When to stop

Knowing when to stop is a useful skill to develop.

I loved this page when it was only a few layers in. I decided not to cover too much up, just to add some smaller marks and go with it as it was. After all, it's my art journal, so I can do what I want with the pages :) I wanted to stop, so I did.

There are other things in life that we might do well to stop, too. I remember, many years ago, going to a group that really didn't suit me. It was one of those things where people were expected to go, but I hated it. I dreaded the day coming round when I had to go. So I stopped. Just because people expect something doesn't mean that I have to live up to their expectations. After a few weeks, someone else also stopped going to their group, telling me they hated it, too, and my stopping had given them the courage to say 'no more'.

I'm not saying you should quit on things just because you don't like them. There are obviously some things that are difficult but worthwhile in the long run. But there are other things that do you harm if you continue. So if you really find yourself dreading something, ask yourself - honestly and with good reasons - whether it is time to stop.

100 day project - days 31-35

Here we have a mix of things from about a third of the way through this challenge. 'First harvest' refers to the first radish from my veggie garden. The dragon eye just appeared on day 34 and who am I to fight a dragon? And for day 35 there were no words, but I'm really happy with how the piece turned out. Slogging on.

Changed

We shall all be changed.

You can't live through a pandemic and not be changed. Our behaviours are different, and we don't know how long it will be before we can return to pre-Covid behaviours. Or how long it will take us to  remember that we don't need to keep so far apart. For how long will we continue to cross the road when we see other people heading in our direction?

But even in non-pandemic conditions, we shall all be changed. You can't live and not change. Even dead things change, as they decompose back to their basic elements. Where there is (or was) life, there will be change.

100 day project - days 26-30

So I'm in the middle of the project now and it feels like a drag at the moment. I'm making a lot of stuff that I'm not that happy with and then the occasional one I'm pleased with. Learning along the way, so that's good. I guess the times we're in are reflected in the art I'm making. Six weeks or so into distancing and it feels like a slog. But each day is a new chance to do better, so I'll keep at it.

Merging

The days are merging into one.

We're about six weeks in to lockdown and I've hit the 'I'm so tired' stage. Not tired of the conditions but physically tired. All the days feel the same apart from Sunday when we do Zoom church, and Monday when we do our shopping. Otherwise I'm having to mark the days off on the calendar to keep track. I'm sure I'll rise up again from this dip - it seems to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride for all of us. Let's take each day at a time, even if we don't know which day it is.

Simplicity

Simplicity.

This page has a simple palette and just a few elements, but I really like it as it is.

A simple life is just as pleasing.

100 day project - days 21-25

The piece above is one of my favourites so far in this challenge. Of course, I do a couple I love and then seem to go backwards for a bit, but that's okay. It mirrors the up and down of our 'new normal', doesn't it?

And just to relieve the monotony of tiny pieces, here is a notebook I made for my husband. The cover is made with one of his old T-shirts that I pulled out of my fabric stash. I knew it would come in useful one day :) And it fit perfectly on this A4 size book.

Thankful

Thankful.

For so much.

100 day project - days 16-20

I'm still churning out the tiny pieces, although I've abandoned the 100 layers project. I'm not classing it a failure, but a learning experience.

What did I learn?

That I'm a 10-15 layer person. I pushed beyond what I was comfortable with, covering up the page when I would normally be adding the finishing touches. The joy left me. So I've stopped that project as it wasn't feeding my creativity, and who needs to pour energy into something that isn't feeding you?

So here are the latest five tiny pieces. I'm not happy with all of them, but the tide is turning on being happier with more than not. Both the small size and the dark background are challenges. I find myself doing a bit more collage and a bit less painting. Some of that is because not all of my paints are opaque enough to show up on the dark background. Also, it looks a bit 'cleaner' on the smaller substrate.

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?