Writing ?

Two hundred and fifteen days. That is how long my daily sketching streak lasted.  I realized the streak was broken the morning of May 5th when May 4th passed without a sketch being done.  At the time I was devastated, cosmically and royally sad and mad.  It felt cataclysmic. 

Okay, maybe not that bad. But, still . . .

Then later in the week when I received news that my aunt, the one that celebrated her 100th birthday in February, died. She'd tested positive for Covid-19.  She was diabetic and had other underlying health issues.   

My broken streak felt small (IS small)  by comparison.

Due to the shelter-in-place, social distancing, and restrictions on gatherings, the services will be (basically) limited to her children and their spouses. Even then, they outnumber the maximum of 10.
 
To accommodate other family, friends, and more who are looking to say their good-byes the family has decided to live stream the services, which will be conducted Tuesday morning. 

Welcome to our newest normal.  How many more funerals, graduations, weddings, and other family events, not to mention concerts, symposiums, live productions of any kind will be attended via the internet? Remains to be seen. 

Be safe. Stay safe.

FYI I resumed the daily sketching on the 5th. Kept it going through the 10th, skipped the 11th, 13th, and 14th. I am now on a two going for three day streak.  

Is This Irony?

A Bowl of Fruit

View From My Window

Illinois issued the shelter in place order on March 20, 2020 and on the 24th there were lay-offs and reduced hours by my employer.  I was saved both of those fates thank goodness.  But.. But... yes, I remain concerned with each passing day that the situation may become more critical necessitating further action by said employer. 

Still, at present,  I am gainfully employed, still working from home, and for the newest normal to the mix, engaging in bi-weekly video staff meetings. 

Remember my casual comment about a year ago of maybe being ready to date again? Well, in my head the timeline for me getting out (with or without a date) was for right about now.  Spring and Summer 'round these parts are 'being out' times. There are art fairs, street festivals, all manner of goings on to increase the options over, 'dinner and a movie'. Even if one wanted nothing more than to walk (or bike) along the lakefront and gaze about that famous skyline.

I feel like I missed last year due to the move and various obstacles.   

Well, this Spring is done.  The lakefront is closed. The parks are closed. The first big annual art fair normally held the first weekend in June has been cancelled and there are sure to be others to follow.  Even as governors convene to discuss a re-opening we are likely looking at June or (sigh) July before public venues re-open. Even then, there will likely be limitations. The re-opening will be a gradual event. (As it should be.)   

I've come to realize in recent weeks that my most social outing had been to the grocery store.  And now, even that is gone as the grocery stores are limiting occupancy to 1 per family.  It just makes more sense for my daughter to be 'the one' as she does most of the food prep.  And just my luck, there are no jewelry kiosks open (not essential) to take a few links out of a watch I bought in anticipation of being 'out and about' and not wanting to rely on my phone for the time.   

Oh, well. 

The upside to being locked down and socially distant is my hair has more time to  get fuller/longer.  It is nearly long/full enough to execute the style I have in mind. And, I have time to get back on my 'get fit' (i.e. lose weight) wagon. I fell off some time ago and well, yikes.

Time. It's on my side.  Sort of.  I guess. All for the greater good. 

Be safe. Stay safe. 

    

The Newest Normal

prompt: something that starts with "T"

prompt: Lick and A Promise

Shelter at home, safer in place, self-quarantine, suspended, postponed, cancelled. This is Spring 2020.  Maybe Summer too? And dare we fear, Fall?  It is all too overwhelming to contemplate so I'm working on maintaining a day-to-day outlook.

It's difficult.

Point of fact my day-to-day hasn't changed much since the beginning of the government's efforts to "flatten the curve".  I was already working (so grateful) from home and I am not, under even the most perfect of conditions, a social butterfly.  My work hasn't had to shut down and in fact, may get busier as the days go on with folks seeking medical attention. (The company has clients whose practices are likely to be less in demand while others are likely see a dramatic uptick).

Still, I'm concerned.  Both my son and daughter work in industries that are not considered essential. Well, my daughter's industry is but as she was employed by an sports and entertainment venue her workplace was shuttered with days on the schedule.  She may be able to get hired on with another group within the industry but job hunting during this time is...well, challenging.  Her income or lack thereof impacts my (our ) budget.  She may get paid for the games missed, a promise with no concrete documentation.

There are options, not great but, something. Those are being explored, utilized in as much as they are feasible. 
 
My son is still waiting to hear if the university (he's a teaching artist working with a theater attached to one of Chicago's major universities) will pay staff during the shut down and if so, for how long.

I am concerned. March feels taken care of economically for us but the days, weeks, m o n t h s following, not so much. And beyond all that, both have, prior to their respective workplaces shutting down, had a lot of contact with a lot of humans.

The unknown (and an extreme lack of confidence in the federal government) invokes fear, anxiety. 

So yes, I'm working on maintaining a day-to-day outlook; trying to focus on that which I may solve.  And reaching out (even more) to family and friends. 

And leaning on art even more. 

Stay safe. Stay home if you can. Follow CDC protocols.  We're all in this together. 

 

 

    

A Porch Goose

Porch Goose*

For several days running I have had a tune roaming about my head. The first few days, just the tune and then, the lyrics.  I remembered the title but I couldn't remember where I'd heard it or why I know it.

Than I asked my daughter. She came up the source in a a nano-second. 

Once she named the source it all became clear (why I know it). What still remains a mystery is why this tune suddenly arrived in my head and more to the point, why the tune won't leave my head. 

The tune: "A Whole New World" ~ I bet you all know the source. 



*About the art, the prompt was laughter.  The image that immediately came to mind was a neighbor's porch goose dressed for Mardi Gras.  This same goose is now dressed for St. Patrick's Day.  There is a second house on the block with a porch goose (what are the odds?) who is also dressed but more for the elements than making a statement.  





 

Remind Me Where We Were

I had a dream a few nights ago about . . . well, I don't really remember what it was about except that during part of it I was trying to avoid these people who were trying to entice me into eating lima beans. I don't know who they were or why it was so important to them for me to have lima beans, but there you have it. 

I has never able to recover the main part of the dream. The lima bean episode took over.    

Oh, by the way, I detest lima beans.  Or I used to.  I haven't had any in decades. I presume I would have the same violent reaction to a plate/bowl/spoonful of the dreaded legume.  It is a theory I'm not open to testing, thank you. 

/Group Dynamics

And Now This Really IS Twenty Twenty

Greetings and Salutations,

And just like that twenty days of twenty twenty are just about over and out.  Are we all still on the eating better, drinking more water, exercising more party bus? For the record, I am, despite the cheese puffs I'm eating right now.

I assure you, this cheese puff eating is an aberration, not a rule of the past twenty days.

But I don't want to talk about what I'm eating or not eating or drinking.

One of my maternal aunts celebrates her 100th birthday next month! Her kids, grands, and great-grands are hosting an event to mark the occasion.  I plan to be there ringing in her new year.  My Aunt (the eldest of my mom's siblings) always possessed an Alaska sized personality; most of her kids, grands, and great-grands share that trait.

It should be quite the party. It shall be the one good thing about February, a good memory to hopefully over-shadow the other.


(Also for the record, still sketching daily, participating in a challenge--squee!)
(Also also for the record, I have not cut my hair.) Squee.

In Review

prompt: Cheer 

The Good Stuff: 2019 PERIOD

Much of twenty-nineteen has been consumed with continued recovery from twenty-eighteen . The ineptitude of the condo association led to a series of events that forced us out of our home, into foreclosure, and in a rental that is . . . growing on us (well, me--my daughter isn't convinced).  In the midst of my daughter and I striking out together, my son found his own way forward. He has survived most of these 9 months thanks to the kindness and generosity of several friends; that support has led to him landing in his own place--well, a place he shares with two other renters, but, still . . . a permanent address. 

Like at the end of twenty-eighteen the look back at twenty-nineteen reveals some good, some bad, and a bunch of stuff in-between. 

One of the biggest boons of twenty-nineteen has to be the transition into working from home.  While I do occasionally miss the camaraderie of office mates, I do not miss the hassle, hustle-bustle of the daily commute.  I relish in the time, energy gained not spending 3 hours (round trip) door-to-door in-transit.  It has been a, in a word, lifesaver. 

 

At the beginning of 2019 I began a 'tip' jar practice which as you can see, is barely filled.  Still, as I reflect on the practice I'm convinced it is a good idea despite my not having kept pace throughout the year. I know when I read the notes on those slips of paper I will be reminded of people, events, music and more that lifted me then and will serve to live me beyond. For twenty-twenty I shall move the location of the jar toward making it and the idea behind it even more present in my day-to-day. If there is a resolution to be had, it is to be resolute in daily practices (like the tip jar) toward the greater good.  

Speaking of daily practices, today marks day 90 of me having sketched in my sketchbook.  Thanks to programs like Inktober, Pencilvember, Drawcember, and the up coming, 30 day sketchbook challenge (aren't there 31 days in January??--uh hmm) I have been duly prompted to put pen, pencil, or chalk to paper and eek out an image. I eagerly await the January prompts which will be delivered by email each day. My mind is spinning over re-working some of the sketches, developing others beyond sketch mode, and continued to develop skills and advance the craft.  

I don't have any grand plans for twenty-twenty beyond putting one foot in front of the other toward striving to survive and working for the greater good for myself, my son and daughter, community, and world at large.  

Come to think of it, that plan is pretty grand. 

Cheers!  Happy New Year!   

  

Who Is This Person?

So, we're in full swing with December and all the draw antics it is bringing.  To say that not only am I still producing a sketch a day but thinking about how to render something, dreaming of images I somehow want to convey . . .  I tell you, it is blowing my mind. 

On a more practical note, I do need supplies (specific supplies like dark toned paper and white ink pens) and a better system of managing the supplies I have and those I will purchase somewhere down the road.

In the meantime, the household is growing accustomed to my new normal. 

To some degree. 

In other news, an old blogging friend (we're still connected via THE FB) just started breast cancer treatment.  And another (not a blogging friend but a long time FB pal) is burying her 21 year old son, lost to (in her words) addiction and depression. 

Reading of these events makes me both extremely sad and incredibly grateful.  However, for the moment, the sad is consuming me. I'm having emotional reactions (that is to say, tears rising to the surface) about nearly everything.  I'm sure the root of most of this--it being THE holiday season and all, cycles back to my mother. 

This shall pass I am sure. 

Welcome to Middle Girl's middle of December in the middle of some existential . . . event.

Finished November

I did get through the November pencil challenge.  I also followed prompts for the 2018 Inktober challenge.  Everyday in November I completed two sketches.  Squee!!  

There are many December challenges all named draw-cember or DecemberDoodle or variations thereof.  Most of the challenges/prompts are Christmas themed.  I've opted for lists that are not Christmas-y.  While I have selected three lists to work from for the month of December I will only strive for one sketch a day.  More than that is a tad overwhelming what with the other daily tasks / goals I've booked for myself.  

I don't know why I don't have access to phone photos from later than November 18; so here is a sample from the middle of November.  

Mish Mash

Yes, I'm still growing my hair out.  I don't know how much longer I'll be able to tolerate it as it is thick and in the present state, unmanageable.  I may blow it out after the next wash toward figuring out some other "style" without too much hassle until . . .   

The ultimate goal is to be able to braid it (crown style) without it unraveling after a few hours. 


Yes, I'm still doing a daily sketchbook practice.  These are day 7 for two different disciplines and prompts, Pencilvember 2019 "Prince" and from the 2018 Inktober prompt list, "Exhausted".

I haven't drawn with pencils--with the intent of showing the pencil lines--in quite a while.  It is taking some getting used to.  I either have very poor quality color pencils or I just don't know what I'm doing (or some combination) as I'm not happy with any of the sketches featuring color pencils.  Put, I'll keep plugging away at it. 

I am up to day 11.  Haven't figured out what I'm going to sketch for the two prompts; Galaxy for pencilvember and Cruel for the 2018 Inktober but I'm sure something will come to me.

And Just Like That

Inktober has come to an end.  So many of those who participated in the challenge were professionals who were taking the journey for a specific kind of challenge; re-invigorating creativity, following specific themes (one artist limited themselves to creating in a triangle) or doing animals, portraits, or plants.  Many, like myself were amateurs who were looking to form a habit, hone some skills, learn something new, or simply to be inspired.  Which, is not so simple. 

As the postings over the last couple of days attest, several of us participating will have a hard time saying goodbye. 

I'm overjoyed to have kept up and completed the challenge.  I'm equally overjoyed to be seeking ways to keep a daily practice going.  In addition to following the prompts from the 2018 Inktober I will also be trying a pencil challenge.  Pencilvember is on the way. 

Happy November.


  

One, Two Buckle My Shoe

To the minute, well, to today's prompt "Coat".  The results haven't been exactly as they appeared in my head but I am pleased to have gotten the core idea down on paper. The groups still are what the groups are, mostly good with some other thrown in.  I do have a list of supplies to buy and am cataloging techniques to try. 

I'm remembering when I was a kid and someone other than myself or my mother took a fancy to what I was putting on paper artistically.  Weird to feel like that these many years later.  Weirder still to not have my number one fan cheering me on.   

Cheers to memories. Cheers to inspiration.  Cheers to finishing up Inktober and moving onto the next challenge. 

Life, Art, and the Pursuit

Day 12 Dragon 

Day 13 Ash 

Day 14 Overgrown 

Day 15 Legend 

Day 16 Wild 

Day 17 Ornament 

Day 18 Misfit

Even with the hard evidence I am finding it hard to fathom that 16, 17, and now 18 days in I have sketched and shared. Some of the sketches appeal to more more than others but I count the fact of allof them as a victory.

In the sharing of the images on varied social media with the identifying hashtag I've become part of a community. Mostly the community is inspiring and encouraging. However, some of the posts are mean and demoralizing.  I am choosing to focus on the better, more positive and uplifting bits. 

All things considered I am having fun. I feel like the practice is becoming a habit in a good way. 

Yes, we're still several days away from the thirty-first. No, haven't committed in my mind about what comes after. But for the moment I am pleased not to be one of the overwrought, overwhelmed, depleted of inspiration crowd in the #inktober community. 

For the moment, I am pleased with the fine feelings over my efforts, results, and with continuing. 

 

Onward

Snow

Pattern

Swing

Frail

Enchanted

Husky

Inktober marches on. From top to bottom, day eleven to day six.  Day 12 is complete and uploaded to other social media but not available through my mobile device to post here. Odd. Oh well, next cycle.

What I am discovering along the way:

Some of the prompts are not as open to a literal interpretation (for me, anyway). Yet, design or metaphorical approaches have proven challenging as well. 

My technical skills are not (yet) to the level of my imagination.

I need new pens. I need different colored inks. I could do with some colored paper.

I have begun to look forward to executing the next prompt.

Inktober marches on.

  

1,2,3,4,5, and SIX

Day 5 Build 

Day 4 Freeze 

Also day 4 Freeze*

Day 3 Bait 

Day 2 Mindless 

So, the past few days have been stellar with regard to completing the Inktober prompts. I don't know why day 6 isn't available for upload, but when I figure a way to share here, I shall. 

The coming (Birthday) week may prove a tad more challenging. I shall try not to exert any extra pressure but I do also want to keep pace. 

A day at a time. 

I remain eternally grateful that I do not have to do the three hour (round trip) a day commute. 

#inktober  #inktober2019 

*I did two for Freeze because I didn't like the first one but rather than reject/trash it I did another and shared them both.