Giving thanks

During Canadian Thanksgiving last month, I had ample opportunity to reflect on my gratitude towards my beloved family and friends, and now with the arrival of American Thanksgiving, it occured to me that I am also grateful for artists and bloggers who put their time, effort, words and energy out there, not always knowing who is reading and absorbing what they offer.

I've recently come out of a bit of a drawing slump; when I was given the opportunity to review the Exampta Basics Sketchbook, I realized how long it had been since I had the regular habit of picking up a pen (or brush or crayon) and just let it move across paper. Getting back into it felt awkward and difficult, and being  constrained in time and entrenched in academia, it was the art bloggers out there whose posts helped me start moving through that awkwardness, whether they realize it or not.




So, a shout out of thanks, in no particular order,  to:

Stephanie, whose  mandala art at Flickr has long inspired me, and whose words of encouragement fell on deaf ears till recently :)

Dawn of D'Blogala, instigator of  NaNoJouMo at Flickr. Her daily prompts inspired me even if I never actually included the actual word in anything I drew or doodled. I'm taking note of the words she uses nevertheless, as in lieu of resolution, I choose a word every New Year as a sort of guide and focus for the rest of the year.

Tammy of Daisy Yellow, in particular her posts about line practice and more recently, mandala practice . I really loved her very practical suggestions for just getting the pen moving, and getting past freezing at the sight of a blank page.



And of course, I haven't totally abandoned my tendency to draw my injuries - well, in this case, that of my daughter. As dancer going through a growth spurt, we're working through some hip issues.



So, thanks also to my friend and fellow yogini Sharon Frost, who has never ceased being a source of encouragement and inspiration, on the mat, and on paper.

Project 310

With less than two months to go to complete Project 365, which I started on Jan 1 of this year, I find my motivation sorely in need of a kick start. Perhaps because of a disappointing fall, during which the still-green leaves were crushed with an early snow, so that we got mooshy green-browns rather than the brilliant yellows and coppers we usually enjoy. Perhaps because of the return to standard time, leaving even less natural light in the afternoon and evening. More than likely, the steady parade of viruses that have made their appearances in our home, so that in the last month there have only been a handful of days where every family member has been completely well.  By necessity of schedule,  illness, and lack of light, there have been altogether too many pictures of stuff just sitting on my shelf, because that's all there's been time and energy for.

Still, my kids have insisted "You can't stop now. You have to finish what you've started. And what if it's interesting later on? like that old house. Maybe it will be torn down next year, but you'll have a picture of it.".

So at least I have their encouragement,  and more than likely in their case, it will be "remember those pens Mom used?" or "can you believe we ever thought the iTouch was so cool?"  So I'll keep going till the end of the year, at the very least learning more about my lenses, particularly the non-metering, non-focusing micro I recently acquired, and get a better understanding of exposure.

In the meantime, a happy surprise, the result of playing with a new presets generously provided by raceytay at Flickr, and Rita's Honey Retro action from the Coffeshop.