Roz Wound Up

Changing It Up: When Your Drawings Aren't Working—Part II

Above: Scruffy pencil dog from imagination. Two colors of Prismacolor on a laid-texture paper in an Exacompta sketchbook (approx. 6 x 8 inches). Click on the image to view an enlargement.

(Part I of this series appeared on Monday, August 29, 2011.)

One of the results you should expect when you start to change things up is that you'll end up going down some interesting side paths. Gearing up for "Paws on Grand" I found that I became so entranced with the laid texture of one of my practice papers that I started doodling more and more drawings.

But this side path, while enjoyable, wasn't getting me to faster sketches. Was it a waste of time to draw on a paper I wasn't going to be using?

Left: Detail of the scruffy dog's face. I'm enjoying myself way too much with those sharp pointy pencils on this laid texture. That's too much detail for the time I'll have on the day. But it's interesting to see what comes out. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

No, because it was focusing me on the texture possible with the pencils I thought I would be using. Also it was forcing me to work smaller with those pencils.

And it was encouraging me to play—which is what I needed.

I took an additional side journey off to Wet Paint where I purchased some Arches Text Laid. Usually I get the Text Wove (Velin Arches), but I thought, hey, I'm having so much fun with this other laid paper…maybe…but that's a discussion for another day.

Side paths, they can be very fruitful. Explore some.

 

Roz Receives a Thank-You Button

Left: Front of a thank-you card I received from Eric for the Easter basket I gave him. Click on the image to view an enlargement. Artwork ©2011 Eric E.

Blog readers in April may remember How a Pantheist Packs an Easter Basket.

Well I had heard right away that Eric loved the basket of stuff, but last week I received this wonderful thank you card. The front of the card is the first image in this post.

In the second image, which is the interior of the card, we can see that Eric used one of the buttons in the set I gave him to make a button for ME!

Look closely at how Eric makes his "z." He isn't writing "s" because we can see in the interior of the card (second image) how he writes "s" in his note. I love seeing how children learn letters and spelling. You actually get to see the brain forming. This is a very, very verbal child (he talks beyond a junior high level and some of his questions could be Ph.D thesis topics!).

Left: The interior of the card, including the button. Notice the rounded shape of the letter "s" each time it's used. Click on the image to view an enlargement. Artwork ©2011 Eric E.

Now look closely at the two sketches he made of me. Let's ignore the wonderful way he draws arms and fingers. It makes a person look like a bird (of which of course I would approve). Look closer.

Eric drew my braids! How marvelous is that!

You can bet I'm going to be wearing this button!

Minnesota State Fair Round Up

Above: a sketch from my 2004 Minnesota State Fair Journal: two cows sketched with a black Pentel Color Brush (the ink of which is watersoluble and so blends with the paint) and gouache, on Fabriano Artistico cold press 140 lb watercolor paper. Click on the image to view an enlargement. Follow the link to see other sketches from this journal on my website.

Today's post is actually a new page—"Minnesota State Fair Round Up" can be found in the PAGES list in the left-hand column of this blog. Click on the title and a page will appear that gives you links to all the posts I wrote for the 2009 Minnesota State Fair.

There are articles on dressing for the Fair, eating at the Fair, sketching at the Fair. So many tips and suggestions you can't read them all in one day! But if you are getting ready to sketch out in public, either people or animals you'll find lots of helpful information in this compendium. (Posts also include additional Fair sketches from me and friends.)

Weaving Baskets: Waxed Irish Linen Thread

Above: one of my twined baskets "Pod 2007" for which I used 7-ply waxed Irish Linen Thread. The basket is 12 x 8 inches wide. There are also small brown wooden beads in the in the twining. Basket ©2007 Roz Stendahl, photo ©2007 Tom Nelson. Click on the image to view an enlargement.

Not everyone knows I make baskets. Today I was browsing in Wet Paint (I found a cool book I'll tell you about just as soon as I read it) and up walks a former student, Sue, and we have the best chat about what she's doing, and I get some tips on elder care strategies (though Dick's family isn't as big as Sue's so some of it won't translate but it is always great to hear how other people cope).

Sue told me she started making baskets while she was south for the winter and we started talking about twining (which is what I usually do—my baskets are all made from threads, fibers, wire, trash, and paper, but nothing like reeds because I'm allergic to all that stuff!). I told her I always found a great selection of color and plys at Royalwood, Ltd.

Then I got to thinking that if Sue didn't know about Royalwood, maybe other folks didn't either, so I just thought I would mention it. The great thing about having the thicker threads (7- and 12-ply) is that you can work up a bigger basket pretty quickly. So the next time you want to do some twining you'll know where you can find those thicker threads.