Ideas that Spread and Creatively Build on Each Other

Today’s thoughts are about how ideas pass through and around community and are built and creatively expanded upon.

A friend  seems to have figured me out and has exceptional taste in the books she recommends I read. One of those has been On Looking by Alexandra Horowitz who takes walks with experts and has conversations about what they notice.

One of the walks was with a wildlife expert in New York City. Rats came up. They’re not my most favorite of animals. I’m really not a fan. But an interesting behavioral quirk was mentioned. Rats are the type of animal that groom themselves from top to tail in order, so if you were to ever catch a rat in the midst of grooming, you could guesstimate fairly well how far along in their grooming process they are.

I mentioned this interesting bit of trivia to my kids who thought it was hilarious. The next morning when I came downstairs, this info graphic from my daughter was sitting on the kitchen counter:

K. Toomre’s coloring and note enhancement regarding rat hygiene on a drawing of a rat.

I love how ideas and information can pass from one person to the next and how the idea can be built upon and creatively enhanced. Being really funny doesn’t hurt either!

The Joy of the Right Tool for the Job

My thoughts today are about the enjoyment of having the right tools or equipment for the job.

I’ve been making sourdough bread and keeping a starter going since May. Not long but it has been a daily thing since the starter needs feeding with more water and flour every day. It took a long time before I actually made any bread because I needed to get the starter going. Then came the process of learning how to make the bread, what recipe to use and how much time would I need? Lots of learning curves and lots of trials to practice making bread.

Sourdough seems very different than yeast based breads because so many of the recipes are based on weight. Although maybe that’s true about yeast breads these days too. I learned how to bake bread in the late 70’s and early 80’s from cookbooks and all measurements were in cups. American baking is different from the rest of the world in our attachment to cups and measuring spoons. Most of the sourdough recipes called for a kitchen scale. I broke down and got one and have been inordinately pleased with it. It is so much easier to measure with.

But the thing which has me really happy is my new Dutch oven. It’s a big, heavy cast iron thing with a fitted lid that can go into the oven and be heated to a high temperature without issue. Prior to this I had been using a ceramic bowl with a cast iron skillet balanced upside down to make a lid. It was kind of a cobbled together arrangement. It worked well enough to learn from, but it was clear that it wasn’t a long term thing. My ceramic pot seemed increasingly unhappy with each time I used it and I always had the concern that the skillet would somehow fall off the pot midway.

My new Dutch oven, the piece of equipment that is always referred to with sourdough bread, arrived on Friday and I used it for the first time yesterday. Perfection! What a loaf of bread! I’ve practiced, yes, but having the right tool for the job is pretty wonderful too!

I’ve found great pleasure when I upgraded my sewing machine, using certain sketchbooks, certain pens, a good pencil sharpener, a good knife, a well weighted spoon, etc. What tools or equipment do you find great satisfaction in using?

Reuse and Create Anew

I quilt a lot and have been quilting consistantly over 25 years. If you count the quilted pillow I did in high school - with calicos - the only quilting fabric available, and the quilt I started in college, it’s been about 40 years. That’s a lot of time playing with color and fabric! I love playing with new fabrics to see how I can use them with different patterns but I also enjoy extending the life and use of scraps and repurposing fabrics in new ways.

Many years ago, I saw an exhibit of the Quilts of Gee’s Bend and was inspired by some of them that had used cut-apart jeans and garments to create the quilt tops. They must have been incredibly heavy and hard on the hands to sew.

I collect worn and used jeans (cotton is the best), and cut them apart to get flat fabric again. I save the side seams and inseams too. Eventually I will make a coil rug with them when I have enough. I love the variation in shade of denim in a pair of jeans but also in my collection.

When I think I have enough variety in shade of blue, I come up with a pattern that I think will work for an all jeans quilt. The pieces and blocks are bigger than than what I use with quilting cottons. The seams are wider and the whole quilt is heavier too.

Progress of my current jeans quit

I spent some time on my current ongoing jeans quilt today. I have wide bands that I think of like bricks in a row that are separated by narrower bands of bricks set side by side with their narrow ends facing out. Most of the wide brick rows have been made. Now I have a lot of cutting of small squares ahead to make up the narrow rows.

I love this process of laying out fabric and auditioning and seeing if all the colors and shades are balanced. Working on the jeans quilt had me thinking about how much I enjoy the creative challenge of repurposing and reusing fabric that many would toss. It’s environmentally kind but it’s also satisfying to have, use and touch these fabrics which have had lives and experiences and group them together in pleasing ways for another adventure.

What do you like to reuse and repurpose?

Avoiding the Siren Call of the Shiny and New (also Known as Procrastination)

I was distracted today by temptations of what kind of art to do. So many choices, so little time. Which to do first? A friend has shown some watercolor abstracts she’s been doing and that seems a lot of fun to explore.

Another person on Facebook shared a pencil drawing of a stack of some lobster pots along a pier that he’d been working on. The detail and complexity seemed delightful to get lost in. I have pictures from Maine that I could use.

I have two books that I want to start working my way though: Modern Watercolor Botanicals by Sarah Simon and Pen & Ink Drawing, A Simple Guide by Alphoso Dunn. Both seem like they will be great as I improve my skills in watercolor and ink working through their practice examples.

So many interesting things to start and to explore! I’m sure you know that feeling of excitement and anticipation before a new project. It’s going to be so much fun!!

Then I looked at my list of artistic to-do’s which sit on my desk languishing waiting for my attention. Sigh.

I ended up deciding to work on one of my older projects first before the shiny and new ones. I set a timer and started it so I had to start working. What I found was that in settling down and focusing on my project, my interest was piqued and I got involved and caught up in working on what was in front of me. I got caught up in the petals of this water lily: what colors to use, how much water, how can I blend the colors more, where do I need to add more value, etc. And then before too long, I finished it. One project done. Easy.

That’s the way it often is; once I put my attention to something, it becomes fascinating and I’m usually happy that I spent some time with that thing. I didn’t spend that much time, only about 30 minutes, but I got the added satisfaction of knowing I put off procrastinating and now I am free to start in on one of my new ideas. Now the decision making isn’t procrastinating but is enjoying the process of making a choice.

How do you get yourself to stop procrastinating?

Art as a Distraction

I spent too much time yesterday looking at the news which aside from the way it’s described to be to attract more attention and because of real events, was just generally and wholly dreadful and depressing.

What to do? I pulled out a pen and ink drawing I am working on. It’s an MRI of my left foot that was recently done. When I saw in the doctor’s office, I immediately thought what a great thing to try to draw! Yes, I like bits of medical illustration. I like learning the way the foot is put together. I’m curious too what the big black circle is on the picture too.

I’m not done with it, but I am enjoying getting caught up in the process. I also like the challenge of how to get darks and lights down using only a black pen. Lots of stippling.

I did my drawing. I was able to distract myself and get caught up in lines and marks to get myself out of the funk I had been in. No more news for a while.

MRI and ink drawing of my foot

New Sketchbook Subject Sampler Workshop Series Starts in August

Over the next year, I am offering a place to dive in deeper into topical studies with your sketchbooks. These workshops will encourage you to observe and draw while learning to be creative on a regular basis. Your drawings can be slow and meticulous or fast and prolific. It’s all meant to give you practice with keeping a creative practice as well as having a community to share with and learn from.

We will meet for the first three weeks of the month on Thursdays, 4:00-6:00 pm Pacific Time online via Zoom.

Starting August 6th, we will Play with Our Food. Anything related to food is fair game, but I will start off with drawing fruits and vegetables before moving to drawing meals, recipes, and scenes from markets or cafes.

Sign up for one month, all the months, or just the ones that appeal most to you!

I will be working primarily with graphite, ink (fountain pen and fine liners) and watercolor but I will add in different media as suits. You can start with the basics – a pencil and a sketchbook and add supplies as your interests evolve.

For more information and to register, visit www.anyatoomre.com/workshops

Craft and Design Decisions

In between four Zoom calls today, I spent time working on sewing fabric face masks. I’ve made myself the challenge and promise to make a mask to give away for every two that I sell (see my shop on Etsy). I plan to give away in groups of 25 to whatever organization might need or want them. I’m getting close to needing my first group of 25 masks completed. I have had them all cut out but haven’t finished them. I’ve been wondering why exactly I’ve been dragging my feet with them.

I realized is that while the pattern was seemingly simple enough, there are parts to it which I’ve been objecting to design and craft wise. I made the first mask the way the directions called for. I learned that it’s not as simple to put together as it appears and is more fussy and time consuming to make than I had thought. And the fit has been okay but not great and certainly not adjustable.

Unfortunately I had gotten too organized too early and cut the fabric for 25-35 masks of this type. I’ve been very, very slowly working my way through the pile and have not been as happy with the sewing techniques called to use. I’ve been making adjustments here and there to make it better in my mind.

Some of my delay could maybe be blamed on perfectionism but I did try to let some of that go knowing that what I made would be good enough. I knew that I would like it better if something was different. I just needed some time to sit with it and tinker and try different things to see what would change.

Masks in various stages of completion

Today I had a big design breakthrough with the possibility of using a different kind of elastic than I had been earlier. It sounds kind of funny to be so happy about it, but it makes me pleased to know my concern with fit can be addressed with the new elastic. I ordered some last week on the off chance it would work different than the type I had currently. It arrived a day or two ago and I had a chance to try it out with the other style of mask I’ve been making. It works really well there. I needed to see it and use it first to see if it would behave differently before I got too excited about it.

I was feeling dissatisfied with what I was making. I was making to give away to people, but I didn’t want to give these unknown people something that looked nice but which didn’t actually fit. That was part of the reason I was putting off finishing them. Now I’m happy with the way they are turning out and will finish up the masks to donate in a few days. Then I will change the pattern to something else. I’ve figured out how to make this work to my satisfaction, but it’s not a pattern to use long term.

It is satisfying when design, process and execution all work together to make something well. I love when the puzzle pieces come together. Have you had a moment like that recently?