Containers; Nudge 25

It started with this ...

Women-Vessels

and now, everything seems to be a container.

Citizen Container

Mystery containers

Story Containers

Flotsam and Jetsam containers 

I've blogged over at Sketchbook Challenge here today about more containers. Sketchboxes.

Mark Making (more)

While Jon and I were experiencing extreme sticker shock today in Brigantine, New Jersey looking for a house to rent for a week over the summer, my post went up on the Sketchbook Challenge about making marks here. So go on over there and read it, then come back and take a look at this

This sea grass was washed in on the tide and looked to me like stitches layered on the water. Marks. In fact, that may be why stitches are so endlessly fascinating to me. Can I also swoon over the gold, yellows and russety browns colors? The glowing oranges reminiscent of fall and green that harken spring, the verdigris of the weathered pipes and the textural changes are a feast found in a backwater boatyard. Floating poetry.

Just a dock? I think ... so much more. A collection of pattern, color and texture and line. Oranges,  greens, blue greens and blue grays and brown grays and neon. Also a bit of humor with those pilings on the left wearing their rakish yellow crowns. Oh but the line here! The ropes, the looping hoses, the strips and poles. The texture of the water and that of the pilings. Well, what more could a person ask for?

{Oh yes, we could ask for a reasonably priced house for a week at the beach.}

Great nudge idea coming up this week from Cassie Shella about looking at children's artwork for inspiration. I loved her comment in this post about her daughter's artwork. Do you have a nudge idea? Post it in the comments. Another thing I'm wondering ... is anyone have trouble with this blog uploading? I've been playing with the picture sizes. Let me know if you are!

Nudge 19, Tabs

tickets, stiff paper, fabric tape, paper tape, old necklace

We are 122 strong over on the Flickr group now. I know that many of you are not on the Flickr group and that is fine. You won't get any pressure from me. I hope, though, that you are looking at the pictures and reading the responses. There is a lot of inspiration and information there.

I've been thinking alot lately about slow art. Taking time, letting artworks evolve organically. Letting it whisper to you and being quiet in your mind and open in your heart to hear it. This brings us to Nudge 19: Tabs, Indexes or Other Bits that poke out of the side of your journal to mark pages. As much as this Nudge is about the sheer fun or it, it's also about handling your journal as an object: to love your book as a whole.

If there is something that is more fun than tabs on journal pages, let me know. I love 'em. And so many items can be used to create tabs. 

Spend your five minutes collecting some items to use as tabs. Anything stiff could be used: playing cards, cereal boxes, cut up plastic milk cartons (you can use sharpie to write a word or draw a picture. Attach your indexes with double stick tape, a brad, a staple, a stitch, a paperclip. Stitch a piece of fabric to the edge of the page. Heck, you can even use file indexes. Sometimes I forget the obvious, ha!

Then take more time. Slow time with your book and look through it. Mark some pages with the indexes.

I found these in a $1 bin and am using them on my Sketchbook Challenge journal.

So yes, fondle your journal this week. Delight in it's 3D-ness. Yum.
Leave index ideas in the comments and on the Flickr Group. Share and Inspire.

Happy Year of the Rabbit. Be gentle with yourself this year and listen for the whisper.

Sketchbook Challenge

Here's a little video I did for The Sketchbook Challenge. I enjoy these games and my students like them as well - from kids to teens to adults. Games like this are great for loosening up and training your eye. As you watch the pen move across the page, you begin to learn to control it. It's great practice!


Here's the finished drawing. I used pen, and then black ink and a brush. You can read more here on the Sketchbook Challenge blog.

Relax and have fun with this idea. Or make up your own drawing game and share it in the comments! Wouldn't that be fun!! Yeah! Get to drawing.

Nudge 14, The Grid and two soup recipes

This is a bit more than the usual 5 minute Nudge but - what the heck! - it's a holiday week.
Ah yes, the grid. I love grids (what's not to love?). And I like messy, free-hand grids best but you may like rulers so go for it. I used a Derwent watersoluble sketch pencil (dark wash) and my waterbrush). I'm cross-posting this with more detail over at The Sketchbook Challenge. Two birds and all that ... yeah, ahem, it's a holiday week, hiccup.

We had a soup night here tonight. Split Pea with the leftover Christmas Day ham bone. Really, it doesn't get better than this ... Unless you want to have the Butternut Squash soup with ate with the ham on Christmas Day. Both recipes are here.

My Split Pea Soup (adapted from the back of the bag of split peas and The Moosewood Cookbook)
Ingredients:
Bag of dried split peas
one diced large onion
4 sliced carrots
2 celery stalks (with leaves, if possible)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 quart of good chicken or vegetable stock (the kind in the carton)
Ham bone (if you have it)
2 Bay Leaves
1 small can of tomatoes
about a quarter cup of red wine
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp thyme
sesame oil
loads of pepper

Saute the diced onion in olive oil till soft. I add a bit ole pinch of kosher salt at this point. But if your stock is salted, don't add too much.
Add the carrots and celery and saute a bit. Add crushed garlic.
Add the ham bone (with ham on it) and split peas
Add the chicken stock and about 2 cups water

Bring to a simmer and let it go for a bit until the peas are mushy or smooth - whichever you prefer.

Remove the ham bone. Take the ham bits off the bone and add it back to the soup with
the wine, the tomatoes (chopped) the thyme and sesame oil and pepper. Cook about 15 minutes more.


The Butternut Squash Soup A Sippin' Soup

large onion, diced
butter
Butternut Squash (I get the package of already cubed squash, it is about 1 1/2 lbs.)
Chicken stock, quart
salt and pepper
nutmeg
a little half & half or cream if you have it

Saute the onion with a big pinch of salt.
Add the squash and the stock and simmer until the squash is soft. The stock should just about cover the squash
After the squash is cooked, blend the soup in batches in a blender (or use that awesome blender stick)
  (Be careful blending the hot soup in a blender! Remove that plastic circular handle thingy on top of the cover and put a dishcloth over the hole. Don't fill the blender more than 1/3 of the way.)
Blend til smooth. Return to pot
Add S and P to taste and a nice grating or pinch of nutmeg.
Stir in a dollop of cream (or half & half) if desired

Love ya' all! Happy New Year

The Sketchbook Challenge

The sketchbook challenge! 

this is big folks.

So you want to start keeping a sketchbook but every time you sit down with a book in front of you and pencil in hand you freeze up and just can’t seem to get started. I'm talkin' to you, Nudgees! More inspiration is on its way. Extreme inspiration!

The sketchbook challenge is a new project launching on 1/1/2011. Follow along with us as we fill our sketchbooks based on a monthly theme that will be announced on the first of each month.

You’ll be sketching alongside:

Jill Berry
Sue Bleiweiss
Laura Cater-Woods
Jamie Fingal
Judi Hurwitt
Leslie Tucker Jenison
Lyric Kinard
Jane LaFazio
Carol Sloan

Carla Sonheim
Susan Sorrell
Melanie Testa
Diana Trout (that would be me)
Violette

Each month we’ll announce a new theme on the sketchbook challenge blog and throughout the month we’ll be showing you images from our sketchbooks and talking about the intention and inspiration behind them.  Along the way we’ll be sharing tips, techniques and tutorials.  We hope that by giving you a peek inside our sketchbooks and showing you how different they all are that we’ll inspire you to start keeping a sketchbook of your own.  And of course if you do, we’ll want to see some photos of your book too so we’ve designed a blog badge for you to put on your own blog to show your participation in the project.  You can get instructions and the html code for your badge here.

We encourage you to post photos of your sketchbook pages on your blog and then post a link in the comment section of the Sketchbook Challenge blog so that others can look at your pages too!

And wait! There's more ! (is this sounding like an info-mericia?) ... thanks to the generosity of some terrific sponsors we’ll be doing some givewaways and special shopping offers too!

So pick up your blog badge, go grab a sketchbook, some pencils, pens, markers or paints and get ready to sketch with us!

Until then, Nudges will be as usual. Pssst ... Get your crayons and glue sticks for this week.