Isn’t this cute?  I love the green ribbon and blue binding.  While I was making the planner, I realized that I could make some blank books with nice paper for journaling or sketching purposes.  These are filled with high-quality acid-free paper and tie with a ribbon closure.  The cover is handcut marine vinyl.  These are also available on Etsy.

Here’s another of the illustrations I’ve been working on in my sketchbook…

House in The Woods, dusk...

 and here’s the painting of Molly Whuppie, now with ink lines added…

Molly Whuppie, now with ink lines.

 …makes a difference doesn’t it? I’ve always loved ink and wash illustrations, I’m still adapting the techniques for acrylics and to use it on both paper and fabric, so I’m still finding my way with it. I’m pleased with the house in the woods illustration, that’s the latest and it came together without too much trouble.  

Recently, I’ve been reading a series of local history booklets put out by the Toronto Public Library Board.

Fingers: Working up some illustrations from tales and stories in my sketchbook. Just the ground work before starting them in textiles for the next exhibition. They won’t be to everyone’s taste, I understand that.  I enjoy building the images with layers and stylising the faces. So here’s two of the first sketchbook versions, they’ll change as I rework them of course…

Sketchbook painting of Molly Whuppie

Sketchbook illustration of a giant

 Remember the Shakespeare series of illustrations? Well, I’m thinking of developing the new story illustrations along similar lines…I’m planning on adding text, a short pithy summary of each story alongside the image… The Shakespeare series was pretty successful, it particularly went down well at the Nantwich exhibition, selling 5 out of the 8 on show there. Flashback image for reference…

Romeo

  Let me know what you think?

dieses wort kam von fiene und ich hatte ganz schön dran zu kauen. aber zum glück hats dann doch noch “tock-tock” im kopf gemacht!

bin gespannt auf die anderen beiträge. die gibts später wie immer im ehrenwort-blog. du willst mitmachen? mach mit!

Page 2 to go into my sketchbook for the Sketchbook Project.  My assigned topic:  How to Save the World.

A little background about the symbolism on this page: 

The symbolism here is tied to the religious paradigm of the mythical hero off to slay evil demons out in the wilderness so as to protect kith and kin. 

This paradigm was articulated by Mircea Eliade (1907-1986), a native of Romania, who was “a well-known historian of religion, fiction writer, philosopher, and professor at the University of Chicago. He was a leading interpreter of religious experience, who established paradigms in religious studies that persist to this day. His theory that hierophanies form the basis of religion, splitting the human experience of reality into sacred and profane space and time, has proved influential.^[1]” 

“Eliade argues that religious thought in general rests on a sharp distinction between the Sacred and the profane;^[83] whether it takes the form of God, gods, or mythical Ancestors, the Sacred contains all "reality", or value, and other things acquire "reality" only to the extent that they participate in the sacred.^[84] suggests that in traditional societies, people tended to view the world as being one of opposing realms, of the known world, and the unknown world.  The known world was “the realm of established order; and beyond the known world is a chaotic and dangerous realm, "peopled by ghosts, demons, [and] ‘foreigners’ (who are [identified with] demons and the souls of the dead).^[116] ….According to Eliade, traditional societies place their known world at the Center because (from their perspective) their known world is the realm that obeys a recognizable order, and it therefore must be the realm in which the Sacred manifests itself; the regions beyond the known world, which seem strange and foreign, must lie far from the Center, outside the order established by the Sacred.”  Full Wikipedia Article on Eliade’s life and work

Eliade’ argued passionately for the universality of these paradigms, probably the most controversial aspect of his work to others.  But I would argue that one doesn’t have to look very hard at contemporary cultures, to at least see the pervasiveness of the paradigm of the mythical hero as a recurrent theme today across most cultural groups, in religious stories, as well as popular drama and other entertainment.  It continues to be held up as a value throughout enculturation processes in some form.  The details may vary, but it is a powerful motivator to act, even today. Though the paradigm has its roots in traditional societies, it clearly persists in modern culture and shapes values on a primal level.   

It is a romantic notion that lies at the heart of the decisions of world leaders to take up arms, though how those leaders have formed their perception of who is included in the sacred or in the profane derives from how they, as individuals, have come to see who is “in” and who is “out”.  Whether you are looking at individuals who take extreme measures to strike through hostage taking, genocide, and mass murder, or the knight who fights on his home soil to defend against invaders, all can be seen to be acting on a sorting process.  This process of sorting the universe of being “one/part of us” or “in” and being “not part of us” or “out” begins in early social development.  How we learn to sort and how we act on that sorting is shaped by how we our personal biases are formed.  It is how we judge the behavior of others. 

If we view and judge others around us as being the profane, “outsiders”, “others”, we make them “dragons” in our minds, or the “chaos monster”, as Eliade would describe them.  We believe that it is a hero’s duty to slay dragons that threaten us.  The problem here, is that they are probably not dragons at all, and the facts are likely not that we are good and they are evil and must be defeated.  In fact, they may just be afraid of us, as we are of them, and by our perceptions and acting through fear, we cannot build empathy or understanding.  What is required to avoid the outcome that we are afraid of, is learn to see one another without judgment, to foster trust and acceptance through mutual respect of our common humanity and unique qualities.

When we are looking over at someone that we are perceiving as a “dragon”, we should question our perception, and the assumptions that form that perception.  We should investigate before we behave with prejudice toward another, and try our best to understand them, to see them as they are, not just as we “fear” they might be.  We should set aside our fear and loathing for what is unfamiliar and try to build empathy with others, not try to force them to be “us”, or to force us to be “them”, but to appreciate the differences and how the uncomfortable feelings arose, and then find the common ground to address respective concerns.   We can’t control what other people do, but we can do our part to attempt to bridge the gap.  This is how we can each be a “hero”, and save the world.

heut gibts mal wieder 2 seiten aus meinem buntstiftbuch. keine ahnung, was das immer soll… das ist zeichnen ohne nachdenken und immerhin seeeehr entspannend!

ich meld mich später nochmal, muss jetzt fotos machen und bin auf der suche nach licht. (im november, in meiner wohnung, in hamburg, haha…)

When Teddy told Tommy and Timothy Turkey
the trick to transcending Thanksgiving tragedy…

… it was music to their ears!
…………………………………………………………

Another little stretch of the Illustration Friday theme, in order to wish one and all the happiest Thanksgiving!

Last Saturday, this was the scene from my window. Oh how happy I was! You may be thinking, “So what? You have birds that visit your feeder.” This scene however, with a chickadee, a white-breasted nuthatch, and a male downy woodpecker happened at the same time!

99% of the time when I look out the window I either see a sparrow at the feeder or a big stupid squirrel stealing seeds from me. It is excitement when I witness a “non-regular”. To have 3 non-regulars at the same time is big time happiness for me.

I sketched this scene so that at a later time I can thumb through my sketchbook and reminisce on the day when I saw these birds together at the same time. Notice that I make sure to document the date, time and weather conditions. I want to know if there is a connection. My hypothesis right now: The 3 different types of birds are following each other to team up, attacking the same feeder, because it is colder out and insects are less common than free available seed/suet. The birds are going to use a lot of energy keeping themselves alive in the winter. Food/energy source is crucial to survival. I know that the chickadee is known to travel and follow the downy woodpecker, but do they do that in the summer time as well, when food is abundant everywhere? If I witness the same scene in the summertime and document the time, date, and weather conditions in my sketchbook, then I know my hypothesis is incorrect.

My sketchbook helps me learn. You can start a sketchbook too. It is rather inexpensive. The sketchbook may cost you $10 and you can buy a watercolor travel kit for $20. No experience necessary! Why not document what you see and we can learn together.

It’s been a week since I posted anything so I forced myself to do a quick sketch of someone today.

Mies van de Rohe famously said, “God is in the details”.

I hope He is okay with changes in the field:

some sketches done in the field to change and clarify details

Despite our best efforts to figure out everything prior to construction, changes have to be made, especially with renovations and additions where existing construction turns out a bit different than we thought.

Field Notes brand notebooks – I keep a separate one for each project under construction

This series of images have been like a mountain to climb. Each one is full resolution and over 2.5 meters long. I have painted them all in Photoshop from scratch and had the grand plan of incorporating lots of minute details that could be seen when walking up close, as well as the huge vistas. They may take many more years to complete or I’ll have to find another simpler approach, not sure yet. This is one reason why I have gone back to drawing (board so to speak).

Wow!
This give-away was so much fun and I got such a huge response, so many more entries than I had anticipated!
Including comments, retweets and blog posts there were a total of:
122 entries

Without further ado…

1st place winner, who will receive:
(1) 8.5×11 110 page sketchbook
(1) letter stencil guide
(1) pack of 6 colors of embroidery thread
(12) pieces of “scrap” paper – different sizes, different patterns
(5) 12×12 pages of scrapbook paper
(1) Pigma Graphic #1 archival ink pen
(1) coupon for 20% one item in my etsy store (can be redeemed at any time, keep in mind: new items (including mixed media and handmade books) will be available in the near future)

DancinJellyBean!!!

YAY!!
Everyone go give her a big Congrats!!

The runners up will receive:
(1) 8×8 page of scrapbook paper
(1) Pigma Graphic #1 archival ink pen
(1) letter stencil guide
(4) pieces of “scrap” paper – different sizes, different patterns
(5) “scrap” pieces of different ribbons – all different colors and textures
(1) coupon for free shipping on any one item in my etsy store (can be redeemed at any time, keep in mind: new items (including mixed media and handmade books) will be available in the near future)

Sarah!!! (who’s comment said “I’m currently obsessed with finding the perfect gifts for family and friends. This year I am all about creative but inexpensive. If that means finding and old book in a resale shop or making a delicious treat, so be it!”
Kelly!!! (who’s comment said “I am obsessed with all things crafty right now…but specifically scrapbooking. I’ve been making little scrapbooks for every season, holiday, and vacation.”)

No way to contact either of them, hope they check back!

and…

due to the overwhelming response….
I picked 3 more names!!
These 3 people will receive a coupon for free shipping on two items in my etsy store! (can be redeemed at any time, keep in mind: new items (including mixed media and handmade books) will be available in the near future)

Amy!!! (who’s comment said “GREEN SILK! it looks beautiful and adds a little pizzaz, just as an embelishment.”)
Kristine!!! (who’s comment said “Awesome give away! I’m currently obsessed with… saving money! My husband and I are expecting our first child in February and need to buy our first house before then. Hence the reason I love this give away! Also, I can’t seem to stop buying thank you cards, especially ones I find on clearance. You can never have too many stashed away and ready to go!”)
Mik/SlightlyMordant!!! (who’s comment said “Tweeted it (user slightlymordant). I am currently obsessed with journals, after making a handwritten hand drawn version of the Grail Diary from Indiana and the Last Crusade I am trying to think of another subject to make a journal for. Dances with Wolves, The last Samurai etc. But while I think I tend to buy any interesting journal I see.)

Congrats to everyone!!!
I will contact those I can, the others I hope you come forward for your prize!!!

Here are a couple of characters I have been writing about. They appear in the story previously posted (Haruki), set mainly around Ueno Park in Tokyo.