Where did the month go?

My Daisy Yellow Creative Experiments for March tally:

CE #12: {3 points} Document ONE color of all of your paints and water-soluble crayons/pencils.

CE #13: {1 points} Draw a comic or cartoon.

CE #15: {2 points} Create an art journal page that starts with a map as the background.

CE #16 {1 point} Alter a recipe.

I set out to earn at least 6 of the 9 possible points for the month and ended up with seven. Since there’s technically a full day (plus a half hour) of the month to go, it’s possible I could earn another point before it’s over.

Out of Gridlock

 

[Map inset, Prismacolor fine line markers, Crayola washable Supertips markers]

For Daisy Yellow’s Creative Experiments #16, a page that began with a map.  In this case, a map of the amazingly orderly street grid of the city where I grew up.  I know some people who’ve never left and others who did but went back because other places “weren’t like Milwaukee”. I moved away over 25 years ago — I still like to go back to visit the people and the places, but all things considered I don’t regret the fact that I left.  And of course that thought inspired (another) haiku.

The Shower Strikes Again!

[My go-tos: Sharpie pen and colored pencil]

For Daisy Yellow’s Creative Experiments #13, a short, two-panel comic strip inspired by the sight of my bare feet and naked toenails as I stepped out of the shower.  Giving myself personal extra credit for the haiku thought- and speech-bubbles!

(And yes, my toenails now sport very red polish…)

A very short story

For Daisy Yellow’s Index Card Story Challenge.

The idea for this came to me, like many of my story ideas, in the shower. I was determined that it would contain the basic elements of Story — character, setting, conflict and resolution — and I think it succeeded.

[ Prismacolor fine-line marker, colored pencils ]

Do ALL the Greens!

[Hand-carved squiggly-lines stamp & black ink pad / black Sharpie pen / every blessed green-colored paint, pencil, marker and crayon I could lay my hands on]

After cataloging all my greens for Daisy Yellow’s Creative Experiments #12, I started to think about all the different meanings — both positive and negative — for the word green, and used those thoughts to finish off the page. (3 more points for March!)

For Pi Day!

An impromptu creation, in honor of the day: Granny Smith apples, rum-soaked prunes, brown sugar and candied ginger — Yum!

ETA: This was my usual Apple Pie formula — apples tossed with lemon juice, sugar, flour and a little salt  — with addition of coarse chopped prunes (first soaked in heated rum, because they were from the back of the cupboard and hard), substituting brown sugar for white and chopped candied ginger for nutmeg/cinnamon/cardamon.

Just had another piece…still yum.

One point earned for Daisy Yellow Creative Experiments #16!

 

Bluebirds: Not-Quite-Mandala

(Black Sharpie pen, colored pencils)

Early mornings on the coldest days of recent weeks, a flock of bluebirds gathered in the tree in front of our kitchen window, waiting their turns at the suet feeder. (Okay, so they were bluebirds, which means they didn’t exactly wait their turn — more like flung themselves toward the feeder at the merest hint of an opening.)  I spent way too much time thinking about what to do with the image and the colors, then finally started just drawing. This started out to be less of a mandala than it ended up, and along the way, as I colored in the shapes and added details, a haiku formed inside my mind.

 

Creative Experiments — February totals

I was aiming for at least 9 points this month and ended up with 11:

• CE #9 — Red, blue and yellow pages at 2 points each (6 points)
• CE #10 — explored a whole bunch (technical terms) of  new-to-me creative blogs (1 point)
• CE #11 — carved 4 rubber stamps (4 points)

Looking forward to March Creative Experiments — setting my target at least 6 out of 9 possible points.