, problem-solving competition for kids where they get to spread their creative wings. (My son was part of a team that was competing, which explained the giant Easter Island head in the back of the van.) I saw some fantastic, surprising performances by kids - just as inspiring as some of what I saw at the NESCBWI conference. Saw a hat made out of vinyl records, a skirt made out of balloons, a boy dressed as a nun, and a talking carton of eggs. Kids sure can create! Then after driving home to CT we hosted a Polish team that had competed in Michigan also. Spent a week seeing the US through their eyes. So now that they have headed home, I am tired and a bit overwhelmed by how behind I am in all the things I need to do... but inspired anew to create, participate, observe, record. Wishing all a surprising, inspiring day.

(Opening ceremonies at Odyssey - 16,000 screaming kids!)

Illustration Friday: "Detective"

Here is my tribute to the ultimate detective - Mothers. I was always amazed at what my Mom knew and the mysteries she could solve (who took the..? who broke the..? etc). Sometimes the clues aren't hard to catch - like The Case of The Muddy Footprints pictured here. Other times they are real puzzlers. But moms are rarely stumped. There are many joys to being a parent but, for me, one of them is certainly hearing that plaintive cry from your child "Mom - how did you KNOW that?!" Don't they realize? We know all.

Illustration Friday: "Expired"

Here's another entry for IF. Sort of last minute but the idea was too fun to let pass. (Wow... tomorrow is Friday already! I better get ready)