Lovely at the End of the Lane

Many of you know that I love to walk. Prior to my illness and surgery, I walked several times a week, 3-5 miles in and around my neighborhood. The first day I was home from the hospital, the outdoors called to me. But I was only able to make it to the stop sign at the corner of our property.

But each day I would try to walk a bit further. Hunched over and shuffling, I just didn’t care how feeble I looked. I took my husband or a friend with me, and breathed in the fresh air, drank in the lingering spring, enjoying moving my legs.

The last two days, I have ventured up to Silver Dapple Lane. My favorite lane in the whole world. My neighbor and I have gone down and back twice. And today, I even made it three times! Progress indeed! The lane is lined with wildflowers, especially over in Mr. Whicker’s field. At the end of the lane is the best view ever! One of Mr. Whicker’s pastures for his cows is burgeoning with buttercups! It looks positively dreamy!

So I came home today and tried to capture that dreamy field on paper with watercolor. I don’t know that I got it exactly…but it’s enough to remind me of this morning…a gift to start my day.

 

Face Like a Flint

 

Thank you, thank you one and all for your unbelievably kind, sweet, and encouraging words in the last post! I am indeed surrounded by so many who are supporting me in my recovery. There is much more I could tell you about the last couple of months. So many amazing ways I have been carried and bound up in a wonderful lenten journey. Perhaps someday I will write it all out. But for now, I’m wanting to turn the corner. To round the bend as it were and set my face like a flint to what is ahead. (Isaiah 50:7)

This proves to be very difficult some days. Every few days I am hit with an emotional state which I can only describe as grieving. Perhaps it’s grieving all that has happened to my body. Maybe grieving the life I used to have before surgery and an ileostomy. I don’t really know it’s source, other than medical people telling me it is due to all the medications and trauma I’ve had. Whatever it is, I endure these days only by simply riding them out. BE-ing where I am.

Nonetheless, I want to move forward. Even if it is only baby steps, I still want to look for and rejoice in the small improvements I’m experiencing along the way. One of the days soon after I got home from the hospital, my husband took me to our Ciener Botanical Gardens. The tulips were in full force!! Their upturned faces to the sun made me think of that verse in Isaiah which speaks to setting our faces like a flint, unashamed, unmoved by circumstances, to face what is ahead, whatever that might be. I took a bunch of photos that day.

And just a few days ago, I felt well enough to stand for a length of time at my drawing table and create this page. There will be more to come. It felt so good to be drawing and painting again. I look forward to being well enough to draw with my friends on Fridays downtown Kernersville. I look forward to being able to drive again and cart my kids to the places they go. I look forward to a lot, and I need patience to wait for them.

Thank you again for your faithful visits here and for comments you make! I read every one of them and they make my heart leap! I hope each of you can find some time to create something. I know it brings healing.

Resurrection Shawl

When I received the diagnosis that I had Ulcerative Colitis, and the medicines that were intended to put it into remission, I had such hope of recovery! I wanted to make something through the recovery period that would be a part of  my healing and then represent God’s faithfulness to me as I wrapped it around me.  The above drawing is what I sketched out as I envisioned this shawl. I was also asking my Father that I might be well enough to wear it on Easter Sunday. I drew this in mid March.

As events played out, I was unable to wear this Easter Sunday. I had my colon removal surgery on Good Friday and was in the hospital on Easter. I couldn’t knit during the three weeks I was there, too many pic lines and iv’s going in and out to make it a comfortable endeavor. But when I got home, I began, very slowly to continue work on what I was calling my Resurrection Shawl.  Here are some pics of different views of it. I have been so pleased with how it turned out. Crocheted flowers appliquéd onto a loosely knitted simple shawl. I used all kinds of things to knit with: lace, ribbon, and all sorts of colors and textures of yarn. A few things changed from the original sketch. It was so fun to see it come to life.

And this past Sunday, I felt well enough to go to church and sit with my church family to worship. I wore my Resurrection Shawl as a testimony to my Heavenly Father’s faithfulness to carry me through a rather horrendous ordeal. He is still carrying me…knitting me together one day at a time.

 

**I am beginning the process of combining my three blogs into one. It may take a while, but you will start to see some changes here at Drawn2Life as other Pages are added, and blog posts are slurped in.  I’m very excited to have all my creative loves under one roof! Like the tagline I recently changed at the top: “Drawing, Knitting, Illustration, Crochet…it’s all Life, it’s all Good!”

My Lollipop Girls & Memory Lane

I’m trying to gather myself after last night’s Art Show. It was the culmination of weeks and months of preparation and planning, of vision and hard work.  Though it was an amazing evening, which I’ll share with you someday soon, it is always a bit de-centering.  I do still have much left to do to close out the Art Show chapter, but I waken feeling a bit lost: “what next?”, what was I into creatively before the last month of full-on Art Show prep began?, where would I like to turn my energies now? etc.  Today, my plan is to clean my house which has suffered neglect for quite a while.  It will feel so good to slowly, methodically move through each room to clean and tidy up.

The night before our school’s Art Show, I had taught all day.  Exhausted from that, and from the thought of the mountain to climb on Thursday, I sat at my drawing table to draw from a photo of Maddie I had just snapped at dinner time.  She bought a yellow lips lollipop at school that day and was showing me her “lips”.  It was a good and restorative thing to sit there, after she had been tucked in, slowly drawing my sweet daughter.  Then a memory of another daughter and a lollipop came to mind.

This is my oldest child, Catherine. You can see the date of this pencil sketch. She was 5 years old.  As I drew Maddie, I remembered drawing Catherine from life…she sat so still and long enough for me to draw this, probably due to having a yummy red lollipop to lick while I drew. I had to go digging to find this sketchbook.  There’s a bin of sketchbooks I’ve filled over the years sitting out in the garage.  There are more stashed in a closet upstairs. And still more here in my studio. I remembered the dark green, hardbound, wire bound sketchbook with the star sticker on the cover to denote the “front” of the sketchbook.

I remembered sitting on the park bench while my older two kids played.

I remembered drawing their favorite slide there at Ardmore Methodist Church.

I remembered Catie and William playing together on the “fire truck”.

I remembered that my boy was the cutest thing I had ever laid eyes on.

I remembered Catie liking to draw in my sketchbook. A sweet picture of her with her brother on his first “skateboard”.

I remembered Catie riding her bike with training wheels.

I remembered how hard it was to draw William as he rarely stopped for long on his bike.

And then this.

The birth of  my third precious child. Maddie. This would have been the day after she was born. I remember it. I remember thinking how can you draw such exquisiteness? I remember thinking that the pencil lines needed to be as soft as possible to adequately depict the softness of a newborn. I remember thinking that this sketch didn’t come anywhere close to showing her beauty.

But I am glad that I drew it. So glad I drew all of this and all the thousands of other sketches and drawings I have sitting in that tupperware box and stashed in so many other places.  They are more precious to me than photos, though I love them too.

I’m not sure this has helped me gather myself and move on today.  But it has served to answer the What’s Next question…to continue drawcumenting this beautiful life I’ve been given. It is indeed FULL, art shows and all! Cleaning will be good to do today, since seeing through teary eyes is not a huge hindrance to that kind of work.

The Pastor Prepares

 

He rises quietly at 4:30 am every Sunday. He sits in the Big Chair with laptop, Bible, and commentaries. All week long he’s been studying for this. And now comes the moment of truth.

It is much like the chef. The chef who has gathered, assembled, prepared all the items for the exquisite meal. Who now stands in the kitchen ready to put it all together. Will it be good? Will it come together on time?

It is much like the cyclist. The cyclist who has put in the miles and miles of road. Who now faces the mountain climb. Has he prepared enough? Will he make it to the top without crashing and burning?

It is much like the artist. The artist who has sketched the preliminary drawings. Who has created the thumbnails of compositions and color combinations. Who now stands at the easel in hopes that it will come together in a pleasing whole, a final work that will delight the recipient with Beauty.

It is the same for a Pastor. A Pastor who longs to feed his flock rich, substantive food. A Pastor who desires his people to remain faithful as they climb the mountain. Who wants them to be able to see their lives from heaven’s viewpoint. A Pastor who earnestly wishes his hearers to be captivated by the Beauty of Christ and to take that Beauty with them out into their daily lives.

The Pastor does this week in and week out. It can be exhausting and frustrating. But it is his calling, his art, his work. I look forward to it every week and today I will not be able to hear it in person. But I shall listen later this week when it gets posted to the website. If you have any interest in hearing good words for your soul, click here to listen to the Pastor, my pastor, my husband. xxxooo

*I thought I said I’d be scarce around blogland….??? I’ve been granted time this weekend as I care for my sick child. I am grateful.

**Here’s a pic of my early morning workspace. Thought you might like to see the glorious mess of it all!:)

Sick Day :(

A poor image this…lingering gray skies do not allow for well-lit photos.

But this is where we are today: inside with a sick little one.

Time for drawing.

Time for playing Uno.

Time for movies.

Time for soup and crackers.

Time for knitting.

Time for episodes of Suite Life on Deck.

Time for naps.

Time for reading.

It would be the perfect day…

if she didn’t feel so miserable.

Drawing the Chaos

Early this morning I felt the need to draw the chaos that is my desk. A true picture of the shape of my life right now: mounds of papers from school (both mine and my kids), yarn, end-of-year tax gathering, yarn, knitting patterns and projects, yarn, books I’m “reading”, oh and did I mention yarn?

For whatever reason, I just needed to draw it. This is me, my life right now. It wasn’t bugging me too badly at all. There was actually some sense of delight in the flurry of  stuff! But what happened immediately upon drawing the chaos, I cannot explain to you.

I began tidying up! Who knew? Who knew that in drawing the mess, a bit of motivation would appear to straighten it up! Could it be that if we are in need of motivation for anything, that all we have to do is simply DRAW IT? And we just might find ourselves doing the very thing we thought, “I have no time for that!”

Crazy, this drawing life. It continues to amaze me.

P.S. In case you’re wondering…I drew this with fine liner pens early in the morning, then added a splash of watercolor this afternoon when I had a few moments. For  me, art is not always available in two-hour long chunks. I gotta take it when I can, a few minutes here, a few there! When you draw in the early morning, you have the satisfaction of “well, at least I got one drawing in today” for the rest of the day. But you might find that in the early morning bleariness, you accidentally drew with your sketchbook upside down, as I discovered later today.

Mounds of Art!

In my job as Art Teacher at Redeemer School, I have mounds and mounds of artwork to prepare for our Annual Art Show which will take place February 7th.  This includes backing each piece of art with construction paper to act as a mat to set off the art. It also means adding a label to each piece identifying who the artist is and what grade they’re in. I teach the TK, and K-8th grades. With around 150 students who have created 4-5 pieces each, that’s a staggering 600+ pieces to get ready.

I’ve begun the process, and took a few moments to draw the mound.  I have a wonderful, old, wooden structure which I think might’ve been used for poster board, that I keep all my students 2-D work in. Each slot is a different class. Then there are trays of clay works and other various pieces the student’s have made since the beginning of the year. I take one class at a time, trying not to think of the whole thing, since it really can overwhelm me. But it is fun to look back through at the amazing work these kids have done! Can’t wait to show you some of it in February, after the show.

I drew this in my trusty Aquabee Sketchbook, using my usual Prismacolor Fineliner Pens. But I pulled out the watercolors that my students use and grabbed a brush I thought would do. It’s amazing how different materials shake things up a bit. In order to get the vibrancy I typically get with my own artist grade watercolors, I had to go over the strokes a couple of times with the student grade paints. If you’re able, do treat yourself to artist grade materials…it will make a difference in not only the outcome of your work, but the enjoyment level while creating it as well!

A Place to Call Home

The most delightful part about commission work, is the people I meet through the process. Yes, I love the drawing and painting. Yes, I like the challenge of trying to climb inside someone else’s head to bring forth an image they might like. But the best part is meeting and getting to know the people who commission me.

In the fall, Nelie contacted me through a series of serendipitous online connections (to tell you the whole story would take a bit of time, but is the very best example of how connected we are via the internet). We met downtown Kernersville, at the Factory, to discuss what she would like.

She is getting married at the end of January 2013, to a wonderful man named Edwin, whose birthday was late in December. She wanted to surprise him with a painting of their new home in Raleigh, NC. Armed with only the realtors photo of this town home, there were certain things she hoped I could add and adjust. Truly I never know whether I am ABLE to do these alterations for folks, but I guess I’m crazy enough to give it a go. So I try.

We discussed size and medium choices along with the additions and adjustments. When she saw the finished painting, she said that it exceeded her expectations…and that is music to my heart. But the best of it all is the story about these two lovely people, near 60 years of age, who are embarking on a new life together.

You see, Nelie and Edwin grew up here in Kernersville, on the same downtown street, right next door to each other! Edwin is the youngest of four boys whose dad was a doctor in town for many years. With the exception of a few years that Nelie and her family moved and lived in SC, the two families grew up on the same pew at Main Street United Methodist Church. Nelie has two grown children, but Edwin never married. They lost touch with each other for 26 years or so.

Their wedding will take place at Main Street United Methodist Church followed by a reception at our brand new restaurant Giada’s. They are the delight of Kernersville. And I had the privilege of painting for them and of meeting Nelie.

A privilege I hold humbly and gratefully. I wish them both EVERY happiness!

Transformative Drawing

I’m not certain I can articulate this well… But there’s something about drawing one’s life which transforms that life. It’s as if by drawing something about your day, your world, your city or town, your home, your yard…you are viewing it through a different lens or filter. This idea came to me afresh as I’ve drawn and painted on these very gray days we’ve been having.

Gray days make me think of England, and when I think of England, I think of tea. My girls and I had a little tea party, something I love to do when I have the chance.

Gray days also make me think of walks on the moors. Where I get this I’m not sure. Perhaps it’s my reading of Bronte works that shapes this thought. But I look out our windows on these gray winter mornings and it’s enchanting…the dark, misty blue, with inky black trees.

I’m aware that sometimes my thoughts precede my drawings. And other times, the drawings precede the thoughts. But it all works together to transform an otherwise dull gray day to something evocative, romantic, enchanting, or just whimsical. Am I merely living in a fantasy world in my head and in my sketchbooks? I don’t think so. I think this is a necessary element to living fully, to drinking the juice from each and every day we’re given. To take the ordinary, the gray, the not-so-desirable and transform it in some way to extraordinary, vibrant, and delightful has got to be part of our lives.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it here again: My pens are the straws through which I drink the juice of life. Won’t you join me this year in drinking deeply of your life…gray days and all!

**Afterword:  Although this post was written and drawn a few days prior to my previous post, it occurs to me now that drawing has the ability to transform on many levels. It not only transforms your outlook, your view on life; it also can transform you, your thoughts, your questions, your frustrations. This is what my Drawing Your Life Mini Lessons are all about. As I work to get these in paper form, enjoy reading through them again. And I’d love to hear from you as you read them, how are they helpful, what do you glean from them? Thanks!