Jessie

Courting Creativity

How does one sustain creative work? I’ve hit that point in the development of this blog (and I knew I would hit it because I do in every project I’ve ever undertaken) where the shine has worn a bit and I’ve begun to stutter and then to stop creating. This week was filled with failures.Continue reading “Courting Creativity”

The Artist’s Way

My mom was obsessed with The Artist’s Way when I was a kid. I remember this book having such an effect on her that it always lingered in the back of my mind as something that I should read. Now that Jessie and I have created this space to nurture our own creativity, the timeContinue reading “The Artist’s Way”

Watercolor Exercises: Flex Those Brushes

I’ve been playing around with watercolor for a few months now, but I’ve never taken the time to try to understand how this medium really works. While it seems simple on the surface, let me assure you, watercolor is not easy. Yes, there are only four main components: paint, water, brushes, and paper. But theContinue reading “Watercolor Exercises: Flex Those Brushes”

So I have this daydream about charcoal . . .

I’ve wanted to start experimenting with charcoal for awhile. I love how it looks and how messy it is to use. With charcoal I can pretend I am an old-timey French artist in Montmartre drawing dancing girls and flowers. Anyway, my mom sent me charcoal drawing pencils and some willow charcoal. I proceeded to letContinue reading “So I have this daydream about charcoal . . .”

Blind Drawing: You Try Not Looking

It’s so difficult for me not to continuously look at the page while drawing. It’s like my eyes don’t believe I have hands I can draw with unless they’re looking right at them while drawing. If you recall from my last post, I’m trying to develop this new habit of actually looking at the subjectContinue reading “Blind Drawing: You Try Not Looking”

A Little Flower

I have started learning a new piece called A Little Flower by Cornelius Gurlitt. Over the next few weeks/months (there really is no telling) I will be documenting my progress in understanding and performing this piece. D Major Scale In the interest of turning over a new music leaf, I started by practicing the DContinue reading “A Little Flower”

Keys To Drawing Project: Ugly Feet (and Other Sketches)

In the hopes of improving my sketchy drawing skills, I’ve placed myself in the hands of Bert Dodson and his highly recommended book Keys to Drawing. I’ll be going through each of the 48 exercises in the book and sharing some of the results and learning here. To begin with, I thought I’d show someContinue reading “Keys To Drawing Project: Ugly Feet (and Other Sketches)”

Adventures in Photography Volume III

I did Lab 30 in the magical book, Creative Photography Lab: 52 Fun Exercises for Developing Self-Expression with Your Camera. Well, I kind of did it. The point of this lab was to “create a personal photo journal of your work or daily environment.” I chose this lab because I knew I would be goingContinue reading “Adventures in Photography Volume III”

The Honeymoon Project

An old college friend invited me to her wedding celebration, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to practice my drawing and watercolor. Instead of buying a card, I would make one, and since my gift was a donation to their honeymoon fund I had my obvious inspiration. As always, there were lessons learned through thisContinue reading “The Honeymoon Project”

Adventures in Photography Volume II

So, I got this book called Creative Photography Lab: 52 Fun Exercises for Developing Self-Expression with Your Camera. As the title suggests, this book contains a series of photography labs designed to develop both technical and creative skills in photography. The first lab in the book is to take thirty shots in thirty minutes onContinue reading “Adventures in Photography Volume II”