Illustration Friday: Search

Twenty odd years ago, I drew this boy walking into the woods. A writer friend wanted me to illustrate a story she hoped to get published by the publishing company where she worked. As I drew and sketched and tried to organize my ideas, I felt washed out  to sea without compass or oar. I didn't know those were normal feelings that needed to be endured while I went ahead with the work. I thought they meant I was unable to do it, so I backed out of the project, a regrettable decision, though I felt relief at the time. Had I stuck with the project, I believe I would have made long strides as an artist. 

I like this picture better than the one above, though the figure is less expressive. I like how the woods are beginning to enfold the boy. I feel there are delights hidden around the corner. I like the wetness and looseness and the crazy ultramarine shadows. The trees feel more alive.

I don't remember what all these pencil lines were about, but I like them. I was probably feeling a need to loosen up as well as take hold of the composition.

I put the first drawing in this post onto Illustration Friday, though I don't like it as much as the second. I guess I did it because I think the boy is saying more, though the trees are saying less.

Done!

I'm finished with this cross. I still have to add a bail (a loop for the chain to go through) and it is very likely that tomorrow when I sit down to do that I'll see other stuff that needs fixing. But the most difficult part has been accomplished. 

This and that

I've gotten a bit more work done on the new cross.  It's at the stage where the end feels farther away than when I started. I have to be very careful not to break it and make a whole lot more work for myself. It looks pretty big in this picture but is actually only a bit more than an inch long and looks very delicate.

I also made a new banner for my Etsy store. The first one was kind of makeshift, just to get something in the space so I could get the crucifix up to sell. I'm not totally thrilled with this new one either, but I think it's a lot better, and as I read somewhere recently, "Done is better than perfect." I do like the flowers and am inspired to do some flower art, but need to wait on that, sadly.

If you want to see it in its natural habitat, go to my Etsy store and take a look. There's a link in the top right hand corner of this website. If you were thinking about buying the crucifix before the sale ends, today's the day!

Snowflakes, pancakes

It's been snowing about twenty-four hours now. I can't tell how much has fallen, because it's a cold, dry snow that moves around with the wind. My littles, ages six and four, got up before the others and wanted to go outside right away. After a few bites to eat, they suited up and went ponderously down the drifted-over steps. In spots the snow was above their knees, almost to their hips. They heaved through drifts, turning the snow like plows. They stayed out longer than I thought they would, and when they came in hungry they were beautiful with cold-reddened cheeks and sparkling, dark eyes. 

Here are Daniel's sweet little boy hands, with a bite of our special nut-flour pancakes sort of wadded up in a dollop of honey butter. 

And here is a scratchy drawing from my sketchbook.

It's very cold in this sketch, with a deep freeze that often comes after a nice big snow, the kind of deep freeze we're expecting this week. The fluffy white bird is no doubt better adapted to such weather than I am. 

And here's my crew, glimpsed on their sledding hill. I took this picture leaning out in bare feet and bathrobe. Then my camera said the memory card was full, so that's it for today.

A good day's work

I am carving a new cross design. It is a little more than an inch long and suggests the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Counselor and Comforter who came after Jesus rose from the dead and returned to the Father. Here are the original drawing and the drawing reduced by half,  affixed to a piece of carving wax.  

I roughly carved the basic shapes today, and I hope to finish it tomorrow.  

I haven't worked this small for awhile. It's stressful. I have to take care not to snap the piece as I carve (I did that twice) because I hate repairing it. And the wax is such a tricky combination of shiny and translucent, it's not so easy to to see what's going on.

But there were many moments of peace and pleasure as I worked, and when I paused, I watched the snow sift steadily down the air.  Watching snow fall on windless days profoundly quiets me. The delicate substantialness of each flake touching the ground, becoming weighty all together, gives me a feeling of blessedness, as with the laying on of quiet hands.

A Christmas Carol

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap, 

His hair was like a light.

(O weary, weary were the world,

But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast,

His hair was like a star.

(O stern and cunning are the kings,

But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,

His hair was like a fire.

(O weary, weary is the world,

 But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood at Mary's knee,

His hair was like a Crown,

And all the flowers looked up at Him,

And all the stars looked down. 

by G.K. Chesterton

Madonna and child, by Marianne Stokes. Tempera on wood panel, 1907-1908.

Crosses on Etsy

We received five silver crosses from the caster yesterday.  It was a rush to see my design reproduced in a handful of shiny silver.

My husband applied medieval sounding chemicals to darken them. Doesn't "liver of sulfur" sound like something an alchemist would use?

Then he used steel wool to bring out highlights.

We posted them on my newly opened Etsy shop last night. We are offering them  for the extremely low price of $80.00 until the twelfth day of Christmas--January 6, 2014. After that we will be selling them for the still very low price of $125. (This price is low compared to standard prices of silver jewelry of a comparable weight.) There are over nineteen grams of  silver in each cross, so they feel nicely heavy in the hand. I hope this piece will aid in focusing on the love and sacrifice of Jesus, and remind of his complete engagement with our broken, suffering world--nothing held back.

There is a hidden bail in the back to slip a chain through.