Where Have I Been?

 

Hi all!!

Going on 10 years ago I developed a vestibular condition that causes severe vertigo. It is a condition I will live with for the rest of my life with management. It eventually cost me my health and job. I retired last year from my beloved rural mail carrier position, which was traumatic. I still am dealing with the depression and feelings of being lost but it is getting better. Art is helping in that regard. 

Being as rural as we are, friends are few and far between. Since the pandemic I have lost more friends but by joining our local Democratic group, I have gained new ones. None are artsy types though. I am still looking for that tribe.

Blogging seems to be on the outs but I thought I'd give it a go again. Thus here I am, if for nothing else but for my own record. It is interesting to see the projects I've done in the past that I have forgotten about. 

Inktober Days 1 and 2

I am participating in Inktober 2016 hosted through Artsnacks.co.  I purchased their special Inktober Artsnacks box which came with pens, a beautiful special addition drawing book, india ink, a stylus pen with nibs, a beautiful handcrafted (and ethically crafted, no animals were killed in obtaining the hair) sable brush and of course a candy :).

I am following the suggestion calendar and here are my drawings.

Day 1, FAST

 A Thelwell pony :).

Day 2, NOISY

A bellowing mama cow.  We have a stinker bull calf that keeps escaping the pasture and lounging around the hayfield.  His mother will bellow all day long for him and he of course just ignores her.  It gets really annoying after awhile.

Imprint, Hometown and Wolverines Oh My

These are two of my latest swaps I've made.  Above left is a body print that I made with rubber stamping ink and colored with watercolor.

The other is a postcard I had made back in 2014, just the woman and the wolverine.  I had put it away and when I needed a swap card I found the quote about the nature of the wolverine and knew it was just what this card needed.  It was fun to make.

Another swap I did was the "Hometown" swap where we took at least 5 photos of our hometown and sent them on.


Below is one page of my album, of our Post Office where I work.  I ended up sending 12 photos and a Polish flag postcard.  My recipient gave me a "heart" due to the envelope (on the left), not the swap LOL.

Ransom Note Postcard and "E" Postcard

My partner in the ransom note postcard said she despised anything Trump so I figured he'd be a good candidate to get me some really good cake.  :)

The letter "E" postcard was to be of something with the letter.  I thought of this right away but didn't think a giant bird eye or a human eye would look right so I just did this.  I don't know if it is to exact swap rules but she liked it and that is what matters.

A Book Themed Postcard Swap

I am always so happy when I find a postcard swap that includes handmade postcards.  This one is to be book themed and can be a store bought card or made.  I haven't any store bought that have a book as the main theme, just some with people reading.  So I did this ink and watercolor this morning to fit the bill.  I almost hate to send it directly through the mail but you know what?  It is a POSTCARD.  Yes, original art, not a print but art is meant to be shared by everyone including the postal people.

I don't know why there is such a dislike of handmade postcards.  I have received many that are wall worthy in my opinion.  If I got this one it would be a keeper for me...but then again I am a bit biased.

MEOW!!

Handmade Postcards

Two handmade postcard swaps.  First one I made over the weekend.  It is done on bristol with a stencil, spray ink, sharpie marker and an adorable kitten I found in the newspaper.  I just tossed all the elements together and hope they worked out.

The second is an older card I made but it fit the theme of "Put a Bird on It".  I loved the movie The Lone Ranger.  I mean, I saw it 6 times in the theater and every time I saw something new.  It was cute and funny, Johnny Depp really was expressive and of course there was Silver the horse who was the smartest of all!   I have a connection with ravens and crows.  I love the colors in this card, the grays, mustard yellow, black.  I kept the card because I liked it so much but now it was time to release it to the universe.

Your Naturist Self-Portrait #2

I always worry that I need to be precise in my sketches so I don't sign up for too many at once.  This one, if it took me 15 minutes it is a lot.  The song lyrics took longer.  I like how it turned out.