Back on the Path

I got useful feedback on my cover letter from my friend. I reworked the letter and even came up with a better title: Bring It!--My Human Self to the Classroom. Today for the first time in ages, I worked on Bring It!, finishing the coloring I'd started for the fourth page. This might be the closest I can get to an overcast lighting. The grass needs some toning down, I think.

On another note, my grandson Zeke drew a picture recently of an Alien War. I just love his drawings! I heard that he actually acted out the entire melée while drawing! I notice his new bow and arrow, a Christmas present, made it into this piece.

First Step

Yay! I finished my cover letter. My live-in editor Susan will read it over and give me feedback. After that, I'll send it to my friend who works in publishing. She'll also give me feedback before I actually submit it to PM Press. The damnedest thing was trying to come up with a title for the teaching graphic novel! Anyway, I've decided to call it Teaching Wide: Reflections on Classroom Management. Kind of a dull title, but I'm open to changing it.

Happy

Am really enjoying writing this cover letter for PM Press! Tonight I wrote about my audience. I'm so excited!

Submission

It's been a long while since I'd posted. I've been busy processing and spinning alpaca for our friends at Puerta Del Sol. Starting tomorrow, I begin spinning solely for me. The other good news is that I'm preparing to submit my teaching graphic novel (for which I need a title) to PM Press. My plan is to finish the introductory letter by Sunday.

Open-ended

Aah...I have a string of days, three to be exact, of open-ended days. I can fill them with whatever I want! So, important to have days like this; they are vital for creation!

Circus in Orange

I'm not quite sure where the time went! Oh, yeah--Thanksgiving! Today I actually finished the second and third pages! Maybe I'm getting quicker with the coloring. It helps that the third page was a close-up.

This is a picture of one of the first drawings I made. A circus scene in orange of all colors! I remember seeing a circus come through town, but I may have imagined the whole thing since my family was living on a military base at the time!

Lenses

Reflections are a pain. Reflections off a pair of glasses is a triple pain. I'll have to go back to the first page and change my lenses.

First Shadows

I finished the base colors for the second page. Now, I'm adding the preliminary shadows. I forgot the highlights--that'll be after the shadows.

Coming Back Slowly

I'm trying to get back into the swing of daily blogging. It helps to keep my entries short. I continue to work on adding color to page two. Gosh, I love coloring!

Sick

It's been a while since my last posting. I've been experiencing flu-like symptoms which I think are really a result of the wild yam cream I'd been applying for hot flashes. The mock "morning sickness" just might be the progesterone in the cream.

So, today is the first in several days during which I worked on the graphic novel. This page traces my interest in drawing to my big sister.

Enjoyment

I'm having a marvelous time coloring the second page (still). I finished the plaid, and I think it looks good. I discovered on Photoshop how I can get just the right color I need. 

I realize that I have no idea how long it's gonna take for me to finish this graphic novel. And as of now, I don't really care; I'm enjoying this process so much right now.

Plaid

Took a day or two off. Still working on the second page! Right now, I'm working on my sister's plaid dress.

Long Time

I'm amazed at how long it takes for me to color one page! It takes about 3-4 days! It's very enjoyable, but dang!

Cotton

Didn't even TOUCH the teaching graphic novel today! (sigh) The highlight of my day, however, was spinning cotton. I'd ordered unginned organic cotton from Vreseis. The cotton I received is a joy to spin!

Nearly Nothing

Didn't work hardly at all on page two. Between yard work, electrician visit, doctor appointment for severe hot flashes, and washing a small batch of alpaca fleece, I just didn't make much time for anything else. Try again tomorrow.

First Page!

Okay, I finished the first page! I like how it looks. I have several hoodies and sport them often. I'm considering changing the color of my hoodie in this book, because I'm gonna get real bored of this same green. Before I publish the book, I'll need to contact Volcanoes for Kids and Weather Wiz Kids for permission to use the images in the read-aloud book in the second cell.

No Work

Today I didn't work at all on the teaching graphic novel. The exterminator came this morning, and then we spent the rest of the day doing chores and visiting the alpacas.

Shadow

Worked a little bit today on the same page. Realized that on close-up drawings of dark-skinned characters, I needed not only base color and highlights but also shadow. I figured out a shadow color that works. It's black at 30 percent. I'm wondering how it will look on other colors.

Color (take two)

I finally remembered to post a page I'm working on in color. Frankly, I don't know a lot about color, but I know what looks good to me. Decided I would just go for it, and if I'm fortunate enough to get an agent and editor, I'm open to changing colors or actually adopting a color theme.

What's important to me is to show a happy, strong woman with dark brown skin, something that I don't see a lot of on film or printed media. It's actually not easy to represent graphically, but I'm working on it.

Color

Finished the first two rounds of editing: symmetry and shoes! Then, I could wait no longer. I had to add some color. So, I did, and it looks pretty good. Naturally, I forgot to upload a visual here. Gotta do that tomorrow.

Running

Took a four-hour spinning class, then went right to playing music with friends. Only gave myself a half hour for editing. It's an amazingly simple drawing of two running legs, not from the same runner. One's winning. I could only come up with a sketch. This is HARD!

Editing

I realize that this editing process is multilayered. First, I'm fixing symmetry. Next, I'm gonna have to fix the shoes--I haven't decided on which shoes I'm wearing in this graphic novel. After that, I'm gonna play around with color. I'm very excited because I'm almost finished with the first editing.

Congratulations, Silvano!

On a Roll

I've been having a blast editing on Photoshop! Hooked up to my reggae and ska, I can work for hours. I love this particular page--how this kid is completely oblivious to my teaching.

Fun Again

Had a fabulous time working on the teaching graphic novel! Being able to replicate a portion of a drawing in Photoshop is just magical.

Discovery

I enjoyed a lengthy editing session today. Still working on symmetry, but noticed an urge to add color to the drawings. I also noticed that my beautiful line work looks brittle and digital once scanned into the computer.

Luckily, this week the Professional Bull Riders World Finals in Las Vegas takes place. Five days of the toughest cowboys on the rankest bulls!

Wednesday is Alpaca Day

Today was all about alpacas! Susan and I spent the entire day visiting Puerta del Sol alpaca farm. We helped to weigh about 35 alpacas, and I scooped up poop. On the way home, Susan and I picked out the two crias we are going to buy in June!

Symmetry

I'm noticing, but not surprised by, asymmetry in places that should be symmetrical in my drawings. It's the frontal facial drawings mostly. So, I'm fixing those today. Thankfully, it's easier to fix in Photoshop. It's fascinating how our eyes will see what we want them to see!

I was in my teens when I decided to see what my drawing looked like in the mirror, and was I shocked! Eyes not aligned in any way; the entire portrait leaning to one side! Years later, I looked at myself in the reflection of two mirrors and discovered to my dismay that one of my top front teeth is out of alignment. Oh, well...symmetry isn't everything!

Scattered

I actually began to edit the pages of the teaching graphic novel (for which I should come up with a title soon). Not bad, considering I felt unsettled today. All over the place. Probably began with going to sleep at 2:30 AM, getting up to feed the dogs at 5:30, then waking up to the 7:30 phone call from the crew that's putting our modular home together. By 8:00 the tree trimmer arrived. 

Anyway, after a Frito pie dinner, Susan and I had a cozy evening by the fire, and tonight I'm getting to bed at a reasonable hour.

Contrast

Today I was highly productive! The editing process began with unifying the line darkness of all the  images. You see, when I first started the comic book, I was using a Mars Staedler brush pen. Eventually, the ink ran out, and the Artists and Craftsman store didn't have any more. So, I had to buy a different brand of permanent, archival brush pen. It was a much better tool, darker and more uniform. But when I looked back at the first 10 pages or so of the graphic novel, the Mars Staedler ink work was anemic. Thankfully, I discovered today that Photoshop actually has an Enhance menu, under which is a Contrast continuum. I was able to make all the drawings have the same percentage of ink darkness to contrast with the white of the paper!

Okay, not the best photo of some of the pages of the teaching graphic novel

Plants

Nope. Didn't do any editing at all today. Instead spent much of the day buying bushes and trees to replace the elms we'd had chopped down. We purchased some great plants from Nanise Native Plants, and I managed to transplant 3 of the bushes in our backyard (I'm pretty good with a pick axe).

One of the trees we bought is a choke cherry tree. I've never tasted choke cherry, but a jam from the fruit can be made, and I plan on making some!

Set Up

This evening I set up my new Wacom tablet and downloaded some free software which included Sketchbook, Corel Painter, and Anime. I got stumped on removing the nib from my Wacom stylus, but I'll figure it out and perhaps begin editing tomorrow.

Out of the Cold

Today I scanned the remainder of the teaching graphic novel into Photoshop, and tomorrow (which really is today, which means the first Today is really yesterday) I'm gonna set up my new Wacom tablet and begin editing!

Today was also a day of learning about the animals that will come inside your house for warmth and comfort as the days get colder. One of our neighbors was surprised recently by a bull snake on his bedside table!

Inspired Again

Late last night on Facebook, I read a post by graphic novelist Gene Yang. He announced that his brother-in-law wanted to write a comic book, but didn't really know how, and that Gene was going to walk him through the process. They decided to create this comic book publicly so that all of us can witness this venture. So cool! Anyway, Gene told his brother-in-law that he's not only creating a comic book, he's creating the life that makes it possible to create a comic book. In other words, his life might have to change to make room for drawing and writing. And Gene also told him that he must make a commitment to working on the comic book: an hour a day, 3 days a week, whatever suits him.

I took this to heart and finished inking the teacher graphic novel. Tomorrow, I begin scanning the images into photoshop! 

Day 7: Another Day Off?

Yeah, another one. Today was dominated by watering gardens, bringing potted plants in for the winter, training 3 dogs to stay in the truck when windows are down all the way, a neighborly visit, a jack russell escape artist named Charlie, a dead battery and anti-theft mechanism gone wrong, the most beautiful and delicious chicken soup ever, 6th day of sourdough starter, and home-made chocolate kalua ice-cream to die for! And then once the sun goes down and I start spinning the most rewarding of alpaca fleece, there's absolutely no hope of getting back to work on my books.

Day 6: Day Off

Yep, I took a day off from working on the graphic novel. I had other things to focus on, like the approaching PBR Finals and this lovely specimen that scurried across our bedroom floor late last night.

Day Five: Inking with a Dharma Talk

This evening I inked the second to the last page of the teaching graphic novel. I listened to a dharma talk from the San Francisco Zen Center, and before it was over, I'd also begun to ink the very last page! The next stage will be uploading images into photoshop and editing.

Day 4: Inking

This evening I inked a page. It touches on what I call historical trauma--post-traumatic-stress-disorder that's passed on from generation to generation--as in the case of an entire ethnic group that is systematically brutalized. Anyway, sometimes it's hard to teach kids who are reeling from trauma.

I was thrilled to learn that I wasn't the only person who believes in the existence of historical trauma. Dr. Joy Degruy has studied the current effects of the enslavement of African Americans. She calls it Post-Traumatic-Slave-Syndrome.

Day 3: The Rereading

This evening Susan my live-in editor read the entire teaching graphic novel and found that there was one page that just didn't fit. So, we took it out. It's a nice page of my second grade teaching team. Perhaps I'll find some way to use it in the acknowledgements.

Day Two

So far I'm sticking to my plan. Worked again on the penciling of the last page. Showed the last three pages to my fabulous editor who gave me the go-ahead to ink! Tomorrow she will read the entire book to check the transitions and connections. I suspect I'll have to insert another page toward the end, but I'm happy to do so.

In the evenings I relax with spinning and TV, of course. After watching all of "Damages" and "Longmire", we started watching "Scandal". We're hooked!

Enough (Day One)

Okay. I could stand it no longer. After talking with my daughter who's also having difficulty staying focused on her art, I've decided: Enough! From this day forward, I'm gonna devote time to graphic novel work each day until they are finished. I began today. Note: I've been known to make decrees that I never follow for more than 3 days.

Sunday

Today was a perfect Sunday! It was lazy, slow-moving. Time flowed. Neighbors made their appearances. Susan made sourdough bread which we ate with peach freezer jam. Bull-riding came on, and I worked with fleece.

Taos

Went to the Taos Wool Festival this weekend. Had a great time--bought a fleece. On the way home, there was an unexplained closure of interstate 25, and to cope, I rocked out on Brad Paisley's "This is Country Music" and "Mud on the Tires".

Failure

Well, actually I devoted the natural daylight hours to catching up on Facebook  and filling up another bobbin with woolen yarn.  I noticed a lot of Facebook posts having to do with failure. I enjoy the counterintuitive notion that failure is valuable and good.

Return

I actually got down to writing the text for the next two pages of the teaching graphic novel. Then I began blue-penciling the text into the cells. I'm hoping to devote some natural daylight to drawing/writing on a regular basis.

Here's what my workspace kinda looked like.

Swirl

Today, everything swirled around construction in our lot next door, watering chores, playing music with friends, fiber processing, and thinking about my future part-time job. Drawing didn't quite make the cut, today, although I just remembered that the next step is actually writing the text for two pages I'd blue-penciled.

Today the Bell Rang

I got word today that it's gonna take a while for my part-time job to get funded, and Susan and I just spent a big chunk of money, and I'm thinking: 'Damn! I should be doing more than just spinning my life away, no matter how satisfying that is! I better get cracking on these graphic novels!' Not that I'll make much money from them, but hell, every little bit helps. So, absolute freedom and playtime is over.

Yep, it's time to get SERIOUS!

Big Decision

Today I attended the Alpaca Days open house at the Puerta del Sol alpaca farm. And after years of planning on getting sheep, I've decided to purchase at least two alpacas! I'm so excited! Of course, this will have to happen next summer after the barn is built.

Bliss

This evening I've continued to spin this super-soft, tan alpaca fiber. I open up the locks with my fingers, then gingerly brush them with the cards. Afterward, I spin using the long-draw method which keeps the yarn soft and full of air.

And what did I watch on TV while I was in spinning bliss? The "Outlander" marathon! We came in during the middle of the story and still managed to enjoy it tremendously. Graphic novel? Nowhere in sight these days. When I start my part-time job in a few weeks, I'll begin that work as well.

Spoiled Rotten

I am so spoiled and happy! Soon after I completed my morning chores, I settled down at the spinning wheel and spun, spun, spun! Every now and then, I cleaned true black alpaca fleece. My obsession with fiber is getting out of hand. I wonder where this obsession will lead? What's really bad is that my favorite thing to do while I spin is watch TV. Fortunately, there are some interesting programs on. I watched part of the "Taboo" series and the HBO documentary "Life According to Sam" about a boy with progeria and the fight to find a treatment for the disease. Then tonight I watched "The Knick".

Elms

Today was a mostly open-ended day for me, during which I spun and spun. I don't know what it is about spinning wool. All I know is that it's deeply satisfying to my core. It is play whereas drawing has become work. I feel quite lazy. And happy!

This afternoon we had all the elm trees removed from our property. Their roots destroy foundations and work their way into sewer pipes.

Promise

I have a hangover. Last night (this morning) I went to bed at 2 AM. I'm so happy to not be working, I'm staying up as late as I want and waking up in the morning whenever I feel like it. But, I felt exhausted all day with a slight headache. But I can blame the late hour on a POV documentary I stayed up to watch while I was spinning. It was called "American Promise", and it's about 2 African American boys and their lives in their middle class prep school. 

Mantids

Today was a dynamic day! Filled with impromptu appearances from neighbors and workmen. I was all over the place, flitting between drying fleece, talking with the workmen, and catching grasshoppers. Before the evening's thunderstorm began I spotted two praying mantids, one on the wooden pillar of the Wells Fargo bank and the other on our next door neighbor's tree trunk. Instant peace.

 

Distracted

Happily cleaned alpaca fleece and skeins of yarn and positioned them outside to dry in the warm, but not too warm, autumn sun. Coated our wooden porch and fence posts with a protective sealant, and prepared a second batch of peach apple butter in the crockpot for canning tomorrow. I've been giddily distracted but managed to watch most of the series of "The Roosevelts--An Intimate History".

Anyway, when I watch documentaries on United States history, I always ask this one question: "And what exactly was happening with the indigenous people during all this?" Oh, by the way, did I mention that Eleanor Roosevelt is one of my heroines?

Scouring

Did a lot today, but the highlight was the continuing scouring of wool. Anything having to do with my fiber gets my undivided attention, while I'm prone to forgetfulness with other topics and responsibilities.

I did learn from my spinster mentor that it's always best to scour wool before you even begin working with it. Oh, well!

Floating

Today, was a completely open-ended day! I did some rare house-cleaning, dug a hole for a post for the chicken coop, oversaw some clean-up of our lot next door, made major phone calls, dusted the living room, made a mediocre dinner, and began the process of scouring alpaca fleece. Am at a place in the teaching graphic novel wherein I need to figure out what I'm gonna say in the next two pages. It's the big revelation. The punchline. 

Beginning Again

I've been in spinning heaven! I have a spinning mentor who is an amazing spinning expert! Besides bringing it to my attention that I know next to nothing about spinning, my mentor is teaching me the basics: like the difference between WORSTED and WOOLEN.

Membership

Went to the Socorro Fiber Arts Guild meeting for the first time today. My friend Gail took me and introduced me. What a fabulous group of people! I met an expert spinner who's going to teach me how to be a better spinner! I became a member.

Concert

Went to hear Sarah Jarosz with Alex Hargreaves and Nathaniel Smith at the Macey Center in Socorro tonight. Aoife O'Donovan, lead singer for Crooked Still, opened up for Jarosz. The concert was mesmerizing! What a gifted group of young folks!

Now, I'm staying up late trying to reduce a batch of peach apple butter. It's just not heating up as quickly as I'd like in the crock pot.

Water

I hooked myself up to my playlist and completed blue penciling the drawings for the next page. It's really good to get back to the teaching book. But what I'm real proud of is that I've been swimming. I'm not a good swimmer. At all. Over the years, and I mean MANY years, I've learned parts of swimming, but I was never able to put them together. 

For this reason, I feared the deep end of the pool--until last week. Susan encouraged me to make use of the floating belt, kickboard, and floaty tube. I love the deep end! Then, today I ventured into the deep without a flotation device. YES!

Inspiration

Oh, I'm so inspired! My four-and-a-half-year-old grandson drew at preschool the most amazing picture of a spaceship! Bold, unhesitant line work. I can't wait to draw tomorrow! 

This is what happens when you experience other people's art. I rarely go to art museums, so I need to regularly find a way to look at the art of others. Thank you, Ezekiel!

Turning

The weather's beginning to turn. 90º days that began with 70º mornings before 10AM are giving way to mornings in the 60s, and 80º afternoons with a crisp breeze. Likewise, I can feel the hunger pangs for my graphic novels approaching. I'm not gonna rush it. Just sit and watch.

Freedom

Gosh, I love retirement! Open-ended time. Going where the spirit moves me. Work? What's that? I give up trying to force myself to do anything I don't want to do. In a week or two, I may begin a very part-time consulting job, but until then, I feel absolute FREEDOM!

So, what did I want to do yesterday? I wanted to shovel compost from a friend's pickup truck to our driveway. I love compost! When I have a compost pile, I know life is good!

Crazy

I'm spinning out of control! All I do is spin! I'm crazy about it. And to top things off, we're going to the Taos Wool Festival (Oh, I did manage to force myself to begin blue penciling the next drawing)!

Allergy

I'm battling allergies today. Dry, itchy eyes, runny nose, and the teeniest wheezing. A friend told me that ragweed is the culprit.

I've been taking a homeopathic remedy for the symptoms. I'm gonna get to bed earlier tonight. See if getting a full night's sleep will help.

Hunger

It's really difficult to gather my focus for drawing and writing when there's men walking on my roof. I'm not minding the lack of focus all that much; I'm hungry for fiber! I can process fleece and spin all day long! I wonder what would happen if I did just that?

You can't force hunger. Right now, these days, I'm not hungry for working on the graphic novels. Sometimes I can entice the appetite by spending only five minutes on the work, catching a spark that sends me on a jag. But sometimes, just devouring what I'm actually having a hankering for eventually leaves room for other tastes.

Roof and Rodeo

I'm quite distracted. We're getting a new roof put on our house, and I can't seem to do anything but spin wool. As a nice break, Susan and I went to the Socorro County Fair Rodeo. Great fun, although I ate way too many curly fries.

Sketch

Finished a thumbnail of the page to come. I'm excited about this page; it'll be fun to execute!