Process ~ Playtime

Hibernatin' & Thumbnailin'

When the weather outside is like this (just above 0°F):

I move my workspace to where it's warmest in the house.

Pup agrees.

Doodle Doodle Do

It All Begins Here...

... with really rough thumbnail sketches.*

These are for a new book. I love the unlimited possibilities at this stage.

(*Actually, it really all begins in my head. Kind of awkward to photograph, though.)

21-Day Challenge Update: Days 5-8

"Life is short, art is long. Get the habit."
-Danny Gregory, The Creative License

Well, I've fallen off the boat for a bit. I missed two days of my 15 minute writing on Friday and Saturday. Call it the feast or famine lifestyle of a freelancer, but of course after I committed to this challenge the work started pouring in. And last week I got a huge map commission that will keep me swamped through the end of May.

But have no fear, I'm still in it. The thing is, I'm actually in it for life, not just the 21 days. (I'll bet most of the other participating artists are, too.) Because on days I don't get to the writing, I still at least scribble in my journal. Here are pages from yesterday:















I was thinking about simplified expressions, and then my brain started to go into graphic designer mode, thinking about shapes and balance on the page. Why was I thinking this? I'm not quite sure! Maybe it was the subconscious kicking in, having to do with things I've been reading and thinking about lately.

I hesitated to post these, because I was really tired and they felt like nonsense pages. But it's all in the spirit of sharing, right?

All Thumbs & 21-day Challenge- Days 3 & 4

Sometimes it takes a while to get the ideas flowing, and I'm one big ball of procrastination. So I play this little game: I make a page full of thumbnail squares and tell myself I have to fill up each one. Some are pretty, um... crappy, but others turn out to be good possibilities. It's kind of like inching my way in to that state of inspiration... but it really works. Try it sometime!

I've been sticking to the writing for 15 minutes for days 3 and 4. Work is busy again and I haven't gotten to it until the end of the day when I'm tired and cranky-- but somehow it leaves me feeling invigorated. This is something I've really needed to do. I'm enjoying it.