This week was full of taking my hurt ankle to doctors so I didn't do much sketchbook action beyond looking at previously finished pages. On Monday this prior page stood out.
So the rest of the week during the morning rush to the doctor's I looked at quotes on this website instead of drawing. Below is one of the quotes I thought about the most while nurses, x-ray techs, radiologists and doctors did their jobs.
These were some of my thoughts:
Life and art relate to each other in a chicken/egg kind of way. Life happens and art helps humans cope with life. Life in turn provides inspiration for art. Humans are symbol and language natives. So life and art are intimate conversationalists, dance partners, within the human psyche. This is so whether an individual human claims artistic ability or not. We experience things in life and even the avowed “non artists” will listen to music, talk with a friend over dinner, select and mail a greeting card, take photos, write social media posts, read a poem/article or write in diary to help process the lived experience. For example music, essays/speeches, story telling, visual artwork of all kinds (flower arrangements, culinary creations, banners…) dancing and poetry can be found at births, graduations, weddings, vacations and funerals.
Here below is what the medical staff accomplished while I tried to think about art… (and yes, it was an ouchy process thus the incompleteness of my various thoughts.)
As I wrote in another newsletter recently because of my hurt foot I've been deliberately seeking the rabbit trails of art, books and music (as well as interactions with people) as a way of coping with physical pain as well as passing time. Art can help us through difficult situations by being a way of reconnecting with ourselves as well as connecting with other people…
Such thoughts carried me through the difficulty parts of mornings.
The afternoons, besides resting, contained the art studio adjustments needed to accommodate my ouchy ankle. I want to, as Marcus Aurelius says, “turn the obstacle into fuel" while I’m pursuing my artistic curiosity bump about figures of speech and visual interpretations of them, continuing my investigations from last year. Subscribers to this newsletter have an album of my recent work on Figures Of Speech here.
As a result of my ankle issue my morning sketchbook routine and my afternoon fine art painting routines merged a bit. Here's a fine art painting I did in much the way I do my morning sketchbook pages that you often see in this newsletter using ink and gouache. I've titled my new painting “To Take Root" and it's 5 x 7 inches, only a little larger than my 5 x 3 inch sketchbook.
If you're interested you can see details about my professional art studio work routine adjustments for my upcoming fine art exhibits here https://sueclancy.com/2024/02/11/art-studio-adjustments-take-root/
More random thoughts: Art and life conversations often include friends. For example last Saturday my friend
said she would like to see a sketch of my medical boot (which I’d named Smithwick). So here's my drawing titled “Portrait Of Smithwick with sleeping Dachshund and Darn Tough Sock”. It was created by hand using ink and water on a scrap of paper which my wife handed to me. The drawing was created before Smithwick transformed from a black boot to a green cast.Here's a photo of what I was looking at while I drew.
It bouyed my spirit to do that drawing! Thank you Amie!
While the black boot named “Smithwick” transformed into a green cast named “Guinness” I was given a toe warmer hand knitted by volunteers!! Wasn't that nice? Here's a studio photo of Guinness wearing her new hat.
There have been so many kindnesses throughout: private texts and emails of support. There have been many kind social media comments, Notes and mentions on other people's newsletters. There have been cards sent via snail mail. There have been care packages dropped off on our porch. There have been new free and paid subscribers to this newsletter. Wow! Thank you! I've greatly appreciated everyone's support!
Life + love + art = community!!!
Did you see, and download if you wanted to, the ebook of our kitchen sketchbook Favorites So Far? Hope so! That newsletter and of course the Favorites book itself is still another example of the art/life ongoing conversation shared with love.
I wish for you many pleasant art and life conversations of your own this weekend!
Sue, you generously take pain and suffering and make it a gift that lifts up your readers! You and J.L. and your dog (my gosh that SWEETNESS!) are giving us all prescription-strength Happiness! You are a Wonder. I hope you're able to get some comfort and rest in all of this while you heal.
Wonderful, Sue! The toe warmer is FABULOUS, and hurrah for Darn Tough socks - my husband swears by them. Their lifetime guarantee is astonishing - he's had two pairs wear out (it took years!) and the kind folk at Darn Tough replaced them. Hope you're making excellent healing progress - I'm rather behind on my reading so I expect when I hit 'Next' in a second I'll be reading the next instalment of your recovery.