ARE YOU READY WITH YOUR ART PLANS FOR 2010?

The New Year is fast approaching. I have been giving much consideration to my art goals for 2010. First, a quick overview of what constitutes a true goal:
1. Must be written down!
2. Must be specific (words like more, some, better etc. are not specific enough)
3. Must be attainable (example...I will paint on the moon is not an attainable goal)
Once I have established my goals, a plan must be created to make things happen. I came across my written goals for 2009 today while cleaning up my desk. It was satisfying to see that most of them were accomplished. The two disappointments were beyond my direct control but I did do everything in my power to make them happen. Most years I write out the goals, contemplate what actions I need to take, and then set the sheet aside. There is something in this process that sets it internally for me. When I check the list at the end of the year, much has come to pass.

One goal I wanted to carry over from last year was to draw every day. I did a lot of drawing this past year but I missed the "every day" part. It started me thinking. What might I do to encourage this practice. It occurred to me that drawing on a calendar would keep me on track. Especially one of those 365 day calendars with a separate page for each day. I headed out for the bookstore today to find one. Calendars are 50% off now with many wonderful themes to choose from. Maybe I should improve my pathetic French with a word a day, or attempt Italian or Spanish. In the end, I settled on a perfect match for me. I am focusing on grids (especially quilt patterns at the moment), self portraits, collage, quick sketching. It will all come together with this neat daily calendar of quilt blocks. I am going to use them as a collage element after drawing on them. To reinforce the "daily" element, I have started a blog just for this activity. There is nothing like public declarations to embarrass ourselves into following through. Starting January 1 you can follow my progress on www.drawntothemirror.blogspot.com

This is my planned setup. I want to draw from life and there is a program in my MacBook called Photobooth which turns on the internal camera. I could just prop up a mirror but I like the Photobooth program for now. I can use all manner of pen and ink materials, icluding white ink. The calendar fits in front of the computer and has a built in easel so it is propped up at a nice angle to draw. Here is my trial sample using a bamboo pen and India ink.

If you want to improve your drawing, why not give this idea a try. You can draw any subject you like. At the very least, you need to get busy with your art goals for 2010. It's going to be a wonderful year!

MY FRIST PAPER CUT DRAWING + SLIDE STUDENT SLIDE SHOW

Here is my first attempt at the paper cut drawing. I just colored it in with markers instead of cutting it out. I think I will copy the image onto heavier paper and try cutting it out, just for fun and to see if it holds up! I decided I needed a border so I started with that. This is an image of 3 figures (cropped very close) The dark areas are the part I would cut out. Mostly my plan is to cut out lines to define the figures. I think I want to try it again and have the lines the parts that are left. While I was working on this drawing it occurred to me that unlimited options are the enemy of creativity. By creating limits, we force ourselves to come up with some new solutions and stretch.

Maggie Metcalf and Hilda Hall sent me their drawing series. It shows how multiple efforts really pay off. Each one found a face they couldn't resist! Great work, ladies. Thank you for sharing.

EXAMPLE OF JULY DRAWING CHALLENGE BY A MASTER!

Here is a most exquisite example of what can be done with a paper cut. I don't plan to do anything nearly as complicated as this image. Thank you, Marilyn, for sharing. The following is the e-mail I received along with this beautiful image.

"This is a life size paper cut done by Xiaohong Zhang. She is a professor at University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. She is originally from China.
I wish I could find her web site for a better image of this paper cut, this photo only shows the top part. The rest includes the legs,, with the veins being tree branches. She learned paper cutting from her grandmother. Her art is combining the western art with her Chinese art.

Marilyn Fuerstenberg"

Today I managed to get the NWS painting "Put Your Dukes Up" reframed and completed the paper work. This is the John Wayne image I did on Tyvek when we were working on starting with a grid.
There is a small window of 5 days when someone will be available to receive it, so I will wait until Monday to ship it off. The wooden frame required that I put the wire holders on by screwing into the frame. In the past I have often had to enlist the help of my husband because I didn't have enough strength in my hands to accomplish the job. Today I decided to manage the task myself. When I went looking for the electric screw driver I found 6 different ones (including 3 that looked exactly alike to me....two of these still sealed in their plastic packaging)!!!!!!!!!!! And I thought artists were compulsive about their insatiable desire for supplies. I decided to appropriate one of the three clones for myself. It is nice and compact, not very heavy and has about 24 different tips. I was very happy with my efforts...the wood didn't split and only one of the 4 screws is slightly askew. Next time absolute perfection!

I also spent a little time figuring out how to use my new mini printer connecting it to the computer. Before I just put the photo card in the slot. I printed out a few images, so now I will sit down and start my cut paper style drawing. Hopefully, I will have something to share tomorrow.