My Creative Space

I haven't had much time to craft lately, so here's another peek at my sketchbook. I really try to pull it out at least once every few days - I find it keeps the creative juices flowing. Even if I just sit there with a pen & write a few words or doodle a few shapes.

The very process of putting pen to paper inspires new ideas..... But we're skipping ahead of ourselves - let's go in order, shall we?

This half-complete sketch was drawn in the car, as I waited outside of Part Source while Pat bought an oil filter for the car. I was looking at the bottles lined up in the window, wondering what to draw. I think it was an obvious choice.

Once we left the store, I put it away, unfinished, but I really want to go back to it, fill the empty shelves & add some colour.

This next spread - at least the page full of words - was inspired by this sketchbook page by Pat Pitingolo I saw on Flickr (while browsing through a sketchbook challenge group).

I really like how this looks & want to repeat it with different words & maybe some added colour.

Next I have a spread with two of my favourite quotes. Unfortunately I went ahead & drew this bouquet with permanent marker before realizing it bled through the paper:

Arg! I don't like it... but I kind of don't mind it either. It almost looks like a mirage, like the quote mentions... Not much I can do about it besides rip the page out & I just can't do that.

Head on over to kootoyoo for more creative spaces!

Wordless Wednesday

Hamilton Trails

Hamilton is a big city, but there's a lot of green around too & it isn't that hard to find. There are tons of hiking trails, like the Bruce Trail, within walking distance from pretty much anywhere in the city. Plus, Hamilton is known as "the city of waterfalls" with more than 100 cascades & falls in the region. Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I want to try to get outside more often & explore some of these trails. Not only for the fresh air & sunshine, but also to practice more using my camera outside. This weekend, we sought out Felker's Falls, along the Bruce & Peter Street trails.

I haven't gone through all my photos yet - not to mention the pictures from my Easter weekend at home - but here are a few of the beginning of our walk. These lovely, delicate yellow lilies were all over the place!

And while I was gushing over the tiny flowers underfoot, Pat had a different perspective:

That's why I love walking with Pat - he sees things differently, on a grander scale, & notices things that I might miss. Like this cool, twisty tree.

More photos to come, promise! Have a great Tuesday everyone!

Mosaic Monday

It's Mosaic Monday! I hope you'll join us - it's really easy! Just make a photo mosaic - you can use whatever photo editing software you like, or a website such as the mosaic maker & photos from Flickr - & then post it on your blog. Go ahead & pick a theme if you want, but don't feel like you have to. Have fun with it!

Make sure to include a link back to my blog so that everyone can participate. Then come back here & submit a link to your blog post (using the "add your link" button at the bottom). I'll be looking at & commenting on each one!

Here's mine for this week: May Day.

1. happy may day!, 2. Winter Vs. Spring, 3. Spring Dawn, 4. Spring Fantasy

Here's the list of mosaics for this week. Once you've blogged, click the button below to add your blog post link.

Sunday Seven

My Sunday Seven:

1. Sunday: Henry
2. Monday: a nice chat with Denis (former program coordinator/advisor/TA supervisor)
3. Tuesday: staying home to read papers all afternoon
4. Wednesday: my thin hair (which I can wash & dry in 10 minutes)
5. Thursday: successful committee meeting
6. Friday: Pat getting home early
7. Saturday: Hamilton waterfalls & trails

My Creative Space

I had a committee meeting today, for which I was preparing all week, so I didn't get any time to create. As soon as I got home though, (after a quick lunch of reheated pasta) I broke out my sketchbook.

This spread is inspired by a page I did for the Sketchbook project (this one) as well as 2 of my best MMG friends. Specifically, this avocado painting by Deana & the fact that Dorana has been repeatedly demanding that she make similar tomato & onion pieces to complete a guacamole triptych. I went with a panel of 4 because I thought the parsley (or cilantro) was a nice addition.

I just realized that my similar sketchbook spread had the fruit outlined in black... I kind of like how the contrasting colours mix at the edges instead though. Especially for the parsley:

Green + hot pink (oil pastels) = dark purple-blue... who knew?!

The onion was the panel I was most worried about - I didn't think I could make it look like an onion... But I surprised myself! This is definitely my favourite out of the four:

I love how quickly I can work with oil pastels & the colours lay down so brightly! Plus, they can still blend, but are a lot less finicky than chalky pastels. I'll definitely have to try to use them more often!

Head on over to kootoyoo for more creative spaces!

Wordless Wednesday

The Real Easter Bunny

Meet Henry:

He's our Easter surprise. He was delivered to my mom's door on Easter Sunday (Pat was the deliverer).

Let me explain.

On Friday, Pat & I visited a friend of ours & there he was. An adorable, fluffy little bunny in a dirty cage with no water. I immediately gave him some water & attention & asked about him. Jeff (Pat's friend) & his girlfriend had this bunny for 2 years or so... then she broke up with him & couldn't take the bunny. Jeff is a hunter - he didn't want to take care of the little guy, so he was going to release him into the woods as soon as it warmed up a bit.

A certain death sentence for this house bunny... My mom & I couldn't allow that to happen. So we saved him & gave him a nice name (he was called Rabbit...) & new home.

He is so sweet & cuddly! I think he's going to fit in just fine. Of course, Marigold still has the run of the office & since neither of them are fixed, they won't be meeting each other. We're still not sure where Henry's cage will remain, but for now he's in the kitchen. He seems pretty tame though, so he'll probably end up being a free-range bunny (just not in the office).

I really, really wish I could have brought him home with me... I want a bunny so bad! Especially one this cuddly! I can't wait to go home for my next visit!