My life recently has been showing up mostly in my sketchbooks. We went to Kansas to bury my Father, and I sketched on the trip. I also sketched the very small town we lived in for a few years when I was young, from a few photos my brother took. (below)
I have been trying to sketch more, and to fuss less with the outcome. In fact, I have not been using a pencil or eraser, but have been jumping right in with ink or paint, as I did on the spread above at the cabin. I've also been doing as much from life, not relying on photos. The end sketch is not great art, but I really believe it captures how I feel about whatever I'm sketching much more honestly, than it would if I were sketching from a photo and being concerned about making it 'look good.'
Yesterday we went out to the County Fair. Every year, for a long time, I'd said I wanted to go sketch the animals at the fair, but, with parent concerns, etc. it just never happened, so I was determined to go this year, in spite of the heat. I only took a small sketchbook, a black pen, and 2 charcoal pencils; a black and a terracotta one. I sketched the 3 goats and the pig onsite, but added the girls with their animals when I got back home, with colored pencils. I am not very experienced at sketching in public, so wanted to not draw a lot of attention to what I was doing, and sketched the animals very quickly and simply.
In addition to sketching quite a bit, I finished and cut off the large tapestry on the loom. It is resting on the dining room table, waiting for me to complete the finishing process. I have also warped a small loom to weave a tapestry postcard to be mailed to another tapestry artist when it is complete.
I am trying to find my way back into the world of creating, after long years of primarily being in the caregiver role, and, in many ways, I feel like I'm starting at the very beginning once again.
