Work in Progress

I finally got my paint room clean (right after I took pictures, wouldn't you know it) and thought it could be fun to chronicle what I'm working on. While I was cleaning up, I came across an old sketch book that only had 3 or 4 things inside.  So this first shot is actually a sketch that I did probably 3 or 4 years ago.  If I remember this idea correctly, I was going to do a mixed media/painting piece from this.    It reads" Rules are for board games (but even then you can cheat a little).

Sometimes when I have an idea but I either am having problems working out which option (because sometimes there are too many floating around in my head) to go with or trying to decide how things will look, I do a really rough sketch.  I never get too hung up on making it perfect or to scale, because what I usually find is that the details change a bit as I get into something.  I don't remember which struggle this sketch was born out of, but I really like the idea for the painting and it might be something that I pick up and play with again.

A couple of days ago, DesignSponge.com announced that they are having a font contest and participants can submit hand-drawn or computer illustrated fonts.

 I have always had a thing for letters.  Ever since I was a kid, I've made cards and banners and explored different types of letters, etc., so this seemed like a no brainer for me.  I have 3 ideas that I want to submit.  This is a peek at the first idea.  The contest states that we must show at least one case of alphabet and then show them to spell out the name of the font.  I'll likely use some colored pencils to do the font name.  I'm excited to see what other participants come up with....such a fun idea!

Finally - here are some quick snapshots of a scrapbook that I am working on.  This is from Halloween 2009.  My goal is to have this sucker completed by the end of October, and I think I can do it especially since I'm taking a day off tomorrow.

For this particular project, it's not so much the contents that have me excited as much as it is the process.  I found the process again.  I found the joy again.  Some people think that scrapbooking is a really geeky hobby, but I love it.  It gives me an opportunity to tell our family's story and show moments in time that we might otherwise forget about. 

I think my Grandma was a scrapbooker before the term was ever coined.  She had dozens of photo albums - from her and my Grandpa's trips to Hawaii, to pictures of her kids and me as a baby and on and on.  She kept all of those albums on a shelf that was built into a day bed, and I have vivid memories of sitting on that daybed and going through those albums again and again and again on every visit to Ohio.  Since both she and my grandfather have passed away, the albums have been distributed among family members, and I feel so very lucky to have a few of these albums.  So geeky or not, I think I come by this hobby and love honestly.  Thanks Grandma!