In Which I Discover That Creative Fulfillment Requires Some Studying

These past two weeks have been marked by almost an absolute stop in all creative endeavors. Silly things have halted progress, like running low on paint, needing to get my spinning wheel looked at, running out of yarn for the shawl. Things keep breaking too: microwave, toilet, patience. I've been proactive about getting myself moving again now that Stitches West is over. I took my wheel in (I won't have it for a few weeks), I've removed the broken microwave, I've cleaned surfaces. (Especially around the toilet so that when the landlord came yesterday to fix it, we wouldn't look like slobs. We aren't, but I wanted to make sure that they knew that too.) I even ordered new paint... that was suppose to arrive yesterday. It didn't. Despite that disappointment, I went ahead and emptied out my blue tubes to work on this.

It is loosely based on a photo I took while hiking. I'm doing my best to study light and shadows. I, of course, am impatient with myself, so I have mixed feelings on how I did. But it is a study and I'm telling myself that it is ok not to be a master after three "successful" paintings.

I think this is Hound's Tongue

At least I consider the flower painting to be the third successful painting. The first I posted earlier in the month. The second I did of a sunset. The "unsuccessful" painting got me into researching everything I could about how to paint shadows better. Of course not before I had a meltdown where I was convinced I was going to be bad at everything, always, forever. It's times like these that I'm reminded that it is good to be a beginner at things so you can remember how hard it is to have your skill not match your vision.

At the moment, I'm taking pictures and interpreting them through paint. I think that is a good way to learn. The above painting is based on a photo I took by the stairs of our apartment one evening. It's been fun a challenge to experiment with different lighting situations.

So now I'll go back to waiting on my paint. Breaking news: The mailman arrived just as I was working on this post. I have paint!!! I bought primary colors in two different brands to see how I feel about them. I realized that I bought not quite what I meant to in one of the brands. I didn't realize they had two different lines of gouache. But the paint will get used and I'm sure I will get a good learning experience.

Under A Harvest Moon

The harvest moon occurred a week and a half ago. (The harvest moon is the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox.) So Mum and I went on a hike to watch the moon rise. The lighting was amazing that evening.

I brought along my two newest FOs. Here is the Prairie Shawl. I ran out of yarn after the 5th chart. (There are 6 charts total) Luckily for me, a friend had bought the same yarn as me and she didn't need all of it for her project. So I've named the shawl "Saint Christine" in her honor.

When we got to the top of the hill, I photographed my other FO while we waited for the moon to rise. I give you Strathcona. It was for Mum's birthday this year. I was only 4 months late.
And now that this scarf is done, I have knit all of the knits out of Jane Richmond's book ISLAND.

The moon rose right as the sun set. And as always, it was magical.

Boom Rock

Our friend Chris has been secretive for months over where his birthday party would be. On our second day in Wellington, a huge group of us were loaded on a bus and went for a long drive. 

After going through paddocks, passing many sheep, and finding what seemed to be the edge of nowhere, we reached our desitination: Boom Rock. The view was quite impressive. Chris had been worried all day that the weather would be unpleasant, but it was clear enough that we could see the South Island.

Activities at Boom Rock included shooting at clay pigeons. I let them all live this time around. We also got to try knife throwing. I was a bit better at that.

Picture Credit to Dennis. I wasn't going to do this, but Dennis wouldn't let me get away with not trying to shoot some clay pigeons.

As the sun set, the clouds moved in and we all hunkered down for a warm meal and to tell stories about Chris.

Consumed By The Book

I was looking back at some of my older blog entries from October of 2011. I had been working on The Book for a few months at that point and was starting to grasp what a large project it was. If I knew then what I know now, I don't know if I would have continued on. Today while chatting with my father, I was told that every entrepreneur has said the same thing. If they had known how long a project was going to take at the beginning, they would have never started. I guess it's a good thing I didn't know. I'm too far along to stop now. I only wish I could start posting pictures of the projects now! Things are turning out even better than I could have hoped. (I also wish I had other things to talk about, but The Book has started to consume my life.)

Photo shoot #4 went extremely well. As Mum and I dropped everyone off and headed back home, I realized that I had no pictures to share... again. So I took a few shots of the sunset. As we drove away from the coast and past the creeping fog, I turned up the heater, opened the window, and let the cold air whip the hair around my eyes.

Natural Bridges

After a meeting, Mum and I headed over to Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz. Around this time the monarchs are in the eucalyptus grove. The sun was setting when we got there, so the monarchs were all going to "bed" on the branches. We plan on going again when it's warmer.

Lucky for us, there is also a little milkweed garden by the visitor center. It's been awhile since I've seen a monarch chrysalis. 

And this poor monarch was nearby. I think she got a bit too cold to fly after sipping on some nectar. You can tell it's a girl because there are no black spots on the bottom wings. Males have scent spots.

If you turn right rather than left into the grove, there is a little pond. Usually it's clear, but this time around it was really green. And you could hear the ducks eating. They were just nibbling the water. 

I thought it was just algae, but when we got closer we found that the green color appeared to be coming from a bunch of green seeds. Weird.

As the sun set, we stopped in the little vista point to watch. Mum remarked how when she was a child there was more than one bridge at Natural Bridges. There is still one left, although it is eroding away as well. So if you haven't been, it's worth making a trip out.

Mum and I also got a bunch of good pictures for my next hat release, which should happen by Sunday. Hurrah!

Until The Light Fades Away

A few days ago I spent a couple of hours raking up my little fenced yard. I accidentally disturbed this little guy in the process. He was none too pleased.

After finishing with the garden, I decided to go on a little photo date with myself. I found a few insects that had drowned in the pool. They were in perfect condition.

I have to confess, nature photography is my favorite. Especially insect photography.

It was another stunning evening at the mill.

The sheep were out. The little one is Dottie, the first lamb I ever held. She was one of the triplets. I like to think that we have a special bond.

I watched the sky until the last glimmers of light faded away.