Rough draft

There's a pattern that I've noticed. When record the dreams I have, I get more dreams. The more clutter I throw out, the more vigilant I become to pitch any incoming clutter before it hits the counter. When I play the piano, more pieces that I would like to master come to mind.

That's starting to happen with drawing.

Last night at InterVarsity, we did a lectio divina group study on John 17. It's kind of a mindbending chapter...and I got an idea for a painting that I'd like to do right there in the middle of it. I started doodling it right on the scripture paper we had. Later, I came home and quickly threw it down on my sketch book.

This is definitely not a finished piece. I would like to get another copy of the scripture to do a more refined version of this initial image. However, in the meantime, here's what I've got.

Becoming the Hare when You're the Tortoise

I read this the other day and I have not been able to stop thinking about it:

"You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you're Real, you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand." -the Skin Horse from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

That's what I'm doing with my "creative puddles" as I call them. I'm not going to be a published author overnight. My sketches and paintings won't adorn galleries or make hundreds tomorrow. I won't cook caviar for kings and I certainly don't have the budget for that.

But gosh darn it, I am going to do the best I can, with the pebbles I have, to make the biggest splashes I can in these creative puddles. Who knows? I might splash someone who NEEDS to make paintings to hang in galleries and make millions, write plays that bring crowds to their feet, sing songs that make people like me weep.

And maybe, when I'm 78, and have sketched my brains out and can barely see, I'll paint one painting that will make one person cry.

That will make it all worth it.

In the meantime, here's a gesture drawing/sketch I did last night at a meeting that went too long. If it makes you cry for good reasons, let me know. Or for bad reasons, well, that's okay too. You can still let me know.

Backlog

Here's a watercolor pencil piece that I did on Sunday. It started as a simple pen sketch while listening to a sermon in the morning and evolved into this in the evening.

I call it, Crossroads.

Gesture Drawing

Today is going to be a busy day for our little family, leaving little time for extensive creativity. Knowing this, I decided to try my hand at a little bit of gesture drawing while the kids finished up breakfast.  Gesture drawing is just trying to catch the expression of what is happening, not the fine details. Here's what I caught:

Definitely not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something for the first day of the rest of my life. 

Were you able to do anything today?

On Being a Jack of all Crafts

God keeps reminding me of the various gifts and bents He's given me - writing and poetry, drawing, dancing, singing, acting, cooking, and gardening. Am I a master at any of these things right now? Oh, no. I'm not even close. I'm one of those 'Jack of all Trades' people. However, I can look back on my little life of nearly thirty years and identify seasons when I excelled more in one art than another.  In junior high, it was writing and drawing. In high school, it was acting and piano. In college, it was dancing and more dancing. Currently? I'm a pretty decent cook and gardener.

 All of those seasons of life, as different as they were, share one thing in common - consistency. Now that I cook on a daily basis, I can whip up a basic curry in under half an hour and bake a decent pie from scratch. The past three years, my husband and I have experimented with and successfully kept a vegetable patch.  I placed in a writing tournament at districts because I wrote in my journal almost every day and dutifully attended all of the writing team practices. Because there were plenty of opportunities to dance and sing between show choir, musicals, plays, swing clubs, contra dances, and concerts in high school and college, I became a decent singer and even better dancer. 

This little revelation is both fortunate and unfortunate at the same time. Certainly, consistency is key. Unfortunately, the consistency that brought fruit in each area was imposed on me by outer influences and obligations. I had to go to concert choir rehearsal if I wanted an A, and consequently, I learned how to harmonize. Any attempt at consistency that I put on myself more or less drove itself into the ground and died in a heap. Most likely, I got bored, or sick or busy or sad that I didn't produce something "awesome"(read:marketable)

Ironically, I made this discovery in the middle of some consistency. In a strange moment of  cautious ambition, I decided that I was going to develop my drawing skills and do one sketch a day. Now, you must know that with two children under the age of three, such a feat would be manageable on a good day, and courageous on a day when nap time takes a turn for the worst. So, by day four, sketches weren't happening..at least, not on my terms. I wasn't able to sit and do a perfect still life, but I drew a rough sketch of my very willing to model but not so willing to sit still toddler. On day five, he liked it so much, he asked that I draw him again. On day six, however, he wished to dance, and dance we did. At the end of that day, I was a little frustrated that I didn't get to sketch, but I realized that we did do something creative together - we choreographed a dance number...and I learned a little about patience and wrote a blog about it. So, I didn't get to sketch, but I got to do two creative things, and to be honest, I was starting to get a little bit bored and frustrated with sketching anyway.

So, in light of this little discovery, I've made a decision. To hone these gifts, everyday, I am going to do one thing, big or small, in one of my creative bents. I can do the same thing for a several days in a row if I choose (such as working on one painting) or I can do something completely different or something really small. As long as I make an effort, it counts. It doesn't have to be awesome, it doesn't have to be awful, it just has to be done, and I have to record it here. Yesterday, I made a small watercolor painting. Today, I'm writing a long blog post. Tomorrow, who knows? It will probably be something small, like a quick gesture sketch or just breaking up some ground in the garden. 

If you're interested, I wouldn't mind company on this little journey of pace-ience and consistency. You can join me in any capacity you like. Do you have a talent or gift that you would like to develop? I'd love to hear about it. Leave a comment. :) 

Happy Creating,
Gabby