Hello all readers! If you haven't seen, I am currently taking a break from the blog. I am still writing; except, I am not posting. I am trying to exercise my hand writing skills opposed to what I can do with a keyboard. More updates, and posts, are soon to come...
HAPPY EARTH DAY EVERYONE! I will keep this short, so I can conserve energy and spend more time outside. After all, it is beauty and the Earth deserves more than just 24 hours of appreciation.
The news of the day is...I FINISHED THE SIGN! From scrapping off paint to putting coats of it on, the three weeks of looking at the Mt. Baldhead Park sign is now over. I can throw away the tubes of paint and cans of Latex. The brushes that were once white are now black and being cleaned out. The corner I have claimed mine in the art room will be no more. All will go back to the way it was. Later this week, the sign will go back to it's home & be out in the public. The day started off lovely, sunny, and with green grass. The magic was in the air. Whatever I tapped into, got me kicking in gear and getting things done. In the morning,the birds were chirping & chatting it up. In the afternoon, the squirrels were out and about. In the dark hours, the crickets & frogs sang a beautiful melody. Earth Day is being celebrated by all of the creatures of the planet it seems! Thank you for providing us with life Mother Earth. Besides the usual 3 hours of painting today, I wrote a poem. As an assignment for English, we got put into groups and were told to write a one minute story. The one that was the most entertaining would win ice cream on the teacher. I, an ice cream fanatic, was definitely motivated. I thought a poem would be a little more clever than a story, and I could also paint a better picture in their heads using poetry rather than a story line. I went with a poem on my 12 years through the education system. Considering graduation is coming up, I thought this would be the perfect thing to create as one of my last assignments in high school. Here it is-
Chapters of Our Lives We began our journey in toddler shoes, Knowing nothing but the latest episode of Blue's Clues. Recess was a regular, along playing in the sand, And I can't remember a moment when there wasn't finger paints on our hands. We discovered the alphabet, learned to count to ten, And even dreamt of Play-Doh when we went to bed. Jump rope, hop scotch, & much more; Games were a must, and never a bore. Our writing skills developed as we went along. Somewhat like what happened in music, singing all those Christmas songs. These fun moments soon faded. Because once we hit middle school, we all became so jaded. We all seemed so awkward, I don't know what else to say. Everybody started changing as if we were being molded out of clay. People got braces, discovered new trends, it became hard to keep track of what was going on in our heads. By the time we got comfortable, it was time to go. For it had only been three years, but it hadn't felt like so. The next four years would lead us up to now, Once we checked off the ACT, prom, and cars somehow. We will all be grateful for the times we have had, The small things, like writing essays for Shaw, now doesn't seem all that bad. In fact, thanks should be sent out to all of our teachers. They are the ones who have made us such intelligent creatures. This process that has been 12 years in the making Is like cupcakes in the oven that are now done baking. Our journey at Saugatuck High School may soon be complete, But, like in music, we are just moving on to the next beat. Today, was also the day of leftovers. The 7-course brunch turned out to be like Thanksgiving. Lunch today was as easy as pie to plate, and tasted like it came out of a kitchen of a 5-star restaurant. The Fig, Apple, Walnut, & White Cheddar Salad actually improved with age, the potatoes tasted just as fresh as they did yesterday, the fruit salad was like re-visiting paradise, and the Apple & Almond Tart was flaky and flavorful as ever. Bonus- after lunch, my group ended up winning some ice cream. YUM-YUM! In other news- FLOWERS ARE OUT. How does that line go: April showers bring May flowers? Well, it is still April and flower power is all over Michigan. The majority of trees don't have many buds yet, the flowers are blossoming all over the place. It like Christmas with Daffodils. It is absolutely gorgeous. The pictures are from a walk early today. I would recommend getting outside and checking out all this beauty! Today was the first day back to school. Spring Break is officially over. Yet, it looks like a white Christmas when you look outside. Did I forget to tell you it also snowed? Strange, right? In Chicago we were in short sleeves drinking coffee and eating cookie crisps on the beach. It was 78 degrees this past weekend. What is going on?! Mother Nature, I am sorry you have to deal with us humans. The weather is not in our hands. I hope all is well.
I am back to my Blue Hands working on the Baldy Sign. I am currently experiencing artists block. I look at my drawings and paintings, pull out the paint and oil pastels, pick them up, and almost like a reaction, put them back down. I am not too estatic about it. In fact I don't have all that much left to say. I think it is a sign from the Art Gods. They are telling me to relax, but my effort and development still need to grow. You need to let your art flow. Keep going. Just one more comment: I only have 23 days left in this prison. By prison, I think high school is the proper term they use. It is Day Sixteen, and I feel as though I have run out of ideas. All I have done today is drank coffee, eaten crappy ice cream, and watched movie after movie. I haven't even taken a picture of food in days! This is not a good way to spend time. The sad part is, IT IS ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS OUTSIDE! Who do I think I am to ignore that?! After this post, I am heading into the Barn to create. The doors might even stay opened if it's warm enough. I will bring my sketchbook and find out what comes to life. I have a 30 by 40 inch canvas waiting to be finished along with an oil pastel drawing. I have things to do! Enough of this writing, I'll be back with some studio results tomorrow!
To enjoy the grand sunny day, I spent my day inside, outside, in the kitchen, and in the studio. I saw chipmunks and squirrels, discovered a new bookstore, made pastry cream, and even managed to get in a little painting. I started at the library. I have been searching through books on gardening. I have always wanted to start up a small sustainable farm; however, I am not a farmer. I do believe I can learn. It is very hard work, yet the results are well worth it. I would even like to start up a bee farm, but I think I should get my planting & growing basics down first. After Mother Earth News gave me gardening advice and some seed resources, I heading home. My mom and I had found that something had changed in Saugatuck. A bookstore had been added! How exciting! We of course had to stop in. We left Booked for the Season with four new 'used' books. One of the books was on Shakespeare, another was on Vincent Van Gogh, and the rest were cookbooks (one on biscotti's, and one on noodles). When we finally arrived at home, we both immediately headed into the barn. We had work to do! My mom is working on a new ceramic series based on the kitchen, and I am working on my Strawberry Shortcake painting. It is the third in the Cake Chick collection. I got a little frustrated with the paint, so I went back to the house with an idea I had boiling. I had four overly ripe bananas on the counter and some pie dough in the refrigerator. Hmm... What can one do with bananas and pie dough? Banana Cream Pie was the answer. Trying something new was just what I needed. Since I had already made the pie dough, I could start on the pastry cream. To spice up the recipe, I decided to add a little pure vanilla extract and some nutmeg. Subconsciously, I must have been craving eggnog. Now that that's done, I have to wait for it to cool. I'll be back with the results; I can tell you licking the bowl sure was tasty.
It is Day One of Spring Vacation. I have watched three movies so far; it hasn't even been 12 hours. Other than that, I have been working on this new drawing. I am going to wait to post the drawing for later when it's finished, but I will show you the subject for now. Next to my family's lovely home is a beautiful barn. I have always wanted to paint it! Over the holidays, it is sophisticated cookie party central. This photo was taken back in December, yet it's beauty will live on forever. Besides working on the drawing, this coach potato movie-thing is not very challenging. Once I realize my laziness, I tend to gross myself out. That being said, I am going to head into the kitchen to make some French Toast!
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