Creative Work Is Play

  Oh yeah, it's (almost) Friday again. Good thing I have something to post. Several wabi-sabi art projects are in the works (yes, I'm still on that kick :) and will be coming soon. But for today I have some special photos to share before the journal pages.

  Just happened to catch on the local news the other day that the infamous Budweiser Clydesdale horse team would be in our area for a few days and we'd be able to see them in their stalls practically up the road from where we live. Until 5PM. So at 4:40PM we got in the car with our cameras and were not disappointed.

                                      Click on the image for a larger view if you wish to read this.

                                    This is one of the three trailer trucks that came to town.

 This is the youngest horse-and the only one(of the ten) to look toward everyone with his beautiful expressive eyes.        "An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language." Martin Buber

                       Even the official Budweiser dog was only interested in getting his food :)

 A women there told us that the horses usually get walked out in the open in the lot next to this makeshift stable at 8AM. Of course we hopped in the car the next morning to watch-very few people around :)

 

                                     These magnificent creatures average about 2000 pounds!

  We were told that the next day (today, Thurs.) they would be "dressed" and hitched to the wagon for a short parade in town, but that there'd be a good chance for it being cancelled due to the threat of heavy thunderstorms and high winds. Couldn't reach anyone or find out this afternoon -and fortunately we were spared the storms up to this point so I hopped in the car at the last minute, parked and ran down the way just in time to see them pass!

                    This is our local mayor sitting along the side and our state senator sitting up front.

 

  I just want to hug them all!! Pictures aren't so great because it was like bedlam all over!! LOTS of people running about for photo ops  in the midst of traffic-including school buses trying to get thru-OOPS!! There def. should have been blockades up to keep the vehicles away for that short period of time. Glad I didn't miss it though.

   Felt like just playing with color in my "mop up" journal when I had just a little time.

   I turned to this pg. which looked like "flowers" to me. Immediately it brought to mind one of the flower techniques in Traci Bautista's book Doodles Unleashed.

  I tore some tissue papers into circle shapes and glued them to the centers. Spaces around the flowers were filled in with orange watercolor and oil pastel. next I used a pipette to spiral around the flowers with Higgins Black Magic ink. More oil pastels were rubbed into the flowers.

  Spatters were added using the same black ink. Finished for the time being. It's not meant to be a masterpiece or anything; it was only meant for pure play.

  One more journal page:

 

  No step outs this time- I didn't even think about the camera once I began this. It's in a watercolor journal and the background had been done awhile ago. I've been so inspired by the fabulous faces/portraits so many have been doing lately for this challenge that I just had to paint one too! I love how as I was painting, some of the red (which was also on the top left of the page to begin with) bled into the wet paint giving her face some added color. Chalks were used for some shading on her face. Then a charcoal pencil was used and smudged with my fingertip.

  Won't you join me in the fun at Art Journal Every Day, Glue It Tuesday, Mandarin Orange Monday,  Paint Party Friday,  Show And Tell Saturday , and a new to me challenge- Blue Monday?

          " Creative work is play. It is free speculation using materials of ones chosen form."

                                                                                                        Stephen Nachmanovitch