quiltersmuse.com Blog

Whenever we are taking a ride in the car, I see countless interesting things that I would love to photograph, but usually it is inconvenient to stop, either because there is no room to pull off the road, or a Mac truck is bearing down on our bumper, or we are on a highway where there is no breakdown lane.

The other day, we passed a swamp that is situated along an Interstate highway. Just as the words came out of my mouth that the area looked like a great place for Herons to nest, I saw two nests. Herons usually choose dead trees upon which to create a home for their young. Tall, and awkward-looking, while tending their young, the birds look rather strange, perched on top of their makeshift contraptions of sticks, etc.

As we drive through rural areas, my eyes are alert to any birds or wildlife. My reaction when I do see something is, “Oh! Oh!” – which actually turns out to be an ineffective communication to the driver that I want him to pull over. The other day, a fat Grouse was just standing by the side of the road in a wooded area. She was not bothered by our passing; just took it in her stride.

I like old buildings – old abandoned mills that still (barely) stand along waterways that once turned them into productive hubs of activity, many of them former woolen mills. Old barns are neat. Once useful and vital, now they are hosts to mice, hornets, and other critters seeking shelter. I love to see old barns that have been well-kept. Only the rich farmer with time on his hands, or a lot of help, is able to maintain buildings, too.

We once saw a fox crossing a field, not far from our house, early in the morning. They are mostly nocturnal and like to “Dance by the Light of the Moon.” I love to see them.

Much of what we view cannot be captured on film. We have to train our eyes to see quickly and to remember the details of the experience. That’s why I say, “Put on Your Artist’s Glasses.” Train your eyes and your brain to be totally saturated with information, “in the moment.” Bring along a sketchbook and some colored pencils with you so that you can jot down design ideas, as they happen.

Being an artist is all in the details, but if one cannot remember many of those, there is still the opportunity to create a piece that is impressionistic … as did Monet and so many other artists of his era. Make notes of the colors you see in a field.

However, the first step is to be fully aware. Open your eyes and experience life. It’s “out there,” just for the looking.

Patricia Cummings

When my gift subscription copy of German Life, February/March 2008 issue, arrived, I had time to briefly glance at it and then set it aside. Yesterday, I returned to the magazine, only to find an article about Carl Spitzweg, (1808-1885), a famous and much beloved German painter, written by Robert A. Selig who holds a Ph.D. in German history from the University Wurzburg (1988).

I simply love “Arme Poet” (The Poor Poet) painted in 1839. The first time I saw this image was a postcard sent from Germany by my sister. She is an artist and she studied the art works of Europe by traveling to major museums when her husband was stationed in Germany.

You can see a small version of the painting online, and read more about the life of Spitzweg. Selig states that “Arme Poet” was “voted as the second most popular painting among Germans.”

German Life is an excellent magazine. I am so pleased to have received this subscription, as a gift. Maybe this will give me an incentive to spend time learning more German. Another incentive is that my Ukrainian quilter friend/penpal who now lives in Germany is studying German. It could be a common second language (besides her English) and just another way for us to converse.

Patricia Cummings, http://www.quiltersmuse.com

A lecturer about art once described drawings as just lines. He said that they can be parallel or they can intersect. Lines can be straight or they can be curved. They can be placed so as to create a “vanishing point,” as in looking a long way down a straight road to a place where parallel lines are no longer visible.

Of course, to artists, there is a lot more involved in creating a drawing. One has to be cognizant of the shadows an object is casting. One needs to think about where more lines are needed … or less lines.

Like anything, if we say it fast, as in “You just do this and you just do that,” drawing seems easy as pie. It is sort of like telling someone how to bake a pie who has never made one before.

Children come easily to art. They have no high expectations of themselves. They just like to create. If you want to ruin a child’s chances of ever wanting to be an artist, just start telling him that the “sun” should be bigger, the stick figures fatter, or that the bunny’s ears should go up, not down.

Adults who pick up charcoal pencils or colored pencils or pastel sticks do so with trepidation. Adults are afraid to make a mistake. Adults think that because they are adults, they should do everything perfect … the first time. Even though they know that is not possible, they have to be talked out of their fears.

Just for the fun of it, doodle. No matter what instrument of writing you have in your hand, start making lines. Experiment. Make some lines thicker, some thinner. Draw circles freehand. Try drawing ovals. Create the image of a monkey face. You’ll find that drawing can become rather addicting. All the while just think, “I’m making lines.” Maybe you’ll be able to find some pleasure in the task, rather than superimposing an expectation on yourself that you are making “ART.”

Patricia Cummings, http://www.quiltersmuse.com