Forks, My Child... Forks
Feb. 18th, 2021 02:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouse I am taking a break from reading manuscripts. I missed the official "What are You Reading?" day, but I wouldn't have had much to report at any rate.
Can I tell you how frustrating it is to finally have the ability to read back and STILL NOT be able to?? Like, I bought myself three books from the Philip K. Dick award nominations list and I was really, really looking forward to settling in and reading them.
The problem is that I have time to read again? But when I do, I think: "I should be doing the reading that makes me money," and so that's what I do. In between the stuff for hire and the stuff for class, I am reading and critiquing the work of my colleagues in my various writers'. I mean, I love it? But I'm also looking forward to having less of it. If only so I can read a BOOK.
I am still watching shows while doing the dishes. I finally remembered to start in on the second season of "Midnight Diner: Tokyo stories." So, it's not all critique all the time.
I also recorded a reading for MarsCON 2021, which is coming up in March. http://marscon.org/2021/ I'm also on at least one panel discussion about the various Apocalypse crafts we've all be up to, so that should be fun.
Shawn and I are continuing the Domestika course on doodling, though neither of us is convinced that we're learning much.
Did I tell you guys about this? So, Facebook decided to target Shawn with ads for art classes. I suspect she hit some algorithm or other because she buys a lot of fun pens and such for her bullet journaling. So, she sees this thing pop up where Mattias Adolfsson is going to teach us to make fun doodles. His art is very cool. So, she decides (since they offered a special deal, the whole course for $11.00!,) she's going to sign us up. So far? He's had us drawing... pens.
Image: pen and ink drawing of pens... and an ominous as f*ck fork.
I ended up drawing a whole page of forks and their shadows, because I found the shadows (and my strange inability to draw a fork that wasn't CREEPY AF, to be kind of entertaining,) but I was looking forward to the next go round.
I mean, as I told another artist friend I was Zooming with the other day, I feel pretty confident in my ability to draw OK when I have what I want to draw in front of me. That's pretty much been the pinnacle of my abilities.I'm NOT AT ALL confident in my ability to draw from memory or, gods forbid, actually make something up. I worked on that a bit when I was teaching smols how to do cartooning (a sordid part of my history--I was wholly unqualified for a job I had for DECADES, but, honestly, when kids are 6 -10 years old you don't really have to teach drawing so much as PROVIDE PAPER AND MATERIALS. So, that's what I did.) And, as you can see above, the work I can do will absolutely impress a six year old. I did not fare as well when I tried to teach adults via Open U. However, I was (and still am) hoping that maybe this class will help push me up another level as an artist.
At any rate, we've been through a half-dozen of the video lectures so far, and we are STILL drawing pens. Last night's course? Draw pens from your imagination:
Image: more pen and ink drawings of... pens--only these are imaginary pens.
So, I don't know. I mean, I'm enjoying the fact that having paid for the course (even if it's only 11 bucks) that I have some kind of obligation to sit down and try to draw every so often. I've been trying to draw every day, but it's more like every other.
Forks will forever be my bane, however.
Image: pen and ink drawings of forks and their apparently terrifying shadows.
So, I guess when my grandchildren sit at my knee and say, "Grandma, what did you do during the pandemic?" I'm going to nod sagely and say, "Forks, my child. Nothing but forks."
Can I tell you how frustrating it is to finally have the ability to read back and STILL NOT be able to?? Like, I bought myself three books from the Philip K. Dick award nominations list and I was really, really looking forward to settling in and reading them.
The problem is that I have time to read again? But when I do, I think: "I should be doing the reading that makes me money," and so that's what I do. In between the stuff for hire and the stuff for class, I am reading and critiquing the work of my colleagues in my various writers'. I mean, I love it? But I'm also looking forward to having less of it. If only so I can read a BOOK.
I am still watching shows while doing the dishes. I finally remembered to start in on the second season of "Midnight Diner: Tokyo stories." So, it's not all critique all the time.
I also recorded a reading for MarsCON 2021, which is coming up in March. http://marscon.org/2021/ I'm also on at least one panel discussion about the various Apocalypse crafts we've all be up to, so that should be fun.
Shawn and I are continuing the Domestika course on doodling, though neither of us is convinced that we're learning much.
Did I tell you guys about this? So, Facebook decided to target Shawn with ads for art classes. I suspect she hit some algorithm or other because she buys a lot of fun pens and such for her bullet journaling. So, she sees this thing pop up where Mattias Adolfsson is going to teach us to make fun doodles. His art is very cool. So, she decides (since they offered a special deal, the whole course for $11.00!,) she's going to sign us up. So far? He's had us drawing... pens.
Image: pen and ink drawing of pens... and an ominous as f*ck fork.
I ended up drawing a whole page of forks and their shadows, because I found the shadows (and my strange inability to draw a fork that wasn't CREEPY AF, to be kind of entertaining,) but I was looking forward to the next go round.
I mean, as I told another artist friend I was Zooming with the other day, I feel pretty confident in my ability to draw OK when I have what I want to draw in front of me. That's pretty much been the pinnacle of my abilities.I'm NOT AT ALL confident in my ability to draw from memory or, gods forbid, actually make something up. I worked on that a bit when I was teaching smols how to do cartooning (a sordid part of my history--I was wholly unqualified for a job I had for DECADES, but, honestly, when kids are 6 -10 years old you don't really have to teach drawing so much as PROVIDE PAPER AND MATERIALS. So, that's what I did.) And, as you can see above, the work I can do will absolutely impress a six year old. I did not fare as well when I tried to teach adults via Open U. However, I was (and still am) hoping that maybe this class will help push me up another level as an artist.
At any rate, we've been through a half-dozen of the video lectures so far, and we are STILL drawing pens. Last night's course? Draw pens from your imagination:
Image: more pen and ink drawings of... pens--only these are imaginary pens.
So, I don't know. I mean, I'm enjoying the fact that having paid for the course (even if it's only 11 bucks) that I have some kind of obligation to sit down and try to draw every so often. I've been trying to draw every day, but it's more like every other.
Forks will forever be my bane, however.
Image: pen and ink drawings of forks and their apparently terrifying shadows.
So, I guess when my grandchildren sit at my knee and say, "Grandma, what did you do during the pandemic?" I'm going to nod sagely and say, "Forks, my child. Nothing but forks."