Paper and Threads

I was in San Francisco for several days at a meeting and wanted to upload select recent journal pages from the last week. 

This passenger, in the departure lounge with me at JFK, worked on her laptop right up until boarding.  

I took an early morning walk from the Moscone Convention Center area to Union Square and then Chinatown.  It was beautiful sitting in the sun sketching the lamp post tops at the intersection of Grant and Pine while watching the area wake up.

Friday afternoon I met Jana and Martha (fellow EDM members) and we talked and simultaneously sketched St. Patricks church on Mission Street and then warmed up and exchanged our sketch books over a glass of wine in The View Lounge on the 39th floor of the Marriott.  Jana already posted a photo of us, our sketchbook pages, and the lovely view we enjoyed.

During my meeting I sketched my neighbors across the aisle or in the lounge, trying to remain inconspicuous and to pay attention to the lectures.

I was afraid that I wouldn't have time to do my homework for Danny Gregory's Illustrated Journaling class while I was gone, but I did get one exercise done - drawing through a doorway.  This was the bathroom from the hotel room entrance of my room at the Marriott. 

In order to get back to New York City for our 5th class, I took the "red eye" home from San Francisco.  At class the next evening, Danny brought fruit so we could create a journal page documenting "a transformation" while we were eating our piece of fruit.  He really wanted us to mix our drawings with words that reflected the experience on the journal page.  This was a fun exercise - and similar to many apple eating pages in Danny's journals.

Posted by Shirley at 7:31 PM | Permalink | Comments (10)

My husband brought this 1.5 inch rubber lion back for me from Chicago when we were dating - 43 years ago.  It probably cost 50 cents - but it has traveled with us from home to home and still looks as it did when it was new.  I don't have any lucky tokens, but I would never think of throwing this lion away, and don't even show it to my grandchildren.  So it comes as close as anything to being a lucky charm.

I'm off to a meeting in San Francisco tomorrow and will spend an afternoon plaing hooky and sketching with two EDM members - I'm thrilled! 

Posted by Shirley at 9:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

                                                     Couldn't just draw one!

My husband and I cook a big Thanksgiving Dinner for our family and friends.  It is a marathon of cooking all day Wednesday and Thursday.  Over the last 15 years, the champagne and hors d'oeuvres portion has grown to 3 hours, followed by soup, turkey plus stuffing, veggies, rice, and dessert, for a total of 5-6 hours.  We love to do it, but increasingly need several days to rest up afterwards.

This year we only had this morning to rest because two of our children and their families were moving.  I went to my daughter's apartment and helped unpack the 3 children's bedrooms so they had someplace to sleep.  My husband went to our son's apartment to help them hook up their TVs. 

Posted by Shirley at 9:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Suddenly we heard a large crash, then the sound of glass breaking - right in front of our apartment window.  When we went to look, there was already a huge crowd gathering and several observers taking cell phone photos of the large lamp post which had fallen across the Avenue.  Traffic was completely stopped and the fire engines had difficulty threading their way through the cars to reach the site.  This fire truck was parked in front of our window for 5-10 minutes and it took me at least one minute to decide that I needed my sketchbook. 

This is part of a homework assignment for Danny's Illustrated Journaling class.  I already sketched my medicine cabinet for an EDM challenge, so I decided to sketch my art shelf in the library.  This is where I keep my pencilcase (containing pencils, pens, and 4 waterbrushes), paints, and random art books of drawings by the masters that I use for inspiration and practice.  When I learned that Danny was teaching his first class, I thought it would be fun for me to take it to "shake things up a little."  I do a daily sketch already and just need a little boost and time for reflection about my Art Goals for 2009. 

Posted by Shirley at 4:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

I have my annual grandchildren's cold that went into sinus congestion.  This is my journal page documenting the event.

I routinely did the EDM challenges this year until I had to rely on photos for a baked potato or rope.  Those are on hold.  But I had no problem finding a remote - this is just one of 3 cable remotes from Time-Warner in our apartment.  And if I wanted one less complex, I could even have sketched the one for our window air conditioner.  That one baffles me!

This is a huge volunteer weekend for us every year as Goddard Riverside Community Center sponsors their annual Book Fair - during which new books are donated by the publishing companies in Manhattan and sold for half-price at Columbus and W.88th St.  I am off to work as a voluteer at the cookbook table again in a few minutes, but wanted to upload these before the whole weekend is over.

Posted by Shirley at 7:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)