molly irwin

preview

Enjoying playing with materials, photos and words this week for a handmade teacher's thank you book.  I work slowly still, still new to the hand-made aspect instead of everything being digital.  But, I like this working with my hands so much more than just a mouse.  The textures have so much dimenstion.  Here, I painted a plain chipboard book, I'll be adding a small photo under the square frame and then fixing a ribbon underneath to secure all the pages.  I'll share finished pictures after the weekend. 

remember

This weekend is a time set aside for us (as Americans) to not forget those who have passed.  I think it is an apt time also to let us forget not a part of ourselves perhaps that might be gone, that maybe we miss.  Too often, because of careers, or obligations of family ... the reasons are many, we forget to nurture ourselves.  This is too important to let slide. 

I may have mentioned before about my motivation here being to explore this part of me, this visually creative part, that I have been missing.  I encourage everyone to not let these rich experiences we have had remain simply a part of our past.  If you feel the longing -- pursue it.  Get out there.  Do it.  Life is short.  Life is for living!  Here's to the doing the mapping out the plans, the organization, the groundwork.  Cheers to all of that as we head into the weekend.

greek salad & fried eggs

Can a salad be artful?  Yes!  Oh definately yes.  Eating well, with lots of color is important for us, body and soul.  I saw one similar in Whole Foods and thought it would be easy (& less expensive) to replicate at home.  so here's what I did:

1 zuccini, peeled, diced large

1 cucumber, peeled (striped), seeded, diced large

1 green pepper, diced large

1/4 - 1/2 red onion, diced fine

handful of fresh, flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 can pitted black olives, drained & sliced

1/2 block of feta, chopped fine

dressing: 2 Tbl. red wine vinegar, 3 Tbl. EVOO, pepper & salt to taste

It made a big bowl full.  Ohhhh so yummy and summery!  (Note to self: new digital camera would be very helpful.)

And after looking at the way this little guy (above) turned out, there was an obvious story line about the lives of these simple blooms revealed. Could not resist bordering with same.  It reads:  The small blushing flowers were sweating like fried eggs under the pressure of their imposing sunny competitors.

I'm off to photograph (with my better 35mm) some 2nd graders, hopefully interacting with their teacher.  Onward!

doodles and stories

Some days are just meant for doodles .. just playing with my limited pencil colors and feeling like it's definately time to add some new ones to the mix.  But, part of what I want to do right now is use the supplies I've got, which are abundant, to brush up.  Does everybody have those things lying around that they think they will use someday?

The little book I'm working on is really coming together.  Have some practical parts of that to get out tomorrow and will possibly show the pieces in progress soon, with the exception of the children's pictures, which are private and many parents would not want that. 

Paul and I thoroughly enjoyed meeting John Abrams for drinks over the weekend, he is the friend of a friend, and was in town for a conference.  Very good storyteller in print, and if possible, moreso in person.  Just a warm and friendly man who was totally engaging. He has done, and is doing, some great things in his own community of Marha's Vineyard and feels strongly about widespread adaptability of those practices for the benefit of other people, nationwide. Really great night.

from here to where?

Ummm, this is really a good idea.  Check it out.  I'm reading the same book as Kal and can see why Kal is all fired up about writing down your own road map to the future.  A map! I love maps.  I'm going to use that in my visual i think. 

watercolor pencil peonies

I did a fun little exercise today.  Thanks to some very timely watercolor pencil tips from Kal Barteski, I felt rejuvenated and went right back to playing with my old Faber-Castells.   (Note: the “unsatisfactory dogwood” is pictured peaking out from beneath my pocket notebook.)   

Things I did differently this time:

+ relaxed my attitude/approached it as a doodle

+ used good paper: Strathmore, watercolor 90 lb.  (what do I think I'm saving it for?)

+ did not illustrate in pen and ink.  Used pencil to sketch out plan

+ chose a different subject from our daily walk.  A neighbor's peony.

+ borrowed Kal's subject-overlapping-border style.  (love that) It's absolutely a take-off on her work. Hope that's okay.

+  remembered from college art classes to use to variation in depth of color.  Was always timid about laying down too much color and consequently never had as much contrast as I would like.  Not so this time 'round.

+  could not help myselft, blended with brush a little too much. Oh well, no harsh critisism today.

+ looking at this reminds me of the peonies from the south side of my Granma's house by the cellar door.  Jotted down a few words about that memory. (Used a black, Zig Millenium .03 point)

I did this outside while the kids rode their bikes and kicked balls in the yard.  I made time to fit in a little project and Joan (5) really enjoyed (& learned from) seeing me do this.  I had to be outside to watch over them anyway, so it worked out well that I got to do something fun for me at the same time.  Although I see things that I will do differently going forward, I am only thinking those things as a result of having done this piece.  Gotta walk before you can run!

Overall I'm happy just having put the color down.  Happy day.

More

Today I sketched a dogwood leaf with watercolors.  It was so unsatisfactory that I don't want to share it here.   It's frustrating, this starting over, because I used to be pretty good at this stuff.  I just want my hands to match what my eyes are interpreting.  Is that too much to ask?  Rationally, I know it is, yes.  Too much since I am out of practice.  But I feel good about continuing this little-bit-each-day approach. 

Part of the reason I started this blog was to track my progress.  I'm hopeful that a year from now, I'll look back on these early posts and say: "oh, okay - I that's more like it."  I wish I could simply say to myself, no hurry, just living life like everybody else, but a BIG part of me feels a real growing urgency about this.  Only way to deal with that is to just do MORE of it. More sketching.  More playing around with materials.  More working it out.  More seeing where this will go. 

The drawing is only one of the skills sets I am working on, so I'll keep it up.  Better to start over now, than at 50 or 60.  My Dad (a very talented architect and artist) died leaving an empty sketch book - only the date line on the first blank page and then white throughout.  I don't want this to happen to me.  This idea of an ability, a talent left undeveloped.  I feel that if Dad were here now he would implore me to go through the pages wildly, documenting each discovery.  I have his old book and those pages are calling me.  I hear you Dad.

blossoming

Our weekend included a bike ride around the National Arboretum; one of our favorite spots.  Despite being rich with natural beauty, it is never crowded.  We always marvel that it must be the best kept secret in Washington.   With our without children it's a great place to just enjoy the outdoors and see some beautiful sights:  the herb garden, the bonsai garden, the coy pond, the azalea garden (454 of the nations largest blooming azaleas) and the original capital columns standing erect on the east lawn.  Simply beautiful!  I did not take my camera this time.  The entire area is in bloom - these are from my neighbors yard.

On Mother's Day Paul took the kids for another bike ride in the park while I just got a little time to myself to drink coffee and take a shower.  Hey, those things are much more enjoyable without interuption.  I planned a backyard scavenger hunt for the kids and they photodocumented their findings on their rugged little fisher price cameras.  We finished the day with dinner at Eggspectation.  A good day.

The week ahead has a big to-do list.  For too long I have been guilty of avoiding some paperwork around here and until that is accomplished I cannot move on.  That is my prioriy, but I'll try to fit some color in where I can.  Onward!

seeing

My hands are lacking the skill that comes with familiarity, with doing.  My brain is lacking the confidence I once had that I can draw.  But my soul desires the feeling of expression through forming shapes and lines so I serve this need daily in small ways.  In ten minutes before dinner time I can take the time to carefully look at something.  Drawing requires seeing more deeply; clearly.  I can sketch a representation of something recognizable, but in order to draw better we need to see better.  Quentin Blake said recently "we live under a bombardment of manufactured images, and in the face of that we need to be able to draw as a way of discovering the reality of the world about us, as well as the life in ourselves."   That sums up my renewed practice pretty well.

Happy weekend.  Happy Mother's Day.

next up ...

a little book for Helen's teacher as a year-end thank you gift.  Other parent's in the class have entrusted me with their childrens' photos for the project.  (You'll be getting those back soon.)  Their teacher this year is just really special.  She really listens to the kids and takes time to show warmth to them.  They respond in kind.  She is a part of their lives now; for always.  This keepsake will always be a reminder of this time in her career, and I'm leaving an open spot for her to jot down a few thoughts on teaching, right now, that she can come back to down the road and see just who she was in relation to these children, at this time.

I wish I had written something down of my own ideaology about my career in my early twenties.  I can only imagine what that would read like now.