When I Remember Blue...

When I remember blue I think about the Honda I had, and the blue boat that looked like the car was wearing a bike helmet.

From Twisted Stitches Monday Memory Meme prompt.

Illustration Friday: Beginning

A some point, in the last few weeks, "Beginning" was an IF prompt. After I did this piece I thought it would make a nice post for beginning. Several weeks ago I got to see the Mosaic of Lod at the Legion of Honor Museum. (here) Dating back to about 300 AD, this mosaic is an early example in the annuals of art history. (Not the beginning of art by any stretch, but certainly something durable that left a record for a long time.)

With mosaics on my mind, I kept the fragments of the egg shells from our dyed Easter eggs: Easter being a celebration of beginnings (and endings that morph into beginnings.) The kids weren't interested in the project--so I did my own. Some sort of spiral seemed appropriate--and I wanted to use all the colors.

Illustration Friday: Journey, visual note taking

I have read a lot lately about how the internet is rewiring our brains. There is fear or delight that we now consume information like butterflies: flitting from one nugget of info to the next without really going deeply into anything. The ones who are fearful lament how few take the time to journey through an entire book anymore.

While it does get harder with the demands of being a stay-at-home-mom who is homeschooling, I do still enjoy the journey through a whole book. (but I like being an information butterfly too.)

I've also been introduced to the concept of visual note taking, and thought I would give it a go for my notes on my most recent read In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise by George Prochnik.

So here is my first attempt at visual notes, and I've learned a few things. Like there is a skill to visual outlining that I don't have yet. The elements of composition such as size and contrast apply sort of like the Roman numerals and alphabet of written outlines. I made some of my images too big in comparison to the importance in the text. It is a very different form of illustration.

Abstract

Just a little exploration of Sketchbook Pro on my iPad. I'm still trying to learn it since it is very different from working with Photoshop which is what I'm used to.

Illustration Friday: Duet

The IF prompt a week ago was "Duet." I started working on this while the kids were at choir practice last week, but didn't manage to finish it until choir practice this week. This was done on my iPad with Sketchbook Pro.

Illustration Friday: Toy

"It went zip when it went,

Bop when it stopped,

And whir when it stood still."

~from a song by Peter, Paul, and Mary

(Originally by Tom Paxton)

This week's topic is "toy." This song popped into my head when I read it. It is difficult to illustrate a mysterious object.

Illustration Friday: Cultivate

This week's prompt is Cultivate. We are cultivating a lot of things around here, including scientific minds. DH is growing pea plants as part of an experiment and having the kids observe their growth.