Mixing it up (five-pack twelve+Bissell Vaccum+Stainless Steel Pans)
personal and prompted
It's a pain to track which goes with what...so I'm mixing up the Inktober 52 prompts with my own 5WP's. Bon Appetit!
,
flickering
victorians
pacing
gaslit
verandas
This was the last 5WP for an informal series on magic using Inktober prompts. I had a rough time composing this piece. When I was younger I would be disappointed the deflation that comes with the end of a project. Now I'm just used to it. On to the next!
,
shoulders cry pleading
seeking peace
hibernation silo
free body struggle
frequently understatement ever
vigilant rights
You really can't cross the same river twice. In early February, I had just come off of a month of pointed brush work. I don't think I could do this right now. Even though I'm still practicing daily, I've lost the edge that comes with focusing on it solely every morning.
To do this again, I'd have to relive January, like the Borges story where Pierre Menard creates a life to spontaneously re-create Don Quixote.
,
ratty
rebels
raided
royal
realms
I save of all my scrap sheets. This was graphed on a test page for my team holiday cards. Of course, many attempts to work on such sheets also don't turn out, so they just get blacker over time!
,
4
triangles
make a
pyramid
I love calligraphy due to its handcraft. But the final deliverable is always on a screen. So am I a digital artist?
Maybe. Two months after the initial publication, I can't remember the original ink color (turned out it was pink). The background was obviously an addition after the fact. And actually, this is version 2 because I had originally uploaded one where the script color opacity came out differently between the sky and sand backgrounds.
So yes, this is absolutely a piece of digital art. But in this digital age, is everything digital art? Maybe that's a meaningless distinction? Everything flits across a universe of flickering rectangles, while the "real" work sits inside an old cardboard Sun Chips box.
,
vision notified
no cold hope
dismiss despair
supply prove dream
remarkably somewhere
slam hot truth
Like clockwork, I start publicly running the script of the month after two weeks of practice. After fourteen days, I'm comfortable with the muscle memory even if it hasn't hit full smoothness.
On the third week, it locks in, edging towards boredom. By week four I'm playing with variations on the script.
By week six or seven I feel like I've already lost the script, or that it's merged with the new script of that next month.
It's a slightly depressing cycle, but no skill is permanent.
,
If even knowledge is impermeant, I guess a cardboard box of papers ain't a bad parting gift.
Cya next time!
,
PS—Bissell Vacuum Cleaner
We've tried a few vacuum cleaners over the years. We have a $400 Miele in the closet, and we've also spent similar sums on a couple of cordless Dysons.
But our workhorse is an $18 Bissell. We've bought four of them. The first one died. The second for my mother-in-law and then we accidentally bought two more online when we were moving into our place. No matter, just keep one up and downstairs.
It’s just a little handheld vacuum with a handle extension and a flat insert to let you push it along the floor.
That's the magic. So cheap you're never scared to use it. Dirty kitchen. Suck it up. Laminate floors? Without brushes, this vacuum can't ruin anything. No bags to track. Just dump it out and wash the filter.
And no batteries! This thing runs forever. Light and nimble, well worth the hassle of occasionally swapping plugs when vacuuming a large area.
The cheapest product came out to be the best one. At least the most regularly used everywhere, and is there a better definition of "best" for a household appliance?
,
PPS—Stainless Steel Baking Pans
We bought an 8"x10" baking pan, a few years ago. Small enough to fit a toaster oven. Works great. Flat plate of stainless steel with a slight rolled rim. Nice and shiny.
And a second one last year, so we could swap back and forth, but we gave one to our in-laws.
But I got cute with the third one. Intsead of reordering the exact same item, I got one that came with a little grill rack.
It was so small!
I double checked. The dimensions were super close, just off one inch in each direction: 7x9 versus 8x10.
Do the math.
63 square inches to 80 square inches. I bought something that was almost a quarter smaller than the original!
What an embarrassing display of innumeracy. My mental math is great...if I use my brain.
But the rack is nice. We've gotten good use out of it. No complaints.
.
PPPS—Practice
Around mid-February I realized that I would totally lose the straight brush if I didn't practice it regularly. So I started filling the empty lines between the main scripts with cursive.
I like the playfulness and direction of these. It's nice to see your progress and journey. When I was in art school, one of our core classes freshman year was calligraphy. I still have my pens!
Your calligraphy opens wide the doors on this handcraft. Not just lineal, but also spacial going in all direction. Curves and pyramids. That first one looked like flowers. Be careful what letters you cross. Gaslit looked more like gastit. Had me going there for a minute. And you're right, no skill lasts without constant practice. Your posts are always so much fun. Oh, and thanks for the vacuum description.