Insomnia Art

I had insomnia last night so this was the result. I didn't have my usual faber-castel black pitt pens nearby so this was drawn with a Pilot PreciseV7 pen in a moleskine WC journal .  I used a charcoal brush pen for the darker areas. I really had fun doing this, I ended up going back to bed and did get some sleep after all. If you ever can't sleep maybe doing a little art is just what you need.

Dave's Breakfast Cereal and a Bottle

I am doing a thing called the Daily Health Challenge and today was about eating nuts.  I mentioned I have been eating a home made cereal and lots of people wanted the recipe.  Since its long I decided to add it here.  My husband Dave came up with the recipe. The goal was a cereal with lots of fiber and not much sugar.

4 parts Oak flakes
4 parts Wheat flakes
4 parts Rye flakes
1/2 parts Sunflower seeds
1 part Walnut pieces
1 part Pecan pieces
1 part Almond pieces
1 to 1.5 parts dried Cranberries

If you need to sweeten in add 2 parts store bought granola or a 1/3 part sugar/sweetener

If you use a Tablespoon for the part above you will have one serving.

We toast the oat, wheat and rye flakes @ 350 for 20 min. It is not required but seems to add flavor.
We mix the toasted grain together and then add the other ingredients. We just mix up a bowl daily but you could make a bulk package easily.

When you first start this you might find it pretty bland. I use the recipe as above but Dave omits the granola and adds date sugar.  I sometimes add a banana for flavor.

This cereal really gives you lots of fiber and you may find you feel better by eating it.  Enjoy.

Oh here is a little zentangle I did last night. Funny how I didn't notice it was crooked until I took a picture of it. Ok perhaps this bottle was made by a beginning potter.  I think I will think of it that way.

Sunday Sketches

Today instead of sketching a girl I decided to do a zentangle. I have not done one in a long time, I forgot how long they can take. This one has an sort of an odd shape.

That is until I turn the paper, now I think its a zen- egg. I have no idea why the paper looks green, the paper is white, oh well such is life.  To see what other sketchers are doing head over to Sophia's blog Blue Chair Diary.

Adding color to a mandala

I did this zentangle like mandala the other day from the stamp in the center. I do like starting them out that way.

This is an old drawing. I have been wanting to add some color to my drawings and was a little bit afraid to do so. For some odd reason I thought it would ruin it. This is watercolor and I really had fun adding the color. I may add more or just stop where I am.

Health Issues

I thought I had better let you all know what has been going on with me. I have not fully gone into menopause so at my Doctors advice I had a biopsy of the cervix on Monday.  Results came back today and they did find some abnormal cells.  Now I am scheduled to have a D&C to take a bigger sample.  Then they can determine if its just a few abnormal cells or a bigger problem.  Its not quite the way I had intended to spend my time but it is better to have information and then you know how to deal with it.

They do say that Art heals and I will be putting that to the test.  I am working on a secret project that I can't share so I had better get to it... I hope you  find some time for Art today.

Some time with Trees

We have had the most glorious weather this past weekend.  I spent some time on the greenbelt. Its a green area around the Snake River that runs through my town.









I had brought lunch and sat down on a blanket and began looking at these trees. The weather was gorgeous and the smell of the trees so enticing.

Then I layed down and looked up.

I was so amazed at the sight I saw I ran to the car and grabbed the camera. I loved looking at all the branches and seeing how different they were and where they were all headed.

Next time you are out visiting trees, try a different viewpoint and you may be surprised at what you see.

This great horned owl has been visiting our backyard. All I could get was this silhouette of her.

 








... and  now some art. I started this drawing with a stamp again. I really like this technique of starting with a stamp and then just building on it. It is so much fun, you should try it.

My first Zentangle

Why I was in Missoula, I thought I would try a zentangle. There is a nice article on how to do them in Cloth Paper Scissors. After doing a few patterns I could see a woman so I left that blank and drew a face in pencil This was really fun. I think I will be doing more of these. If you are interested in these I suggest you check out the zentangle website. In all their old newsletters they have different patterns you can try and all sorts of great information.