Squirrel!

Welcome -  

March, 2021 is upon us, and so - another monthly Personal Challenge. I do not remember how many years I've set these tasks to myself - but many. Some epic fails. Some pretty good successes.

 Fears and joys as days come and pass. 

This month: Blog Thirty-one Times

As you can see, I'm already a day "behind."

So it goes.

On to squirrels - 

Here, squirrels make the days better. We say that we are filling the bird feeders, but we are lying. Squirrels are in almost complete control of the sunflower seeds and suet. And that is OK. Local chickadees and juncos and bluejays come and go. But the grey/black squirrels know the backyard is theirs.

I have taken to buying shelled sunflower seeds to put by the back door. If the window glass is kept reasonably clean, shots of the fluffy chunks are quite easy to come by. I will never have the patience of the true wildlife photographer or videographer, but there are days that I think of them as I try to out wait a particular beastie. No panthers or pandas for me - and that's OK.

Well, that wasn't so hard. Sigh. The battles with the self are odd but real.

On to book keeping. And then on to, with mask on, drawing at a local assisted care facility. The residents who come to participate are masked, at a distance, but still willing to come up with ideas for me to attempt depicting on those big sheets of paper. We have missed having this fun for most of the months of the pandemic. We've found that so many things we took for granted are actually little gems of treasured time.

On to book keeping. And pondering the universe. A universe with squirrels.

Fare-thee-well,

Sue

Forever

Greetings -

It has been "forever" since I've typed here.
Fears, sloths (watch out for those sneaky sloths), lazinesses, re-lack of confidence (it happens), and not keeping up the habits. Blogging is only one of them.

"BLOG" gets printed in the weekly planning journal often. It just doesn't get done. I draw, paint, read - not enough, even do laundry and/or dust!, but do not type. I do make. daily mandala. Every day - since late last December. Here is one- pre- novel coronavirus days. A bit hard to remember those carefree and merry days.

This is a bit odd, because I actually like the clickity clickity of the laptop keyboard sound. Then there is the "What if nobody reads this?" That should not matter. What should matter is the challenge of the doing. Or - The Challenge of the Doing!

Sis and I have been doing some challenges new to us - for fun. For fun? For fun!

One.... is taking Seriously Cold Showers at least three or four times a week. We are under the influence of Wim Hoff. The Iceman. Google him, if you want to. No pressure. Sis uses her particular words to ward off the cold. I crank up the soundtrack from "Chicago." Seriously.

OK. I have blogged. One down. On to creating a string of something.

And creating a new website. But that's another challenge.

May you keep sane and breathing.
Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Facebook Page: Sue-Rowe-Studios

How Many Times Can One Re-Begin?

The brain wants to be A Blogger, but the brain makes excuses.

Writing can be be exciting, but also something that sometimes feel pointless.

That should NOT be an excuse.
It is time to start doing the mental chin-ups again.

                           Here we go again. One?

Play

Yesterday was Senior Discount Day at our local co-op. We also get free coffee and cookies. I've been not eating the cookies - yay! And buying the kale - yay! And looking forward to eating kale from our garden... Life is not all about kale, but last night's super green salad mix was Delicious And Pretty - with bits of red strawberry and white cauliflower in amidst the many ways nature makes green stuff.

Anyway - this photo was taken at the co-op - but the images were not created at the co-op. The Heart was from a free box small stash of paper doily hearts. They was free. They were hearts. I never treat me to doily hearts, but have loved them since those early elementary learning years in Gurney School. We were one Making Bunch of kids - most likely so that Mrs. Meredith could take a break from teaching twenty five kids in eight grades in one room the reading, writing (cursive!!!), math, geography, and history stuff. Really. 

So one day at the Grind I found a paper doily in my stuff and just started adding gouache paint to the cutouts. It was Fun. The Heart became a bit alive. It might not be finished yet. 

The other part of the photo shows one tiny bit of doings at the Visual Journal group night at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts. It's most every third Monday evening of the month - from 7 - 9 PM, with a $3-5 fee to use the very useful space.

We learned a number of things to do with Gelli Printing Plates. I'd heard of them before, but had never wanted to investigate the various ways one can use these. Oh, well. After our fearless leader gave about five different ways of playing with acrylic paint, brayers, stencils, lace, bubble wrap, etc, etc, etc, our group started in. I used a full-sized plate all evening, lent by a kindly member, but it was fun to see what people did with the smaller ones. We shared supplies and suggestions.  I love to add a bit of "gold" to paper, so brought some gold paint. Yes, shared! 

Some people concentrated on adding color to their journal pages. I mainly worked on printing on colored card stock and other weight papers. And even on a manilla hang tag. I now have a stash of stuff for collage or pages to be worked with in other ways.

After about an hour we cleaned up the plates and work spaces and went around the room seeing what others had creating. What a different bunch of images! Stenciled butterflies! Bubblewrap circle back rounds! The Wipe-off-your-brayer pages were lovely, too!

One woman said that she will now get back to working in the one journal she added to - yay! One said that she'd purchased this printing system, had done a couple "plain" color pages and put it away - not knowing the many wonderful ways to put her new toy to work. NOW she is excited - yay!

I am still wondering if I "need" to add a gelatin printing plate to my too many art supplies herd. I know it would be put to use, but there are paintings waiting, and art festivals still to be applied to, and The Garden - late in being but in...

It is good when life is full, but even if it's full of Wonderful Stuff it can be too full. My heart goes out to those whose lives are full of Not Wonderful Stuff. I hope you can find a few minutes in your hours for You Day time.

Not blogging tends to make me nervous. It's a thing I want to do, but I seldom know if it helps me or others. It's just a thing I want to do. And then weeks go by without posting. Because almost everything is interesting much gets not typed about. I did give two Hearts to a young couple on Monday. I was working at the antique shop and we got to talking... about making a living in the arts business and old wood and being a professional blogger (not me!) and mixed media and.... Yes, one of Those Conversations. (A good solid chat is one of my "drugs.") So they each chose a Heart - gladly - we exchanged social media stuff - and even if we never cross paths again, crossing paths once was a lovely thing.

Now this has been enough typing. "Blog" can get crossed off of SuperBetter/Bullet Journal day list, and other things can be accomplished.

Clinky Mayhem is still to be documented - mainly because I want to mentally return to that bell jar weekend of amazing everything.

But the art festival acceptance notifications are piling up, and new art has not.

On to bears and bunnies!

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Keeping On Track.

Sigh.
I am not so good at staying on the blogging track.
Priorities. Remembering. Keeping track. 

Too many "irons in fire" or not the best irons?

Time to consider creating more sheep - 
because friends on Facebook suggested a number of excellent Sheep Names.

Rosemary, for one.

Here is the photograph I shot at the Minnesota State Fair that was used for newest pastel - now titled "Luna."

Focusing in helped. So the above became this:

Somehow "art" happened. Decisions were made. Guesses were second-guessed. And a few last marks were decided upon. 

I do not know how YOU keep on the various tracks you are on. 
I do know that now I can leave a coffee shop and block on a few more tiny squares in a journal. 
Lose the journal - lose the life! Almost Haha.

I guess this life is about making marks - in the manners in which they might add up to living a life...

So - back up the hill - 
And on to getting back to blogging more often and with better content.

Hi-o, filling in "boxes" - away!!

- Fare-thee-well,
Sue

P.S. - We have been accepted into the Spring Green (WI) Art Festival in late June, 21018. We ARE excited!!

Cheating

Right now I'm sitting at a table in our local art center. Six or seven of us are participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). I've written for three hours - not counting a lovely yoga break at 7 P.M.

Novel bears have done some things. Not exciting things. Mostly eating at the bakery in their town. But somehow three bear state troopers also appeared at the bakery. This was as surprising to me as it was to the bears walking into the bakery. So - maybe something "exciting" has already happened or is about to happen or just might happen some time in the future. My brain has no idea.

Here is a print I made two years ago. Prints can also hold mysteries.

This was a plain print. Black ink on paper. So I decided to dress it up a bit with metallic colored pencil. 

In writing, I find it harder to dress up a scene or dialogue or plot. So my typing my novel novel is much more a practice than a thought that some day an actual real story will evolve. It might. There are numerous threads that have the possibility of being woven together. I ain't holding my little author's breath. And that's O.K.

This blog post is titled "Cheating" because I'm using "novel time" as blogging time. It's good to be oneself enough to be comfortable with this choice. Or maybe not.

And I am choosing to leave the art center before nine P.M. Our scheduled writing time tonight is from 5 P.M. till 9.

Other things - like reclining - are saying "My turn for your time." Tea is whispering to my from a mile and a half away.

So I am cheating the novel but attending to more, to me, important things.

A single day is made up of so many small decisions.
And tonight I've decided to be a cheating writer.

Fare-thee-well,
Sue

Cheating/Catching Up - 1

This is the first/third post today. The Personal Challenge of 200 Blog Posts will not be met if the fingers don't make contact with the keyboard. And I was making excuses to not type these recent days. It doesn't take much: too tired, don't feel like it, I'll do two tomorrow, really. Nope. So today's coffee shop doings - thanks, 2.00 de-caf, is posting three pieces. And in reverse order - so this is the last to be typed but the first to be seen - at least I'm guessing this will be so.

As will be bitched out in later/earlier post The Tinnitus is Strong With This One today. After a half-hour of decent tennis, after some actual studio work and breakfast, I was of the no energy/ambition. The Plan this year was to have Double Energy/Ambition. Really. So when the drags drag I am both uncaring and an unhappy camper. (Brains are interesting.)

Eventually, I knew that creating a something had to be done. Pastels have been ignored of late. So it was time to see what might happen if some pencils and a few miscellaneous chunks of soft of pastel in a plastic cover were put to use. Studio B yielded up a small piece of velour mat board and it was time to start.

First, I did something I seldom do - tape off a border around the board. I felt the need for bit of strict space around whatever was going to happen. O.K? What's going to happen?

A bear in a space. A lovely smiling flowery bear - in space. A white and yellow space. I started her at home. Took her along to McDonald's. Todd was kind enough to order unsalted fries so I had some. And tea from home. (I'm cheap.)A lady saying, "I like art" liked her! Thanks, lady! But there wasn't time to finish her there, so back home we came.

A few more minutes and another Happy Bear appeared.

Her taped border is still intact. Friends on Facebook "Like" her. And have given suggestions for other such bruins. Art can be easier when others make good suggestions...

So she will get a title, and she has given me some hope. 
We need more hope on a day like today...

Now the three posts are finished, and I will go home to see if anyone shows up tonight to play with art supplies or just talk about life.

(1/3 and 3/1)
Fare-thee-well,
Sue the Catcher Upper

Keep Posting.

PLAN FOR FEBRUARY: Make 25 Hearts

It isn't that I forget to post.

I think about typing throughout the day.

Early and often.

Then a block of hours goes by.

And another.

And another.

And then I wake up.

And, SURPRISE!

It's Tomorrow.

And again no typings.

THIS IS NOT THE PLAN.

but it is The Fact.

Today typing is happening.

And here is a report.

Stuff has been made.

Really.

Much stuff.

Over twenty five Hearts started.

The starts of three more tiny books.

More painting on the tiny plastic spotted horse.

Soup.

More.
Starts.

Several drawings that might become Real Art.

And more.

Really.

Here is a tiny bit of evidence:

A Playing with Paper and Paint.

That will go away soon.

Out into the universe.

As will these words.

Now.

Back to making.

Fare-thee-well,

Sue

The Joys of Old Journals - Clean, Hard, Fast

Know I need some promptings toward new things.
So found a journal from 1998.
In it, found a yellow Post-It note reading:

June 18 - 1998 -
  Clean
  Hard
  Fast  -

Use
the words as
a trigger -
don't think -
just write

-----------------------
So I did. For many days. At the beginning of most journal entries I'd print, in three rows, first - CLEAN: (and write first thing that came to mind),  HARD: (do the same), & FAST: (do the same).

Some days words came tumbling out of pen. Other days a bit of mulling had to be done.

The CLEAN part forced me to be aware of home/studio messes that got much better over time; or the satisfaction one gets over cleaning one kitchen counter for the few hours (minutes) it will remain uncluttered. This time, among other cleanings, I'll do as my sister does on her Colorado Springs walks, and carry a bag for the bits of litter one encounters along one's way. Entry from Dec. 1: CLEAN - part of top of desk shelf - I almost threw out $30.00. It was in the dusty posies.

HARD can be hard, but one becomes more aware of what one considers hard. Or it can simply be the truth of parched lawn. Or, from Aug. 8 entry: HARD - to believe I don't have enough brown sugar to make chocolate chip cookies.

FAST makes one aware of time, or not eating (hahaha), speed of decision-making, or of speeding up some part's of a day's production. From Feb. 10 entry: FAST - the fast has disappeared. I must get back to the discipline.

(Perhaps SLOW might become part of exercise - but not for now. YOU may use it if you choose.)

So, back to blogging, again. Sort of like the beginning of the "Bob's Burgers" cartoon. Re- Re-Re...

And with thoughts of all the world spinnings going on & regular local life, too - quoting Mr. Kurt Vonnegut ("God Bess You, Mr. Rosewater") again: "There's only one rule that I know of, babies - God damn it, you've got to be kind."

Going to play with some "easy" printing techniques today - to hopes of producing a few things good enough to show at Stillwater Art Guild Print Show in September. Do have a decent woodcut to frame, but have to try new things. On to the Grand Adventures!
And on to The Bikery - just for the halibut -

Fare-thee-well, (be kind)

Sue