Evolution of a Mood

11/18/2010 02:31:00 PM Posted In , , Edit This 20 Comments »
When I sat down with my sketchbook I was not in the best of moods.   Nothing was wrong except that I was out of sorts..... restless .... unfocused .... thinking negatively.  I couldn't think of a single thing I wanted to do - I mean not one single thing.  So, I sat with my sketchbook and stared at the blank page.  Finally I drew a rectangle with pencil, drew a single looped line from one edge to the other, and started  with my trusty Micron 01 pen to make marks.  You may be able to tell by looking at it where I began making marks, but just in case you can't guess, I'll tell you.  I started filling in the loop.  I looked at what I had done and felt even worse.   It was dark and cramped - in other words, it looked just like I felt.  I kept going - another line, more shapes.  Little by little the drawing doodle began to change.  I didn't notice it at first, but then I got interrupted by a phone call, and when I came back to it, I realized that not only had the drawing changed, but so had my mood.  I was feeling better.  I decided to start adding a bit of color to it.  The color I started with was blue .... surprised?  After awhile other colors began to show up until, in the end, both the drawing and I were appearing quite cheery.

There's a definite lesson here for me.  It's not a new one, mind you, but it is one that I seem to have great difficulty remembering.  Maybe I should take out this page, frame it, and hang it where I can see it each and every time I come into my studio ..... what do you think?

Exercise and Art

11/13/2010 02:17:00 PM Posted In , , Edit This 23 Comments »
So, what do these two things have in common?  Well, if you're anything like me, there's a very strong similarity.  I'll start with exercise.  It's very good and healthy for me to do it .... ditto for art.  Sometimes I put off doing it .... ditto for art.   Once I finish doing it, I feel terrific .... ditto for art.   But, here's the biggest thing they have in common for me.   The longer I go without doing it, the harder it is for me to start up again.  Also, the more reasons and excuses I find not to do it, the worse I feel and the  more distressed I become.  

I haven't posted anything here for a month - I think that's a record for me.  It's not because I haven't thought about it.  It's not because I haven't had time, although we did a wee bit of traveling during that time and I also had a bit of a problem with my eye (the one that will be operated on this coming Wed.).  I can't even honestly say it's because I didn't have any art to show you - Vicki and I took a wonderful book binding class last weekend at Hollander's, and I could post pictures of the books I made (I will do that soon, though).  No, it's because I "fell off the camel" so to speak, and I just haven't been able to pick myself up, dust myself off, and jump back on again.   So, I decided that today's the day.  (Ironically, I have to hurry because we're going to a birthday party soon, and I still have to wrap the presents).

Just another quick thing.  I've been wanting to go back to the Ann Arbor Art Center to their life drawing studio.  It's been a really long time since I've been there, but I want to start going regularly on Friday afternoons (great timing - it's about to get really snowy here and the drive takes about 40 minutes in the summer).  Of course I haven't gone yet, but here are a couple of things I did back when I Was going regularly.  I post them here to give me the incentive to get off my tush and get myself going!