Rule for 2016, 1

It looks like 2016 is a year of huge changes in my corner of the world, so in order to keep my balance I have a new rule: Finish. This is a tough rule for a polymath like me, but I did start off the year right by finishing my......Ha! if you thought I was going to say the Pomegranate Tree, you would be wrong. True, it's a priority and I'm stitching everyday, but, man, those French knots are killing me. It's a love/hate relationship.







No, the first big finish of 2016 was my small (6"x4"), more-or-less-daily, out-and-about, purse journal with 160 pages (or 320 drawable pages). A gift from my brother, it sat on a shelf for 30 years until Sketchbook Skool came along and changed my drawing habits. 

The paper is too thin to take water media so I started using it for a 75-day ink-sketching challenge (mostly ballpoint pen). As the challenge was
to not use color, I decided to use a different color of pen every day. I think it would've killed me to use black ink everyday. 

I did have a thought about using a bit of fabric on each page as a sort of frame, however, that didn't last long. Inauspicious beginnings.


It developed into a diary entry, a list, a sketch for each page along with a quote. Which led me to the Paul Klee quote:"Drawing is taking a line for a walk".

I could see myself taking a line for a walk like one would take a dog for a walk on a leash.

Then my teaching life crashed into my journal...

And, no, I didn't quit, but, I should have. Things went downhill from there.









Colleagues appeared as well.

Boxes

Although art has had a place in my life since I was a kid, possibly, just possibly, it became serious with boxes. I managed to find a few brief moments to paint legos when I had little people hanging around. The year was 1988.

Caught up in pattern and color, and well before I ever heard of zentangles, I decorated a number of small boxes to display in my home. Soap boxes or boxes containing medicine or toothpaste tubes, small boxes. I pulled them apart to lie flat, covered them in Canson paper and painted them with watercolors and a Rotring pen. Then I glued them back together.

And that was back in 1990 and 1991. Recently, I ran across them sitting forgotten in the bottom of a drawer, turning yellowish and looking worn.

I remembered the hours of work they required and the pleasure they gave me. I decided to recycle them into my sketchbooks and give them a second life. 

So I took them apart and glued them into my sketchbook.

And then I added some. Freedom within structure.

The wild, organic lines have been with me for a l-o-n-g time.

Dazzle Me! 2016

The New Year's mantra or inspirational word fad makes me chuckle. Being of a practical nature, I have had the same motto for many years and it will serve again this year. One less thing to worry about while I concentrate on several major pieces. 

My motto also reflects my unwavering philosophy of art. I want to be dazzled by art, my own and others. Let's face it, life has its bumps. Art takes us above the daily ho-hum, the trials and tribulations. 

Whatever 2016 may bring, I know I'll dazzle myself because of my art practice. The New Year is beginning right as I approach the end of the Pomegranate Tree Quilt, which has been four years in the making. 

The quilting (both hand and machine) is more or less finished and I am now adding French knots and more running stitch quilting for depth.

My tree dazzles me!

And may you be dazzled in the New Year!

Merry, Merry, 2015

My 8-year-old granddaughter appreciates elves. She has a collection of six or seven. Having grown up in the 60s, my favorite is Uncle Si who is a hippy elf. He has a ponytail and consequently got into my sketchbook last summer.

He's a sort of grouchy/merry fellow--> 

My sketching buddy has a wonderful collection of tree ornaments. Yesterday, I picked one and sketched it, experimenting with the Derwent Inktense pencils on fabric for my textile sketchbook.

<--Before activating with water.

                          After water-->

Magic! Just love those intense colors, which are now permanent.

There is obviously a learning curve here. More experimenting ahead. The major problem is the bleeding of the ink. I don't mind it, but I'd like to figure out how to control it. 

I'm told that this is a Christmas fairy (not to be confused with Santa), which is obvious by the wings.

I added details, outlining, and lettering with permanent pens. Now you may say, "Nadia, why not just do this on paper?" Hmmm, well, yes. I'm still in the experimental stage and having so much fun.

And so, wishing all my virtual friends a 

Happy Holiday Season!

Flat Stanley in Paris

Flat Stanley loved visiting Paris last week. He traveled comfortably.


The Eiffel Tower was a high point of the trip.



Stanley saw the classic tourist sites such as Notre-Dame and the Seine.


Le Penseur (the Thinker) by Rodin was another favorite. Stanley waxes philosophical when it comes to thoughts on thinking.

An American tourist turned to us and said that she had taken Flat Stanley around for pictures as well--what a small world! She offered to take a group photo. Stanley is quite the international traveler...I wonder where he'll go next?

Blasting Off

While I am required to be in Paris (France, not Texas), I thought I would take a mini-vacation. Admittedly, it will be cold, but it is Paris...and it won't be freezing. I have dug out my woolens in readiness.










And I can leave my studio in good conscience because order now reigns and the machine quilting on the Pomegranate Tree Quilt is almost finished.





It is a relief to be traveling light (only carry-ons); No huge suitcases to lug around. This is a challenge that requires organization, of course. My tiny purse (8"x7"x2"--I'm used to huge bags) contains the necessary documents...







...plus my sketching supplies: a small Moleskine sketchbook plus a smallish maze book, a variety of permanent pens, my favorite ballpoint pens, two Pentel waterbrushes a couple of pencils, Daniel Smith watercolors, an eraser and pencil sharpener.



And, I couldn't leave without fabric projects and some reading material, which are stashed in my carry-on suitcase.

I've included some Derwent Inktense pencils to draw on five pages of my textile sketchbook (white cotton fabric stitched to paper page). The gray fabric with black appliqué fits into a small bag with two needles and two spools of thread with 10 strands of cut thread (who needs scissors anyway?).

OK, I don't think I've forgotten anything.

I'm ready to blast off!

Maze Books Amaze Me

Yes, maze books amaze me. They are easy to make from a sheet of paper and to finish so I always carry a tiny one (3 1/2" x 2 1/2") with me. As the weather turns cooler (ok, ok, "cooler" = 60°s and 70°s; be envious if you are living in cold climes...), this July/August maze book brings back pleasant summer memories.

The cover reminds me of all the airports I went through and also of where to open this magical book.

The first on-board drink... 


A wedding in Oregon meant a beautiful ceremony in Washington Park.





A tasty breakfast at the Sassy Onion Grill preceded sketching with a friend in the Hallie Ford Museum.









And then there was a lovely lunch with my sister on the San Francisco dwarf (ha, ha--great typo! wharf, of course!). We both sketched the "Hornblower" while waiting for the food to arrive.






At the end of the trip, my daughter brought me breakfast in bed.

Unfolded, the maze book (also called a "meander book") reveals its simple construction.

It contains about 30 pages, of which I sketched fifteen double layouts. So magical!

If you should want to make a maze/meander book, just check youtube for instructions...and have fun!