WR #6
This was the second week of our vision/ planning retreat in Cookeville. I was a little disappointed in myself for not making more art. BUT, I pretty much did at least a little bit of something every day. So that’s a huge win. A lot of my downtime was spent playing board games and stuff with Nick, and I’m super thankful for the time that we got to hangout and do stuff together. I just have to keep things in perspective. Even though I had a lot of downtime, the focus was on doing activities with Nick, and art was squeezed in the margins. We had a great week, and I still got some art-ing in. So I just need to get that negative “should’ve done more” talk out of my head!
Last week’s focus
Daily art while prioritizing time with Nick.
Helpful inputs/ resources from the week
I mentioned Andrew Peterson’s interview on the Journeywomen podcast last week. But I wanted to call out a poem he wrote and shared, specifically.
What Jimmy Abegg Taught Me About Art
As long as you’re doing something, he said
failure is a word that has no meaning.
And so, I wrote this poem.I probably punctuated that totally wrong (sorry Andrew). But it’s such a good reminder and it made me laugh. Here’s a few more notes/ quotes I took from his interview:
Go do stuff. Recover a sense of play. Be young enough to not care if you mess up, and just go make something.
Just go do the thing. Knowing that you’re a mess, and that God will redeem it. Because that’s what He does.
STUDIO TIME LOG
Monday | 02-19
Emma Carlisle “Mountains” session
This was really hard! But it brought foreground, mid-ground, and background to my attention. I watched E. Carlisle’s “Mark-making for Depth” sketchbook challenge video after this session, and it helped a lot. I want to start being more mindful about depth and where I want the viewer’s eye to go when they look at my work.
Tuesday | 02-20
Quick campground weed sketch before playing board games with Nick
Wednesday | 02-21
Sketch of the girls (Scout and Margo) while sitting at Poet’s Coffee Shop in Cookeville… this was good practice doing art out in public
Thursday | 02-22
Super quick cat, campground weeds, and squirrel sketches… my squirrels are even funnier than my cows 🙈
Read Picture This by Molly Bang… super helpful in thinking about the composition of a picture… definitely want to revisit this
Friday | 02-23
Went on a walk with Nick to sketch cows just down from our campground… they were not very happy to see us and promptly ran away. Nick did manage to capture some great reference pictures for me, though! He’s the best!! Also, the post preview pic for this review is one he got of me during this outing. I’ve got my hood up and look like an old lady alien, just out on an art walk. haha
Saturday | 02-24
Quick cow sketch before playing board games with Nick
Sunday | 02-25
WHOOPS! I forgot to draw today… bummer! It got crazy with us getting back from our trip and trying to get unpacked, re-organized, and laundry under control before starting the week. But we did a pretty darn good job prepping for the coming week, and we’ve had an awesome Monday (I’m doing this review a day late). 🙃
SKETCHBOOK REVIEW
February 23-26, 2024
What question did I ask my sketchbook with this spread?
How can I capture cows on the page… especially when they’re running away from me?
How do I feel about it overall?
Well, at least I made some marks… right? I might have even invented a new breed of animal… dog-cow-horse-sheep-thing.
What am I curious about?
Can I practice drawing different subjects (people, cats, cows, dogs, etc.) from pictures, so that when I draw from life I’m faster and better able to fill in the “gaps” when a subject moves around a lot?
What do I want to carry forward?
Keep on keeping on!! Don’t let ugly cow drawings get you down. Just keep making art!
Remember, I like my way of trying better than my way of NOT trying. (from James Forsyth’s sermon on 2-25-24)
FINAL WRAP UP
What has God taught me this week about glorifying Him through my art?
Delighting in God’s delight of my delight. 🙃 I know that’s meta. But hear me out. God delights in us! And every good gift is from God. I want to remember to delight in the gift of art and the artistic process, keeping front of mind who that gift is from. And I know when I do that, God delights in my delight… and I want to delight in that too! Hence, delighting in God’s delight of my delight. Also, that delight has nothing to do with whether or not my art is good! Thank goodness. I mean, seriously, did you see those cow sketches? 😂
What am I excited about/ what’s my plan for next week? Any changes to initial 2024 planning?
There are changes coming to my education plan… and I’m excited about giving myself the freedom to change things up! I’m going to think more on this over the coming week and write more in my next review. But I’m thinking about adding some abstract stuff to my plan. More on that next week!
