Paper and Threads

GOOD NEWS:  After my Xray yesterday, my hand surgeon determined that I would not need an operation on Monday!  I fractured my wrist on my left (dominant) wrist on March 23rd.  It occurred on my way to figure drawing, and I thought it was a bad sprain, so I sketched with my dominant hand, while holding ice on my wrist with my non-dominant hand.  Since my splint, then cast, I've been sketching with my non-dominant hand and having fun.  I sketch every morning after breakfast, both on scrap paper and in my dedicated sketchbook for this project - altered by my friend Maureen.  Here are one of my figure drawings - from right after the fracture, and then several other non-dominant hand sketches from this week.  The drawing of the plant was even done standing, with my sketchbook resting on my cast.  Progress is being made.   

Subway Entrance/Exit April 10th: 

Brooklyn Botanic Garden April 10 - Sketched standing: 

A small art quilt I made, which hangs over my sewing machine - April 11: 

Posted by Shirley at 7:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I sketched this angel from a wonderful fabric angel, carrying a gift basket. I was given her many years ago by a special friend.  On Friday my hand surgeon told me I may still need an operation on my wrist, and he wants to see more Xrays this week.  I'm hoping for the best.

Yesterday I went to draw at a Museum for the first time since my injury.   This drawing was done of a life-size figure from the "Like Life  Sculpture, Color, and the Body."  I sketched standing, holding my sketchbook on my casted arm, and held my pencil with my non-dominant hand.  I used a pencil so I could sit down to add ink, with two different pens, and rest my sketchbook on my lap.  This was my challenge for this week - all my previous drawings since my fracture were done sitting down.

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I am still working hard to use my non-dominant right hand for drawing.  I love William Kentridge's creativity, and when I saw his messy black ink drawings of an espresso pot on the Fairfield Univ. Museum exhibit website this week, I got out my Pentel Pocket Brush Pen.  I don't have great control of this brush pen even with my left hand, so I had fun with this drawing!  I will use the brush pen again during this period of play.

I also have my "non-dominant hand" drawings for the last 3 days, and it really gives me something to look forward to each day as I finish my breakfast.  Danny Gregory wrote a book called Art Before Breakfast, but I need several mugs of coffee, and a little writing (now as a 1-2 finger typist) before I am inspired to draw. 

April 3rd:

April 4th and 5th: 

I positioned my figure model in the position I was in when I tripped going up a step in the subway and fell on my dominant hand.  A Book Weight is keeping the model from falling over.

The writing under the figure model says, falling through space on an outstretched arm = Colles Fracture.  It is actually a fracture across the distal radius in the forearm.   

Posted by Shirley at 5:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Mar 31st.  I am drawing objects in my apartment each morning after Breakfast, and it is just what I did when I restarted drawing as I was retiring and decided that my retirement project was going to be Sketchbook Art.  These are all drawn directly in ink - and the only way I can make myself draw them in my "Non-Dominant Hand" book is to do a warm up drawing first on scrap paper.  If the ninjas don't immediately attack me for failure, I open my book and "just do it."

Apr 1  Small even lines are too hard.  I am proclaiming that I won't be adding hatching for shadows.

Apr 2  Fairfield Museum in CT has a William Kentridge exhibit and I saw his online collection of drawings of his espresso pot.  So glad I got mine down to draw it.  Block printing is hard with my right hand, so I'm practicing that on each page too.

Posted by Shirley at 11:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I was going to figure drawing when I broke my wrist.  But since I thought it was a sprain, I stopped in a Deli and got a cup of ice.  While holding the ice over my injured wrist, I was still able to draw with my dominant hand.  These are two 5 minute drawings of a very old, very small, and very thin model.  I decided to post one set of these drawings each week, in between my non-dominant hand scribbles.  The blurring has more to do with my photography then the drawing....

Posted by Shirley at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)