This is one of the ATC's for February. Inspired by the contant watching of the birdfeeder. This is a chickadee I think. Done in watercolor pencil. The online workshop is keeping me really busy doing art in every spare moment. It is at once exhilarating and frustrating. It would be nice if I could put some other aspect of my busy life on hold while I focus on this, but I think the resource whose scarcity allows me to create is actually time. Creativity seems to always need something to push against so that you can feel its power. Otherwise the muses don't feel appreciated and won't work their magic for you.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
If you can't open it...
You don't own it!
J had a friend to play today and they were using a leapfrog toy, the word whammer, that you can put the letters in and it will tell you what letter it is and what sound it makes or even what word three of them spell together. It became clear that this toy was confused since it thought most vowels were a and most other letters were u. I changed the batteries and that did not cure the confused toy so...
What is a person to do? Throw it out? I hate to do that. Not because I don't want to get rid of stuff, but I don't want it to go to a landfill.
Well, after inspection it seems one of the tabs the letters push down was stuck and I could not get it unstuck so... I opened the toy. I had to get through several layers of screwed down board and such but I found a little rubber bit that had gotten stuck down. I pulled it up, closed up the toy and it was good as new.
Investment: 10 minutes
I shudder to think of how many of these toys have been tossed out because of this problem which was so easily fixed. So, a PhD in biophysical chemistry -emphasis on spectroscopy- coming through for me.
and I still own this leapfrog toy.
But my utility sink in my laundry room still won't drain. I will open that up tomorrow I guess since I own that too.
J had a friend to play today and they were using a leapfrog toy, the word whammer, that you can put the letters in and it will tell you what letter it is and what sound it makes or even what word three of them spell together. It became clear that this toy was confused since it thought most vowels were a and most other letters were u. I changed the batteries and that did not cure the confused toy so...
What is a person to do? Throw it out? I hate to do that. Not because I don't want to get rid of stuff, but I don't want it to go to a landfill.
Well, after inspection it seems one of the tabs the letters push down was stuck and I could not get it unstuck so... I opened the toy. I had to get through several layers of screwed down board and such but I found a little rubber bit that had gotten stuck down. I pulled it up, closed up the toy and it was good as new.
Investment: 10 minutes
I shudder to think of how many of these toys have been tossed out because of this problem which was so easily fixed. So, a PhD in biophysical chemistry -emphasis on spectroscopy- coming through for me.
and I still own this leapfrog toy.
But my utility sink in my laundry room still won't drain. I will open that up tomorrow I guess since I own that too.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Church landscape
For the online class I am takin gI need to work on aerial perspective and I love the layers of the hills around here. the problem is that the foreground for these hills is usually the highway I drive up. Not so interesting in fact. So I decided to draw the church that is home to J's preschool. J thinks every church is her school, so when she saw this painting she correctly identified it as her school (we are actually located in the parish hall building, but whatever).
This is what she has to say about the school though:
Nursery school is a really fun place. There are lots of toys there. you sit on your butt and then there are chairs at circle time. You can paint and draw and do things. Then you play outside and the bell rings. Then you go inside to circle time and you share. You can bring your lunchbox if you're sharing. You can eat your lunch outside. Also you have a cubby with your pictures and blue berries with green leaves on the tree.
What amazes me is that she noticed the berries and the leaves on the tree in the play yard.
This is what she has to say about the school though:
Nursery school is a really fun place. There are lots of toys there. you sit on your butt and then there are chairs at circle time. You can paint and draw and do things. Then you play outside and the bell rings. Then you go inside to circle time and you share. You can bring your lunchbox if you're sharing. You can eat your lunch outside. Also you have a cubby with your pictures and blue berries with green leaves on the tree.
What amazes me is that she noticed the berries and the leaves on the tree in the play yard.
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