working the 'just one cow' theory and a squib from Stella

I’ve been having a lot of trouble getting going again since my Mom passed. But I’m trying, trying, trying to get back into making some things. On the “just one cow” principle and with an eye toward the now-annual show that my First Thursday group prepares, I’m fussing with sketches. A deadline focuses the mind wonderfully. Vivien at Seven Pines Designs deserves credit for the inspiration. She sent around a note with a theme-and-variations exercise that seemed easy enough to support easing back into it. So I made some doodles based on a picture of a bird (from memory, I didn't find the picture until a couple of days later):

I thought these might have some potential -- and was interested to see serendipity had led to having some of the lines almost align:

I thought I could use the sketches as source images for a small triptych and embed the triptych in a larger background for the exhibition piece. I put traced copies down, shuffled them about, and had a few looks. The bright yellow background is a cut-up file folder I was using to estimate the final scale.

Then I set it aside to look at again tomorrow as I brought home a boatload of work from the office this weekend and sincerely want to get at least some of it underway. Ah! well, the things we do for health insurance.

Stella: you’re not blogging without me, are you??!!?

Melanie: I thought you were sleeping.
Stella: i’m not. and anyway, you were gonna let me sleep through it?
Melanie: You had a big day yesterday with your first visit to the vet.
Stella: first! i have to do that again?
Melanie: Not right away.
Stella: he stuck needles in me and poked my ears.
Melanie: Yes, and I paid him to do that.
Stella: you didn’t.
Melanie: I did.
Stella: i hate you now.
Melanie: You don’t. You have a lovely professional manicure.
Stella: i do. wait, don’t change the subject.
Melanie: I’m not changing the subject, I'm returning to the subject. You have your pictures ready?
Stella: i’m only gonna do one.
Melanie: Sulking is unattractive.
Stella: not sulking.
Melanie: Are too
Stella: am not. your camera is stupid and i could only get one good one.
Melanie: All right then, let’s what you’ve got.

Melanie Another triumph. What do you call it?

Stella: Shadow Mandala with Carpet Square.
Melanie Very evocative.

Stella: i know. i’m gonna sleep now.

Melanie: That’ll be different.
Stella: i heard that.
Melanie: You were meant to.
Stella: i hate you now.
Melanie: You don’t.

Stella: i know. but i’m still gonna sleep now.

little boxes

In a recent thread over at artand perception.com, McFawn offered an exercise:

"Draw a ½ inch by ½ inch box with a pen. Then, fill the box with forms–but make it interesting. This is very difficult because you can’t work with nuance, texture, etc–just a fat penline in a small space. Do about ten of these and you’ll see both how limited an artist’s choices are in terms of overall forms, and how interesting a little box can be."

So I thought I'd try it. I didn't collapse into quivering frustration, so I'm sure I've done it wrong (forms? qu'est-ce que forms?), but here they are. The last one is an idea I've been incubating for a tiny (4-inch square) expression of the vernal equinox. Now that the solstice is almost upon us, and if the general excavating of a workroom continues at a good pace, maybe I'll get it done. The bottom band will be robin-gray, the next one up will be red-breast-rust, and the next robin-beak yellow overlain with yellow bugle beads, and the top will be bird-head black.