January 31

Fun with paint?  I wanted to play with the acrylics again but didn't have anything in mind.  I painted a background and then played with layering in other colors with different brushes.  There really wasn't any thought involved; the brush went where ever it wanted to go.  This is the end result.  Sort of a tangled mess of a colorful web.

I can't believe I've been doing this for a month already.  I should have done this ages ago.  I'm really enjoying the whole creative process am excited to continue.  I've been looking for other classes to take as well, mostly workshops because, as I'm in grad school, committing to another weekly class is a little rough.  I do need to start investing in higher quality art supplies, but that will happen over time as I use up what I have.

January 30

Today's creative time came when, technically speaking it should not have.  Inspiration took me in the middle of a mandatory training.  I was amazingly bored and being force-fed information that I'd been force-fed at least two times before.  At first I was doodling, then I started writing a letter, then it just started.  It sounds pretty outraged and probably more than a little contrived, but here is what came out when I just started writing what was in front of me.

I was very hesitant in putting this up.  Writing is very difficult for me.  Writing and sharing is terrifying.  Even though what I wrote just sort of flowed out, I was seriously considering not posting it.  I came very close to painting or drawing or something just to have something else to post.  Facing fears...yay?

It reads:

There's a lady at the front of the room.  Clearly passionate about she's talking about.  But I don't care.  She might as well be the teacher from Charlie Brown.  Wah-wah wah-wah wah.  I've heard all this shit before.  It might have been helpful 3,5,10 years ago.  Now, you're just wasting my time.  Trying to tell me how to do my job when I already do so much more than what you're advocating for.  You think small.  This program is small.  The books you're thumping in my direction aggravate and annoy me.  You would really take my contribution to the world and marginalize it until I'm irrelevant?  You hand me books and papers and proudly declare, "It's all done for you," "What could be easier?" "What an amazing resource."  "So much simpler."  Here's my response.  I don't want it all done for me.  I worked to get here.  I don't want some over-paid soulless money-grubbing corporation doing "everything" for me or the group of children they've never met, who are dealing with issues they can't fathom, and are capable of more than their narrow minds can conceive.  "What could be easier?"  When did teaching or childhood become easy?  Both are fraught with challenges; small bumps in the road and catastrophic explosions that make you wonder how you'll survive that ends in amazing potential for growth, insight, and progress.Teaching and childhood are messy and marvelous.  They are ups and downs, amazing discoveries and hard learned lessons.  They're not supposed to be easy or simple.  Anyone who tells you they are is not just selling something, they're selling you a steaming pile of manure.

January 29

I spent most of the day on the couch again.  Not fun.  Not even a little.  However, towards the end of the evening I actually started feeling bored watching TV.  I got up, made some dinner, then decided I wanted to paint.  This is what came out:

Overall, I'm pretty happy.  In the photo I like the tree's shadow a lot more than I do in the actual painting.  I don't feel like it works and I almost wish I hadn't tried it.  At the same point it seemed out of place for there not to be a shadow.  The biggest frustration in doing this painting was losing bristles in the sky.  Apparently, I was using a really cheap brush and as I'm frantically smoothing paint side to side I didn't realize that several bristles were being left on the paper.  Live and learn right?  If I'm going to keep this up I am definitely going to have to slowly replace my initial supplies with higher quality ones.

January 28

Sadly, I've been down sick all day.  I made it in to work and was then was sent home.  Not much motivation to get off the couch once I made it there, let alone to create anything.  In between naps I watched tutorials.  Most of the tutorials I watched were on acrylics.  I learned some very interesting techniques for painting skies, and background, methods for adding highlights, and the difference in effect between painting highlights on wet paint versus on dry paint.  Hopefully in the next day or so I'll feel up to sitting at the table and painting.

January 27

I fully intended to paint today.  That was until I woke up feeling more than a little under the weather.  I spent the day on the couch under blankets.  In between just lying there staring at the TV I embroidered.  Apparently I embroidered a lot.  The I and the V are finished.  And I'm going to bed.

January 26

I had the meanest urge to paint...something.  It's kind of a problem when you really want to explore and create with a medium, but have no inspiration as to what in the world to do with it.  So, I did what I've done every other time I've been stuck in this challenge thus far, I asked my sister (she's awesome by the way).  She suggested I just play with the paint.  So I did.  I played with the acrylic set I got.  First I discovered that my "set" contained absolutely no shades of purple.  That is really annoying.  While yes I know, "blue and red make purple," purple is so much more complicated than that.  There were however, three shades of brown (?) two greens, two blues, two yellows, one orange, one red, and black and white.  I think I need a better set.  I mostly played with flat brushes.  They were the most fun to lay paint and blend with.  Also, I'm clearly still obsessed with trees.  I will be playing more tomorrow.  And shopping for better acrylic sets.

January 25

I finished the T.  I like how it came out.  Initially I wasn't going to outline it, but something didn't seem quite right about the way it looked.  At first I only rant he black thread at intersection and where the two colors of green met.  It still didn't look right.  After I outline it all it seemed to come together.  The I is next and I'm trying to figure the color scheme.  I might to blues or oranges.  I have to give it more thought.

This is how the project looks overall so far.  I'm really happy with the way it's shaping up.  I was apprehensive at first that the idea would work better in my head and wouldn't translate in reality.  SO far so good.