Katrina

There is so much to say, and there are so few words.

Ten years. Since this.

For those of us from New Orleans, our landscape changed forever. The aftermath has been both good and bad. Talk to people from the city, though, and you will hear that they are back. The focus is on the positive and the new buildings, better buildings, and the spirit of community that resulted in places like Musician's Village being built. This is a good thing. New Orleanians are resilient, joyful people.

For those of you who didn't live there or grow up there, and who don't know the richness of the culture and the beauty of the people, it is almost impossible to explain. New Orleans was, and is, a very special place. It is a culture that cannot be grasped through glimpses of Mardi Gras parades on national tv. It is a culture that is all about neighborhoods and community, feeding each other good food, and rejoicing and crying together.

The city has rebuilt. Time has moved on. But there is still the loss. People were lost. A city's landscape was changed forever. Sometimes you turn a corner, and see a visible scar that makes you catch your breath.

After ten years, we can stop to pray, and remember.

This crucifix went through the storm, in a home that is no longer there. God remains with us. Always.

Rough Sketches of Bird Behavior

I will get back to the Prairie Journal later. I wanted to show how rough some of my observational sketches are, day-to-day.

Why show the scribbles? These are *not* Art. But they are examples of how keeping a regular sketchbook or journal can prompt scientific questions. It can also help you work through some of those questions, and is an important record of what you are seeing.

If I draw something, I remember what I see much more clearly. The artistic and the logical, scientific side of the brain are working together. The scientist wins most of the battle in pages like this, though. I need to get the information down, fast. It is too easy to forget details.

Here is one of my field journal pages as an example. I was looking out of the back window, and I saw four woodpeckers (Northern Flickers) in the yard. That is unusual: I usually see only one at a time.

Sorry about the red glare!

Two of them put their beaks into the air and began to bob their heads and move them side to side. It looked like a dance. I grabbed the sketchbook, scribbled down their positions in the grass, and made some notes. I always include a date, and usually include a bit about the weather. I didn't try to get a realistic Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker drawing down. Just the rough shapes, and a record of the motion.

The next step was to comb my books. What were they doing? They flew off in separate directions after doing this dance, so maybe it wasn't a courtship dance. I found nothing in the first three books I checked, and then found in the Birder's Handbook that it probably was a courtship dance. I noted that, and the reference.

This then prompted further questions. Why now? Shouldn't I have seen this in the spring? It seems strange for the end of summer. Maybe there is time to raise another brood of Flickers. How long does it take to incubate the eggs, and fledge the young? Where are they nesting? These are questions I still need to research, and in the case of the nest, observe to try to find out.

Because I have this rough scribble, I can use this as a jumping-off point to learn more about the Flickers. Maybe someone else has observed this in my part of Nebraska in August. And, if not, here is a record! I sometimes look back through my field journals, and can see trends over time.

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Birds and other animals can be tough to sketch, especially when they are moving. The end result is worth it, even if you think it is too rough. You can always go back later and do a detailed drawing based on what you have learned. Think of this as information-gathering, and keep it in a separate field book, not where you keep your artistic drawings. That helps to separate the two.

90 units, or How Not to Make an Origami Model

I should subtitle this: Do not attempt to do this the way that I did it.

At least, please heed the advice of those who say not to attempt to assemble a 90 unit dodecahedron in two 45 unit parts. This was a real learning experience for me.

Good thing the battle scars are not too visible in this picture. It's not pretty! There are damaged units and glue spots.

I learned:

-listen to all of the modular origami experts, and assemble this in one piece, not two halves. It is really, really hard to get the two halves together. It ended with my building a construction stand out of a giant spool, a wooden block, a Styrofoam ball, poster putty, and a dowel. You know it's gotten out of hand when the cashier at the craft store says, "This is the oddest combination of items I've ever seen!" Yes, it is.

-don't use gift wrap for something this massive. It will begin to collapse. I had to use the aforementioned Styrofoam ball as an internal structural support.

- I am probably the hardest-headed person on the planet for not throwing the entire thing in the trash as I fought with this for months.

So... I post this as a warning. If you make a 90 unit model, don't be tempted to make two 45 unit halves, thinking that you can easily fit them together. It will be a nightmare. Use heavy paper. And remember that origami is usually relaxing. If you are ready to throw your model out the window, something has gone horribly wrong! I think my next project will be a nice, 6 unit cube!

And now, I can get back to painting!

Starting a New Journal, Part 3

We now have a page decorated in watercolor, but it still needs something to draw a reader in. I decided to use Copperplate calligraphy to draw a heading. I'm still learning Copperplate, and am not an expert in that hand by any stretch of the imagination! And this is drawn with a pencil, then overdrawn with a colored pencil. It is good enough for this, though. I have the look I was trying to achieve.

This is one way to approach that first page: using calligraphy, watercolor paint, and a page design. Of course, yours will be very different, but it is fun to see how other artists work.

For more inspiration and variety, here is a sampling of a few recent page designs that I've done. The astronomy journal on the bottom left is still in progress. It needs more contrast, and I will probably add inks.

You can tell from the cow design that I am playing around with different lettering, too.

Next time, we'll discuss content... thank you for reading!