Pencil Shavings

Freedom of Speech Only Applies...

..... if you are not being a dick.  But the second you come onto my blog and insult my kids your comment gets deleted.  Period.

If you are spamming my comments you get deleted.  If you are, in general, not being a good online citizen, you will be deleted.

If you have something to say that is polite and respectful, and I don't agree with it, it stays.  But if you cross the line with me...

The delete button is wonderful thing, and I use it with great joy when required.  

The picture is of a wild turket making a break for it when it was discovered by me and my camera.... for some reason it seemed appropriate today when I scanned through my comment section of the blog.

You look Bovine

Having lots of fun with the cow print I'm making in silkscreen class.  I'm on my third layer and I have 3 more to go... 

It's still a struggle to print for me, I'm not sure I'll ever be great at it, but this is the first class I've taken since I came back to school that I have had fun in with every image that I made.

These cows are a great example of that... they are just fun and I've loved playing around to make them what I want them to be.

Even though I'm making fun images I'm still anxious for this term to be over.  I have some really fun plans for my art time once school lets out.  But, Shhhh, it's a secret.

Hey! We Made It!

The dragon that you guys like so much made it into the Friday Five! WhooT!

 

 

Day Off Art

 

 

Last friday I had a single day off (this being a mom is not all hanging out on the couch eating bonbons I tell you!)

I woke up in the middle of the night worrying about something, so I started this drawing and finished it up during the day on Friday.

I have to say it's probably my most sucessful Copic Marker drawing so far, and it's big (like 9x12 big)

The best part of it though was when my daughter asked me how I achieved some of the shading and blending and I got an opportuinty to show her and she tried it out on a bunch of her own drawings.

I wish I'd had time to experiment some more with my markers, but free time is hard to come by these days - midterm time is here and there are only six more weeks of school  (just writing that gives me heart palpitations) after that I should have more art creation time that won't involve grades.

Bringing in the Duster and Broom

I haven't been in here for so long that the place is pretty dusty!

I haven't had a lot of time for writing, mostly I've been working at school - and the time I've spent on line has been on Facebook and Google+ (my new darling of social networking).

But I miss the longer format of writing my online diary, and sharing with folks who have been so kind and supportive of me over the years.  I feel bad about not stopping in for coffee more often.

There is some news on the horizon, in the spring (if I can save enough money from art sales and not spend it all on new supplies) I'm going to be getting a new webiste with an integrated blog through the insanely talented Alison Meeks at AM Graphix.  She has shown mw some of her work and the way we are thinking about the new site is completely in tune.  I'm really excited.

Meanwhile I'll try to get back to business as usual here.

I'll put a fresh pot of coffee on and dust off a chair for you if you want to join me. 

Just Breathe

My online artist friend Jan Tanton has started something new this year.  The Five Daily Gratitudes Challenge.  The idea is simple, make a concious effort to think of the everyday stuff that you are grateful for.

As I sit here listening to the soft (occasionally clanky) rotation of the clothes dryer I realize just how many everyday things we take for granted that make us a bit happier, or make our lives a bit easier.

I do believe that the more we recognise the good things in our lives the happier we become.  

Today I was grateful for purple pens. I know it's a fivolous thing to be grateful for, but in all honestly just writing with purple pen makes me feel just a little happier.  And every time we do something that makes us just a little happier, well, isn't that a good thing?

I also found out, after posting my five gratitudes today that a lot of my friends love purple pens too.  How would I have known that if I hadn't "said" it publicly?

Something else that I have noticed is that when I sit and think about the things I am grateful for first thing in the morning, my day starts off on a positive note.  This is also a really nice side benefit.

If you want to follow my five gratitudes you can do so on twitter, you can also follow me on Google Plus where I am posting them daily, as well on Google Plus I post a lot of little doodles and strange/funny things that happen to me during the day.

I would love to see you there.

Doodle Du Jour: Ink and Wash kitty

I picked up a tiny watercolour sketchbook the other day, and then I painted my sleepy kitty.

Doodle Du Jour: From January 6, 2012

It's fun to draw with my kids.  Because nothing is wrong and you can try anything!

 

What Do You Wish For?

Today at the Science Centre there was a wishing tree.

 

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What do you wish for?

Not Just Your Average Bunny

A little character sketch I worked on during a break from studying