DUH!

Drawing day eighty-four

Drawing day eighty-five

Drawing day eighty-six

Drawing day eighty-seven

Do you ever have those moments when you get an idea that is suddenly so obviously right that you just have to say to yourself: "Well, DUH!"?

I had one of those moments on Thursday evening. Part of assessment for Painting class is to hand in "personal vision" pieces, stuff we're working on outside of the class assignments. Most of my work this year, in class and out, seems to be leaning heavily toward incorporating text in varying ways. I have the current assignment (which is "Mechanical Reproduction") in hand, and needed something else to work on in Friday's class. Here is where the "duh" comes in: I was thinking about the direction I'm heading in, the text material evolving, my creative writing, my love of books (I adore the aroma of a brand new, just opened book), my past job history in libraries and a bookshop, and the penny dropped. An artist's book! Of course! Duh!

So I went looking for the blank books I acquired some time ago, and there is the perfect thing: a slim volume bound in dark brown buckram with a kind of antique finish. Lovely! Not too many pages, so achievable (I hope!) for assessment at the end of semester. A4 size, so not too huge. I have filled something like three pages of closely written ideas in my visual diary, and more are popping up at regular intervals. I'm going to put an illustration (in various forms and media) on the right hand pages, and a letter or word (with or without embellishment) on the left hand pages, and it will make a story or poem of some sort, yet without properly being either. I'm going to use words I particularly like, those that feel good in the mouth or spoken, like "rambunctious" and "syzygy".

This idea just feels RIGHT :)

Quick, look! There's a cat!

Drawing day eighty-three

Busy, busy, busy. (deploying diversionary tactic 1) Ooh, look at that cat!

Pye does love a box

Huh?

Back to school

Drawing day eighty

Drawing day eighty-one

Drawing day eighty-two

Classes began again today and I was ready to go back - I missed the place, the people, the projects. Today was Studio Materials, in which we are currently learning Photoshop, which is fascinating. Confusing, but fascinating. I think it's just that there is so MUCH to remember, but the things possible with the program are awesome, and will be very useful in generating future art pieces.

We also had Drawing, and this term (except for one week) we have a model for two hours of each three hour class, so back to life drawing. I am rusty! We did so many short drawings I lost count - 30 second, 1 minute, 2 minute, 5 minute, 15 minute. We did two where the model moved a quarter turn ever two minutes, just drawing over the existing drawings so it looked almost like movement. Next week we'll do a longer pose - I felt like I was just warming up when we finished. Good class, but exhausting - I'm shattered!

Day seventy-nine

Drawing day seventy-nine

Oh

Drawing day seventy-eight

Wild weather

Drawing day seventy-seven

It's been a wild day. Went out for lunch (yum, crispy fried combination egg noodles) with a friend and as we were about to leave the wind flared up and the power went out. Outside there was debris swirling madly about, and branches down all along our route. The driveway to her
workplace was blocked by a large fallen tree. There are several large pine branches fallen from the trees on my front lawn, and I had to tie my tree dahlias to the fence. Well, temporarily: I was forced out into the maelstrom to untie a couple of the heftier and more leaning trunks because they were threatening to bring the fence down. The remaining stalks are very battered.

There have been major dust storms, bridges are closed. The wind was so extreme the police actually recommended that non-essential personel in the centre of the city go home - I've NEVER heard that before.

The hermit emerges

Drawing day seventy-six

I'm not sure quite why exactly, but as soon as school break rolls around I seem to turn into a hermit, reluctant to leave the house. Over the last ten days or so I have been out of the house a total of five times, and one of those times was only a pizza run! I resent the time away from my pencils and pens; it's different during term time, because I'm away from the house doing art stuff at school and I like that :)

However, I have scheduled three social lunches over the next three days, so I'm emerging from
Hermitville. Gives me a chance to show off some art to those as yet unexposed - help, I'm turning into an art bore!