Oy Vay

Give that girl a hand!

A Cookie Label

My friend, Shizuka, is always bringing treats to work. I pasted the cookie label on the page and copied the lettering.

From a Field Trip to Genesee Country Village

I was not being very patient sketching these little objects. And, I'm not such a fan of antiques. New note to self: draw things you LIKE!

If you like it, put a bird on it.

From a wine label I liked. Bully Hill Winery, here in western NY has nice wines with artsy labels.

Trying out negative space

I'm not sure why, but I'm having a mental resistance to inking and painting letters. I'm pushing through it, but it's bugging me.
I was focusing on the negative space and shadows on this page, but the only thing I like is my cotton stitching thread showing through in the gutter!
My inner Brat is doing a lot of yakking, and I'm covering my ears and saying: lalalalalalala.

Field guide and a Song

Oh my! Unfinished Selfie

Who can that be? I don't recognize her...

If you give a chimp a cherry...

Have you ever read the children's book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Joffe Numeroff?  Well, it's adorable (along with her others, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, among the faves) and it reminds me of what happens when you take a Mary Ann Moss class.
First, you watch her video and you have to go to the store to buy some strawberries to draw.

  

While you're there you notice the cherries, and raspberries, and some cute Italian cookies, and cream puffs, which would also be great to draw. So, you buy them,  and as you're walking to the car, you see the liquor store, and you think !! Strawberry-cherry-berry daiquiri!! That would also be a wonderful thing to draw, right?
So, you go into the store and you get the rum and you happen to see some really artistic wine labels, so you buy a few bottles of wine, too. For drawing purposes. Naturally. On the ride home, you feel hungry, so you eat all the cookies, and a cream puff. (Note to self: wear clothes that match your food.)

When you get home and put the wine in the fridge, you notice some root beer in there. So, you go to your neighbor and 'borrow' a big scoop of vanilla ice cream so you can make a root beer float. While you're at your neighbor's, she says,  "I have something for you! It's a box of fresh picked strawberries."
I love art.

Strawberry daiquiri: after

Strawberry Daiquiri - Before

Contour drawing: Little flowers in Lincoln Park Woods

 Any idea what these are? I'm clueless.

Contour drawing: when you don't know what the heck to draw.

Yeah, so, feet and hands are always handy things to have around when your assignment is to do a contour drawing. PS: My toenails aren't really hot pink. Right this moment.

I Woke Up!

Mostly because I'm taking an online class with Mary Ann Moss, about keeping a sketchbook, so I wanted to share what I'm doing with the other students. We bloggers are sharers, doncha know.
So, here are some watercolor messing-around pages, and some of my journal/sketchbooks.

Anyhow, I'm not being at all serious about this art stuff, just playing with the materials, and letting the process be much more important than the product. Sometimes it's a mess, and that's fine.

I'm going into hibernation

Planning, implementing and assessing the new curtains

A new tradition

I've decided to make homemade pizza every New Year's eve. It will be a new tradition! Here are the before and after pictures.
The toppings were sun-dried tomatoes and black olives. With minimal cheese.

Happy Holidays

No, I didn't make this gorgeous gingerbread house. Ahem. It's from Pinterest. That's where I'm getting my holiday cheer this year. Next year will be better; how can it be otherwise?

A walk in the dog park

This is Joe. 

This is Will, with Cookie nudging behind to get going.

This is my sister, Elizabeth, in the black hat.

This is me on the ice of Otter Lake, just doing what all the Minnesotans do.

What my sister and I did today

We volunteered at Feed My Starving Children for a few hours. We packed food for the Philippines, and had a great time doing it.  

It was a nice warm day (16 degrees)!!

There's an orientation before you start working.

The food goes directly to permanent workers in the various countries, who distribute it where the needs are the greatest.

My friends in Bohol, Philippines, are doing relief work in the places where today's packages will be shipped.

Elizabeth, my sister, takes a selfie.

There were 77 volunteers there, and we packed a lot of food bags. It was fun, and it lifted my spirit. I was working so fast my hand are a BLUR! 

I'm going there