Inktober

Day 1: Was supposed to be fully shaded and I gave up. Ha.

(Inktober 2016 post)

Halfway through the month, and I have to be honest. I'm struggling. A bit.

To recap in case your new to the term, Inktober was an initiative started by artist Jake Parker. Find out more here! The goal is easy: for every day in the month of October, draw a picture. In ink. Hence Ink-tober. I like the idea of drawing in ink from the get-go because I'm generally the type of person who is hesitant with my pencil. I will trace and erase over and over again until I am happy with my lines. Meaning, I do not always produce a lot of drawings or each drawing takes a lot of time.

Day 3: When you miss-read
poison as "poisson"

Inktober doesn't allow me to be hesitant in some ways. Once the lines are drawn, there are no take-backs and I have to push through and challenge myself to work with what I have. It's a total different mindset to sketching that forces me to produce more, and I have to problem solve on the go. A brain workout that focuses on perspective.

There are definitely times where instead of adding more detail (or shading), I stop a drawing earlier than I would like because I'm worried I'll completely mess up (Day 1 was a prime example of this). I recognize that as I'm just doing this for fun anyway, I shouldn't worry about "messing up" and should embrace trying new skills and techniques, but it's still a mindset that I struggle with overcoming.

Day 4: a Kodama in the sea

Day 10: Snoopy's Dog house is probably a TARDIS

As per last year, I am using the official prompt list as my guide. I like that the list gives me a bit of direction on subject. I like the challenge of finding an interesting way to meet the given word; however, I have found it harder some days this year to pick something to draw. I'll wrack my brain all day and then I've felt rushed in the evening to put something to paper, sometimes googling multiple words and ideas for inspiration. Some drawings are a bit of a stretch, I know, but if you can figure out how I thought up the connection, brownie points, I suppose. ㅎㅎ

Day 12: My favourite so far, although I probably could have added more shading...

I have also found it a bit harder this year with my job hours and finding the time needed to create something that I'm proud of. It was easier last year to finish the drawings before work, but this year, unless I'm willing to get up extra early, I wait until I get home. At that point, picking up the pen for a 20-30 minute picture is not really a high priority. Le sigh.

Still, I relish the challenge and I am not tapping out yet. Here's to experimenting, practicing new skills, and 16 more drawings to go...

Day 14: recruiting Reepicheep for my next quest. A fierce Ally to have.

Day 15: also in need of the mysterious Mulan for my questing band.

Love and Hugs

Inktober

Day 1: The Artist's Climb

When I made the decision to do Inktober this year, I really wasn't sure if I would (a) be able to draw a picture every day and (b) produce anything to be proud of. I've never really challenged my artistic abilities. I've drawn things here and there for fun or for other people, but usually I just try to recreate a cartoon image. Here, at times I was trying to combine elements from different sources, attempting to draw 2D based on 3D models, and at times trying to pull something out of thin air (although I think those were the worst). Definitely not my comfort zone.

Day 3: Web Connections; inspired by the Magic School Bus

Day 4; a combination of three model images

 And yet each day, somehow I was able to put to paper an impression of what I wanted (or almost).

Day 7; based off a 3D artwork

Day 9: Broken Telephone; 3D model

A few days in, I started following the official prompt list as an inspiration point (designated by the # in the photos). I liked the challenge of creating an image that fit a given word. At times, I chose to draw something that obviously fit, while at other points, I tried to stretch the understanding of the given prompt.

Day 10: Cottage Dock

Day 14; I tried drawing two different trees before doing this one

I think the hardest part for me was the lack of eraser. I'm so used to sketching and then erasing, perfecting each line multiple times until it looks exactly the way I want it. With ink though... Every line was permanent.

Day15: Dog Days; I wished for a hammock

I may not be heading toward fame with my artwork (Ha!) but after this month, I'm a lot more comfortable with ink between my figures. There were still days when I didn't want to post what I drew, embarrassed or unhappy with the final result. But inktober is all about trying, I think. My favourite for the month was early on (Day 12; prompt: worried) because I was able to include so much detail and shading. Inspired by the White Rabbit, here it is:

Worried about being late?

My second favourite, was in an inversed style (lines white, main black) is currently my most liked photo on instagram with nearly 140 likes as I write this. I think that is in part due to fandom appeal. Inspired by my favourite childhood tv show (Digimon), the image also appropriately fits the prompt "escape:"

Day 18: Digivice with Crest of Light

Inktober is almost over and hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in the last couple of drawings before the end of the month. I'm on my way to Hanoi, Vietnam today for my vacation week and I've left my notebook behind. Haha. Still, I am proud of what I've accomplished in the last 29 days.

I'm looking forward to seeing a new country and having new adventures.

Love and Hugs

to live somewhere VS to know somewhere

I would say that I've lived in a number of places.  From living with my parents in grade school, to their divorce and subsequent separate houses, to moving away to Peterborough for University (and then moving from year to year),  I have lived in a number of neighbourhoods.

And yet I've learned that even when you live somewhere, that doesn't mean that you know that place.  I still remember standing at my bus stop in the fall of my second year at Trent.  It was the morning and I was heading to class when a car pulled up beside me and a window went down.  "Do you know where a garden center is?" a middle-aged woman asked, sitting beside her husband.

I could only shake my head and apologize.  I didn't really know much of where anything was beside the University, my house and downtown.  By the end of my four years, my mind map had greatly expanded, although there is still a lot of holes in my mental representation.  And that took four years and a lot of exploration to build.

Last weekend, a few friends and I travelled out to Wolf Island on the free ferry here in Kingston.  It was a lovely day and we all wanted to cross it off our list of things to do while here at Queens.  When we came back, I made a detour to the grocery store before heading home.  Again, a vehicle pulled up near me while I was waiting to cross a street and a window lowered.

"Do you know how to get to the fairgrounds?" was the question this time.

At first, I felt a rock drop in my stomach.  I've only been here 3 weeks, and I was currently downtown, an area I'd only been two-three other times.  I don't know many street names, but I really want to help.  However, I had been to the fair with friends on the Thursday before and I remembered the way.  So, I opened my mouth and told the lady to drive up Princess St and turn right on Nelson, happy to be of help.

But.

image via google

I did my groceries and then walked back toward the bus.  When I got to Princess St, I realized my error.  Princess St is a One-Way street this close to the lake and you can only go down, not up.  I have no way of knowing what that lady thought when she got there, but I felt awful.  The sad thing is, I knew where she wanted to go and I knew in theory how to get there, but I didn't know the city well enough to account for One-Way streets.

The whole episode just made me realize how big a difference there is between living somewhere and knowing somewhere.  Simply living somewhere is passive.  Within your own bubble, you don't interact with where you are and only do what you need to get by--the typical university student life.  School, home, grocery store.  Those are the staples--maybe a friend's house or two.  Knowing somewhere though, it often takes courage to step away from the small world you may have constructed and to go places you haven't gone before.

I think knowing is more attractive than merely living.

"What are your learning goals?"

I've heard that question a lot last week. In most of my classes, the professors have asked us to reflect (another popular word) and think about what we are trying to achieve and learn in the particular course.  To some, this may seem like an easy question, but for me, this question brings the dawn of an ice age: my mind goes blank as snow and I freeze up.

What are my learning goals?  I'm not really sure and to me, it seems like the profs expect us all to pull answers like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat: 1, 2, 3, abracadabra and there it is!  I'm at the Faculty of Education because I want to learn to be a teacher.  Isn't that a goal?  My goal is to learn all that I can about as much as I can.  They seem to want specific goals, but their question appear vague to me to begin with.

I really don't know if other people struggle with this as well, but for me, this is a difficult question--one I'm not sure how to approach at times, let alone answer.

What do I want to learn by the end of this year? 

What makes it more difficult is that a few of my classes structure our work around our learning goals.  Our assignments are meant to help accomplish these goals and as such are directed by what we want to learn.  Without a learning goal, I feel afloat in an ocean, the sky a thick blanket of clouds, void of stars needed to guide my way.  It's a bit of an overwhelming and scary feeling.  I'm so used to having a course plan and now I don't.

I'm sure that everything will work out in the end, but for now, it's frustrating and I'm wondering how to move forward besides the obvious--one step at a time.