Yes, I'm a bit crazed. Broken pencil points can make me sad, angry, and, especially, disappointed. Disappointed in the tip breaking off, not wanting to trust the pencil OR the pencil sharpener. Disappointed in the shorter life span of less-long pencil. Sigh. Yes, I can be seriously shallow.
Yesterday and today included an exercise in hope and frugality. Just how much expression is left in a quarter-inch pencil lead? The drawing portion is still as long as it would be if attached to it's former pencil-self. Gather those literal bits and pieces from the bottom of the bag and give them a chance at making their mark!
First, I went for color symbolism. Free association. Questions. Possibilities. The leads hold up quite well. My fingers - not so much. Come on vise-pinkies, you can do this!
Because only a few colored leads were available at the moment, I had to rely on limited lines, shapes, and patterns to kick-start the imagination. The page was going to be warmly-hued whether I liked it or not. The ever-present Sharpie Marker added a bit of weight to words, but was not allowed to mix with pencil. Leads dragged on their sides made color blocks, leads on end could add the smallest detail. Blending was allowed.
On these pages rules are made, adhered to, and changed. This page was started at The Bikery, continued at home (Thanks, Neil Young, for your You Tube inspiration!), and is still a work in progress. It's messy now and gonna get messier. The pencil bits are far from used up and there is still white paper showing.
1) MAKE UP A FEW RULES. 2) Follow Through. DON'T BE AFRAID TO WASTE TIME OR PAPER. That sentence was really hard to write. However, when chatting with folks who say that they want to start drawing I always say "Don't be afraid to waste paper." It's the waste time part that I'm bad at. Reading books on walking and being idle have helped the brain get over that hurdle. Some of us have to muck through a time of long fuzzy to come up with The Good Idea. We have a hard time allowing ourselves this chunk of day, even if it might be the most "profitable" in the end. Start small. Five minutes. Build to an hour. Maybe chance a day.
Look at bits of art supplies as really tiny toys. (I will so appreciate the complete pencils after this page...)
Neil Young keeps being innovative and powerful in his playing: "Hey Hey, My My.... Rock and Roll will never die..."
Lesson for the day: Lack of art supplies is No Excuse. Use what you have. Make a sand painting. Trace a cloud. Draw a house plant. Go ahead Use your big stuff. but know that if put to the task a tiny tip can probably get your message across. So far so good. And more to come 'cause hardly any pencil bits were worn off in the making of this drawing.
To be continued........
Fare-thee-well,
Sue
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