Wednesday Wandering #15
Back to the woods, the beach and Watercolor
A lot going on this week. After two weeks of antibiotics for a tick bite, I am recovering my energy and Tuesday. I braved a walk in the tick infested neighborhood for the first time. Sprayed my skin with an essential oil mixture, then resprayed my clothing with a stronger deterrent. Put on my tick gaiters and arm cuffs over a long sleeved white t-shirt. Tied a sprayed bandana around my neck and another one around my head. Inspected all clothing and footwear in the laundry room before dashing into the shower. Found one small tick had gotten inside my trail shoe, but it never made it to the skin level.
Got some good local inspiration photos for painting–my usual favorite of sunlight and shadows. Post-processed the photos quite a bit so they will be better models for painting.
Saw deer and rabbits in the wild and visited the enclosures where the resident recovering animals are housed. This is Penny. She will not be released because she requires daily epilepsy meds. She has a big cage with bedding, a house to sleep in, toys and an exercise wheel.
Will I ever be an Urban Sketcher?
I have been trying to sketch a bit when I am out and about, but my eyes are not liking the glaring summer sun even with sunglasses (cataracts). Maybe I can find cool shady spots from which to sketch in my car.
Watercolor Studies
I started this as a watercolor, but it needed a significant rescue attempt with gouache. I need lots of practice with rocks and boulders and flowing water.
I started this one with a reference photo that I later lost, so the rest is made up….
Creative Abundance
My creative energy took two weird turns based on what was showing up in my youtube suggestions.
Slow Stitching
Hand stitching of various things together. A bit like doodling with needle and thread. I think that here on Substack, we also have a few Slow Stitching authors, but I am having trouble finding them again. Here’s one.
First, I started this dot project, making these handstitched squares with no final purpose in mind yet. This is all from fabric and threads that i already have.
Stitch Meditation
Next I started a 100 days of Stitch Meditation challenge, because I can’t seem to just sit still and meditate.
I have done two days so far. I hope that the playfulness will engage my right brain and carry over into my other creative pursuits. Again, I have no idea what I am making these for, but some insights are arising as I proceed with each square, without a definite plan in mind. Again, this is being done from my vast stash of fabric and thread. There are no rules, no standards. Uneven, wonky stitches are allowed.
I pondered these two while journaling this morning. The green one started out very controlled, then I forced myself to make randomly aligned stitches on the small band in the middle. The spiral suggested itself, reminding me that by doing my Artist’s Way exercises I am journeying towards my center. Stop planning, Jo, life proceeds in crooked lines, enjoy the journey.
The Day 2 effort made me think about the contrasts I create by judging and classifying things. Cultivated daisies and a random weedy growth on that yellow band. I think of cultivated flowers as good and weeds as bad. The right angles of the plaid, are they good (certainly my engineer brain thinks so!) That whimsical tassel, is it bad? This square is a reminder to stop judging things as good or bad. Creativity, meditation , exploration, self-expression are the goal. It’s all good: cultivated flowers and weeds and right angles and whimsical tassels.
After the Beach
Later on Tuesday, I went up to the beach with a friend for the first time this year. It was good to absorb some sun in a tick-free zone and catch up on each other’s lives. But this morning, I am dragging. Been up since 2:30 am, and my head is just starting to clear at 11 am. Instead of pushing through, I have given myself a pass on going to the gym, had an extra cup of tea, chugged more water, took my vitamins, and am taking to heart the advice that came from all the way over in rural Aotearoa from Zenobia Southcombe. I turn 67 tomorrow, it is time to be kind to myself. Self-care does not come easily to me. My week 5 of Artist’s Way exercises pointed out that I am in a virtue trap. I think taking time for myself is not allowed. I constantly interrupt what I am doing whenever someone else needs something from me. Is this a problem for you, too?
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Loved this latest dive into your creative adventures, Jo! I'm trying to focus more time on having fun with art, and I'm really enjoying myself. Thank you for the inspiration! 😘
Happy Birthday Jo! The Artist's Way for me as well as Big Magic, Sara Gilbert, and The Creative Habit: Learn it and use it for life by Twyla Tharp were all books that helped me nurture the artist in side during a time when my husband was having a sting of health issues. As mother's/women we tend to take giving or ourselves OVER ourselves precedence. Retirement is slowly teaching me that it's up to me to put myself first. On a side note I found on YT a watercolor artist who paints on fabric and then uses thread to do the line work much like we do in pen and wash.