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Any time you have a choice between tears and laughter, choose laughter. Crying only adds insult to injury by giving you a stuffy nose. Dear Constant Reader, has it really been weeks since we had coffee and a chat? At first, I found the emails vaguely insulting: No fewer than four friends forwarded, to me, […]
Villanelle the Vote! The lady holds her torch aloft, warm welcome beacon to us all. Her steady message, one of peace, within a world that’s gone berserk, But whispers, “Use your right to vote, lest our democracy should fall.” Some cower in the shadowed corners; others rise in sunlight’s thrall Where hope, ideals, and wisdom […]
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
A tempest in a teacup… A volcano brewing in my morning coffee. Told you I wasn’t done. Just done with the prompts for a while. I’m enjoying the daily sketching. It’s relaxing. Especially since y’all are such a kind, easy audience.
coffee, cup, daydreams, eruption, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018, tea, unprompted, volcano
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
It’s a long stretch of October, but I see light at the end of the tunnel. On the horizon, I see thunder clouds and a double jolt of lightning. But every dark and stormy night is punctuated by the promise of sunny days to come, as well. The earth turns, and none of us will […]
chop, double, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018, jolt, muddy, present, prickly, slice, stretch, thunder
Your writing prompt for Halloween is inspired by a post by children’s author, Dee Leone: I’m not at all sure she meant for that to inspire tales of terror, but since she’s not been seen online since posting this (as of my posting this, anyway), I thought we could amuse ourselves by writing […]
autonomous pizza delivery vehicle, driverless cars, haunted pizza, writing prompts
#Inktober2018, Fiction, Visual Perspectives
Could’ve been five, with the soap bottle. I was so surprised to see diamonds dripping from the faucet, this morning, that I scorched the toast. Scorched toast is so brittle, so breakable; half of it crumbled into tiny bits that got washed into the drain, along with priceless diamond dust and a few good-sized chunks. […]
breakable, drain, expensive, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018, scorched
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
What do you think of, when you read the word “swollen”? Which of those things would you choose to draw, and post online? I was leaning towards a pregnant belly, but that isn’t exactly “swollen.” It’s normal and beautiful, large and fecund… But the thing most often swollen in pregnancy is feet. And fingers. Then […]
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
I don’t draw humans. When I try, I scribble over their faces to save them embarrassment. But I think I got the angles right. Or maybe I’m just obtuse. Reference Image
I will never understand the hatred of the semicolon. It is a useful and correct punctuation mark, if ever there was one. It has saved me, many times, from being run over by a run-on sentence. A run-on sentence is like the grafting of a lemon tree and a lime, using nothing but a bit […]
how to use semicolon, punctuation, semicolon, when to use semicolon
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
The kind of art I aspire to takes patience. Precision. The hardest part isn’t the sketching. And technique can be learned, practiced, and improved. But patience, particularly with myself, is not my greatest virtue. Tempus fugit. Reference Image
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Thanks to my husband, J. J., for helping me to interpret today’s prompt in a way that wasn’t overly complicated! “It’s harder than it looks, drawing a brain. Easier than crocheting one, but not as easy as it looks.” “Just draw a walnut. That’ll get the idea across.” “You think it’s be any easier drawing […]
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
I like this one. It’s a peaceful image, isn’t it? I have been craving a swim in the ocean. Maybe not quite deep enough to encounter one of these immense creatures, but I envy this smiling fellow, just a little bit. Reference Image
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
It’s Day 11, already!? What’s with these prompts (or is it my brain that’s making them darker and darker)? I don’t like this one, but then, I don’t like cruelty. I apologize for inflicting this on you. Sometimes, it’s all about commitment to the slog… Tomorrow’s prompt is more fun. Just know that I considered […]
bear trap, cookies, cruel, hand, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
I don’t know if this is finished. It’s finished, for today, as am I. I live in terror of adding that “one too many strokes,” and haven’t bought a correction pen, yet, but I’ll add one to my Amazon basket tout suite. The prompt was “flowing,” and once they started, the ideas just wouldn’t stop […]
flowing, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018, landscape, river, skull, surreal
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Precious. When mere things are valued to the point of obsession, the value is overshadowed by the all-consuming need to grasp, to hoard, to keep others from enjoying them. What is your “precious,” Little Gollum? Does the ring rule them all, or does it just rule you?
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Day 8. A star, eclipsed. I considered everything from a simple pentagram to a Hollywood star on a dirty sidewalk. But today’s prompt came on the heels of my first dip pen and assorted calligraphy nibs. I wanted to experiment a little with India ink, pens, water, a paintbrush, a shotglass… and that’s when this […]
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Nothing sweeter than a toddler, exhausted from imaginative play, watched over by her beloved bunny while she sleeps. Reference images: https://www.babycenter.com/ims/2015/04/xiStock_10749141_wide.jpg.pagespeed.ic.DAjjMhB2AL.jpg https://www.google.com/shopping/product/16284815929933159048?lsf=seller:2770080,store:1590003140204069138&prds=oid:14605825836135765838&q=floppy+bunny+toy&hl=en&ei=2VO6W5aLPIOEtQX_wJb4Dg&lsft=gclid:Cj0KCQjw3ebdBRC1ARIsAD8U0V5uxfthACqgl4cao_xlODiHt2eDdHiq9E4D9QRuX_mRPwoUV423Z8EaAnpoEALw_wcB
child toddler, exhausted, featured, Inktober, Inktober2018, sleeping
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Just a little something from a nightmare. The prompt was “drool.” I was briefly torn between cute babies and Gila Monsters. Dog drool is more common… And more disgusting. I thought back to a hilarious Tumblr post running around on Facebook about vampires dribbling blood – their food! – down their chins. How sloppy! Hardly […]
dreams, drool, ink, Inktober, Inktober2018, monster nightmare
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Cheeky chicken. Too tough to be called “chicken,” and probably too tough to be roasted. Truly, a chicken for our time. Reference image: https://goo.gl/images/HgBaSZ
#Inktober2018, Uncategorized, Visual Perspectives
For my son… He’ll know why.
featured, floccinaucinihilipilification, Inktober, Inktober2018, spell
The light changes. One minute, it’s gray and rainy. Dusk comes quickly, but for one brief moment, the air shimmers rose gold. Warm. There’s an odd glow. On one side, sunset. Above, a haze of slate blue clouds, faintly tinted pink. But there’s no rainbow… Because I’m standing in it.
rain, summer, sunset, sunshowers, trees
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
Sweet Olathe corn… Though the prompt calls for roasted, I usually just rub it with lightly salted butter, roll it in parchment, twist the ends, and nuke it on high for three minutes. A little sea salt, a shrine of pepper, and… Yum. That might explain why this specimen looks a little burnt. I learn […]
corn, corn on the cob, fresh, healthy, Inktober, Inktober2018, roasted
I really wasn’t planning to have three eggs for breakfast this morning, but as I widened the crack on the second egg, two yolks slipped into the pan. I’ve read that this is generally regarded as good luck. Unless you’re in the UK. There, it means imminent death. It could also mean someone in the […]
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
I had an epiphany this past weekend: Inktober has given me a taste of what novice writers must feel when trying NaNoWriMo for the first or second time. The amazing artwork some people scribble in a matter of minutes is intimidating. I caught myself giving advice to young artists: “Stay AWAY from those ‘meh, this […]
Day 1 prompt: poisonous Reference images: http://www.gallowaywildfoods.com/poisonous-fungi-death-cap/
#Inktober2018, Visual Perspectives
When you’re fed up with the world, and with social media, but it’s still your “playground,” you have to do something. My “something” this month is #Inktober2018 (it is, to art, what NaNoWriMo is to writing). I don’t expect to rise, fully, to the 30 day challenge of #Inktober, nor do I expect too complete a NaNoWriMo […]
Books expose us to ideas that are not our own, not our friends’, not our neighbors’, not our teachers’ or our ministers’. We are free to see books as sympathetic friends or challenging adversaries. But let’s make sure we’re free to read them, and to make those choices for ourselves.
