List Mania (hats off to Pomegranates and Paper)

My friend, Loretta, has begun a "List Friday." This Friday's list topic is "Arts and Crafts." But not those crafts we do NOW! Nope, these are, in her words, to be "the silliest, funniest, most extravagant, outrageous, and simple arts & crafts."

So Loretta, since I will be sans computer on Friday, here are mine a day early:

* Embroidery and crewel on every stitch of clothing I owned, jeans, sweatshirts, blouses, jackets. FLOWER POWER to be sure!

* Gum Wrapper Chains - HUNDREDS of feet long! Whatever did we do with those??

* Stretch Looped potholders - Doesn't every female begin their lives with these??

* Crochet teen doll clothes - hats, scarves, sweaters - in the teeniest of sizes

* Leather chains - those flat, thin pieces of leather than you crossed over and over each loop to make a square thingy for key rings and such

* Tissue paper flowers -- OH YEAH!

* Whatever those 4-pronged plastic gizmos are (I still see them every once in a while, and some were fashioned from discarded wooden spools), where one "sort of knits" by wrapping yarn around the spool and pulling one loop over the other to create a round tube of sorts that comes out of the hole in the spool and which one fashions into rugs or circles or whatever. Yep -- did that a LOT!

* Paper dolls and all their paper clothing, all housed in cigar boxes.

I'm sure there are more that I can't recall at the moment ... but here you go -- flashback to the 60s!

Mini Reunion

It's going up to 80F degrees today -- YEAH!!! Already things around me are blooming like mad - Bradford pears, forsythia, spirea, daffodils, red maples ... man ... the show has begun!

My sisters live in New York, my mom, in Florida. We try at least once a year, to all get together for a few days. This year, my sisters and I are flying to Florida to be with my mom and attend the Strawberry Festival near Tampa. I leave for Fl this afternoon -- so I'll be a bit quiet without a computer ... I'll get back Sunday night .... and try to scan whatever I have time to sketch.

I hear NY is going to have a snowstorm this afternoon!! so I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that my sisters can make it out of LGA on time to get to Florida for our 2 day mini family reunion ....

Have a great w/e everyone! (and I hope to too!) lol

Lin

Another Portrait Attempt

Trying again to get closer to sketching a likeness. BIG SIGH!

EDM #56 Self Portrait

The Everyday Matters Group has set this week's challenge as a 'self portrait.' OH MY GOSH! I've tried this before with horrible results.

The chatter on the list was about the difficulty of this challenge, which it definitely is. But undeterred (or just plain INSANE) I decided to ATTEMPT yet another portrait of me. SIGH.

To add to the challenge, I'm away from home and sans scanner and leaving to visit my sisters and Mom and thus will be away from a scanner until AFTER the week's challenge.

So, I decided, what the heck -- SOMEONE has to be risky -- maybe if I got this posted, everyone could have a good laugh and realize that their portraits couldn't be worse, and maybe we'd all do several of these and get better at it.

So here it is, in all it's simplicity and error ... and a pix of me to compare. Remember, I only have a camera to take a photo, it's dead dark outside, and I promise to attempt more of these to improve.

And hey, someone's gotta be brave!

EDM#18 - View OF and FROM my Window

The theme for Kate's online alumni group for March is windows. In keeping with with finishing the EDM challenges, I decided to sketch both the view OF my window (my office window) AND a bit of what's OUT the window (the woods). I sketched this in pencil to try (SIGH) to capture the lace curtains (got a LOT to learn there!! LOL) and a bit of the tree trunks I can see when I'm siting at the computer. It's not very obvious I think, but I've tried to capture the plaid cushion on this window seat I infrequently sit in to read or view the birds at the feeder. I scanned my sketch and darkened the lines in Photoshop Elements. Then changed the color of the lines to sepia just for fun.

Vidalia Onions

My dear husband LOVES to go grocery shopping! And BOY am I one lucky woman because I HATE to go shopping! Yesterday he came home with a bag of onions that was his absolutely delight. "Look what I found!" he giggled, with more enthusiasm than a child out of school on a week day. He was simply delirious with joy!

He plucked this bunch of Vidalia onions from the bag, placed them on the counter, and continued to plan an entire meal AROUND the onions. (Did I mention he liked to cook and to eat almost as much as he likes to grocery shop??? And YES, he's taken, ladies! LOL)

So tonight, we'll dine on splendidly fried onions, meatloaf, baked potatoes, and a few gourmet surprises. And I'll plan to add additional walking miles this week!

I not only decided to sketch these beauties because of my husband's enthusiasm for them, but also for the inspiration Laura continues to grace us with. Last month, she inspired us with sketching interiors. This month, she is sketching food. Her food sketches are INCREDIBLE (as is all her work) ! And so, Laura, this sketch is for you and for my husband. THANKS to both of you!

The Window that Was

After taking a sketching class from Kate Johnson this winter, she generously set up an alumni group for both her sketching and watercolor classes so we can continue to support (and learn!!) from one another. We've set ourselves a monthly challenge where we'll all attempt a theme or a particular photograph to sketch and/or watercolor. WHAT FUN!!

March's theme is 'windows'... and a few of us overly excited folks (LOL) have already begun sketching the window posted for our practice.

Mercy, the actual photo is such a beautiful window, filled with all sorts of lessons to continue -- perspective, values, shading, sketching/painting foliage. I've attempted this window a few times, each time taking the kind suggestions of my classmates.

Here's my latest attempt ... not too, too shabby for an amateur!! LOL But so much yet to learn!

Signs of Spring

I went into town today to pick up the last gallon of paint. The outside of the house has been refreshed with several coats of stain and sealer, as has the porch and deck, garage, well-house, and even a few of my planters. How WONDERFUL to see the house looking new again.

During my trip to town (12 miles one way), I saw so many signs of spring --trees have lost their grayness, and buds have begun to open. The red maples are magenta against the sky, and in the warmer microhabitats, a few buds of the dogwoods and Bradford pears are beginning to open. I thought to myself how much I would like to capture the red maples for my journal -- they're a favorite tree of mine.

I got home to tour my own property -- NOTHING! Apparently, I'm a week or so behind the warmer areas of town and nary a red maple blossom could be found. Too, after sitting in a sunshine-warmed car, when I stepped outside, the air was cool, very cool, even though the sun was so delicious looking.

On the path to the front door, though, I spotted, or rather sniffed, one of my Sweet Winter Daphnes just opening up its tightly-closed, pink/purple buds. OH MY! The scent was divine! I snipped a blossom and brought it indoors to sketch.

I sketched it in pencil, colored pencil, and two in pen and ink. NO, not because I was displeased with my results! I just wanted to sit close to that plant and INHALE that awesome fragrance! Spring is coming~!

A bit of apricot

Thought I'd add a bit of apricot color (via paper and some Prismacolor pencils) to the tea tin. I didn't want the entire tin colored ... so with the colors I had, I tried to blend a gold and an orange ...

Illustration Friday - Tea

It's been ages since I've participated in IF, but 'tea' has been a favorite beverage of mine for years. I remember the first time I was introduced to tea through the books by Pearl Buck. The way she described the Asian Tea Ceremony inspired my experimenting with various brewing methods, tea cups, and recently, flavored teas.

Since my garden is filled with many different kinds of herbs, I've begun sipping more and more herbal tea - and I'm particularly fond of mint tea. For several years, I grew at least 20 varieties of mint, not only for their sensuous scents, but also for their wonderful tea flavorings. I've narrowed my mint patches though (since they have a tendency to run rampant) to peppermint, spearmint, chocolate mint and one or two small remaining patches of orange mint.

However, for this challenge, I picked one of my favorite purchased flavored teas - apricot/peach and sketched the tin. I redid and redid the perspective ... and though it's still a bit off, it's closer than when I began! I'm learning that there are just some things that HAVE to be measured!

You know it's almost Spring by Rebecca's Flowers

Every time I visit the B&B I frequent, there is a fresh bouquet of flowers on Rebecca's tables. If you know anything about flowers, you can tell what season we're in, or about to be in, just by the flowers in her many beautiful vases.

This week, her blue vase was sporting her remaining carnations of Valentine's Day and numerous fully-blown daffodils from her awesome landscaping.

I can't wait to see what she'll be featuring NEXT week!

EDM #55

DOORKNOBS! Who'd have thought they could be so different and so much fun! Here are two I did while away this week -- one, the fancy one, from a door at the B&B I frequent; the other, the institutional one from my office .....

Change Purse

And just because I wasn't quite ready to go to sleep after I sketched my watch, I did a quick sketch of my favorite change purse. I found this plaid fabric purse AGES ago, probably at a crafts festival -- and have never been able to find another one like it that has TWO zippers and fits both all my change AND my ID cards. I held it in one hand and sketched it with the other -- so I didn't have any shadows or folds on it to give it better interest.

EDM #22 and EDM #8

I LOVE kneesocks! They're like warm and soft 'leg huggers!" And so, to catch up on a few more EDM challenges, I sketched my kneesocks for the clothing challenge! I have to admit, I liked the sketch a bit better BEFORE I added the watercolor! (The watercolor did a number on the heel fold I finally got to look like a fold in pencil!! SIGH) OH, just WAIT until I get some watercolor lessons under my belt!

I've also sketched my watch -- and decided to leave it uncolored -- to hedge my bets with the watercolors!

I've been tagged!

My first tagging!!! And sweet Linda did it!

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. field botanist and curator of a herbarium
2. wild food instructor (how to identify and cook wild plants)
3. magazine editor
4. special events coordinator for an island resort

Four Movies I can Watch Over and Over
1. Lady and the Tramp
2. Bambi
3. Under the Tuscan Sun
4. Sound of Music

Is my Pollyana showing yet?

Four Places I've Lived
1. Bad Windsheim, Germany
2. Brooklyn, NY
3. Charleston, SC
4. Chapel Hill, NC

Four TV Shows I Love .... errrr... WATCH errr .... sometimes
1. Carol Duvall (HGTV)
2. The Olympics
3. The News
4. I really don't watch much TV -- those listed are the few exceptions!

Four Places I've Vacationed
1. Sicily, Italy
2. Big Sky Montana
3. Asheville, NC
4. Wilmington, NC

Four of My Favorite Dishes
1. Veal Piccata with Lemon and Peppers
2. Lasagna
3. Seafood Pasta Alfredo
4. Did I mention I love pasta dishes??

Four Sites I Visit Daily --- ONLY FOUR??? Because I just ADORE their work, their spirit, their generosity, and their continued support:

1. Quotidian Curiosities - because I love her watercolors and the way she eagerly tries new things
2. lilypily daze - because I love her spirit, her work and our shared grandparenthood
3. Teri's Painted Daisies - because she is one adventuresome and kind soul whose work pushes me to try new things
4. Laurelines - because I LOVE her colors and looseness of line and thematic sketches

Four Places I Would Rather Be Now
1. HOME
2. Sicily
3. Rome
4. Venice

Did I mention that I want to go back to Italy??? LOL

Four Bloggers I Am Tagging because they've been so kind to me:
1. Laura
2. Teri
3. Terri
4. Kamuela - because we share this 'keep at it' journey together.

EDM #3 My Bag

My dear daughter is absolutely APPALLED that at my age I still prefer a fanny pack to any 'francy' handbag.

I hate to tell her that my bony shoulders, growing rounder with age, simply CANNOT hold the strap of a shoulder bag, and my arms, weakened by hefting grandchildren heavier than my children ever were before walking on their own, cannot bear to carry a purse weighted down by all my 'necessities.'

Thus, a fanny pack is PERFECT for me -- I can put everything I need in it, hang it on my hips and have my hands free! Yes, I do agree, a business suit and a fanny pack makes an ODD vision!

EDM #16 If I had a Hammer

This hammer (the head of which really is MUCH straighter than I've sketched it) once belonged to my husband. When I began collaging several years ago and got heavily into ephemera, I needed a sturdy hammer to add eyelets, snaps, brads and the like, and Charles found this one for me. It resides in my bin of metal findings....

Another Eno River View

I spent the free time I had between getting ready to leave for the STOMP performance and dinner at my son's attempting another perspective sketch from the walk several weeks ago along the Eno River. I liked the pen and ink I had rendered, but wound up HATING the watercolor I did over it (can't WAIT for classes to begin! LOL). So I redid the sketch on colored paper --

STOMP

After waiting several months for this venue to arrive, my son, daughter-in-law, husband and I ventured through our two-hour snowstorm (it sure passed quickly!!!) into Raleigh to see STOMP! I've always enjoyed percussion -- and this performance was a masterpiece! From pipes to pans, trash cans to oil drums, brooms and hands -- the sounds and melodies produced were incredible!! What a delight two hours that passed by far too fast!

We returned to my son's for a 'thank for your helping us move' dinner -- pot roast, creamed potatoes, peas, along with an entre of cheese sticks. I sketched the cheese stick dish as my daughter-in-law finished preparing dinner and my son quickly grabbed the remaining sticks. The grands were with their aunt, and it was sheer delight to visit with my son in his new home with furniture in place, a delicious meal on the table, and quiet all around (though I did miss the wee ones! LOL).

(Sketched with Prismacolor pencils)

Rose

My love of roses comes from my mom, who always had a rose or two on her table that was cut from the bushes she grew when she owned her own home.

After we painted our bedroom and bath a 'bisque' (looks like creamy yellow), I accented the flowers in the bedspread and shower curtain with wine deep maroon, and added a bunch of silk wine-red roses to a yellow vase I brought back from Sicily. Love the warmth of these two colors together!

I wanted desperately to sketch those roses -- full, and open and in such rich colors! But I was having a 'block' about how best to treat the petals - how to capture their waves and shadows, accurately, yet loosely. I liked the loose lines I had achieved with the outline I did of a single rose, but had the dickens of a time rendering the shadows. I did two sketches - one with the faintest of pencil shading; the other with washes of watercolor. I haven't quite achieved what I'd like to do with these, but I think I'm on the right road. I'll keep at these (just like the images of my grandchildren) ...there's something here I really want to achieve!