Moving Along to September Things

 

I could say that I've been busy with gardening, road-tripping, and doing creative things since I last posted anything here (in April), which is mostly true except the "busy" part. My aversion to being busy is the reason I did not keep at the 100 Day Project for the full 100 days. It got to feeling like an obligation, especially trying to do regular blog posts about it — there's nothing quite like obligatory creativity to sap my creative energy. 

Plus, it was time to turn my attention to my biggest creative commitment: making the Useful Calendar, which I feel the need to start working on in the spring. I begin by going through my 24-page Word document called "Holidays by Topic," updating all the ones that change, reviewing notes and websites with information about most of the holidays, and learning more about some of them as I go, because that's one of the things that distinguishes this calendar—the information it contains. I also dig in to researching the Chinese zodiac animal that will be featured. If you'd like to know the story behind the Useful Calendar and how it came to be, see this page.

It's not that all that preparation is a full-time job for months on end, it's that I prefer to work on it at a reasonable pace (see above about being "busy"), especially studying the animal, which has become an enjoyable journey of discovery for me, and creating 12 different illustrations.

I confess that I almost decided to put an end to featuring the zodiac animal when I realized that 2025 is the year of the snake. Like far too many people, I did not have warm feelings for those slithering animals. But with a little encouragement from my husband, I began by looking for natural history resources about them, and came upon a memoir, Saving Snakes, by naturalist Nicolette L. Cagle. Her sympathy and affection for them soon won me over and persuaded me that these maligned and misunderstood animals were worthy of my time and attention. 

Perhaps the illustrations and captions in my calendar, and whatever zines I manage to spin off from this project, can persuade some people to grant them a little respect and sympathy, as I have learned to do.

Plus, there is so much mythology, folklore, and history about snakes, full of intrigue and metaphor, comprising a rich tapestry of traditions I never knew about. Hello, all you snake gods and goddesses! I see you now.

Although I have begun doing the illustrations earlier than previous years, I have still let that part fall toward the end of the process, which means I end up feeling a little too rushed during the most creative phase of this project, which really does annoy me. And I have no one but myself to blame!

So I'm thinking that maybe next year I will sign on to the 100 Day Project again, only this time my "project" will be to focus on learning about, sketching, and making the illustrations for the next Useful Calendar, which for 2026 is the year of the horse.

At least, right now, that seems like a good idea.

Draw (Almost) Every Day

I can't say how many years I've started out with the intention to draw every day and never got much beyond good intentions. But it still strikes me as a worthy challenge to give myself, so here I go again. I didn't start this time until January 7, and I've already skipped a few days, but at least I'm drawing more than I have in a long time, and that's really the whole point of the exercise. My motto this time around: No excuses, no apologies, no guilt!

I think one of the things that has stopped me before is choosing a time and place for drawing. So far this year, in acknowledgement of my night-owl ways, I have done them while sitting in my favorite chair in the living room, late at night after Craig has gone to bed and usually after I've either finished the Sudoku or gotten stumped by it.

I also decided to use a medium-sized sketchbook (8.5 by 11 inches), which is small enough to be easily managed, and large enough to let me play around on the page and write a few notes and such. Using an ordinary sketchbook of good quality (the Canadian sketchbook brand) and not a "journal" also helps, I think. The book and paper aren't so nice that I feel intimidated by it, but it's still nice enough to be a pleasure to work on.

I also made a list of prompts, which I haven't felt the need to consult, because just writing down some ideas has helped, and sitting in my chair helps, too, because I do try to surround myself with items I find appealing.

The newest issue of Conservation magazine, published by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (MnDNR), featured a cover story about foxes, with lots of nice photos. This, right after I saw on the Etsy merchandising blog that foxes are "trending," whatever that means.

A few days ago, Nora brought home a few cuttings from an ivy plant she was given by a relative of her current employer/client (she's working as a personal care attendant, or PCA), and I put them in a vase I bought last month from my friend Judy Anderson (aka Dragonfly Guild). I've been really enjoying the way the wiry stems extend from the vase, so last night I drew that, first sketching lightly in pencil, then finishing in ink, then deciding to add some color with watercolor pencils.

Using this practice to flesh out ideas for projects is a good way to keep me at it, too. So after a woman contacted me via my Etsy page to suggest that I consider making bookplates, I have been thinking about and sketching some ideas for a design.



So, my goal for 2012 is more like "draw almost every day," or "draw pretty often." Maybe I'll even keep at it this time around.