Found Words Poetry

I tried my hand at creating poetry using found words for the writing class in Misty's workshop. I don't claim to be a poet, by any means, but this was so much fun! There will be more! :)

Reaching Out

I had a few words left over from the above poem, so I used them to create the short poem below. I was raised not to be wasteful. ;)

Black & White

The one below was created using found words in a different way. You may have to click on the pictures to be able to read the poems.

Self Discovery 

These poems will more than likely find their way in to one of my journals.

Being Mindful While a Candle Burns

This is an exercise from Misty Mawn's pre-workshop in being mindful of whatever you're doing, really paying attention to and being present with one thing at a time. Living in the present moment and absorbing the essence of whatever you're doing at the time or whoever you're with.

I spent a few minutes with a burning candle, lit for my dad, absorbing the experience into my soul, and wrote about it. I feel more alive because of it. Here's what I wrote.

BEING MINDFUL

By: Sharon P. Pope

            Sitting here at my work table, actually my dining room table, with my creative supplies and my cup of coffee gathered around me, I decide to light one of the three new votive candles sitting on the shelves for Daddy, who was taken from us seven years ago right before Thanksgiving.

            I take the little candle and set it directly on the table, feeling the cool waxy smoothness as my fingers curl around it, then release it to stand on its own. I love the rosy coral color and the faint smell, although I’ve forgotten the name of the scent.

I pick up an old matchbook lying nearby, flip the cover open with my thumbnail, tear out a red-headed match, and tuck the cover back into place, noticing the scratchiness as I do so. After multiple attempts to light the match on the strip provided, I give up and toss the now smudged red-headed match into the trash can. It lands with a barely discernible click atop a crumpled up sheet of paper.

            The matchbook cover is flicked open again, with a clicking of my thumbnail. A second red-headed match is torn out, and the cover replaced. This time I succeed with only a couple of strikes, and the match bursts into an angry flame, then quickly settles back down to calmness, the smoke curling toward my nose in a tendril of bluish smoke, bringing the slight smell of sulphur with it.

The flame wavers as the match rides between my fingers to touch noses with the whiteness of the candle wick. For a second they blaze up as one, before I remove the match and gently blow out the fire, watching another wisp of smoke dissipate as the flame is snuffed out.

             I toss the bent, now black-headed, burned out match into the trash can to join the one whose flame never got to burn. Another flick and the cover is back in place. As I lay the matchbook down, I notice the dark blue background with the diamond shaped logo on both sides, done in shades of yellows and blues. The word, diamond, in white lower case lettering is ensconced across the logo. I suppose the match tips are supposed to be as hard as diamonds?

My attention returns to the candle, whose flame has now settled down into a mesmerizing point of light, slowly undulating this way and that. The tiny flame is so beautiful, yet so dangerous. Its capabilities are frightening.

            The sounds of cars passing on the highway, my husband’s gentle snoring, as he sleeps on the couch, the ticking of the grandfather clock that daddy made for us, the rattle of the fan, the fridge’s humming, and the ringing in my ears, which is akin to a heard of crickets, all fade into the background as I focus on the candle.

Melted wax is now dribbling down the wick, melting out a well in the candle top, which was once slightly rounded. The wick is turning black as the fire feeds from it, causing the wax to melt and fill the well, which is getting deeper by the second. The hot wax releases a lovely tropical scent into the air. It delights my sense of smell.

            My breathing is calm.

Yellow-oranges and purply-blues meet and form soft shades of gray where the flame and wick join. It continues to hypnotize. The rosy coral candle is no longer one color. It is now several shades around the top where the heat has gently transformed it. The sides are now translucent, allowing a soft warm glow to emanate from within.

            It is gorgeous, and somehow comforting, as I feel the sadness of no longer having my dad around wash over me. My life has not, nor will it ever be, the same without him. I always knew that it would be hard to give him up when the time came, but I couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain of loss and vulnerability that comes with losing a parent. Slowly, I’ve learned to live without him physically being here, but I always feel his presence in my heart, and I am grateful for that.

I turn the page in the journal where I am hand writing these words. It slips from my fingers, twice, landing on the candle, angering the flame, causing it to squat and reach out to grab the edge of the paper. My journal narrowly misses becoming a blaze itself.

            Next time I will set the candle down in a proper container.

My page is secured and safe and my thoughts return to Daddy. Now I’m remembering all the happy times with him, the wonderful toys he made me when I was little, how he understood me, maybe more than anyone else, and that I always knew that he loved me and was proud of me, even if he couldn’t say it. I am grateful that he cared enough to teach me morals, values, and respect for myself and others. I am grateful that God gave me the parents I have, and grateful to still have Mama.

             I watch as the well of melted wax overflows and spills over the side, creating a deep groove as it glides down and forms a puddle on the table. As the wax hits the chilliness of the table top, it hardens, connecting the candle to the table.

There is now a second well forming inside the first well inside the candle walls. The wick has burned down into the candle until it isn’t getting much oxygen. It is now very small and docile, but still struggling to survive, and still dangerous.

             I lean over and with one puff blow out the tiny flame still grasping for life. The candle no longer has the warm glow with the dancing light. It is now dark and still. Its spirit, in the form of a blue-gray trail of smoke, dissipates and scatters, as it rises toward the ceiling, or heaven.

I feel the chill on my bare arms on this cool morning, as I think about how our lives are similar to the candle flames. Our flame burns brightly, as we struggle through life with all its twists and turns, learning and growing, leaping, dancing, stumbling. It dims some as we get older, then it is snuffed out, many times without warning, leaving those who loved us bewildered, trying to make sense of it all.

            Some people would say that the candle is no longer beautiful, or even pretty. It’s true that it has been transformed by the fire, and is no longer shaped perfectly with a snow white wick protruding from the smooth slightly domed top.

The tiny wick is now charred black and almost covered with re-set wax down in the double wells. It not only no longer stands on top looking down, but it cannot see over the edge, now ragged, translucent, and faded. There is a deep groove down one side and a solid puddle of wax around the bottom. It has dents and dings. 

            Now it is flawed, full of character, and has an even deeper beauty.

It has lived. It has held onto fire and has been re-shaped and molded. It has brought me a sense of peace, tranquility, and beauty for the few brief moments it burned.

            It has survived. Changed. But still beautiful in its imperfection.

I AM HERE

Misty Mawn's Open Studio Workshop doesn't officially open until January 9, but she gave us a few preliminary things to do to get acquainted. One was to write a poem, of sorts, titled "I Am Here". This is my effort. The lines are not in any particular order, but in the order they came to me.

I'm a little nervous about sharing it, because some of it I've never shared with anyone, plus the fact that I'm not a poet. But for some reason, I want to share it. I hope you can make sense out of it. :)

I AM HERE

By SP Pope

I AM HERE

Still
By some miracle
By the grace of God

Despite childhood illnesses and accidents
Despite polio’s paralyzing attack
Despite being an only child
Despite the mistakes of my youth
Despite close calls with divorce
Despite being childless
Despite the pain of an adoption falling through
Despite suffering many losses
Despite being paralyzed by grief, trauma, and fear sometimes
Despite menopause
Despite many disappointments, heartbreaks, and heartaches
Despite life lessons learned the hard way
Despite bouts of anger and depression with suicidal thoughts
Despite not getting to spread my wings beyond my home town
Despite the guilt that my parents had no grandchildren
Despite a job I was unhappy doing
Despite all of my weaknesses
Despite rejections
Despite loneliness at times
Despite being made fun of in school for walking with a limp and having a weak bladder
Despite feelings of being totally overwhelmed at times
Despite the adjustments of retirement and hubby and I learning to live together 24/7
Despite the aches and pains of aging
Despite waning eyesight and memory lapses
I am here

Because of loving and caring parents
Because I survived polio to walk, run, and dance
Because of amazing friends and family
Because of wonderful grandparents
Because of having loved and been loved
Because of rejection
Because of the encouragement of teachers
Because of bosses who believed in me
Because of three best friends, who, since childhood, have stood by me through thick, thin, and weirdness
Because of all the wonderful pets I’ve been privileged to have in my life, who loved me unconditionally
Because of all the happy times
Because of a mother who loved me enough to encourage, and sometimes push, me to live life
Because of my strengths
Because of being an only child
Because of my imaginary friends
Because there are many sides to me
Because of accepting God as my personal savior long ago
Because of my husband of almost forty-two years
Because of the love of learning
Because I enjoy solitude
Because of my passion for art, writing, music, and reading
Because of finally finding peace within
Because I’m learning to live in the present
Because of life’s lessons learned through the people and experiences I’ve crossed paths with
I am here

Today I am loving retirement
Today I am enjoying my husband, despite the occasional disagreement
Today I am battling type 2 diabetes
Today I am ecstatic with my creative endeavors
Today I am still learning new things daily
Today I feel vibrant and alive
Today I don't have to be busy every second
Today I love my own company
Today I have gray in my hair and I am overweight
Today my body is all soft and mushy, the way grandchildren would have loved it
Today I am more concerned with inner beauty than makeup and fashion
Today I let things go that “should be” done, in order to enjoy the things and people I love
Today I am still making mistakes and learning from them
Today I am living one minute at a time
Today I still grieve and feel overwhelmed sometimes
Today I still live in the small town where I was born
Today I love and am loved
Today I still have my mom and my husband
Today I am still an only child, but with many “adopted” siblings in the form of friends and cousins
Today I still have a home and I am able to live in it
Today I can still take care of myself
Today I still have my old friends, and I continue to make new ones
Today I’m having adventures and looking for the everyday miracles and magic
Today I am on my computer discovering all the wonderful things that the web has to offer
Today I am older, wiser... and a little more forgetful
Today I am content on my little patch of earth
Today I am learning how better to cope with life and all its ups and downs, now that its winding down, but
I am here

I am who I am
I AM HERE
Still
By some miracle
By the mercy and grace of God
And I am grateful

Ghost Story & Image

I posted a little ghost story with pictures on Scribbles if you'd like to read it.

I can't get my copy and paste on blogger to work anymore or I would have posted it here too. Sorry! :)

Lexie-Future American Idol?

Lexie is waiting in line to audition for American Idol. She dyed her hair raspberry in hopes of getting noticed by the producers. It is in sharp contrast to her very blue eyes. It worked. Now she has to sing for the judges and she's awfully nervous. What if Simon doesn't like her? She looks like a rock star. The question now is, can she sing? Will she knock their socks off or come out in tears? We'll see.

Another doodle sketch in watercolor done in my Handbook sketchbook in wc/ink/pencils. I like Lexie a lot. She seems like a great kid. :)

Hope she made you smile. :)

Lollie-Piratress

I wanted you to meet Lollie. She was born and raised on a pirate ship and can out-pirate most of the men aboard. She emerged from one of my doodle drawings with a patch over one eye and victory in the other. Lollie has been known to break hearts and heads, and once she even stole candy from a baby, and kidnapped a poodle. She is as deadly with her smile as she is with her sword, so BEWARE! Yo-Ho-Ho!

Lollie is painted in my Handbook sketchbook with wc and inktense pencils and water. This book doesn't work well with water, but I forget and add some anyway. I've filled both my large Moleskine books, and am now finishing up the Handbook and the MS pocket size WC book.

Hope Lollie made you smile. :)

Ahnya And Harry, The Purple Bunny

Ahnya fell off the turnip truck...literally. She hitched a ride in the back of a loaded turnip truck and was sitting on the tailgate with her legs dangling off the edge. The driver hit a pothole going at a pretty frisky speed, and Ahnya hit the ground. The truck was out of sight before she knew what had happened and she was in a strange city. She's very confused and scared, but she's tough. She can take care of herself and looks at it as an adventure. What to do next is the question.

(WC/pencils in Handbook sketchbook-doodle sketches)



A Bunny Tale...Everyone laughed at Harry because he was purple. Even his mama pushed him out of the nest. All the other babies were brown. She had no clue as to how Harry came out purple, but it wasn't right somehow.

That's how Harry came to be a house pet. He was literally found under a cabbage leaf by the gardener and given to his daughter to raise on a bottle. Harry grew into a large mohair looking purple bunny, with a fluffy white tail. A delight to be around. He learned to use a litter box and could eat without making a mess. He had the run of the house and slept on the bed with his friend. He was very content and happy with his life.

But then, the local newspaper did a story with pictures about Harry, which got picked up on YouTube, making him a HUGE celebrity with movie offers, etc. After all, nobody had ever seen a purple bunny before.

And that is why Harry has his back turned. He's shunning the paparazzi.

(WC/pencils, stamp, doodle sketch in Handbook sketchbook)

Just wanted to say hello and let you all know that I'm still here. Still adjusting to hubby's retirement and not having as much time to play on the puter and create. I'm trying to work things around to where I can still do "my thing" though. I'm way behind on visiting your blogs and I miss that, but hopefully I'll get to visit soon and say hello. :)

Hope Ahnya and Harry made you smile. :)

IMT Challenge-Ghost

Two small fiery lights glared at her from the deserted Rabbit Hop Cafe. At least she thought it was deserted. It had been abandoned years ago when all the patrons were scared off by the large cats that took over the grounds.

The fading words spelling out the name on the painted top were barely visible in the pouring rain as she looked out the window.

A ghostly apparition appeared from the right as multiple orbs of light danced around the old Cafe in the dark cloudiness of the day. Nobody in the house believed her as she described what she was seeing.

The image of a coyote sat howling up toward the eerie lights. Shivers ran down her spine as the lights looked directly back at her, then bounced down and across the yard.

She was glad to be safely inside the house. It was real. The proof was in the pictures.

After all, pictures don't lie...or do they? *

Photo (no photoshop) and story by SP Pope

CED Journey For The Week, IMT, & Artygirlz

Come go with me on this past week's creative journey as I share some of my goings on with you for the Creative Every Day, Inspire Me Thursday (Moon this week), and Artygirlz (Butterflies) challenges. I hope you enjoy the trip. :)

Note: I have learned a new doodle technique this week from Melissa Langer, who has a cute blog with her creations using this technique. So when I refer to the drawings as Judi doodles, they are the ones where I drew shapes with my eyes closed, not thinking about what I was drawing, then let the image emerge. When I refer to them as Melissa doodles I drew an image I had in my mind, only I drew with my eyes closed.


Fly Me To The Moon...And Back--Inspire Me Thursday
Monday--I played with my mp3 player and danced with Cher, and drew the above Judi doodle sketch in the Moly wc book. The words, Fly Me To The Moon...And Back!, were digitally added.


Tissue Carnation
Tuesday--I played on Facebook some, then set up the above still life of a tissue carnation in an old Vick's Salve glass jar and practiced drawing and shading for a change, using a regular old pencil. It wouldn't make really dark darks. I drew in my Moly sketchbook. I wrote a long group note to my regular email buddies and sent it, just to let them know I was still living. Then I painted yesterday's moon rabbit doodle with wc/pencils/white gouache and added digital words to it.



Little Blue Elephant
Wednesday--Played on Facebook some more, then drew and shaded the little elephant figurine above from both sides in the Moly sketchbook. The white gouache hi-lites didn't help anything. I also touched up the rabbit painting again.

Seashells

Kibbles Marie
Thursday--Played on Facebook again. Got out a couple of seashells. I bought a bowl of them at a yard sale for almost nothing. I have some that I've picked up myself, but these were different. Anyway, I drew them and shaded them from two different angles in my Handbook sketchbook. I added a pale pink wash to the top one just to see how it would look.

Then I decided to try a Melissa doodle, so I closed my eyes and pictured my Pekingese dog-baby, Kibbles Marie, and started drawing. She has been gone for over eleven years and I still miss her every day. I was surprised at how well I did. Color was added with wc/pencils. This was also in the Handbook sketchbook. I also listened to good music by several of my favorites and spent time with Jim and his dad.

The Handbook is ok for just drawing, but the pages are thin, so they buckle with even a light wash and sharpies show right through, so you can't use the backs of pages. I much prefer the Moleskine books.



Mardi Gras Butterfly-Artygirlz


Kibbles-Bored


Kibbles doing what she loved best.
Friday--More Facebook playing (it's new to me), but I also did two Melissa doodles of Kibbles and colored them with wc/pencils/snippet of white gouache and black sharpie words. Again in the Handbook sketchbook. They are meant to make you smile/laugh. Kibbles loved to play ball, but she was nowhere near that skinny. She actually had very long hair all over. I meant to post a photo of her, but forgot to get one out.

The butterfly above Kibbles is a Judi doodle sketch in the Moly pocket wc book and is colored with wc/pencils/white gouache/fluid acrylics, and a black sharpie. Then I took a creative nap. :)

Kibbles in a predicament


Purple cat gestures
Saturday--More Facebook playing and blog reading. I have to stay inspired you know. I also touched up two paintings and did a page of cat gesture drawing studies in the Moly sketchbook with a purple uniball pen. The words are digital.

On the other side of the spread is another Melissa doodle of Kibbles colored with wc/pencils. She looks like she's sliding backwards and can't stop, but I did have my eyes closed afterall. :) These are fun to do. Thanks Melissa for inspiring them.

I chatted with some friends on Facebook, then Jim and I ate minute steak sandwiches and popcorn while we watched two movies on TV together, 10,000 BC (not very good) and Shutter (good).

Tree Snow


Sammidog in motion always-Loving the snow
Sunday--I know a lot of you are sick of snow, but this is our first one this winter, aside from a little dusting way back. So I'm only sharing a couple of pictures out of the many that I made this morning. As you can see, Sammidog was having a blast.

So far today, taking pictures and uploading them and working on this post has been my creative endeavor for the day. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, I did a little writing for the One Minute Writer challenge and posted it on my other blog and spent time drinking coffee and chatting with a friend.

I made pictures of some other things besides the snow this morning, but I'll save those for another time. I've also spent quality time with Mama every day, and I've had some very creative colorful dreams this week. I wish I had written them down before they slipped away.

Anyway, I hope something on here made you smile and put a little bright spot in your day.



Have a wonderful, creative week. I plan to. :)

Playing and Rambling

This is another double page in my Moleskine sketchbook. It's a quirky sketch in watercolor, and the angel's wings are actually a water-based metallic copper, which looks cool in reality, but didn't show up so well in the photo. The words are original and digitally added. I am going to do some journaling around the words later.

Lately I'm doing a lot of experimenting and just PLAYing. I'm learning so much by doing that, besides having so much fun it's unreal. :)

I'm also working on the last assignment for a novel writing course that I should have finished months ago. It's the business part of the course and I hate that, so I've procrastinated. I have part of it done. Now I have to write a synopsis. I thought I would do that first thing this morning, but I got sidetracked. Another form of procrastination for me. :)

It's very cold today and supposed to be even colder tonight, like about 2 degrees. I noticed a cow acting like she was thinking about giving birth yesterday. I hope she waits until it warms up a little. I feel so sorry for outside animals in really cold or really hot weather.

They caught the prisoner. He was a white middle-aged male and was in prison for burglary. He escaped Friday night and got lost in the woods. They captured the woman who was waiting in the car before he got to her. They didn't catch him until Sunday night, so he was out all weekend in freezing, pouring down rain, with nothing to eat, huddling in out buildings. They transferred him to another prison. He didn't have long left to serve. A lot of times they escape so they can stay in prison. So far, nobody on the outside has been hurt when they escape, but there's always a chance that they will get cornered and hurt or kill somebody. Anyway, it ended well this time.

Have a blessed day!

Sammie-Dog Finds A Home

On the right of the blog (right under Loopy's photo), and here, is a picture of the newest member of our family. This one is the day he came to us starved. The one on the right is after he'd been here a few days. We are blessed that he found us.

Go here to read about him and see other pics: http://scribblesfromrabbithop.blogspot.com/

Waiting & My 2nd Blog Has Been Born

"Waiting" -quirky art journal sketch-pencil, black sharpie, wc pencils in sketchbook---Looks like they're getting impatient, doesn't it? :)

Drawing these images out from the doodles is still great fun to me. I look forward to getting up in the mornings to start doodling and sketching. It's become a habit that I hope I don't lose.

I did another brave thing, for me, yesterday (click on the Be Brave Project button at right-click for explanation). I've been thinking about a second blog for a while now, and yesterday I got up the nerve to give birth to one.

Moxie Blue will now contain my art related interests, photos of my creative experiments, etc., and the 2nd blog, Scribbles From Rabbit Hop, will hold my writing related interests, stories, personal experience pieces, things I've had published, etc.

I haven't been doing much writing on this blog except a little about my creative dabblings, but I've been wanting to. My other writing just didn't seem to really feel at home here. Now it has it's own home. I'm still getting things adjusted and set up, which may take a while, but I would love it if you would check it out sometime and leave a comment to say hello. Wish me luck with both my "blog babies." OK? :)

I've been trying for a while to get this post to publish correctly. The paragraphs are fine when I type and save them, but when I publish they all run together. I don't know what the problem is yet. Sorry!

Quirky Art Journal Sketches/Technique

I had some interest in how I do the quirky journal sketches, and I finally got time to post it. First, let me say that I learned the technique from Judi Russell, whose link I followed from Megan's post on links that she had discovered on Just Be Connected a few months ago.


Judi had a page teaching her technique on her website. She has recently taken it down, but she has a gallery of her paintings and journal entries (drawings and writings), which is very interesting. Some of her paintings derived from her art journal drawings. Visit here to check out her journal pages.


I don't have permission to write her version here, so I'll show you what I learned and took from her page. I appreciate so much her sharing the technique, because it has been so much fun for me, plus it's really helped me to loosen up and enjoy drawing. You don't have to worry about everything being "correct". Just go with it and have fun if you decide to try it.


Judi does three pages of stream of consciousness writing first to clear her mind and prepare her heart before she starts drawing the shapes, which would really be helpful, but I tend not to do that because of time. It would make it more meditative.


Okay, here goes: (my version)

Step 1:
Close your eyes, try not to think about what you're hand is doing, and with a pencil start drawing shapes, lines, etc. very lightly on your paper (dark enough to see, but not dark enough to be confusing). I've found that smooth paper, like sketchbook or journal paper, works best for me for these sketches. I tried them on watercolor and textured paper and the doodle lines were much harder to see, thus making it harder to pull an image out. All of my quirky sketches start out like the example above, just shapes jumbled together.

Step 2:
When you're finished open your eyes and look at your shapes until you see an image emerge that means something to you. Turn the page around if you need to. Sometimes an image will jump right out at you yelling, "Here I Am!" and sometimes they play hide and seek, taking a little longer to emerge.


When you find the image go over the lines and make them darker with your pencil. You can enhance the image by adding a face, feet, legs, whatever. If a line suggests something that you think it needs, draw it. I tend to leave as many original lines or shapes as I can, just like I find them.

Step 3:
Once you have the drawing like you want it, go over the lines with an ultra fine black sharpie. Write down any words, phrases, titles as they come to you while you work on it. These can be added to the sketch.

Step 4: "Magicians and Levitation" (colors are better in person)
Use watercolor pencils to color it in. Then take a DAMP brush and go over the colors to make them pop. You can use the sketch for ideas and you have a pattern to transfer to wc paper, canvas, etc. to do a finished painting if you want.


Step 5:
Write about what the image means to you or what message you get from it.

This is kind of a condensed version, but these are the steps.


Some of the images are more realistic, some of them are cartoon like, some are magical, fantasy, or whimsical, but they've all been a lot of fun. Kind of like Forest Gump's chocolates. You never know what you're going to find. :)

Sometimes I leave all the lines in so it looks like patchwork or stained glass kind of and sometimes I don't, which is why in the ones I've shared here and in previous posts you can see the pencil lines both in the image and background. Since they are journal sketches, and not finished paintings, I feel free to do that.


It's kind of like solving a puzzle and winding up with your own original coloring book. Plus it's gotten me into the habit of doing at least one drawing daily, thus exercising my imagination and drawing skills, and I'm much more relaxed with wc than I was. The added bonus is a ton of ideas for canvas paintings and short stories. :)


I hope you will try it at least once. If you do, let me know. I'd love to see what you come up with. I warn you though. It's kind of addictive once you get started. :)

Sunday Morning Clowns and Haiku

First, I want to thank all of you who have visited my blog so far. It’s still new and I’m still trying to find my way, so please be patient with me. OK? Thanks, also, for the comments left and emails sent. I appreciate so much your taking the time to read my efforts and tell me what you think. I hope you will continue to visit often. :)

Yesterday was a gorgeous fall day here, what I call a magic light day. The air was clear and the colors gloriously intensified under a cloudless bright blue sky. One of those “it’s great to be alive” days. We finally got some much needed rain for three or four days last week, and seemingly overnight it looked like a different world. Everything is green again instead of dead and parched. The ponds and streams are full again. We won’t have to sell our little herd of cows, which are more like pets, because we can’t feed and water them. It seems like a miracle and I’m so grateful. I was so happy when it was raining that I wanted to just get out in it and dance and twirl around, but I didn’t. Another opportunity not taken advantage of. I did get soaked coming back from checking on the cows on the 4-wheeler though. That was fun, but I still should have danced in it.

This photo was made while riding the 4-wheeler through the woods to the pond to check on the cows after the rain last week. It was early morning and everything felt so clean. The sun was filtering through the remaining fog and trees. It was kind of magical.

I wrote the haiku poem three years ago while daddy was taking antibiotic treatments in the hospital. It was a gray stormy day and I watched out the window as yellow leaves fell out of a huge tree nearby every time a gust of wind came. It reminded me of golden glitter as bunches of leaves fell loose and swirled to the pavement below. I put the poem and photo together for this month's mojoart challenge "Dreaming of Fall". The poem reads:

a quick gust of wind
golden leaves fall like glitter
shaken to the ground

" A quick gust" has been changed to "sudden gust" since entering it. Much better, I think.

I had to ask for an extension on my writing assignment because it was due yesterday and I’ve barely started it. It’s the second chapter for my novel, started several weeks ago. I got sidetracked, and just yesterday started working on it again. I first studied my text book requirements for this assignment, then I just dove in and started typing stream of consciousness, my favorite way to write. I was trying to make the transition from chapter one to chapter two, but I think chapter two has now turned into chapters two and three. I’m already way over my word limit and I'm not through, so I’ll have to go back and cut a lot out and do a lot of re-writing to pull it together and try to make it interesting. A challenge and a lot of work, but also enjoyable to me once I get focused.

My art doll pattern is still glaring at me (I shouldn’t have given her a face yet), because I still haven’t found suitable body material for her, and now she’s insisting on tiny wings for her ample body. We’re still debating that one. She’s going to be as difficult to please as Mollie Be Muse was (art doll previous post). :o

Art wise, I’ve been experimenting some. I read where someone uses a piece of watercolor paper under her stamping and painting projects, which invariably gets ink, paint, and stamp images all over it. When it gets enough on it, she cuts it up and uses it for backgrounds for atc’s, altered books, etc. So, of course, I’m having to try it. Some pretty interesting effects so far.

It reminds me of once when a friend was looking at my oil paintings and she really liked the one on the easel, which wasn’t a painting at all, but a canvas board which I put behind my stretched canvases while painting. Of course, it had all sorts of paint smudges where I had painted off the sides of several canvases, cleaned the paint out of my brushes, practiced brush strokes and paint mixtures, that sort of thing. When I looked at it through her eyes, it was pretty interesting looking though.

The other day I carved an atc sized piece of linoleum and made several trial prints in my sketchbook and other papers. It is of a Pierrot clown face with a harlequin motif background. I love the painted faces of Pierrot clowns, mimes, the Cirque de Soleil and Cats characters, etc. Not as crazy about regular clowns. Anyway, I drew it right out of my head directly onto the linoleum with a pencil (not always a good idea), and then went over the places I wanted to show with a black sharpie. The rest I carved out. Since I don’t do this on a regular basis, I forgot and carved a line between the eyebrow and the iris in her eye, which of course left a blank line when I printed her off. Thus, she looks kind of frightened unless I make an adjustment with a brush and ink.

To the right is a picture of a sketchbook page with a few trial prints, which are really plainer than the photo shows. The black one is done with printer’s ink brushed onto the design, then stamped onto the page, which doesn’t leave as sharp an image as it does when it’s rolled on and a barren used. The other three are dye ink pads stamped on. I’m not real happy with the way the design wound up, but I am going to make some real prints (probably altered) with it before I toss it…or not. Now that I look at her again, she does have a unique character about her. :)

Enough rambling for now. Ya’ll have a blessed week, and a creative one.

Sharon

Over The Slump

Well, I did kind of get over my creative slump finally. I wrote a three and a half page piece which has nothing at all to do with my writing assignment which is due in nine days and I've barely started (the second chapter of my novel). I just can't seem to get focused on it.

That's probably because I've been focused more on art the last few days. I have an art doll pattern cut out and the face drawn on (she's standing nearby glaring at me), but since she refused to be made out of the fabric I had in mind, I'm still looking for something to suit her.

I've also been re-working some artist trading cards that I wasn't happy with, plus I started a couple of new ones with my new face stamp. Love it! And I love my new alphabet stamps. I'll post some pics when I get the atc's finished.

This month's mojoart challenge is "Dreaming of Fall". I'm beginning to have an inkling of an idea for it. I have written a haiku poem, now I have to come up with a background collage for it. Only have a few more days though, so I'm going to have to work fast.

I read an article in the last Cloth, Paper, Scissors magazine about making paper beads that I just had to try. They were gorgeous and really easy to make...and addictive. I made a dozen in just a few minutes. I just made the basic ones, but the article showed how to dip the basic ones in powders, tiny beads, etc, to make them even prettier. You can also cut really small strips of words, really thin wire or fiber, etc and wrap around the basic bead for decoration to make them more interesting. They're pretty sturdy too. A great way to use up pretty scrap paper. I plan to use mine for decorative purposes on altered art, journals, whatever, but they make pretty jewelry too.

For the basic bead you cut a triangle (1-1/2"x around 7" or 1/2"x 7") out of decorative paper, magazine pages, etc., wrap the wide end around a straw, knitting needle, etc a couple of times, put glue (I used gloss acrylic gel medium) on the back of the rest of the strip, and roll it on, trying to keep the point centered. You can rub a small amount of olive oil on the straw every so often to keep the beads from sticking to it. I also put a coat of gel medium all over the outside of the bead before drying. Hang on a string, wire, or I used a wooden skewer laid across something to dry. The gel medium makes them relatively hard, so they don't crush easily. You can also make them out of rectangle strips the same size. The thinner the paper the longer the strips should be, and the thicker the shorter. No two are exactly alike. Once dry they make pretty jewelry or decorative beads for art projects.

Plus, I did a simple design of three pears on a thin piece of linoleum and cut it out, which left a positive and negative pear trio design. Then I made prints of on various papers and in my sketchbook. Very simple design, but I like it. Thought I could use some of the prints for cards, collage, etc. I have several sizes of linoleum pieces cut out, ready to draw the design on and carve out. I just love making prints.

Also printed some in an altered book on printed pages, a work in progress, which looks cool, and a couple of hot pink ones in the sketchbook (my red ink wasn't handy, besides it's oil-based and would have taken forever to dry.

Sketchbook

pages.

I always have a bunch of things going at once. Sometimes I wish I could focus on one thing and get to be really good at it instead of being kind of good in so many different things. I want to try every new art technique or media I see, so I dabble in a little bit of everything. But sticking to one thing wouldn't be me, and I would get really bored, so I will continue to be a dabbler, or a Jill of all trades, I guess. :) Have a happy, creative day!