Little Bits of Life

The iris that Greg planted up by the road have bloomed now in the warm sunshine.  I see them every time we go in and out the driveway and when I go on a walk or get the mail.  Decided to bring a few down to the cabin to enjoy.

A friend has gorgeous poppies she brings to church on Sundays.

They are the size of dessert plates!  Beautiful.  

Our study group at church meets every other Tuesday morning in the sunny meeting room here in Lac du Flambeau.  This year we are studying some of great historical thinkers of the modern church.

We'll be without any guests for the 4th this year but that is okay.  We'll go down to the town for fireworks in the evening if the weather holds.  So far we've had a nice week.  Had some rain Sunday morning but it has lifted and last night we had wine down at the lake in amazing beautiful weather. The wind dropped and the turtles swam by and dragon flies were languid on the pier.  Life slows down.  

I told Greg about the book I am reading for book club while we sat there.  It is Jodi Picolt's book Small Great Things which is about racism.  It is a very disturbing book (I warn you up front).  But timely and something that people need to confront.  

Sketching My Days

This will be a repeat of the first few rows...this is going a little slower this summer with some competition for my time.  But in July things actually slow down a bit (I think). Less company this summer and a little more relaxed schedule.  
I've been reading a lot and getting ready for the summer art shows coming up.  

My usual July company has postponed to later in the summer. 
So this frees things up a bit.  Hoping that all this rain moves off and we get some sunny days.  
Happy 4th of July everyone.

A Zentangle Apron

My granddaughter is getting married in October.  Much happy excitement in the family!  

So the wedding shower is in August and I am doing a family cookbook for her.  I hope the people coming are amenable to bringing along a recipe or two to share!  The directions for the cards will go out in the invitations next month.  I'll do the compiling and the typing in September and bring it to her at present opening day after the wedding.   

I wanted her to have something to open in August so I am tangling her an apron with fabric pens and planning the cover for the recipe book.  

Here are Greg and I holding her 23 years ago.

Walk-And-Draw Journaling

This kind of journal entry I call "walk-and-draw" journal entries.

These quick line drawings were done in a 5x7 journal with a PN Sakura pen.  I was standing while sketching...talking with my daughter Julie as we walked (ambled) along the road near our Northwoods cabin...discussing what we were seeing and trying to identify some of the plants we were seeing.  Some easy and other not so.  Julie identified a Sarsaparilla plant which I had seen but never identified.

(note corrected spelling from my notes.) It appears this plant is used for medical properties.  

There were two plants we noted but could not identify.  I'm still searching my wildflower book.  

I stopped to do a brief sketch of the neighbor's old pump they use for a name holder for their cabin.  I've seen it a million times but today it just seemed so old and lovely that I had to add it.

We also found what we think is a "white milkweed" and at least 20 tiny Monarch caterpillars on each plant...less than an inch long!  Must have JUST hatched.  I never would have noticed this if I wasn't walking slowly with my daughter and my sketchbook.  How lovely and amazing is that.

So how are you feeling about happenstances that change thinking?  Or change the course of your thinking? Or coincidences that just seem (at the time or later) to have impacted your life in small but sometimes amazing ways?  Perhaps opening new doors or allowing you to change your mind or even making you wonder about the "magic" in your life?  It's a topic my daughter and I have been exploring. It certainly fits with my journey to "pay attention".  

See Sidewalk Oracles: Playing with Signs, Symbols, and Synchronicicity by Robert Moss.  

So tonight around 7 a storm blew up on the lakeside and we had about half an hour of wind and rain which has now moved off, leaving everything dripping and the temperature down.  Julie and I are curled up on the porch doing a jig saw puzzle, reading, and chatting. She has to leave tomorrow.  Sigh. 

Happy Summer Solstice

Today is the summer solstice...June 21.  Longest day of the year.

After a wet and very cool start to our summer here in the Northwoods...we are going to have some sunshine today and a high of 75.  It seems the lake is quite still today (I love windless days best).  However, I do add that some breezes do help to keep the mosquitos at bay.  So you have keep that in mind.

My walks along the roadsides show places where there is more sunshine and there the lovely Columbine have burst forth.  I think they are the most jewel like of all the Northwoods flowers.  The sketch above is on a Strathmore Multi Media sketchbook.  9 x 12. 

The Canada Mayflowers are slowly disappearing now as the summer comes on.  Blueberries and black raspberries will be ripening in July.  And I have never seen so many False Solomon Seal flowers.  

Below are just a few short sketches done on different days in my Birns and Stillman notebook.  Places we have eaten out...4 from church services in different spots..and the last a begonia plant that was on the table where we went to a church study group last Tuesday morning.  

I have tons of company coming this evening so I have a big lasagne to put together AND a cake to bake.  I am pleased the rain has pushed off to Sunday now so we may get at least one good weekend day!  Not hot...but in the 70s.  No weather whining today.

Swirl Zentangle Demo

Preparation for the Zentangle® class that will be held next Wed evening.  One of the things that I like to talk to students about is versatility of the tangles. Everything on these two pages are all variations on the same tangle "Swirl". 

All are varied by size, detail work, spacing, shading, etc.  The final example is on a classic 3.5" tile.  

Admiring the Tiny Flowers of Early Spring in the Northwoods

A watchful eye in the northern part of Wisconsin bring a few little jewel flowers into view.  In southern WI where I spent much of life...the spring wild flowers are bountiful...trillium and bluebell and jack in the pulpit.  But up here the summers are so short and the snows last so long and temperatures are never flagrantly warm.  So the wild flowers have a tougher time.  And it's SO shady in the forest that they have a very short window of time.  

What I find is rarely wildly colored in spring.  One exception is the pinkish violet moss flox that appears right about now and spreads like ground cover usually along the roadsides (verges) where there is the most sun.   

I get some lily of the valley but these are not strictly wild.  They were planted from original flowers taken from our beloved Seven Mile House in southern WI before we sold it more than 20 years ago now.  Like old friends that pop up "just to say hi".  Greg brought a few iris that may have been from there too and they pop up for a few weeks in June out by the road in the sun too.  

The true wildflowers in our woods are the star flowers and the foam flowers...tiny white little jewels.  They are quite prolific right now.  And a few wild strawberries on the lakeside of the cabin which if they bear any fruit later, get eaten by the birds and chipmunks.  

The tiny bowl in which they reside is a gift from an old old friend now long gone.  Jean Morgan.  Old friends and family will recognize the name.  Jean and her husband, Bill, lived in a big old house on the Yerkes Observatory grounds where Bill was a resident professor of astronomy.  Jean was a retired professor of education in Chicago when I met her.  She and Bill loved nature and particular flowers.  This little bowl was particularly suited for tiny flowers...just a few inches in diameter with a tiny little turtle in the center to hold the stems.  The cabin is just the place for it.  

Summer Fun

My "littles" are progressing along this week...A cup of cocoa indicates we had a frost warning.  So I painted one of my favorite cups full. BRRRR.  But now this week we are in the 80s.  (It is so confusing up here.)

Two books included...one on art and one is the book PBS is using for it's monthly read along...a science fiction book called The Fifth Season.  It's fascinating but dark. 

Then Greg got hit in the head while working in the annex!  OH boy. Luckily not too serious.  
There is a bottle of my new alcohol inks.  And I planted my geraniums yesterday.  

My first alcohol ink fun splatter painting.  First off I don't have some of the "suggested" supplies which include 90+% alcohol.  Mine is only 70% so when I get that corrected it will help.  Also many of the videos include the solution that helps to move the ink around a little better.  I probably should get some of that too.  I only had 3 colors to start but have now received 3 more colors I ordered so that should involve more experimenting ahead! 

I played around adding some ink embellishments after it was dry.  

They make interesting and colorful greeting cards.  I did spray a clear coat over them before making the cards.  

Boulder Junction Sketching

So much fun to have a warm day again up here in the Northwoods.

We got to 80!  Wow.  Although it was still cooler in the morning when the Northwoods group met near the Manitowish River to sketch.  

I sat on the bridge but there were many options.  Some of the ponds were quieter.  But this was a roaring tumbling bit of river as there has been so much rain up here.  People were out biking and we saw someone putting in kayaks farther down river.  I may use the blank spot left for comments or just sketch my bag.  

We went out to lunch in the town of Boulder Junction at a nice little hamburger place called Boulder Beer Bar (although no one had beer this time around).  

North woods Summer

Today I had a an hour or so in my Northwoods studio and decided to freshen up the covers on the 3 current journals that I am working on.  I chose 3 prints from my gel plate and glued them to the covers.  Then I embellished them a little with extra paints.  Here are the 3 enlarged.
The option are endless.  And fun.  And it gives me pleasure to pull out a journal with the interesting shapes and colors before I even open it to draw or sketch!  

I got a chance to start up another page of "littles".  Left to right...Katy's yard in southern WI with her bat house, our bird bath and feeder here at the cabin, the window box I got planted in Friday, and my little hammer which reminds me of Greg and I  hanging a lot of pictures out on the summer porch today.    

It's taking us a full week to settle in...but that is normal.  Weather is up and down...45-80...you never know.  Hoping that June will getting a little more reliably warm soon.

I hear that it's close to 100 back in Leesburg.  That almost seems unbelievable now.  I wouldn't wish that though!  85 is perfect.  Hoping for that!  We are smelling the smoke from forest fires up in Alberta, Canada now.  We've had amazing sunsets due to the smoke.  

Savannah

I sat for about 45 minutes and did a rough sketch of the amazing City Hall on Monday.  The renaissance building in Savannah, GA was built in 1901 and the dome was gilded with sheets of 23 karat gold in 1987. 

I took a good photo so I can add a few more details and some color later.   Even the clouds were beautiful.  We were on our way to York, SC to visit my sister for a few days and stopped here for a morning.

We had a horse and buggy ride around the town and were glad we went in morning as temps rose to 90 by noon.  But I sat with shade and a breeze before we had to leave.  What a lovely lovely old town to spend time in.  Great restaurants too.

So hopefully I'll post this sketch again more finished soon.  But when you are "on the road" you have to take your sketching time when you can and take a lot of photos.  

After a few days in SC we'll head for WV. Those are long travel days so probably not much sketch time built in there.  

A Sense of Place

You'll be relieved to know the count down is over and we are off and headed to Savannah, GA this morning.

It's a gorgeous travel day and we are hoping for lots of sunshine in SC for Monday-Wed morning while visiting my sis and brother in law there.  Lots of midwest storms we'd like to avoid if possible.

So we now draw all the shades on the little bit of paradise in FL and head on to further adventures.  

Two days and Counting

This is my third page of "littles".  This group runs from April 2 to May 17.  Some rather momentous events.  We sold our canoe.  We bought a new car.  But most things are just happy life things like eating out with friends, swimming at the pool, hosting family, and backing up the computer.  You know...every day life.  

I realize looking back that I read SEVEN books in that time period.  Well I am currently reading the 7th...am not finished yet.  One was a Mother's Day gift and I couldn't put that down.  The others all borrowed on my iPad from the local library.  What a find THAT is!  
I am a fast reader so don't be alarmed that this is all I am doing.  
But I am not much of a TV watcher.  After dinner and news I tend to curl up with a book.  (Or work in the studio).  

All we have left now is a few simple chores around the house and then to pack the car tomorrow afternoon.  The latter is stressful.  But somehow it always gets done.  Greg is an amazing packer! 

Countdown: 3 days

Our little old Bottlebrush Tree out back has been cut back and trimmed so many times but it's hanging in there.  We sat out there after lunch in the two person swing and visited about our good times here this winter and the upcoming trip north.  

The breeze made the little glass decorations tinkle a little music and  the birds sang their hearts out for us.  The fountains made a lovely accompaniment in the background.  

The countdown is just 3 days now.  

Just the last minute things to do and then Sat packing the car (always the hardest part).  

Things are quiet around here with so many snowbirds already gone.  So it's time for us to take wing too.  I'll be posting along the way...adventures to follow.  

Thinking early May

Collections are by default fun to sketch.  When you have a rainy afternoon or are tired or need to be a bit meditative...sketching around the house is always fun.  And I like looking at these friendly objects that I live with.  These lamps are all in my studio.  Old friends. 

I sent away for a neat way to travel with my tubes of paint.  This is a long plastic "bit" that has pockets just the right size for wc tubes.  This is making my packing of the wc corner in the studio much easier.  

I worked on that some today.  

Then I also worked on packing my "mark making" corner (with pens, inks, wc pencils, etc). I have put everything I need for drawing class together in one bag.  I have to decide on what sketchbooks to take and that is always hard too.  

 Next I'll do Zentangle® supplies, and finally work on my Gelli plate mono printing and finally deciding on what books to take.  They are heavy and bulky so I cannot take too many.  

Lastly I put together three small accordion sketchbooks using cereal boxes for covers.  These are for my daughter and granddaughter who are visiting me up north next month.

I used some of my Gelli print paper to cover the cardboard and made cloth ties out of scrap cloth I picked up at the clubhouse rummage sale in March.  We'll have fun filling them together when they come.  

Farewell to April

Yesterday was a perfect weather day for sketching...although it was very warm (close to 90) there was a nice breeze.  Lots of shade at where we were.  We sketched at Simon's Feed and Seed store in Leesburg, FL...an old timey place that has a million things to sketch from birds and chickens to flowers and old farm equipment.  We could sketch there once a week and never run out of fun things to draw.  

This is my favorite Stillman and Birns 5 x 7 on a two-page spread.  (hint: I take a piece of glass and put it over the two pages before I photograph it.  That way the pages lay down nice and flat!)

The outing was also billed as the "snowbird" farewell as quite a number of us head north like the robins about this time of year.  There were 10 there and I know for sure we were missing two people. We had a nice lunch at Blooms on Main Street in Leesburg after sketching.  

I was very late because I had a haircut that morning but I got in a preliminary ink sketch and as you can see in the photo of me...I was taking a photo of the scene to finish painting at home.  What a great way to finish up the month of April.  

We are on the official count down now...19 days and counting.  
We have started the earliest chores but no serious packing yet.  Our lists are printed and on the fridge.  A tentative travel itinerary is set.  Today our dentist appointments will happen.  And we'll send the hold up north so the mail will start holding up there next week.  The newspaper stops this week.  This weekend I'll start packing up the studio.  It's my hardest thing to pack.  So I divide it into small jobs.  It's not only physically challenging but lots of decision making.  Friends and family sigh having to read about the count down AGAIN.  Most of them know our routine by heart now.  

We are headed to our grandson, Dylan's high school graduation on Saturday May 25 in Rockford, IL.  Then the cabin the next day.  

The ice just went off the lake up at the cabin last week.  This is always hard to envision when it's 90 degrees here!  

April Art

My Florida Sketch group gathered Tuesday in Mt. Dora on the little jetty that goes out in Lake Dora off Gilbert Park.  Absolutely gorgeous weather with lots of sun, shady trees, and no wind.  I brought my coffee and well, it's like heaven on days like these.  We ended up for lunch at a local Cuban restaurant.  Greg came too.

9x12 Strathmore mixed media notebook and Lamy fountain pen.

A little ink drawing of Greg's newest walker/stroller...while I listened to Dr. Nieves give a talk to the Essential Tremor Support group in the Villages.  

I treasure our days at the pool...we haven't really started our "count down" officially yet...but just for the record it's 24 days.  The ice is now off the lake up at our cabin.  But just barely off.  NO green there yet.  Southern WI has tulips and daffodils.  But the northern half is at least two weeks behind.  

My recent "littles" have included some a few interesting moments...we sold our canoe...we met old friends in Lakeland for lunch...we bought a new car...we had company for 5 days...I've read 3 books.    

DRIVE

This sketch was done at my husband's Support Group meeting for Essential Tremor this afternoon up in The Villages.  I like to sketch while I listen to people.  Dr Nieves is a motion disability specialist and is so good.  

I did this sketch in my Stillman and Birns notebook with a Lamy fountain pen (no pencil).  Just going slow and watching edges.  I love a challenge of trying to get the parts to come out in the right place when there is NO erasing.  Doesn't always work out.

This was a challenge with the hand brakes and then the brake lines down at the bottom.  Things I NEVER had noticed before.  That's what sketching does.  It reveals things you just do not notice.

The stroller/walker was partially closed up making it even a bit more challenging.  Anyway, an interesting challenge...about 30 minutes.  The Drive brand of walker/stroller is very popular with seniors around this park.  But they make them in all sizes.  One man we talked to his young daughter has one.  Which led us to learn that she has a birth defect.  It was a sobering revelation.  So hard to think of.  

Moving into April with some Sketches

I am starting my "littles" now on a new page...probably April and May events.  

My thought here to think of the places I sit in my FL house.  It's fun to associate what I do and what is important through chairs.  There are several more to add to the mix.  The stool got "wonky" in the drawing as it does have bend in the leg but that got off a bit.  But oh well.  

All these chairs are in my studio including the sofa.  I just included the place where I usually sit so I can see the pond and the birdbath and the sky.  The office chair is at my studio desk where I've spent so many happy hours.  The wonky stool is where I have my pens and inks and pencils.  The "mark-making" area I guess.  

We are prepping now for the arrival of our guests next Wed.  Greg's son and daughter in law and their two boys will be here for 4 days.  One of the days they will be to Universal studios.  Time to tidy up, make up the guest bed and plan some meals.  

They called this morning from the Milwaukee area and they are getting snow again!  😳. Oh dear.  Poor robins.  Poor tulips.  Well, at least Florida is going to look extra good to them.  

Bits and Pieces of my Recent days...

I think I forgot to post my "littles" for March 1-April 2.  Note the baby Sandhill Crane near the bottom on the right.  He is SO tiny next to his huge tall parents.  Such a delight to see.  Three books, an amazing swarm of swallows, a hail storm, taxes, etc.  Nice to look back on these days...some more delightful than others.  But all worthy of contemplation.  

A little pencil study of the gifts (and the gift bag) that each teacher in the art club received at the lunch given in our honor in March.

The little bit to the right is a handkerchief and in a fascinating little card.  I didn't know they still made real hankies!  To the left a little glass ball that hangs in your house with a small sprig of some air plant that you just spritz lightly once a week.  And hang out of direct sunlight.  How fun.  And a pretty towel.  

I used this little sketch of our dear old canoe to adorn the for sale sign that went up on the board in the hall.  We had two calls the first day!  Greg is meeting with someone in the morning to see if he would like it.  $25 plus two paddles and two life jackets!!!  It's a very good deal.