Sketch time

Reading out

Writing group today, I sat and sketched a couple of the group. Most of the stories and poems are autobiographical, I want to be more fictional. The woman writer was very atmospheric, giving a feeling of ‘place’. Using unusual descriptions to evoke childhood and adult memories of being drawn  back to the sea. My poem about love was well received. I’ll keep going.

Trying to work at art…

At the Owen Project

There is a new community project nearby and I went up yesterday to have a chat and try and feel a bit more engaged with people. Various things are happening including knitting and crochet, crafts, painting, and writing. It got me out of the house and helped save money on heating. While I was there I did a sketch of a couple of the attendees.

They called me their resident artist which I thought was rather sweet, although there are lots of other people creating artwork there, so it’d not really an accolade I should accept. But it is giving me the opportunity to maintain my skills. I don’t shake as much when I concentrate.

Today was different, I went to my group meeting for my mental health, it’s another craft group, but after I’d had a bit of breakfast I felt really icky, I ended up coming home early, mostly feeling overwhelmed and tired now. But I must try and continue with art, it’s really the only thing that keeps me going.

Use a gratitude book

What strategies do you use to cope with negative feelings?

Each day I try and write three things. Simple things I’m grateful for.

Not wondrous things, but little ones.

Traffic lights staying on green, getting to an appointment on time, a phone call from a relative, an unexpected laugh with a friend. Maybe seeing the first tadpole or daffodil of the year.

Just list 3 things, with today’s date, maybe add a little sketch of what’s happened. Each positive gratitude trains your brain to  feel less negative. I’ve dome it for a couple of years now. It helps X

Playing with scraper board art

It’s hard to get a good photo when the surface of the underlying scraped board is so reflective.  I’ve been playing with scraper board art, in the 1st and 2nd pictures the holographic surface changed colour due to the angle of the light hitting it. The image is based on a photo of my cat. The 3rd and 4th are a copper colour, the horse was made up from my imagination. The underlying board was metallic not holographic but still changed colour based on the angle of incidence of the light.