nanke's stuff

So, since nothing was calling out to me to draw and I am trying to keep at it, I decided to return to jewelry.  My sweetie buys me the coolest things.  Some of the pieces are whimsical, some are amazingly crafted, some are beautiful, and all are loved.  He spends a great deal of time choosing what to buy, and he often goes to a wonderful store in Ann Arbor called 16 Hands.  Everything in the store is handmade.  Besides jewelry, they have some clothing, ornamental pieces for inside and out, baby things, paintings, and so much more.  It's a real treat to go there just to browse, if not buy something wonderful.  These are some sketches of four of my necklaces.  I used a 005 Micron Pen and colored pencils.    I'm sorry now that I didn't draw the back of the square one with the colors - it's pretty cool too, and can be worn either way.  Maybe next time!

Since we've updated the software in our computers, I've lost Photoshop and I'm still trying to figure out the best way to fix my scans.  This is my third attempt at this with a new program (new to me, that is), that I'm still learning.  It's better than the first two, that's for sure! 

Well, it's been way too long since I've posted to my blog, but I've been totally in the midst of artistic doldrums.   No whining ... no complaining .... no explaining .... we've all heard it (and some have experienced it) countless times before.  Suffice it to say that even though what is here isn't a drawing, I did manage to get something down on paper (it took me a long time - not because of degree of difficulty, but because of ... well, You know).  Then, after I got finished with the ink doodles, I decided to put color in it.  That was fun, but another way to procrastinate, if truth be told.

In the meantime, during my angst, we had a bunch of work done on the house, all of which started with a crack in the caulk around the bathtub that I became worried about - I just kept having visions of the dreaded black mold.  Since we've caulked it before, I thought we should maybe hire someone to do put some ceramic tile around the tub to take care of the problem once and for all (assuming there wasn't any mold).  Well, to make a long story short, $4000 later we got that crack in the caulk taken care of, along with a number of other things involving a plumber, tile men, painters, a drywall man, and a wonderful carpenter!!!  And, thankfully, there wasn't a speck of  mold to be found.  God help us if I notice a burned out lightbulb!  Then, a couple of weeks ago we had our annual well-baby check on our furnace.  Baby isn't so well after all.  We have to get a new one ... goodby $5400 more!!!!  ouch!  (Is it any wonder I've been a tad out of sorts?  lol)

So, now I'm back.  Yes, please note the declarative tone of that last sentence.  I've done my time in the Cave of Uncertainty, so now I think it's Abby's turn.  Abby is our dog, and she's not uncertain about anything, so I think she'll do just fine, thank you!

I wanted to draw, but as often happens, not much was appealing to me to do.   Personally, I think it's my inner critic in a snit, but today I ignored her.  So, after wandering around for awhile actually talking right out loud to myself (to the confusion of the dog who  thinks that all conversations are to and about her).  Fortunately my sweetie wasn't here.

I decided to start small, so I got out one of my sketch books, divided a page into sections with a Micron pen (.005, my favorite) and chose one of my necklaces to sketch.  It didn't take long before I was immersed in what I was doing, so when I finished the first one, I chose another one.  After all the sections were filled on the page with different necklaces, I decided to forge ahead by adding color.  When all the color was added I, rather compulsively, proceeded to fool around with a border.  I'm not sure it adds anything to the thing as a whole, but I had a good time doing it.  And, I just might start adding color to it when I'm finished with this post .....

So, because of my impending surgery and the need to keep putting drops in my eye, I'm sticking very close to home .... as in going no place.  Today I was out with the dog making sure she didn't leave the yard (even tho it's fenced, she sometimes decides her acre to roam in isn't enough, so she jumps through the slats in the fence, (and more recently, through the bars of the farm gate), and looking down, I saw a grasshopper just sitting on the sidewalk.  I got down for a closer look ... it didn't move.  So, I picked it up - still not even an antenna twitch.  Carrying it carefully after summoning Abby, we went into the house, where I set it down with a custard cup over it.  (It's pretty chilly outside, and I wasn't totally convinced it was dead).  After quite awhile with no movement, I decided it was, indeed dead, so I carried it upstairs to my studio intending to draw it.

That's when I discovered my everyday-use- it- in -and- around -the house journal is gone!  I've looked everywhere for it. .... drawers, shelves, all sorts of canvas bags, under, over, between, through, closets, boxes, upstairs and down.  It's driving me crazy.  Sometimes I feel like I'm looking right at it but can't see it.  I Will find it, of that I have no doubt.  The larger question is, will I still have any sanity left when I do?

So, in the meantime, here's the grasshopper drawn in my new everyday journal.  It's done with ink and colored pencil,  and the lettering is indicative of my state of mind at the time.  It's written from the inside out.

I'd like you to meet my new fish.  I've been wanting some fish for a long time ... don't ask me why, it just seemed like a good idea.  It's been a cold winter here, and I've been waiting to get them because I thought that transporting them home in the cold weather would not be such a hot idea (even tho they'd be in the car, still it's been a tad nippy).   So about 2 weeks ago, I brought 2 goldfish home during a warm spell.  In preparation for their arrival, I bought a punch bowl to keep them in.  See, after finding out that each goldfish needs a gallon of water (yes, a Gallon Each!!), I didn't want to spend the $$ on an aquarium, so I bought this 2 gallon punch bowl at a second hand store - clear glass with "pressed glass" flowers around it.  I brought the fish home, put some gravel in the bottom of the punch bowl, a few plastic plants, room temp water, and then introduced them slowly to their new digs.  They freaked out and hid among the plants.  They stayed that way for days .... wouldn't eat, didn't swim around, just hid in the bushes.  It finally occurred to me that what scared them so  was  that looking thru those pressed glass flowers distorted their view so much that it scared their little selves half to death.
Another problem (I know this is long, but I can't help it) is that we're going to be gone for 5 days and I worried that they might starve while we were gone.  Then I found this magic fish food block that you just put in their bowl and it lasts for 7 days!  But, it works best if the water is moving.  So, back to the pet store to buy an aquarium, the fish food block, tubing, a pump, and a bubbler thingy.  (Now my $2.00 fish have cost me about $30).  I set them up in their new home, and guess what?  They're Happy!!  They swim, they come to the top when they see me, and they eat like little piggies!  I'm happy, too!

Here they are .... colored pencil drawings (which I'm not very good at and which I did on paper with too much tooth for colored pencil). 

Autumn is my very favorite season.  It's such a treat for all of my senses.  The muted, subtle color changes of some of the leaves, and the bright, gaudy colors of some of the others dazzle my eyes and make me want to draw and paint them.  The scent of apple cider, the smell of burning leaves, and the wonderful aromas of fall dishes like stew and hot, creamy soups, and fruit pies,  put me in the mood for cooking and baking.  The sound of dry leaves blowing when the cold, autumn winds come through, and the crunch the leaves make when you walk through them makes me smile and drag my feet as I walk.  I love the cozy feel of sweaters and quilts.  We've started having fires in the fireplace, and I love the ritual of laying the logs and kindling ahead of time so that when it gets dark (or sometimes even in the afternoon), all we have to do is light a match.  I find watching the flames mesmerizing and soothing.   Sometimes we eat dinner by the fire - I really love it when we do that.
I love the respite from the feeling that I should be doing some kind of work in the garden.  Never mind that I haven't done any fall clean-up and there's many dead plants that should come out.  It doesn't matter.  For some reason, it doesn't bother me like it does in the spring and summer when the gardens need attention.  Autumn is for hunkering down, reading books, drawing, baking, writing, and listening to music.  Autumn outside is for taking walks and snapping photos of the fast-fading beauty of the season.  So, lean back, have a nice cup of tea or maybe some hot cider, and enjoy the most beautiful season of the year!