Dina Wakley inspiration

I've been binge-watching Dina Wakley on Youtube and feeling inspired. This page was done after watching the demo on using large brushes. You can see further down in the photos the beginning drawing. It was done with a 2in/5cm brush. The thing with a brush of that size is that you don't have much control, so you let go and just see what happens. Once you let go of perfection it's amazing what you can do. I just love the eyes on this page, so much so that I made some prints and framed them and also some cards :) The picture above is what I used for the print and I removed the wording, but in my journal it says, "let go of perfection and surprise yourself'. 

Where are you finding inspiration in lock-down?

Remember to breathe

Just remember to breathe.

The rest follows.

When overwhelm threatens, breathe in for a count of four, hold for two, breathe out for a count of four. Just calming your body helps to calm your mind.

100 days project - days 11-15

I'm enjoying and frustrated with the 100 day project in equal measure 😊

I find the small size restrictive. I'm having to rein in my marks, use smaller brushes and smaller stencils. On the other hand, creating every day is a good discipline and working at something you find difficult grows patience and perseverance. Looking at lots of pieces together also helps you to see repetitive elements. One doesn't have to look long at my work to see that circles are a recurring theme. I find them soothing, so maybe it's not so surprising that in these uncertain days they are cropping up on my pages with regularity.

As for my other project - 100 layers - I find that I'm so used to using fewer layers that I've headed towards a finished page with 80 odd more layers to go. A lot of things are going to be covered up as I progress. I realise now that I should have started with more blocks of colour and fewer smaller marks (the perils of working larger and smaller than usual at the same time!) I can see everything being covered up several times before I reach the end of the 100 days.

Under water

It can feel like you're moving underwater when things are uncertain.

I'm not really a mermaidy person, but the colours on this page and the urge to draw a face resulted in one. The piece of collage at the top suggested the 'waterweed' hair.

Mundane

The mundane never stops.

No matter how extraordinary these days may seem, the everyday still goes on. Cleaning, cooking, laundry- they don't stop for lock-downs or for grief. For a few days they may be put on hold, but eventually the chores pile up and demand our attention again.

Maybe these mundane things are just the things that will get us through these strange times as we remember that life still goes on.

100 day project - days 6-10

Days 6-10 of the 100 day project. Here are the next five of my tiny pieces. A limited palette seems to work well, and also small marks. I'm starting to get used to such small substrates. That doesn't mean I like it, though! The restraints are forcing me to simplicity, I think. I find myself putting fewer layers down.

The one below is my favourite so far, and I really don't like the one with the fish. But then I don't expect to like everything I create in this 100 day challenge.

There will be rejoicing

There will be rejoicing.

This page just looked joyful to me. When we are let out of lockdown I have no doubt there will be rejoicing. There will be hugging, eating together, gathering to worship again and sing together. There will be sport and parties and not having to step off the pavement to pass people at 2m apart. I hope we will have a better appreciation for these seemingly everyday blessings now we know what it's like to live without them.

I am sure there will also be lament, as we are able to mourn our losses together - but that's for another page.

100 day project

This is the first year I've done the 100 day project on Instagram. I'm actually doing two projects (might as well jump in with both feet!) The first one I chose is 100 layers - a layer a day added to an A3 substrate. I decided on it before lockdown fell on us, and picked something that would be easy to fit in to everyday life. Now, of course, there is more time available, so I'm also doing 100 tiny pieces that are one quarter of the size I usually work on. So I'm working larger and smaller than usual.

These are the first five smaller pieces. I'll post the larger piece once a week or so, as it's a bit boring seeing those first layers go down one at a time.

I'm finding working smaller a bit of a challenge. For a start, you have to make smaller marks if you don't want to overwhelm the page. I have to be a bit more restrained. I guess that after 100 days I should be better at it 😊

Isolate?

Those things thought to isolate now bring together.

I'm reading a book at the moment that, in the passage I read this morning, spoke about taking a sabbath rest from screens because they isolate us. But in the times we're in today, it is those same screens that are bringing us together when we are unable to meet in person. The technology available to us today means we are better able to still connect while in isolation than we would have been able to do ten years ago.

Maybe we shouldn't be demonising technology but looking at the ways in which we use it instead.

Primary actions

Primary actions:

Keep your distance.

Wash your hands.

Catch coughs and sneezes and dispose of them.

A simple page for simple steps for this pandemic crisis.

Time marches on

No matter what is happening in our lives, time marches on.

The trees are coming into blossom.

The birds are starting to nest.

The streets may be empty, but the garden is bursting with life.

Sometimes it's good to be reminded that we are not the centre of the universe