the beginning

before i posted this, i had exactly 67 posts on each of my blogs (which is a little crazy, considering that i started this one 2 1/2 years ago now, and the other one, only this summer!).  for a lot of reasons, my art (and therefore, this blog) has been somewhat neglected the last couple of months.

but, as you may have noticed, it's new year's. january first, 2012 (the last year of our world ;). and i have resolved, among other things, to make art every day. i know, you say, i've made that decision before, and even posted about it) twice: here and here. but it never lasted past a couple of weeks. first of all, i'm going into it with a healthier attitude this time. usually if i miss a day in something like that, it's all over. i've failed at my resolution. but now, for me, although i do plan to make art/do something creative every day, and post about my adventures in creativity, i know (now) that i'm human. and life happens. if i miss a day or week here or there, it's ok. but it has just proven (along with eating well, exercising, resting, etc, also on my list) to help me thrive and live and love better, so i'm choosing life here!

second of all, they say it takes 21 days to make (or break) a habit. in the past, i haven't even lasted that long... but this year, i only need to get through the first EIGHT DAYS on my own - then, i'll be forced to make art every day for 5 weeks, thanks to misty mawn and her open studio workshop jason bought me for christmas! :) i can't wait!!! and so, by the end of february, i will have made art every day for two months, and i'll be good to go! (right?? ;)

 

so, to start it off, i did a "blind contour drawing" (you draw just the outlines of something, looking only at the object/person and not at your paper) of jason, and then turned it into a mixed media piece by attaching it to a canvas board, painting, and texturing, attaching a piece of wood that we found on a family walk down the railroad tracks today, and journaling in some song lyrics... the beginning of a david crowder band song:

Lord, i'm tired
so tired of walking
and Lord, i'm so alone
and Lord, the dark
is creeping in
creeping up to swallow me
i think i'll stop
rest here awhile

like i said, it's the beginning of the song. it gets more hopeful as it goes along, and i trust that's how this story will go, too.