A Sketchbook filled with Little Somethings

Do you ever have the experience of a project (or many of them) that seem to come up and distract you from your habit or intention of art-making?

That has been the last month for me. Rather than give up because of a lack of time and focus, I've shaken things up. My interim way of working has been to do at least three blind contour drawings (5 minutes each) daily to the extent possible.

I now have one full sketchbook with 100 blind contour drawings and I've just started a second. What I like most about doing them is the freedom to be imperfect. For example, the eyes may be outside the face shape, or the face is too thin or too squat. Even as these kinds of things happen, my interest is whether the sketch captures an essence of the source image. When looking at the sketches, I make notes about what I like and dislike. Yes, there are those I don't like. That said, knowing and being able to describe both my likes and dislikes is good information.

Doing blind contours over the last month has also provided me with the opportunity to audition different pen types of varying nib sizes, change my grip of the pens, and to work with my non-dominant hand on some.

Meet selections from 'The Class of Sketchbook 5'.

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Visiting The Hague and Amsterdam (Netherlands), and Paris!

Since late March, I've been planning an international solo trip that included meeting up with friends. The planning is what makes a trip an adventure, and it was definitely fabulous -- now that it is in the rearview mirror -- so to speak. During my two weeks abroad, the sights visited included the: Mauritshuis, a lovely art museum (The Hague, Netherlands) Binnenhof (The Hague, Netherlands) Delft (Netherlands) Kasteel de Haar, a castle (Haarzuilens, Netherlands) Museum Speelklok (Utrecht, Netherlands) Walking Tour of Amsterdam (Netherlands) Rijksmuseum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Van Gogh Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Dutch Resistance Museum (Amsterdam, Netherlands) De Oude and Nieuwe Kerks aka old and new churches (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Anne Frank House (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Sainte Chapelle/Conciergerie (Paris, France) Giverny - Monet's residence at one time (outside Paris) Versailles (outside Paris) Musee d'Orsay/VR Event titled 1874 Impressionists First Exhibition...

New Project in Progress

I'm working on a new project with multiple layers and shapes of different colored organzas. It is an interpretation of lighting on an ice rink...from a show I recently saw. There is a lot more stitching to do, but I like how its coming along. I'm learning organzas are not easy to work with especially when you layer them and have overlaid edges. The fabric also tends to ravel easily. This post also linked to http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com .

Fabric Basket - Pretty Easy

This basket was made in Jane Hall's half-day course at IQF 2014. The greatest amount of time involved in making it--was cutting and sewing the strips together. Otherwise, it went together easily and quickly (3 hours). These baskets are a great holiday gifting idea that you can match to family and friends' home decoration color schemes. They're fun and useful besides.

Cay Denise

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