A Thousand Words: Night Driving Edition

Rain and snow on Hastings

Trying Something New

A Painting the Peanut & I did together

can be daunting. Especially when you go from working in a medium that you have become so comfortable working in, that the process is mostly a focus on bringing about your vision instead of learning the aspects of that medium and how to work within the medium to get the finished product that is in your minds eye.

For example changing your drawing medium from pen and ink to brush and ink. With pen and ink you draw using lines, crosshatching or scribbles for building up your shadows. After a certain amount of time you don't really think about where your pen tip is going how your marks are being made you just look at your subject and draw, or int he case of drawing from your head you just draw. If one day you decide to try something different and pull out a bamboo brush and a jar of india ink the process of drawing becomes a little more about using that medium instead of the medium as a means to an end. With ink and brush you start with light washes, working from light to dark, it's a slower process, the ink dries in a specific way and the look of the sketch is softer. if you are working wet into wet you get unexpected blends and unexpected hard lines where the wet areas have dried. The process becomes focused on the medium and you start to look at your subject differently. When that happens there's growth in your art.

Snapshot from my phone

Of course one of the daunting aspects is that what you're making isn't going to be perfect, that there are going to be less than ideal and unpredictable outcomes. The trick is to use the newness of the medium to let go of the finished project. Make the process the goal instead of the final piece; at least until you've gotten to really really know the medium. Of course that's not as easy as it sounds when you put it down in words. Creating something be it a drawing, a photograph, painting or sculpting is a personal thing. Becoming invested in what you are creating is inevitable. there's the time invested, the money that goes into buying the materials, the imagination and the effort. All those things put together make it almost impossible to give up control, to relinquish the desire to put what is being worked on up on a pedestal. A good friend just posted about this very thing on her blog. She put is so perfectly that I felt I had to address the same subject here.

Why? well because I made a decision at the end of last year that I was going to reintroduce myself to the basics of creating. You know, in between dealing with a busy Bean and a precocious Peanut. It's not always easy but to motivate me I've started following the Sketchbook Challenge and I've started photographing on a daily basis with an iphone. (getting past the camera has to be a camera mindset helps a little. My camera snobbery was holding me back, especially when I was worried about braining the Bean with my heavy SLR when she'd need to be picked up.) I'm more prolific with the camera right now but that's not what's important. What is important is that I'm making time to create and the process is more important than the final outcome.

Doodles from my sketchbook a la
The Sketchbook Challenge

Giving myself permission to make mistakes, push past them and go too far, to reign it back in and push too far again to go so far that there's no turning back, no fixing it. To let go. It seems like taking advantage of that permission is the greatest challenge. So what about you? do you sometimes find that you are holding on too tightly to what you're creating that you aren't letting it grow? I remember a drawing class where after a set amount of time we stood up moved to the next space and continued on the drawing that our neighbor had just left... I still cringe at the thought of letting go of my ownership of that piece of paper...

Looking Ahead

Another calendar page for next year. I liked how the crane shape was mirrored in the street light. I personally like to have a glimpse of what came before and what's coming so I've included teeny calendarettes with last and next months dates for easy reference. Another great feature of the My Memories Calendar option? That I can make changes to colour, size and all manner of options on one page and have all the calendars be the same with the click of a mouse. What are your favourite options for a wall calendar? Do you like to know when the moon is going to be full? When the next Stat holiday is? Please share in the comments.

It's A Date

Early Evening in Downtown Vancouver makes
a beautiful January calendar image

Still on a My Memories creativity binge. I whipped up this calendar page in about ten minutes; including interruptions in the form of the Bean playing with the toilet.  I haven't added some of the personal things I'd like to have on my calendar yet like the Bean's Birthday, the dates of the moon phases and highlights to remember inside the February mini at the top of the page but you get the idea.

If you missed my post reviewing the My Memories Software you can view it here.

If you'd like a chance to enter to win your own copy (worth $39.97 USD) follow the instructions in the widget. If you are having trouble seeing the widget please leave a comment on this post so I can fix any problems.

A Thousand Words

Air and Oil Edition:

A Thousand Words: the new edition edition

Three days old and dressing to
impress her sister; the dino lover

A Thousand Words

A blast from the past in anticipation for the future

A Thousand Words

Painting the Pterodactyl hat for Sunday

Where to start...

It seems I need to get a day job. Or at the very least an evenings and weekend job. Why? you ask. Well, a number of factors are place here: it seems that having the Peanut when we did and then waiting until I was staying home with the Peanut to start requesting interest relief has combined into a coming back to bite me in the hind quarters. Had it lasted just one more year, 12 short months then we could have had the Peanut in school and I would have time during the day to go to a part time job. But alas and also Hooray hooray this is not the case.

I say alas for obvious reasons, the timing sucks. Hooray because I now have the opportunity to start working off those pesky student loans and to possibly do it on my own terms...

A while back, I posted in the Etsy Canada Forum that I was available to do product shots and I've had a little interest in that direction. The trick, as always is to keep the interest growing. I'll be posting a new thread in those forums to try to drum up some more interest and hopefully bring in some jobs. In the meantime, I'll be bringing out the old resume and giving it a polish too.

I stood out in the rain

all morning on Saturday, I also crouched, lunged, tilted and a few other positions; all in the name of getting a great shot.

It's not often that I get a chance to photograph people over the age of four let alone a group of people none of whom had any children in attendance. So who was I shooting and what for? Let me tell you, but first some back story to set the stage, if you will.

The husband plays bass in a few groups. Recently he joined a cover band and, as it happens one of the guitarists in this cover band is also one of the guitarists for a local metal band here in Vancouver; Lethal Halo. I'm not a huge fan of Metal music but I can appreciate good music when I hear it; regardless of musical genre. Their music is really good. If you are a metal head, or know someone who is; send them the link to Lethal Halo's website.

So getting back to what I did this weekend; They were looking for someone to do a photo shoot for their website and upcoming albums and that led to me hanging out in downtown Vancouver on a very rainy Saturday morning with some really fantastic people. The shoot went off without a hitch, except for the loud and obnoxious junkie who didn't take too kindly to having us on her turf. I got some really great shots and I can't wait to see which frames they decide to use and whether they are the same shots that I like or not.

I want to get the band their copies before I share with everyone. For now, you can see on of the locations we used above. I hope your weekend was a good one!

A big Grumpapotomus

Thank all Gods that the husband stuck close to home today and took over the Peanut. Lethal Halo; The band I'm photographing next week played a live show Saturday night and he went out to watch them and then slept in on Sunday. The moment the Peanut woke up all evidence pointed to a grumpy little girl. We've gone diaper free over the last 10 days and have remained dry all night but keeping her in the mindset of going straight to the bathroom first thing in the morning is a bit of a struggle even with the dry bum. There was a lot of whimpering and moaning and whining and a little crying and at lasted on and off all day long. When the Husband got up he was awesome and took over, going out with the Peanut to the park and shopping for supplies and letting me have a little me time.

Of course this morning is shaping up to be pretty similar. We are waiting on the call to go pick up the Peanut's eye glasses (It's been three weeks since they were ordered) and she's already tried to divert my exasperation with requests for hugs about 50 times. She's a smart little girl.

I shot at least 130 people yesterday

And it was so much fun.

I managed to snag a project for my husband's work last week and yesterday I went in and took staff ID photos for use in the company newsletter, on their web page and for their security IDs. So out of this I get to contribute to the grocery bill this month and also book another session at Blim to make more buttons and magnets.

It was the first time I've left the Peanut and gone off to work since she came along and on the one hand it was fun getting out and being with adults all day but on the other I missed her too. I've got one more year until she's school aged and then we'll have to decide if she's going to be home schooled or if we'll be sending her off to either french immersion or regular school.

I'm of two minds about the whole thing: I'd love to home school her; I have reservations about how learning systems are set up in schools and I'd love to learn with her in a self directed manner. On the other hand I some how think that she would benefit from taking instruction from some one other than me. I've got another year of sitting on the fence. Anyone else out there go the home schooling route first off? start with school and switch to home learning? What were your reasons?

I do love a good thick fog

We've had a nice blanket of fog here this morning and yesterday we had another. I've mentioned before how much I love the light in a fog.

A thousand Words

A baker

A Thousand Words Thursday

just another foggy morning in Bird-ville

Thousand Words Thursday

I'll keep this short, I'm battling a bug, coughing, sore throat and sinus problems are keeping me under the radar. Fortunately the Peanut doesn't seem to have a barnacle in her throat (the peanut's way of saying I have a sore throat) yet so she me get our of this unscathed, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. and limiting lovin's to kisses on the cheeks and foretheads (the Peanut's word for forehead) and hugs and snuggles whenever they're required.

The light outside our window was just too good to miss, the dark
looming clouds and the glowing autumnal leaves begged to be
photographed, so I obliged.

Halloween is getting closer

and you can tell because:





not only that but we're going on the Ghost Train tomorrow night. It's a family tradition for us, we started when the peanut was an itty bitty bit and we unaware that she was hanging out inside my belly and we've gone every year since. Since the Peanut is nuts about trains and has been for most of her life it's a treat on many many levels, not only does she get to stay up extra late but she gets a ride on the train, and a chance to see the petting zoo animals and there's a possibility of peacocks and raccoons. (We of course have raccoons in our neighborhood but they don't share space with peacocks) and I'm not even going to get into the face painting and extra chance to dress up. It's going to be a good night.

House Keeping and new Business

Back in July I held my first give-away,, in some ways it was a great success, I received lots of great feedback gained some new followers and I learned a lot from the process. I had lots of entries but the winner of the draw never replied to any of my messages regarding her prize.

What's a blogger to do? well I waited just in case a little time was needed but I can't wait any longer. Using the random number generator at Random.org I've drawn a new winner and that winner is Julie! I've contacted Julie via her email address and I am waiting for mailing information so I can get those photographs in the mail.

In other news I've been a busy little artist. I have started adding Artist Trading Card sized photographic prints in TMCPhoto. I'll be including my favourite prints from the shop in this size and adding any requests from you too. In fact I've added a poll here for you to pick which prints you'd like to see as an ACEO, please take a moment to let me know which ones you like.


I'm also working on a new project involving glass paints, microscope slides and solder. Here are a few examples:

A Thousand Words Thursday

you can barely see it, but the tiny white speck at the top of the
mountain there, is the new windmill they've installed
on Grouse Mountain.
Yay for greener energy!

Thousand Words Thursday

it's strange what people leave on the bus...

in other news I am working feverishly on my tutorial which sill go live on Tuesday!