iodide progenitor error

 Chinese proverb says, 

"Do not grasp the brush before the spirit

 and the thoughts are concentrated."

Somebody went to a lot of Squirrel Trouble here!

Today was my Stitch group, followed by a lunch of short rib tacos to die for.  I am trying to finish up the handles on the green silk Indian bag- the one I knit from the yarn I unraveled from the weird coat I made last year.  I only have half of one handle to finish but true to form I have set it aside to ferment a bit before threading that damn needle again.  It's really getting HARD!  Even with a needle threader.

Last night I finished the rayon sweater-  you know the one, it was an ill-fitting pattern I followed last year, but got sick when I remembered how much the yarn cost. I unraveled that too and then took off and winged a made-up pattern.  I would measure a blouse I like and then knit to those measurements, And finally I have something that fits perfectly and I love the colors.  Of course in April in Florida one doesn't NEED a sweater, even a short sleeved sweater, but I have one now!  

I was asked to help teach a drawing class to a friend but she didn't show up today for the lesson, think she is scared of me and what I will make her do, but I'm gonna hunt her down and make her draw whether she is too scared or not.  I can't fail, I have Betty Edwards on my side.  If I can catch you I can teach you to draw!   Stay tuned.  I cornered her husband earlier tonight and we both think perhaps she skipped town.  I have that effect on folks.So, if she doesn't jump on my bandwagon I will start pushing YOU on how to draw!   

Yeah, that's the ticket!   

Lesson #1 Observations

How about you get out a ballpoint pen and a piece of typing paper.  I like to start with ballpoint because of the way it flows AND you aren't tempted to erase and worry your lines. Now go to your refrigerator and pull out a couple of vegetables.  Find a table surface with a smooth top and good light, sit up straight and and make yourself comfortable.  Now we are going to do a contour drawing of that vegetable.  A contour drawing is a drawing of the EDGES.  I hope you picked something interesting like big pepper-  that's what I have here-  Now, you are going to pretend you are watching a tiny ant walk along the edges of your vegetable.  Start where you want and follow that ant with your eyes and your pen along the pepper's edge as SLOWLY as you can.  The trick here is to pay more attention to the ant (the EDGE) of the pepper as you go along, in other words you are going to STUDY the shape of the edge.  Look at the paper maybe 20% of your time, look at the ant maybe 80%.  Keep working slowly and methodically until the ant had ended up back where he started, more or less.You can go back in and add details if you wish, but you must follow the ant still as he walks over the bumps and lumps and walks up the stem and over the leaf.

Remember it's not detail we are after, only edges.  Pay attention to wherever the edge is against the background and draw that line.

Tip:  Remember, the information is in the pepper, not on your paper (!) so use that arty secret to get your observations.

Homework:  take off whatever shoe you are wearing and do another contour drawing of that but this time don't look at the paper AT ALL!  Seriously, watch that ant with your eyes, don't even glance at the drawing, just keep transferring the information your eyes see directly to your hand with the pen.  This is developing your hand/eye coordination and the COOL THING is looking at the drawing when you're finished.  It will be quite wonderful in it's observationally correct proportions.  Maybe not what you expect but you are learning to see!  Now stick both these drawings into a folder and forget about them because you are going to use these techniques over and over in different ways.  They will simply be a touch stone of where you started!

So, in happier more creative times, look at this candy maker go to town!  

More candy?  One is never enough, is it?  Here ya go!

Australian artist Tanya Schultz creates immersive wonderlands using the sweetest materials: colorful sugar and candy. But along with the hundreds of pounds of sugar, the miniature worlds, which are reminiscent of mythological lands made from food, often incorporate as many ingredients as there are colors. Working under the pseudonym Pip & Pop, Schultz uses everything from glitter and pipe cleaners to beads and figurines to create her psychedelic installations, which have been exhibited all around the world.

My assignment for tomorrow is to get the cabinet guy back to stick the door on to the cabinet it fell off of.  I didn't do a thing, it just started flapping at me one day.  I tied to see what was happening on the hinge but even using a mirror I couldn't figure out how it disengaged from the door.  So I called the experts and they are appearing in the morning.  

Next assignment for tomorrow is to get myself entered into a couple of upcoming shows as well as a crit group show we are planning to celebrate 30 years together.  I promised I'd send a 'few' things that's I've done in that time frame...  but it's hard finding things that are representative and that I still own!     So, it's gonna be the Twins series front and center.   Maybe I'll post the whole series here tomorrow.