Back On Task

It's happened more than once in my creative pursuits. First: brainstorm a new big project. Second: plan all the details and get in an excited pitch. Third: get a great start. Then: hit a brick wall and everything stops. Then I set there, like the morning after a night of heavy drinking (so I've been told) and ask myself - what just happened? Why can't I move?

Project: a family memory journal for my mom (dad is deceased). My three siblings will help. I bound the journal from scratch. I made it through about half of the illustrating of our childhood. When I'm done I'll rotate it to my siblings and they can write in details and memories of childhood through our day of marriage. But I came to a stop. Dead in the water! Don't know why. I sabotaged myself. It's been on the "To Do" list for a few months now. BUT I'M BACK ON IT NOW!

What I want to know is how does this happen?! It makes now sense. I love my mom and I WANT my mom to have this. My siblings are all on board and my sister will even help with some illustrations. My mom's not getting younger. I know she'll love it. So how does such a project come to a halt? This is illogical! I've run into this in my other hobbies, too. I've heard woodcarvers complain of it. Wilma's quilting projects can get this way, too. If anyone can explain it please do!

More Winter

Well, Punxsutawney Phil performed his annual duties to predict the seasonal weather trend, and he saw his shadow, which equates to six more weeks of winter (at a rather low probability of validity, by the way). Seeing his cute publicity shots got me on-line to learn more. I found one head-on shot that was particularly cute. Every hair on his (or her) body seemed to radially emanate from his nose. Had to try my hand at sketching that!

I also found that this day of celebration goes back decades, and in the early years we would feast on these cute rodents. That begs the question - recipe for groundhog? I found a couple on-line. In today's world we derive some finicky eating rules that had no credibility in a day when you lived more in tune with your environment. You needed calories and protein to go with the carbs, etc. You looked at the world around you for mammals that could fill that need. Wala! Groundhog.

Then I just happened to talk with a friend yesterday who was raised in the eastern states and he grew up on the meat that they could get from their farmland.  Groundhog was on the menu often. He says thumbs up. Good meat. It was one of many mammals and fowl that his family relied on to survive.

We have groundhog in Kansas, and we call them woodchucks. I've only seen two in the wild, so I wouldn't kill one to try the recipe. However, if I had a connection to back east and could get one, the recipe sounds good to me.

That Time Again

Time to carve a pumpkin. The kids aren't here anymore but I have the urge to carve one, anyway. I had quite a few years when the kids were teenagers when I didn't carve. Enough of that abstinence! Can't blame it on the kids anymore, either. It's just me.There's still a bit of pyromaniac in me, too, to enjoy just sitting and watching the candle burn. It's soothing. Then, to sketch it while I quietly watch it is just frosting on the cake!

I once taught pumpkin carving when we lived in Great Bend, at the Recreation Commission. Kids loved it! When we moved to Topeka, I offered to teach it at the Recreation Commission here. They turned me down, because they didn't see any reason to offer it. I don't get them not getting it.


So now it's just me, carving for me. And that's good enough.

Broken Borders

Wish I could say my absence was because I was abducted by a space alien and I was just returned home after months of human experiments. But nothing so grandeur. I just fell out of the habit due to a splash of activity and never got back in the saddle. There is probably a deep seated psychological explanation, but I'm not smart enough to figure that out. I do know that even though I wasn't sketching, I was viewing the world in terms of what would make a good sketch. I'm addicted. So here I am again.

Border's Book Store is going under. That's old news to anyone not living under a rock. As a family we like to shop book stores. Each of us may have a favorite but we like them all. In most towns in Kansas we don't have multiple choices in each city of the BIG book stores. Take out a BIG store and it changes things like family traditions. When we visit Lawrence, we usually hit Border's. Guess now we won't. We'll still have our independent book stores, but things will be different.

Command Central

We're in the thick of it now. Canning jam. It's not every year we can a lot of jam. Just don't go through it as much as an empty nest. However, our son does raid the jam/jelly stock when he's back home on visits. I like having a reason to can, and having a bumper crop of blackberries is one such reason. The next blog post will tell of another reason. I just like the sights and sounds of the kitchen when it's in production. The stove is Command Central. All the counter tops in arms reach are strategically stocked to feed the canner and to take its output. Then the random sound of popping lids as they cool. It's a flashback to childhood years by Mom's side watching. It's an event.

Christmas Cards

Time to send out the Christmas Cards. The younger generation doesn't seem to be too interested in the tradition, but I won't let loose. We include a family newsletter that I try not to get too braggy or annoying. Digital pictures are easy to add. Then I use my calligraphy tools to add a personal touch on the addresses. It keeps my hand in shape, and is a satisfying project . . . a simple pleasure of the season.

Old School Baling

When I was out running errands I caught my second cousin Vernie out baling with his son. What struck me is this is the type of baling rig I earned spending money on when I was growing up. Mostly fond memories, some not. Smooth thump-thumping of tractor, diesel exhaust smell (not bad, it grows on you) clanking and banging of the baler, dust, swaying stance on wagon. Then, if it's alfalfa, a sweet smell (and HEAVY bales). Most baling today is the large round bales. More mechanical - less human labor. I chatted with them. They still cut the square bales because horse owners like them. They can feed them out easier. And horse people pay well. They're used to spending mass hordes of money . . . they own a horse. I asked to snap a picture and went on my way. Decided to try a WC paper sketch rather than my usual Moleskine sketch journal, w/pencil, Pitt pen, WC pencils and color pencils.

Dad's PBJ Sandwich

Decided to take a night off my homework for Kate's Watercolor Pencil class and do a regular journal entry here. This started as a challenge in another journal group I'm in (LoveThisJournal) but I wanted to share it with my bloodline, some of whom follow my blog. I was a teenager before I learned that everyone doesn't eat this sandwich. I thought it was a standard. Then I was perplexed that most people, when learning what's in the sandwich, actually found it disgusting. Go figure!

Photography, Part 3

Well, this is the last of the photography journal trilogy. This is my little haven to make contact sheets and enlargements. Nothing fancy, yet it seems like magic what you can do. I only recently learned how to do all this, so maybe that's why I take nothing for granted and it all seems so wild. And I feel a kinship with all those that practiced this trade for decades before me. I know it sounds hokey. But I know Ansel Adams dealt with the same process, and legions of photojournalists and other artists. I'll never be in their league but I'll appreciate their work more. And the medical community better not find that these chemicals are carcinogenic.

Photography, Part 2

I made it out a few times to shoot some B&W film, and it's time to develop the negatives. This is the set-up I have. Since working with film is quickly disappearing with the advent of the digital age, this is a dying hobby. Should stay here for die-hards, though. I'm not really a die-hard, but I do like to dabble in it. I want to document the process in my journal so that in later years, when such things are long gone, I can look these pages over and have a flashback. Wish I could also capture the smells of the chemicals. It's an enjoyable process. I'm also working with my niece, who just finished a semester of photography in high school. She loves it all, both behind the camera and in the darkroom. I'm looking forward to sharing the hobby with her.

Shop Cup

I was viewing Winna's blog (http://winnasworld.blogspot.com) January 3 post "Sentimental Supply Cups" and it reminded me of this mug I have in my shop. Serves the same duty. Has more meaning than just a vessel. When it came time to draw it, I found out there's more stuff packed in here than I knew was there. Even took out some stuff just to make it sketchable. It was in my Dad's shop for many years and I wish I could say there was a long and mystical story behind it, but I can't. It's just a cup. But when we were going through Dad's stuff to divide or sell or pitch, this cup called out to me. It needed to have a spot in my shop, and so it does.

Old School Photography (Part 1)

We've had our digital camera for a year now, and I love it. But I'm reading the Owner's Manual for the third time now (it's an SLR) to understand it. In the pre-digital days I loved B&W film in my old SLR. Still needed color using the automatic modes for family duties, but for fun I'd play with B&W. I recently realized I missed it, so I dusted off my gear (literally), mixed up new chemicals and am back in the saddle for a little ride. I realize I love BOTH cameras. Yesterday I went to a neighboring town to walk around and shoot. Set the SLR on manual and used it's light metering only. Felt odd setting aperature and shutter speed for each shot after considering what results I wanted for each photo. Clumsy but it comes back. I'm the one in charge, not the camera's computer that's trying to second guess me. I think I'll give up my digital camera . . . . naa.

Fav Ornament

Just a quick sketch of my oldest and favorite Christmas tree ornament. It's been put on a tree since I got it when I was about 4 years old. That's 48 consecutive years. Just can't seam to retire it.

Bottle Caps - Old Style

I haven't 'popped a cap' for a long time. Just bought a 6-pack that had the old caps. Can't get too cerebral about bottle caps. But they're neat! Never noticed before how nicely they're shaped ... and contrasting. The smooth crown with the jagged skirt. The light shade of color on crown and sharp shadows of the skirt. And they pull off the bottle top so smoothly. It's a better way. It beats the harsh feel of the omnipresent twist-top. But society won't be returning any time soon. So I'll just sketch'm.

A Project w/Dad

End of season landscaping. The wife and I are helping Mom get some yard stuff done before winter. We put in this edged area for plantings, and a place for the old lighthouse.

I love working in my simple shop in our garage. Wood, mostly. It's what I learned from my Dad, who learned it from his Dad. Had a chance to restore one of Dad's projects lately, this old lighthouse.

Old Soldier

Here's an OLD bridge just south of us. I crossed it in my childhood on my school bus route daily. I've spent many years away from here after college, but I've been back in the old neighborhood for the last 12 years. These old scenes still bring back memories. So I decided this old bridge needs to be sketched. As with the last two entries, I did it all on-site. I enjoy the time spent really looking at something closely, live. Getting the perspective close proved fickle on this one, so it took a while. What's with the bugs in Kansas when you sit still in their environment? The drawing was done sitting in the shade in the brush (brought a small chair . . luxury!). I did the writing while sitting on the bridge rail, watching the muddy water flow by. The concrete railings are well weathered and pitted so it wasn't the most comfortable sit. Four cars drove my while I was drawing. Two I didn't look at, and they didn't change speed. One approached from in front, with a mother and teenage daughter, and both smiled at me as I smiled back. The fourth approached from behind, slowed way down, then stopped when beside me. I thought they wanted to talk, so I looked up, smiled, and said Hi. It was a grumpy Grandpa driving with a Grandma. He sneered at me, paused, then slowly pulled away. Don't know what that was about. I wrapped it up, loaded the bike and pedaled back home. A nice was to spend time. (First sketch journal is FINISHED! My travel journal has several entries, but this is my first journal to finish. A milestone.)

Changing of the Guard

Kansas has been a hotbed for energy topics this year, both wind power and being shut down trying to build our next large coal-fired power plant. In our western half we have a few large wind farms. This week I drove from Topeka to Denver for a utility workshop. On my way home I stopped by the wind farm near Ellsworth to sketch. I wasn't going to make it back to the office in time to do work, so I took my afternoon break to sketch. Couldn't believe I found this composition of an old windmill next to a new one. The field has Winter wheat planted and just starting to poke through the topsoil. I did the whole journal entry while sitting at the field's edge in the shade. The loaded semi-trailer was sketched from a photo I found on Internet. I had it with me, because I was going to make a journal entry about wind power, anyway. When I was driving and saw the turbines, it all clicked that I needed to journal NOW.

Market Time

Market's are fun to stroll through. This market is one I remember from childhood and it's still kicking. The family business is one of the big ones in the Topeka area. They must be doing something right. Fertile Kansas River bottom land doesn't hurt, either. Never know what you'll find in the Market. Had to buy some peanut brittle when I bought the peaches.

Tribute To The Ford 8N Tractor

I love this tractor! My family owned one when I was growing up and my brother has one now that I can use. It's not a perfect workhorse but it's lovable.

The picture was transferred to the journal with a neat product called Sheer Heaven, and can be found on the Art Papers section of Jessica Wesolek's website http://cre8it.com. This is not a paid endorsement, but it's a neat product. Print the picture onto this product at your computer and, with rubbing alcohol, you can transfer it to your journal.

I used a grid to show what I consider the unique or memorable attributes of the tractor. Too bad I can't capture the gas fumes of a flooded out engine, the really really slow cranking speed of the starter motor, the long grinding time before the engine fires, or the wobbly front wheels as you flash down the road at 15 or 20 m.p.h.

Childhood Home

In another group I'm in the idea came up to draw a floor plan of some home in your past. I thought of this home from my early years. It was demolished this year to make room for some health care facilities to be built soon. I plan on doing a couple more sketches of the other two homes in my youth. This was a good chance to talk with my Mom and siblings about memories.