Showing posts with label bear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bear. Show all posts

"Arabella's Inner Life"

Dear Visitors,

This will be a very different post. I have gotten myself into something I have never done before: a poster competition :) This is part of the Marbletown, NY, Founder's Day celebration. The assignment is to fill with images, colors or shapes the blank white space inside the founder’s body on one of the posters pictured below. The posters are printed on canvas and stretched over 26” x 68” frame. The figure itself is about 4 feet high. The deadline is July 11th. The posters will be put on public display in and around Marbletown to promote the Founders’ Day festivities to be held on July 26th. The posters will then exhibited and auctioned off at the end of the event to benefit Stone Ridge Public Library.


I got the notice about this event last Friday, the 11th, was humming and hawing about participating but the deadline seemed too short. Saturday, however, I was still thinking about it. Then my boyfriend convinced me to dare and so we picked up "The Lady" :)


I gave her the name "Arabella" and called the theme "Arabella's Inner Life". Now what? I was completely clueless how to fill in the white space, but was and am still counting on the Inner Voice Drawing process to guide me.  I have decided to document each step and let you in on the development of the piece. The surprise of each step will be yours as much as mine :)

STEP ONE:

close up
























I am getting a first feel of Arabella's personality: reflective
with an inner fire ....
5 more days until completion.


STEP TWO:











Arabella's personality is coming out more: playfulness with a bent for gentle pranks. I am curious where this will go. Are you too? Stay tuned. 4 more days until completion.

STEP THREE:


close up
This is the last sketch. The next step is adding color.  3 more days to go.  Stay tuned :)

STEP FOUR:


This is still a very rough color draft. I am working with acrylic on vinyl. It's a slippery surface and makes it more difficult to have a smooth and even paint. Layers are the solution. 2 more days to go. Stay tuned :)

STEP FIVE:



Arabella is shaping up :)  I hadn't thought of outlining all the forms with a black marker, but when I did one I liked the look: the forms pop out more and remind me of stained glass patterns.
One more day to go. Have a good evening and let's meet here again tomorrow for the final :)

THE FINAL:




This was a fun project. I had some trouble though with the writing part. I had bought several light colored markers (sharpies) to write on the black background, but none of them worked on the vinyl material. Challenges can make you creative, so the solution was painting an acrylic base and using the black marker on top of it. Voila :)
I hope this post gives you some ideas and the courage to stretch yourself - at least a bit. You can do it!
And don't forget to make someone smile :)

The Universe Is Smiling: "Stretch Yourself"

"Let's get out of the winter doldrums," says the bear, "let's stretch."
"If we could give every individual the right amount of nourishment and exercise, not too little and not too much, we would have found the safest way to health."
- Hippocrates
"Every day you make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb."
- Winston Churchill

The Universe Is Smiling: "Friends"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Cherish your friends - with a smile :)
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardener who make our souls blossom."
- Marcel Proust
"It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson 

 

The Universe Is Smiling: "Tenderness"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: "Tenderness of heart brings a smile to every situation."
"There is no charm equal to tenderness of heart."
- Jane Austen
"When I approach a child, he inspires in me two sentiments; tenderness for what he is, and respect for what he may become."
- Louis Pasteur 

The Universe Is Smiling: "Holding"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
Drawing's Answer: Who is holding whom? :)

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong, but sometimes it is letting go."
 - Hermann Hesse
"Love is always open arms. If you close your arms about love you will find that you are left holding only yourself."
- Leo F. Buscaglia 
 

The Universe Is Smiling: "Contentment"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Contentment brings peace of mind.

"We tend to forget that contentment doesn't come as a result of getting something we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."
- Friedrich Koenig
"... Restlessness ... is always a sign of not finding joy in what's here. ... That's what restlessness is, going around looking for something else to do, something else to think about, somewhere else to go - anywhere but here and now. ... Contentment is the opposite of a faultfinding mind. .... Contentment looks for what is right, and it can keep you still. But restlessness will always make you a slave. ... That tyrant is the faultfinding mind. Subdue this tyrant through contentment. ..."
"Mindfulness, Bliss, and Beyond" by Ajahn Brahm, pp.43-45 

The Universe Is Smiling: "Natural Flow"

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:
Q: What is today's wisdom?
A: Stay in the natural flow!
"Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them - that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like."
- Lao Tzu  

The Universe is Smiling: Unlocking Creativity

Monika's weekly inner voice drawings:

Q: How to unlock creativity?
A: Be "dareful", not careful.