Saturday night, about 10pm

I’m sitting here late in the evening wrapping up a day’s work, serenaded by quiet yet heart-swelling music. Wearing a scarf of deep purple (a new favorite color), I feel rather writerly. I’ve always wanted to be a writer or musician. Throughout my young life I’ve wanted to be many things (architect, actress, cartoonist, animal rescuer, etc.). But the enthrallment with words and music has been there the whole time.

I’ve loved doodling all my life, but every now and then a transitory hope would rise in my heart that indeed, I had it in me to become the next sonnet-writing Shakespeare, the piano-trilling protege of renown. Hours of an afternoon would be spent deep in thought, daydreaming about my myriad ideas and all the possibilities. But somehow the conqueror spirit would leave me discouraged and the scrawled-on pages lost and forgotten.

It’s been a trouble for me, this bog of discontentment I sometimes find myself in. The Sovereign of the universe saw it fitting that He give me a particular gift, and I’ve spent countless hours wishing I had another.

A while back a saw this clip of Maurice Sendak (a famous children’s book illustrator) talk about what it means to be an illustrator: it has given definition to my frustration. Notice what he says 0:53 seconds into the clip. I remind myself of this anytime I feel discouraged about not being a writer:

(Please excuse the momentary curse—to avoid it, mute it from 2:01 to 2:05.)

So that’s what its been! “An illustrator . . . is someone who so falls in love with writing, that the closest he can get to it is illustrating it.”

I’m still slowly learning the how’s and why’s of using art to glorify my King, but it all begins with a thankful heart, praising the One who chose to give the gift.

I know, I know, I’m supposed to call it “violet.” None of the other artists would ever tell me why, so I’m going to keep saying “Purple” just to embarrass them. And anyway, it just sounds better for this post. I also could have titled it, “The Deranged Esoteric Musings of a Color Connoisseur,” or worse, “My Purple Problem,” but that would be just too weird. . . . I’m really asking for it, aren’t I? ;)

-

Ever since I was a little girl, the color Purple has had me in a quandary. Have you ever felt that way with Purple? Where you just can’t quite put your finger on what it’s trying to tell you? It’s so tempting, yet so elusive. Well, I’ve been there. And I’ve grappled with the very issue of the enigmatic hue myself. So the other day I took the plunge. I bought a purple cardigan, spent an entire day wearing it, and by that night I figured out this whole Purple thing once and for all. Care to hear about my findings?

Here we go!

Each Color causes an emotional response. For example, Blue evokes a cool, calm peacefulness. Yellow can symbolize fear; Orange, anger; and Green, life. Pink implies weakness, softness, or femininity, while Red shouts passion, energy, ardor, and warmth. But what about Purple? In nature as well as the commercial world, you may have noticed that Purple is one of the least used colors. Why is this, and what does Purple mean, anyway? Before I go into this further, let’s take a quick look at color theory.

When looking at any single primary color, it communicates a solid, easy-to-read message. But combine two primary colors to make a secondary color and you get a slightly more complex message. (And of course Purple is a secondary color, a combination of Blue and Red.) All the other colors in between have even more discreet emotions.

So why is the color Purple so often passed over? I think it is because the specific emotion that Purple communicates is hard to pin down: juxtaposing Blue and Red, they communicate the most opposite and contrasting messages of all the colors.

If Blue is peaceful and calming, and Red is passionate and unceasingly energetic, then surely the union of these polar opposites would result in a clashing of ideas. It is a vacillating attempt to justify the equal strengths of Blue and Red. This delicate balance of mystery is what we find so enthralling: Purple is ultimately a fascinating suspension with no resolve.

All that from a wavelength of 400 nanometers, and a cardigan. :)

Lucy and Tumnus by Pauline Baynes

May I say that I simply love black and white art work?  Especially Pauline Baynes’ pen-and-ink style.  Pauline Baynes (the illustrator for the original Chronicles of Narnia) has such a wonderful style; there’s much I could learn from her—not to copy, mind you, but to enhance my own style.

In this piece by Pauline Baynes I can see she has already slightly influenced my work; my “Tree House” comes to mind.  What I love most about her style I can’t say.  For starters, I love the fluidity and liveliness of it.  Her lines are living and breathing.   I can hear the clinks of the crude tableware, and smell the aromas of the earthy fare.

Secondly, you can tell the characters are her personal friends: they, too, are alive.  Thirdly, every detail is taken into account and utilized for the overall composition and aesthetic environment.   Fourthly, her cross-hatching.  I simply can’t get enough of her cross-hatching! It may have been this signature element of her work that first caught my eye and snagged my heart.

Even with color added, her work is simply wonderful.  After I’m finished working on my *current projects,* I will hopefully get to experiment with pen and ink again, of course with Pauline Baynes by my side.

crunch, crunch, crunch

Warning: Distraught, emotional artist writing. You may read hyperbole; laugh if you must, but pity me in silence if you can.

Mostly, I am not brave. Or as imaginative as I ought to be. I mean, I am an artist, and you would think there would be more of an adventurous spirit about me . . .

But alas, it is only a small, small seed trying to break trough the crust of a currently tortuous inability to appreciate watercolor.

And so I let myself think that moving straight to another medium would help.

But praise the Lord! He will not let me go so soon. “Look inside,” says He as I pass a certain book.

A certain book on color theory.

The cover of a deep, deep well is peeled back. And no dry mud is found at the bottom. It is full of resounding depths of help. Teaching me things I only thought I could be left in a muddle over for the rest of my life.

Ignoring the wondrous properties of watercolor and unlovingly shoving it about the rough paper will get me no where. Perhaps it can be rescued yet, but I must be brave and see it through.

Be brave and tread the depths of color. Be brave and admit that I don’t know as much as I think.

Start at the beginning, work monochromatic color schemes - be adventurous.

I need strength from Him to be Brave and Adventurous.

Thank you, Lord, for rescuing me from discouragement and despair.

Okay, so y’all probably knew long before I did that knitting cables generally doesn’t take five needles. Saturday evening I finished my first cross-over.

Here it is (snickers):

Saturday night I decided I really needed help. I looked on YouTube and found some very helpful videos I’d like to share with you.

How to Knit : How to Knit a Cable Stitch - All this time I thought learning how to cable was for the knitting elite. Good grief. :)

This is a real cable:

For those who would like to see a lovely post in pictures on how to cable, The Purl Bee has a lovely post. (Scroll down aways.)

Here are some more helpful videos:

How to Knit Basics - The Cable Cast on Method

How to Knit Basics - Rib Cable Cast on Method

Continental Knitting Stitches : How to Knit Cable Stitches

And for Sara, the I-Chord: so über-easy, I can’t believe it! Did anyone ever “Cork” to make these?

And here is my latest knitting project-in-the-works:

.:. .:. .:.

“As Christians we are not limited to crosses and flannel-graphs, or to praise choruses and evangelistic skits. These simple forms may have their place in the life of the church, but God wants all of the arts to flourish in all the fullness of their artistic potential, so that we may discover the inherent possibilities of creation and thereby come to a deeper knowledge of our Creator.”

- Philip Graham Ryken, in Art for God’s Sake, p 35

“…What kind of art is able to meet God’s standards, as exemplified in the tabernacle? Not art that is bad, false, or ugly, but art that incarnates the good, the true, and the beautiful. In other words, our art must be in keeping with the character of God, who Himself is good, true, and beautiful…. We have truth to tell about the ugliness of a fallen world. Indeed, Christianity offers the best explanation for that ugliness in its doctrine of depravity: the world has been spoiled by sin…. In a world that has been uglified by sin, the Christian artist shows the plausibility of redemption by producing good work that is true in its beauty.”

- Philip Graham Ryken, in Art for God’s Sake, pp 43-45

For the common things of everyday
God gave man words in the ordinary way.

For the deeper things men think and feel
God gave poets words to reveal

But for the heights and depths no words can reach
God gave man music, THE SOUL’S OWN SPEECH.
~ Anonymous

I received a comment the other day and thought it would make a great post:

“…I have a 4 year old boy who has shown great interest in drawing and painting. Several people have suggested we pursue his love of art. This may be a question for your mom but I figured I would start at the source. Can you recommend some starting points for us. I am creative but I can’t draw. I want to develop this talent but would love suggestions. I will be homeschooling him so I have time to pour into this skill….Thank you. -Amy”

Dear Amy,

It is so encouraging to find families who want to develop the gifts God has given them! The Creator of the universe made us in His image, and through our lives of creativity and honoring Him we glorify Him.

There isn’t any one formula that works for everyone, but there are some ideas that my parents implemented in my childhood that really made an impact. Looking back, I am very thankful for their gracious approach to letting us discover and create a lot on our own. Here’s a peek into what my childhood looked like:

I spent a short amount of time in a public school (kindergarten and half of first grade) and my teachers’ main concerns were that I drew on my assignment papers! They made sure mom knew about this “problem”. I even got in trouble once for not drawing braids on my Thanksgiving Indian like everyone else.

Once we were homeschooling we had all the time in the world to be curious, adventurous and creative. Emily and I spent much of our time reading (or looking at) books, playing, and (mostly me) drawing pictures. Our parents knew the value of keeping our young minds busy and learning through creative outlets, so plenty of crafting materials were always on hand. Mom and Dad gave us a few rules:

• 1) Whenever we were watching a movie or Mom was reading to us, we had to keep our hands busy
• 2) Whenever we had free time to play, it had to be “constructive free time”, not mindless video games or senseless movies, and…
• 3) We always had to clean up our mess after we were done creating.

~

By the time I was 9, and Emily 7, Mom had introduced us to basic sewing, embroidery, and crocheting, as well as watercolors and colored pencils. She had us keep each of our supplies in shoe boxes; one for embroidery, one for crochet…(Click here for a great post on art boxes!). When Mom would read aloud to us, or Dad was leading family devotions, we would pull out our little crochet project or paper and pencils.

Our encouraging parents made sure we had a few art supplies always within reach. It was a good combination of encouragement and creative support. The force that pulled all of these resources together was being inspired. One of my largest sources of inspiration has always come from books.

From the time when we were wee little girls, we have been going to the library. We would come home loaded with books on our favorite animals, crafts, countries we wanted to travel to, fairy tales, art, and especially children’s books with illustrations we couldn’t resist. The best thing of all, we were encouraged to spend lots of “quiet time” with books.

Being allowed to sit and look at books for hours nurtured my love for reading, learning and art. Through this appreciation I was able to learn a bit more on my own. Once Mom got a DickBlick catalog for me, I discovered a whole new host of art books. I wrote down a handful of titles and authors I wanted to check out at the library or find through inter-library loan.

In the world of books I can pursue and learn about my interests, whether they be acrylics, wood burning, cake decorating, caring for animals, sewing historical costumes, oil painting or watercolors.

This is where my greatest developments have sprung from; knowing what inspires me, and knowing how to learn. Mom and Dad gave me these resources by wisely teaching, guiding and protecting me wherever we were.

This is where I’d encourage parents: a healthy dose of fresh air, books, crafting materials, “constructive free time”, encouragement and prayer, all within a guided and structured schedule.

God bless you on your journey!

Today is Wednesday! One of my favorite days of the week!

Why is Wednesday the most exciting day? Because…(drum role, please!)…it’s my day for art class!!! (Breezy proceeds to run around the room, bounce off the walls, and swing from the chandelier)

Besides so many other things, I’ve learned that I can draw and paint under pressure, finish assignments for class (and on time so far!), and numerous other things about art, painting, and story boarding!

This class has been right down my alley, and plus, I am also making a few friends. A good thing about taking the college class is that even though it isn’t competitive, I love the challenge and encouragement I get there. Something about the Prof giving these passionate and animated “lectures” on art have really inspired me.

Getting a credit in this class is not the objective. Actually, I’m just auditing, and when I mentioned that when I was signing up, they just couldn’t understand it. Most people these days go to college just to grab a degree and the “college experience”, without caring about actually learning something.

This class has been a big help to me in not only putting what I see on paper, but also how my gift can glorify God and bless others.