Ink-Tober Challenge # 18 ESCAPE

 

I hate to mention this but having a nice glass of wine (one) is a way to "escape" and relax.

Ink-tober 16 and 17

 

 

Catching up to Day 17 now and we are on the downward curve for the challenge.

It is trickier now to find time in the midst of travel!!!

Travel Fun

 

Here we are in Frankfort, ILL last night enjoying Octoberfaest!!!

Visiting with friends today and then heading toward Cincinnati on Monday.

Ink-Tiber Challenge 15

 

Relax was actually an easy prompt for us.  Here is my step son Mark watching the Packer Game.

Ink-Tober #14: TREE

 

Tree is surly THE easiest prompt for someone who summers in the north woods of WI.

Autumn just surrounds you with that "glow".

This is the view from my computer desk toward the boat house.

Ink-tober #13: SCARED

 

I really had a hard time with word.  I started with Katy's silk flower arrangement.

Thinking as I drew that there was NOTHING scary about this.

Then I thought of drawing Donald Trump.  He's REALLY scary.

But I caved into a Halloween theme and just relaxed.

Zentangle calendar

 

I see that I forgot to add this to my posts before I headed off.

It won't be quite as clear as a scan would be as this old Generation two iPad camera is not the best.

But you can get the idea.

Ink-tober # 11 TRANSPORT

 

I have goofed up my numbering for the challenge and this post should have come first.

Anyway here is the earlier prompt.  Guess it really is not important which came first.

Ink-tober #10 WORRIED

 

This is a sketch of my husband's nuerotranmitter for his ET (Essential Tremor).  

After his DBS surgery 5 years ago he has been able to control his tremor in his dominate hand with this .

Now it is time to replace the surgically implanted batteries.  It is a bit of a worry that the batteries will last to the Nov 4 surgery

date.  Keep your fingers crossed that we will be able to travel home to FL with no issues.

Day 10 of Ink-Tober Challenge: JUMP

 

Things are winding down now at the lake house.  Two days and counting and we had frost this morning…30 degrees.  BRRRR.  

We are past peak now with color and the leaves are coming down fast…there is a smell of winter and wood smoke in the air.  

Greg is busy putting his old truck "to bed" and I am busy doing the last laundry before he winterizes the appliances.  The cupboards are just about bare and we'll pack the car tomorrow.

We are gearing up for the Packers Game tonight at 6 (CST) with pizza and a blazing fire in the fireplace.  Very cozy.   

Tuesday we'll head toward DeForest to visit family there for a few days in the Madison, WI area.  Then down to South Beloit, IL for a night and to Warrenville, IL for more family.  Then heading east toward Cincinnati and WV and then to SC to visit family there.  Should walk in the FL door Oct 23.   God willing and the creek don't rise.  

Word has it that the hurricane slipped past our home neighborhood in central FL with minimal impact.  We are so grateful.  

Inktober Day 9: BROKEN

I think this speaks for itself actually.
The egg went into the meatloaf later.  

Day 7 of Ink-Tober: the prompt is LOST

The word prompt "lost" immediately sent my thoughts to my GPS which is my life saver.  I have been "map challenged" all my life!  And when I started to do the map on this page I misplace Disney! They would not be pleased.  So I corrected it, it is directly south of us about an hour.  

So it is that our little home in Leesburg (and Disney nearby) is hunkering down in preparation for getting hit with Hurricane Matthew tonight and tomorrow.  They expect 60 mph winds and 5" of rain even 150 miles inland!  It's a huge storm!  Very worrisome.  Friends say they have not been evacuated yet but gas stations are running out of gas and the lines are long at the grocery and they are out of generators and flashlights.  I have everyone in my prayers that there will be no loss of life and limited loss of property.  And of course we worry about our little house sitting there.  But we are glad we are NOT there!  

Ink-Tober prompt: SAD and a triple whammy

Triple Whammy today with 3 postings all in one!

My Ink-tober prompt is first, then another is the tangled calendar series, and last a group of tiny Bijou tiles with new tangles that I am enjoying….

The word "sad" required some thought.  We all have some sadness in our lives.  I decided to interpret it more as melancholy rather than sad…a time of thoughtfulness and remembering as the change of seasons can bring on.  Also as we make our annual transition from one climate and one home to another we take stock of what is important to us and reflect on the things we love.  I did this ink sketch sitting out on the far side of Tippecanoe Road and looking at the entry (and exit) to the cabin that you cannot see in the woods beyond.  Sort of a time to think of "comings" and "goings".  We are at peak color this weekend up here which I think is a little late for us but we have frost predicted in the next few days.  Leaves will come down even faster then.  Here's to the good summer and the hope for returning in good health and happiness.  

The anonymous calendar project (it is actually July 2017) but could be any month of 31 days starting on a Saturday, of course.  I loved using some new tangles on this one…"Slab" is a great tangle on the left on days 9 and 10.  Love that tangle but the name is weird.  And "actinar" on days 27 and 28 is a fun one too.  

And these are tiny Bijou tiles where I am having fun with some brand new tangles…just to try them out.  Top left is "Taaj" and top right is "Embrace Joy".  Middle row left to right is: "Specto", "Mystery," and "Mosaic".  Bottom row: is "Jiami" and the last one I have lost the name of.  Anyone know what it is called?

I will pack up my north woods studio over the next two days as it is THAT time of year again.  My studio is where we put all the games and puzzles, and many pieces of porch furniture for the winter to keep them safe and snug.  Once the studio door is shut, hubby piles a lot of stuff against it and there is NO getting back for anything!  So I have to pack up carefully.  So my art work become quite limited now for the rest of October.  Sigh.

But travel is fun too and we have some new and interesting spots set up this year to visit.  I keep sketch books out as I travel.  AND we don't want to get to FL too soon as they are dealing with Hurricane Matthew right now.  Yikes.  140 mph winds?  OMGosh.  

Ink-Tober Day 4: Hungry

I got such a kick out of my mistake in the spelling of "hungry" which I posted at first as "Hungary"-- the country. I guess I thought was going to have to draw a map or some building in Budapest?

Luckily I discovered it before I planned the sketch!  

Hubby was willing to do about a 10 minute pose for me at breakfast this morning (after he actually ate of course). 

Hungry being one of his favorite words!   

This is harder for me…figure poses.  And I discovered that trying to inform the viewer that something is white when you are drawing in black is not so easy.  Greg's beard is almost all white now but it sure looks black in the sketch!  (He thinks it makes him look young! So he's not complaining.)  

I am also not sure about the length of his arm…if I got that correct.  He thinks it reads okay but I think it looks a little short. 

Anyway, it shows that much practice is needed!  

Speaking of "hungry" we are planning out the last meals now so as to get the fridge and the cupboards as bare as possible before we leave for FL.  We know it will be 28 below 0 in the cabin in a few months so we have to say to ourselves…what cannot stay here?  Obviously anything in a can or a jar has to go.  And not to FL as we have our car packed to the brim when we leave!   

One week from tomorrow.  So 8 days and counting now.  

We are getting a few days of nice sunshine and about 60 degrees so we are headed outside for closing chores in the yard.  Much colder weather expected by the weekend.  We may get frost.  We are late on that actually and usually have had frost by now.  Sometimes even a dusting of snow!  

Day 3 of Ink-Tober

The word prompt for today is "Collect" and I chose to use my hubby's favorite collection of model trains.  This one is a toy train  that has a music box attached in the little box behind it that plays I've been working on the Railroad!  

Ink-Tober Day 2: Noisy

The prompt for Day 2 made me think of two items here at the cabin that make noise and are kind of special.  The school bell that I was given on the occasion of my 30th year at Reek School (engraved with my name and the year) and the old kitchen timer that Greg's mom had for many years.  Both are kind of sentimental objects that were fun to draw.  

Journal with slightly yellow pages
6 x 10

Ink-Tober Day One

Are you ready to take on the Inktober challenge? Here are the rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want).

2) Post it online (Tumblr, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Pinterest, or just pin it on your wall.)

3) Hashtag it with #Inktober (Extra credit: Tag @ArtistsNetwork for your chance to win a package of drawing supplies!)

4) Repeat

Note: You can do it daily, or go the half-marathon route and post every other day, or just do the 5K and post once a week. Whatever you decide, just be consistent with it. Inktober is about growing and improving and forming positive habits, so the more you’re consistent the better off you’ll be.

That’s it! Now go make something beautiful. ~Jake

So I warned you…Ink-Tober was coming!  Unfortunately I don't have an Instagram account myself.  You I am just posting here.  The downside is that I cannot see what others are creating!  I may have to consider getting more techy!  :-)  

I wrote about Jake Parker who started this up about 7 years ago in a previous post.  I think I mentioned he is a cartoonist.  Imagine how interesting HIS posts will be!  Mine are going to be simple.  I'll follow the prompts if I can figure something out to go with the word.  You can read more about him AND Ink-Tober here.

The word for the first day is "Fast" which has multiple meanings.  Everything from "not eating" to "moving quickly" to edgier meanings about time…which can go fast or slow, of course.  But I interpreted it to mean "how fast time can go".  This is a sort of tribute to my friend Joanne who passed away just Thursday evening.  How living looks like as goes into warp speed once you become aware of how finite it really is.  

Here's my hubby's favorite garage sale find…an old clock…  I drew it just in ink (no pencil) and so it is a little "wonky" as ink drawings sometimes are.  

Diva's Challenge: use straight lines only

I decided to put the Diva's Challenge into my Zentangle calendar as I often do.  I thought I'd try "Hazen" that I think is an official tangle.  Never tried it before.  The square numbered 11 is sort of what it looked like to me.  But I was clueless how to repeat it.  So I just meandered off (in straight lines) and made up more.  Then finished off with "Atorm" which has LOTS of straight lines.  

I thought I'd post what I have done of this calendar so far...

I usually start a calendar sort of randomly like this…popping around to different sections each time I work on it.  Then going back to fill in sections or extend sections.  

Below is the challenge for Back to Square One Facebook group and also for the Shading Group and the tangle was "Garlic".  I am limited to black, white and gray in the Square One group.   

Planning for Ink-Tober6

6 x 10 soft cover journal

I picked this empty journal up at a garage sale this summer for 50 cents.

Really pretty cover and fairly nice drawing paper inside.

Inside the book it said "modeled on 17th and 18th century paperbound pamphlet called 'chapbooks' in England and colonial America."  This is a hand-marbled cover using Turkish watercolor marbling.  Designed by Eileen Canning and it's lists Dancing Inks in Olympia Washington, 1983.  

The "official" Ink-Tober" website, as I showed previously has prompts for each day.  But they are very "hard" prompts.  Example, the first one is just the word "FAST".  I looked up the word in the dictionary for other possible variations and found that of course, fast is used to describe a watch or a clock that isn't keeping time correctly.  SO, my first sketch will be of a clock and/or my watch.  That is about as far as I've thought about this.

I may just "ignore" the prompts.  The important thing is to draw regularly and not that it fits the prompt.  Also I'll be "on the road" a large portion of the month (11-23) and so I may or may not be able to post my work during that time.  I have looked into a downloads an app to my iPad called "Blogtouch Pro".  The old app that used to work is not working anymore.  Sigh.  So I may be able to post to my blog at least.  We'll see how that goes.

We are seeing little patches of sunshine on and off today in the north woods of WI.  Still VERY windy and about 53 out there at 10 am CST.  The weather man is predicting at least 10 degrees warmer by tomorrow.  We'll see how that goes!  Sure am tired of this bleak dark cold weather.  (I am a FL girl now.)

AC: Anxiety Creativity

“Anxiety is the essential condition of intellectual and artistic creation and everything that is finest in human history.” (Charles Frankel) 

For some crazy reason…during these times of "transition anxiety" for me (each spring and fall as I leave one abode and pack up and try to re-assemble my life in another climate, in another home, in another set of circumstances and in a different studio) I start to get especially and explosively creative. 

 Just at the time I am supposed to be packing things away.  Maybe BECAUSE of the packing and the moving of materials around…as in "oh my gosh here are my acrylic inks, and I didn't use them all summer" or "I forgot I had my alphabet stamps tucked into this box" or here is the sketch I did of the Italian Restaurant…I have 20 minutes, surely I can get started".  OMGosh.  Anxiety hits and suddenly I am in the middle of a wild Zentangle pattern or "my journal prompt is SO creative and can't wait, and hey…let's start on InkTober!"  I start tossing and turning at night with creative thoughts about starting a figure drawing class in FL and pulling out all my watercolors for a photo shoot.  ARRGH!  Even some framing!

Sara Genn wrote about this anxiety creativity in her recent blog. She used to get this happen to her right at exam time when she should be studying!  And of course I SHOULD be packing. She says, "The mind wanders every which way, perhaps as avoidance activity for that which truly needs to be done." And she offers tips like making lists of these things and putting it an envelope to be opened LATER.  Not to lose the ideas and the excitement, just to be able to write it down and put it aside. I am praying that sort of sanity may hit me soon.!  Meanwhile here is the wc painting that I just did because I couldn't help myself!!!

Gosh I am glad I am not the only one who gets this way!  

12 x 14 wc and ink on 140# Arches

"La Grotta"