Well, the pins have come out. Hand freedom feels so good! It's such a treat to be able to use both hands again. It's so instinctive to reach for things with my left hand. When drawing with my right, I could feel the urge to switch hands and take up the pen with my left. Now I can. The drawings below are done with my left, I'd like to keep up drawing with the right. I made good progress with it. While I have the use of my left hand again, my lesson in patience continues. My little finger doesn't like to listen when I tell it to do things. It doesn't hurt, just stubbornly refuses to obey. Routine tasks like typing had to be relearned. It's amazing just how quickly the path between the mind and the hand disappears. So I continue to try to reconnect them, doing my exercises, and asking it to do familiar tasks. There is progress, but not as quickly as I'd like. But that's where the learning lesson comes in. It doesn't matter what I'd like, it's just going to take time so I might as well relax, accept it, and keep at it. Sounds like the old concept of hozho. Maybe this is a lifetime lesson.
They say that using your non-dominant hand engages both hemispheres of your brain. Increasing creativity and building healthier brain. I can't say I feel anymore creative. In fact, I often feel tired. But I am getting a lot more comfortable with using my right hand. My handwriting has progressed from that of a 5 year old to that of a 6 year old. I'm doing better with drawing though shading and control are still challenging. I have to really focus in a way I haven't had to do in a long time. That's probably a good thing though. Forcing me to pay more attention to what I see and how I recreate it. The lack of control has created a bit of new style (see the elephants below) too.
This weekend was the first time I felt ready to paint. I'm eager to carve out a little time and see what happens. I'll keep you posted. Things were going along great. Good daily drawings, Monday paintings, and then the unexpected happened. In an instant everything was different. Walking home from work, just two doors down from my house I slipped and fell on the ice and after a long night in the ER I left with a bulky splint on my left hand. Boxer's fracture they call it. This one is a bad break and surgery is upcoming.
So until I've healed and regained mobility, I'll be doing a lot more with my right hand. Like typing this blog one handed and drawing. You'll notice a distinct change in my skills, but I'm actually proud of these. Not bad for my opposite hand. It should be an interesting journey. Time sure does fly! I'm still getting used to it being 2016 and January is already ending. I always thought I was unaffected by Daylight Savings time and never found New Years much of a holiday, but I'm starting to reconsider. Looking over my work this month and then looking back at last January I've noticed January is a bit of a mess. Back to lots of sketches and drawings that jump from subject to subject. So, here is what I've come up with this new year.
The year is winding down and it's time to look back and see what kind of year it was. All in all 2015 has been a good year. I've got a good job with some great people. I've cleared away some debts. I'm seeing progress in my drawing, painting, and photography. Last December I wrote that I wanted to "pay attention to personal routines and rituals...to reconnect" with the seasons. I think I've been able to do that this year. It took some time to find the rhythm, but I'm getting there. The biggest change is my walking. Morning or evening, depending on the weather, I walk for about an hour, going to or coming home from work. the slow pace gives me a chance to acclimate to the shift in my schedule. Either waking up and shifting into work mode or letting go of the rush and stress and slowing down. It's quiet time when my mind can wander, when I can really look at my surroundings. Look at shells on the shore, bird feathers in the grass, colors in the sunrise or fog lifting off the water. As winter closed in I decided to try to embrace it and bought some cross-country skis so I could could get myself out to look at the world in snow. But the snow has had other plans. So far it's been too warm for anything but rain. That won't last though. Not here. In fact, as I'm writing this snow and sleet have started to fall and the wind is wiping around the edges of the house. 2015 seems to have set me on a good path, now to discover where it will lead me in 2016.
I'm still drawing magnolia branches. I want to do another painting over the holiday and am trying to observe and learn what I can. I find them beautiful. There's something so interesting in the way they branch and zigzag, the bark spotted with green and blue, the soft but sturdy flowers, the red of the new growth.
I hope you enjoy them. I'm sure there'll be more to come. I don't know what struck me about birds recently. I think it was the silhoutte on the bare branches. Then I just played with the idea. I really like the first two drawings. The bright blue line of sky in the first and the personalities of the birds in the second.
This year I've started putting together more interesting sketchbook pages. I really enjoy it, laying different images together. Sometimes a theme, others unrelated. You can see from these that I'm also fond of using thumbnails for rough sketches. They work well for framing ideas.
Here are a few of the pages I've put together this year. The water still seems to be on my mind. While I don't actively think about it, I am drawn to images of it. While sketching I was reminded of the summer that I tried my hand at painting water. It seems I have unfinished business with water.
Water Water an Update Maybe one day soon I'll try my hand at painting it again. It's been a little while since my last post. Somehow after my vacation I've found it hard to move back into my old routine. That has included my posts.
The seasons are changing and maybe I can change with them. I now leave for my morning walk in the dark and watch the sky brighten along the lake. It's beautiful and a nice slow way to wake up and get ready for the day. I find I deal with the day much better when I've had my walking time. The lake has taken on a lot more character as winds have been blowing in cooler weather. The cool wind whipping waves that break high on the shore spraying water over the sidewalk. Trees turning red and gold and bright pink sunrises. Fall is a lovely time of year. May it be a long one. I'm very content to wait a long time for winter. |
Beauty and InspirationThis blog is about my inspirations and my love of art. I welcome your reactions to my work. Archives
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