Monday, November 5, 2012

Catching Up After Hurricane Sandy

  Although I had a nice week long respite from TV, internet and sometimes even phones when the hurricane hit our area it's nice to be able to reconnect. Our area of town was without power from last Mon. thru Sat. eve. Two cell phone towers were down along with many,many trees and poles so at times one wasn't able to connect at all-that was a bit worrysome when there are elderly family members alone and in the same situation.
 
  The worst of it for us was being so very cold but we were also very fortunate in so many ways. We had plenty of food, a small grill to use and running water.With hubby's diligence between  nite work and then several times a day going between our home and our next door neighbors with extension cords for their generator hook up we were able to keep the fridge/freezers going for both our homes and could at least use the microwave, toaster and coffee maker while we ran the generator.

 So, here I am with some art to share. When my hands weren't too cold and I could function without gloves I spent much time in the art room trying out some new things in my journals and making cards to sell. I was lucky to have plenty of light during the day despite the lack of sunshine :)

 I'll begin with my calendar spreads. I've been participating in Kate Crane's 2012 366 Calendar Challenge  since January. Here is my October spread completed:


  You cand read about how the pages began in this post.

  And here is the Nov. calendar base:


  The pages were sprayed with Sunny Yellow spray ink then oversprayed with Terra Cotta and Olive Green (all Inkadinkado) using a scrap of lace and round plastic canvas as stencils. I stamped the dots using Dylusions Basic Backgrounds stamp and red acrylic paint. More mark making was done with a bottle cap and Goldens Fluid Acrylic  paint in Permanent Violet Dark. A sponge dauber was used with a light green acrylic paint for the larger dots.

  Nov. has begun:



 Card stock squares were glued on the pages. I've been using the same foam stamp set by Magenta for the month and days of the week for each calendar spread this year. A leaf punch (recently sent to me by my friend Lenna Andrews-thank you!!) was used with patterned paper for the days. Oh, that little blue tab at the top right has a spread earmarked for December :).

  I'm also participating in the Fall Fearless and Fly challenge .You can click on the badge near the bottom right side bar to check it out. Jane Davies is the guest artist for challenge #3. She shared some of her fabulous black and white paintings.It is Jane who first inspired me to play with black and white by painting practice pieces using only black acrylic paint and water.  I decided to take another step recently by doing a monochromatic watercolor landscape painting (for the last FF&F challenge) which you can see in this post.

  Here are the prompts for challenge #3:

Headline Prompt: Triumphs and Defeats: What do you see as your greatest triumphs or defeats? What have they taught you? Which have you learned more from?
Color Prompt:
Black and white
Quote Prompt:
Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and plaudits of the throng, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow


  I've chosen to take the black and white yet another step further by trying my hand at creating my first zentangle. The page began by drawing a frame and banner with words(chosen from the prompt quote) in pencil. I read about this starting process from an article in Cloth Paper Scissors Nov/Dec 2009 issue. It was demonstrated and written by Sandy Steen Bartholomew. The letters and banner were then outlined with a PIGMA MICRON 03 pen and filled in with a PIGMA GRAPHIC 1 pen.



  I then drew in lines to make sections and doodled and zentangled away! I sloppy wrote the quote in one of the sections. Here it is completed:



  Although I missed last week's Art Journal Everyday and Paint Party Friday Ican't wait to visit some of the link ups which are so inspiring. As a matter of fact, because of one of the previous blog links I visited(so sorry I don't remember who it was now) I learned of Deepak Chopra's 21 day Meditation Challenge and signed up. I also learned more about it on Super Soul Sunday (which I LOVE!) on OWN (Oprah Winfrey's channel) when she talked with Deepak.The challenge begins today. My goal is to accomplish a meditation each day and then continue to practice it. Although I do take time to be in a quiet space I need to understand the correct way of breathing and proper techniques. I could have used it when weathering the storm.

  I hope and pray you are well and safe wherever you may be, and for those of you that suffered in the hurricane's path I pray for your recovery.

  " I've found that worry and irritation vanish into thin air the moment I open my mind to the many blessings I possess."  Dale Carnegie


Addendum: I'm linking this up to a new (to me) challenge "Show Me What You Got" hosted by Mary Walker. Thank you for letting me know abou this Mary!


30 comments:

  1. So glad you are safe and have power again. What a good way to use your quiet time. We can always work art in, can't we?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Linda, whatever you missed last week, you certainly made it all up this week with these beautiful works. I'm glad you are back in the swing of things, electricity wise. We do so much depend on those creature comforts especially when it is cold. We don't have a generator and we are elderly. However, we have a gas fireplace that will warm the downstairs fairly well. Without electricity, our well doesn't work so I always have a barrel of water for flushing and bottled water to drink.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Good to hear that your power is restored and that you didn't have too much other damage in your area, Linda!

    Love the pieces you've shared; you are so good to follow through with your projects. The zentangle is fab!!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Have been thinking about you and wondering how you made out. Glad you have power back and glad you warmed up enough to get some great work done.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Gosh I hadn't realised you were so much in the thick of it.

    Glad you managed to get through it and to produce such beautiful art too.

    Love your calendar pages and zentangling.

    Karenx

    ReplyDelete
  6. So happy to know you are ok....if not a bit chilly.

    Your calendar pages are just wonderful. How fun they must be to make because each new month sparks a new idea! You rock, girl!!!

    Warm hugs (pun intended) my friend.

    Jan
    xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  7. You certainly put your time in the studio to very good use. I know how utterly frustrating it is to be without power so it's great to hear you've been reconnected.

    ReplyDelete
  8. You produced some lovely work. I really like using lace too... it makes such interesting texture.The orange you might want to share on Mandarin Orange Monday:)
    I like you intricate b&w patterned work too - it flows.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my goodness! SO happy to hear that you are well. I can't imagine how tough that would be - love that you tried to get in studio time when you could. Great pages and lettering too. Stay warm! xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  10. A very scary expience indeed, glad to hear your power is back up. I love the zentangles, I think your take on the theme is very creative and original. Nice calendar pages, too!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Linda - so glad to hear that you are ok and that your family survived the storm. Sounds like you were all pretty ingenious. Your calendar pages are lovely. I especially love the background of your November spread. I've never used lace -- have to give that a try as a stencil. Your Fall Fearless zentangle is superb. I really love the way your loose handwriting looks amid the tangles. Thanks for joining in!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I didn't realized you're in the east coast and Thank God you're safe and now have power. I'm glad you're back creating too. The backgrounds are great, LOVE how you'd used lace as stamps. I should try this sometime :). Take care.

    ReplyDelete
  13. It must be a distressing time for all, but I'm glad you are safe. It seems nothing will stop you making beautiful art.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yes, I like, beautiful calendar. Greetings.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Lovely calendar pages and great zentangle!

    ReplyDelete
  16. So sorry for your days of discomfort, but I'm so happy you managed to avoid the large devastation, accomplish some art and maintain your freezers. My heart is with those who've lost so much, as I toodle around unaffected in Western Canada!! Nice zentangle with a great quote!!

    Hugs Giggles

    ReplyDelete
  17. I really like your calendar spreads you're welcome to add this post to the Show Me What You Got art linkup (every Wednesday) I'm sure the other artists would find them very inspiring.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Hi Linda - so glad to hear that your power is back on. We were lucky in Maine, but I've experienced long outages and they can be fun for the first day or two, but a week is so hard! Glad you were able to play a bit - gorgeous backgrounds in your calendar pages!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm so glad to hear that you survived Sandy and that you are back crafting. Fabulous pages and the background for November is awesome!

    ReplyDelete
  20. what a time you had to get through Linda!

    lovely that you made ART while there was Light...your black and white doodles turned out wonderfully!

    and imagine my surprise (but not really) that we are both signed up for Deepak Chopra's Meditation course...I miss Oprah since she's gone to her OWN channel

    hugs to you
    take care
    oxo

    ReplyDelete
  21. Gosh how awful for you and friends and family but so glad you got through it ok.
    Love your autumn colours for November the tiny leaves for the dates are such a cute idea

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi there,
    So glad that you are fine and safe.
    Love your zentangle and calendar spread.
    So sorry for all the discomfort you had to go through but glad to know that your fine and all connection issues are resolved.
    Hadiyah

    ReplyDelete
  23. So happy to know you're safe and well following the extreme conditions - and oh my, you've been busy!

    Super calendar pages (I've fallen behind with mine, I must try and catch up and see out the year) and great zentangled page too for FF&F.

    Keep safe and warm,

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  24. Glad you managed ok inspite of the power cuts etc.

    Enjoyed seeing your work. Ev

    ReplyDelete
  25. Looks like you've had fun creating again. Love the bright colours to help us thro the dreary month. Your zen tangles

    ReplyDelete
  26. Grrrr...predictive text. I was saying your zentangles are fab. I have just got a friend into having a go, a few others were watching but felt afraid of 'going wrong' which I said there was no right or wrong, just enjoy and let go

    ReplyDelete
  27. I'm sad to read what you went through.. it must have beeb so scary, even without cell phones!

    A lovely calender, you are creative! :)

    ReplyDelete
  28. This is wonderful! I think you Zentangle is fantastic! So glad you shared this with Fall Fearless and Fly!

    ReplyDelete
  29. I really am very late looking around at the November pages, but I am here at last!!
    I'm so sorry that you got hit by Hurricane Sandy, but very glad that everything is ok. I can't believe you managed to carry on crafting throughout your ordeal - that's dedication for you! Your pages both look fab. I'm not sure how you did the background for october but it looks amazing.
    So, are you in for 2013?!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you so much for your comments; it's a pleasure to connect with you!