creatively this week.... drawing, learning, progressing on my spring/summer green quilt

2.5" squares cut to baste to EPP hexies

I have a few things to share but it's been like walking through mud this week.... 

The color of the month on rainbow scrap challenge is orange. I do like orange and it's energizing. I cut colors to make this month's spiral hexies, and will baste them this weekend I hope. 

the orange bits and scraps ready to use

I hand sew at night in front of the TV but in the studio I'm trying to finish the green spring leaves top, and find myself having trouble making decisions.   I pulled some fabrics including this one I hand dyed years ago....

so I cut strips of them and auditioned them for setting the piecework.... 

I know I'm depressed and fearful and it's sapping my energy right now

a morning doodle painting

but I thought making art and working with color would lift me up.... but even it's become harder daily

(thanks for listening) 

I spent time this week learning while watching Sketchbook Revival lessons but concentrating was hard

 

One of the lessons was on brush lettering, writing then adding lines to look like caligraphy so I wrote "Energy" as an intention, just wrote it with a fountain pen, not doing the actual lesson

then filled in with color from my ink set and a brush, using also some old gouche colors on the palette. 

I quite like how cheerful it is, just on printer paper, like the flower with word stem

back to the green piece....

I forced myself to commit to fabrics and at least the bottom half is sewn in making it look tidy

I love the leaves. I am adding slips of tiny fabrics now and then, laying it on, then stitching over the scrap grasses, you can click on pics to enlarge them and find the additions

I don't mind a bit of fraying, but the stitches stop nearly all of that. 

My plan was to applique seedlings when the top was together but might save that for doing on a simple background later. 

I banked back and forth from lessons on Sketchbook Revival this week, to studio time sewing. Plus

ICAD is back, prompts every day for 61 days, making art on an index card....

https://daisyyellowart.com/vividlife/icad-2025-1-7

I've done this challenge for years and it's amazing what comes of it!!! I'm behind of course, (no energy from depression) but did the first one.... what would you make to represent glimmer? 

I found this online search of glimmer, printed them tore it off the paper, surrounded the image with metallic paint that shimmers in person. Just a glimmer of paint. Light is a glimmer here. The quote gives me a glimmer of hope...

I've been walking a lot, and on this day wanted to find some orange in nature. I like this tree's mix of orange and green. (just a glimmer of orange lol) 

One lesson I watched had  us drawing a portrait starting with four lines and one watercolor pencil

draw, then add water, and voila! I love her, and kept this journal page open to see all week

another lesson had us using many supplies in black to make an abstract garden

start with plain pencil in non dominant hand, scribble. Move on to stabilo crayon, then eraser done over areas, then water soluble pencil again, markers, ink and voila! I love it too. I did this lesson before when she first showed it and this shows that we bring our current lives and what we've learned to the table. 

speaking of black and white, I tried sketching a portrait from a historical photo again

and realized how much I rely on watercolor paint... and how difficult a line drawing is to do

My journal has some old printer papers in it and I enjoy reclaiming them this way

It was challenging to draw downcast eyes, and that hair... I am always learning

this was a morning doodle.... watersoluble colored pencils traced my coffee cup, then blend with plain water.... I see some zendoodles or mandalas in the centers or quotes I might need to remember.... 

that's it for now, go check out the Index card challenge, it's free and a great site to explore

here's a gratuitous orange/pink flower in honor of the focus color this month

linking with

https://superscrappy.blogspot.com/

patchwork Sunday   

oh Scrap Sundays

 slow stitching Sundays

https://melvalovesscraps.blogspot.com/

design wall Mondays at smallquiltsanddollquilts

https://songbirddesigns.blog/

http://www.inquiringquilter.com/ Wednesday wait loss

Midweek makers wednesdays  

http://www.myquiltinfatuation.com/

finished or not

https://beadwright.blogspot.com/

https://myblog-lunchbreak.blogspot.com/

https://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com/