Cheers To the New Year

I know, I know. It's been a while.

I hope to post more in 2007. My goodness.

On Giving Thanks

When the boys have trouble falling asleep at night we suggest they go to bed, close their eyes, and start counting thanks. Think of all the things you are thankful for. The list would never end.

Framed

Click on the image to see it bigger, if you want to.

Moi

Since it rained all day today we stayed home and puttered around the house. Cookies and muffins were baked, house slippers were worn, and much football on TV was watched.

Last Sunday, however, we went out to the colorful spot on the globe I've named The Rusty Sun. I snapped loads of photos and then I sat down and painted a little sketch of my shadow. My shadow was surrounded my rusty red oak leaves.

It's a rough life.

Shooting Acorns

W. shooting acorns with his slingshot into the pond this afternoon.

I wish there was a way to bottle up days like this and then keep them handy for those other days when the air is stagnant and pungent.

Cold winds blowing straight through the soul and out again, like some kind of detox elixir.

Bright copper oak leaves. Gem-like deep burgundy sumak leaves. Cheery red sasafrass leaves.

Brillant blue sky.

Land. Hills, trails, draws, a pond, clearings, the creek, a little frog, a big rock with a frizzy sort of moss all over it.

Sunshine.

Feeling so good tired at the end of the day.

Portrait

Okay, so here is a drawing Z did about three years ago. He was 4, almost 5. It was December 2003. This was before Z started drawing everything in stick figures... back then he drew what he saw. As you can plainly see, this is a portrait of his mom and dad. We are in the living room. I'm in the chair cozied up in a green throw blanket and J's kicked back on the couch. We are watching the movie Seabiscuit on TV. I was knitting also, and if you look closely you can sort of see the knitting needles.
I don't know why Z stopped drawing like this. He would really get in the zone. This one took about 25 minutes or so.

I am showing this because I found it the other day when I was going through a box of old papers and letters. Finding it made my day.

waiting

waiting, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

Something didn't seem right. The light was not the same as before.

Both my headlights were burned out.
I'd been driving around with my fog lights on...

Funny how that is both a literal and allegorical description for the last couple of weeks of my life.

The Storyteller

My younger son is a storyteller. He's a narrator of real and imaginary events and any combination of the two. He is also an illustrator. When he was four he drew an amazing portrait of me and his dad by following the classic method of simply drawing what he saw. I'm going to see if I can find that one and show it to you.

Nowadays my son draws more symbolically and has gone to drawing stick figures in order to quickly create a visual scene for the story he wrote.

If you want to see this drawing a little bigger, click HERE.

Pappa's sketchbook 1964

Pappa's sketchbook 1964, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

With some math problems!
He's a civil engineer.

phone call

phone call, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

September 1.

clearing my mind

avoiding, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

chill

chill, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

[GARGANTUAN]
a page of notes I doodled during a presentation by an invited lunch guest speaker at work

just wondering

collage red, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

church notes

...partial page in my moleskine with notes that I took while in church back in March...

Midsommar

Summertime

city hall

city hall, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

After work one day last week I stopped by city hall for the City Planning meeting and , along with about 15 other neighbors, opposed the rezoning proposal of an adjacent field from Residential to Commercial.

After some discussion the motion to rezone was voted upon and without a majority Yes votes, the motion failed. Yay!

splasher

There are few things that top great childhood summer memories. For my boys, those memories will include splashing around in the backyard pool under the big cedar tree.



"Hey, Mom, watch this one! Watch! This is a new one, a never before attempted trick turn splash!"
[click images for actual size]

swirly sanctuary

Santa Fe, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

at the batting cages

sketchbook, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

the palace

one of three, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

Santa Fe's plaza is the home of the Palace of the Governors.

This is a hasty sketch of part of the famous palace, where native american craftspeople have been setting up their wares for sale since the 1930's (?)

Next time I go on vacation I'm making much more time for drawing and painting.

Reality

A few weeks ago (time flies) I went on a 5 day vacation with my friend Kaye. We went to New Mexico and spent time in Santa Fe and Taos, mostly.

The trip was a much needed break form real life and was supposed to be a groovy trip into a sort of surreality. It was surreal, as anyone who has been to New Mexico can attest (they don't call it the Land of Enchantment for nothing) but graciously, the trip also reminded me of the sweet reality that we sometimes get way wound up over stuff that doesn't matter. Everyone we encountered were the most laid back, easy-going, take it easy kind of people I'd ever met. Chilled out. Smiling. Relaxed.

Spending just five days without TV or internet and spending lots of time outside in the sun and wind and high altitude inspired me inside and out. Walking around old pueblos during the day and then beholding the worlds most amazing sunsets each evening is reality. I didn't get to sketch as much as I'd hoped, though I took lots of pictures (627!) I can't wait to go back. I'll sketch and paint more next time.

On the last day in Santa Fe, we had a few hours in the morning to kick around before we had to drive to Albuquerque to catch our flight back home. I found a spot in front of the San Miguel Mission and sketched the front of it.


The San Miguel Mission is said to be the oldest church in America.

"overheard"

Drawing at the coffee shop

The day I drew this, during a long lunch at a café down the road from where I work, I ran into one person I hadn't seen in years, chatted with two random co-workers while standing in line waiting to place my order, and I noticed a local celebrity who was sitting at the other end of the café reading the newspaper having a cup of tea.

hat and coat on hook

hat and coat on hook, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

While we waitied for our order, I sketched this coat hanging on a hook in a local family restaurant. It was the first time I had ever pulled out my sketchbook in a restaurant. I was in a nother world while I was sketching, and I'm not sure if that was a good thing. I was cool. But what was everyone else thinking?

Not Blogging

park bench, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

When I was hanging out at the park with my two boys I sketched these two women sitting on a park bench on the other side of the pond from where I was. They were chatting, I was drawing, no one was blogging.

Elsewhere

One of my collages has been featured on the IKEA fan blog, Positive Fanatics. Groovy.

not a video game

After a long Spring Break week of dreary weather and mostly staying at home (filled with a lot of cartoon network and video games, and not as much shooting hoops, bike riding, or outside play as everyone would have liked,) we all welcomed the brief fair and sunny days this past weekend.

Sometime in the middle of Sunday afternoon the boys' bikes were loaded onto the bike rack attached to the truck and we all headed over to the bike-track and skate-pit park where they could ride a while. The place was packed. Turns out there are dirt bike races every Sunday afternoon and kids and adults come from all over the state to race. We found a spot to sit on the knoll between the bike-track and the skate-pit and watched the kids in action. I tried to draw some of the skateboarders - not so easy since they don't exactly want to stay still and pose...

The boys rode their bikes around the park some while we hung out and watched. Everyone agreed it was way more fun than anything on a TV or a computer screen ever could be.

old rusty

old rusty, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

The sun was low in the west one evening last weekend and instead of holing up inside the house after dinner and all that I brought the sketchbook and watercolors out the the backyard patio table. Old rusty was parked right there in the grass, smilin, "Draw me! Draw me!" My boys had been pushing each other around in the yard in it earlier, laughing and making all kinds of noise. Raaawwwwwrrr!

Soon old rusty (and squeaky) will help move compost and bags of home improvement store garden soil to the garden spots.

FEET

IF FEET, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.
This one can be seen full size.

Handy Tracker

This is my Handy Tracker for making some sense of myself during the month. This is handy not just for me, but if my hubby would check it out as well, it might clue him in as to why I'm especially sweet, or "unusually" withdrawn.

(click here to see it bigger)

Disclaimer: There is at least one small error in wording... I didn't notice it until after it was scanned and uploaded. It's "pre-menstrual," not "pre-menopausal..." although, really- the symptoms are quite similar.

And while this chart is based on information found all over the internet, I am not a medical professional and claim no expertise, other than saying that the general "flow" of this chart has generally been acurate in my case.

Oh, and one more thing: Yes, I designed this one, and yes, you may use it for personal use if you wish - Free! If you decide to publish it (on the internet or elsewhere) please just note where you found it, thanks!

Here's how it works:
There's a line for each month... just begin at the top with the next time you "start," by writing in the month and the date you begin under the "0" and then just list the dates across from there.
You'll run out of room but that's okay, because you'll just begin at the beginning again under "0" when the next cycle starts.
Ovulation normally occurs around 7 or 10 days after the last day of the period - this is an estimate, but it's safe to say that it happens around mid-cycle.
You should be able to take it from there,

the land of enchantment

New Mexico landscapes, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

This is a page from a sketchbook I brought on our 2004 car-trip vacation to Durango, Colorado. While riding in the car looking out at the amazing New Mexico landscape I sketched a few of the scenes. Talk about 'gesture' drawing. I can't wait to return.

Sunday News, more or less crafty in nature.

Today feels like a good Sunday. The rain fell all night and this morning the sun has been shining on the wet spring green grass and dark umber garden dirt. The wet concrete patio feels cold under my bare feet when I stand on it facing the warm sun to the south. Our black scruffy little dog has been yipping at the squirrels and birds playing up along the skinny leafless branches of the elm and sassafrass trees by the back fence.

While I drank cup of earl grey green tea (it's okay, not my favorite flavor... earl grey is better with black tea) I read the Sunday paper headlines, eventually finding the weekly ad for Hobby Lobby. This week crochet hooks are on sale for 1/2 price, which is good. I only have two and that just won't be enough if I'm to try to knit the cute little bear (by Camilla) in my new book The Happy Hooker.

I confess: I have forgotten how to follow crochet patterns. I used to know how... in college... Now I'll have to re-learn. My son has already seen the pictures and he is in love. "Mom, please, can you 'sew' one tonight?" Gees.
Maybe this will help...

It's out of an old issue of Martha Stewart Baby (Winter 2000) and the pointed hat seems to have the same idea as the pointy faces of the bears. We'll see...

The weekly ad also shows that modeling clay is on sale this week. Maybe I'll restock my trashed-out-by-clay-monsters supply and make something funny.

(trashed out by clay monsters supply of modeling clay)

Now, all this writing and photo upoading has made me want to go back outside to the grass, birds and sunlight and so I'm off. I think I'll bring my sketchbook with me. And go barefoot. Going barefoot is so underrated.

recently

This is a drawing that started out as a headless body with lots of arms and just two legs. A few days later the egg-shaped thing appeared under the legs, and then the lines connecting the hands sort of happened. Then the drawing just rested for several days between the pages in the sketchbook.
Lately, I've not sketched much, not even during office meetings... Even though I bring my sketchbook with me to work, thinking I may steal a moment to draw, it just ends up staying in my bag underneath my desk all day until it's time to go home again.
The other day I brought the sketchbook with me to the boys' soccer games and tried to draw while watching them play from the sidelines.

When I do take the time to draw the drawing doesn't seem to get finished. Like this one. It's been building over time.

So, then one day I drew the head on this many-armed body and also added the journaling above it. And then the rest just fell into place.



recently, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

IF Tea

Oh, the cozy of a Friday evening with nowhere to be and nothing to do except to have a cup of tea while watching the speed skaters race.

Inked the tea bag during my Friday lunch break. Color added later in the evening at home.

By the way - this is the tea that came as part of a goodie package from the wonderful Maria in Sweden. Tack Maria! Jag blev så glad av allt som du skickade :)

Purpose

When we write and draw, we have the unique first in line opportunity of seeing, reading - learning - that which we are trying to express. There may be desire to understand a drawing when there is not a clear purpose or title.

Why is there a large black round spot in the middle of the figure's body? What kind of hat is the figure wearing - is it a helmet?

Is he (or she) angry, or stoic, or bored? What does it mean?

Hunger?
Hate?
Sadness?
Promise?
Opportunity?

Nothing?

coffee all day

coffee all day, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

IF Song

When I think of song, what came to mind is a simple song I remember from my childhood. The lyrics go something like this:

Vem kan segla förutan vind
Vem kan ro utan åror
Vem kan skiljas från vännen sin
Utan att fälla tårar

Jag kan segla förutan vind
Jag kan ro utan åror
Men ej skiljas från vännen min
Utan att fälla tårar

Translated into English, it goes sort of like this,

Who can sail without winds
Who can row without oars
Who can part from a friend
Without shedding a tear

I can sail without winds
I can row without oars
But I can't part from my friend
Without shedding a tear

I do not know who wrote this melancholy song.

Update Feb 23: Check it out! My Dad just emailed me this link. You can hear a sample of this song, as sung by Nina Lizell and Lee Hazelwood (cica 1970) - It is number 11 in the sample song list....

IF - Chair

The chair is a happy model for the artist. The chair won't move or change positions. The chair accomodates the artist. The chair poses patiently.
One evening last July the western sky was the color of a peach. The lawn grass was greener than a crayon. The temperature of the air was a backyard perfect 75 degrees Farenheit. Together they cooked up a dish called Gorgeous Summer Evening with Kick Back and Relax, garnished with little Sketch A While.

This one... ah, yes. The TV - it was on one of the Kerry - Bush debates last October. W sat in the IKEA recliner and looked at an I Spy book, and I was on the couch with my sketchbook. Our scruffy cute dog found her way into these sketches too!

And here is one of our old green metal patio chairs. They were uncomfortable until I bought the perfect seat pads for them on sale at Target. They look good now, those green metal chairs, with these new red-orange striped seat pads, and they are a lot more comfrortable to sit in.

Pull up a chair. Have a seat. What's on your mind?

Weaving

Right now the hobby table is cleaned off. There are several odd sized boxes in the hallway. The boxes are filled with things like cheap plastic tumblers - bright blue, orange and pink tumblers - an electric juicer, a plastic mandoline, some old candle sticks and tea light cups, and lots of art supplies. It's that time of year. Time to clear out the clutter. The only thing on the "art room" floor now is the hobby table, the bookshelves, and two guitars.

The woven paper collage above was done back in December. Collage making relaxes my mind so it often wanders off somewhere make-believe, somewhere silly, or playful, or adventurous. I never know what will end up on the page before I start. It's purely creative - spontaneous. That is what my art is, I think. Spontaneous.
Maybe the spontaneity of my creations is what makes it is a healthy challenge for me to do more "assigned" art. Concept art. Art with intent. Disciplined art. Maybe.

mome rath

mome rath, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

Right now this one is in a pretty good mood. The tea is only lukewarm, however, and some other thing is yawning loudly behind him.

learning to play

learning to play, originally uploaded by Tifty's Art.

oo de lally
oo de lally
golly what a day

Patterns

Having a tendency to doodle during office meetings it only makes sense to bring an actual sketchbook with me instead of a lined notebook. It tooka awhile for this to happen because there is a little courage involved... maybe the same kind of courage it takes to sketch in public.

Amazingly, the sketchbook hasn't created any stir at all. And that's nice.

In this sketch I noticed a lot of patterns, and maybe that's the left side of the brain having some fun. The cool thing about office doodles (drawings) is they have no pre-determined concept and the entire time the pen is moving across the page there is the opportunity for anything to emerge.