Pages and Paint – Week One

This post was really meant to tell you about my Pages and Paint week one, but it morphed into something more meandering...

Over the weekend, Sarah asked us each to carve out a little time - an hour or so - to do something inspiring, bring the sketchbook along and capture what we could.  Most of my weekend consisted of the normal catching up... laundry, grocery shopping and the like; but I did make some time with the sketchbook.  

The weekend creativity was centered around the Small Fry, not surprisingly.  It seems that her doll, the one she refers to as Naked Baby needed some clothing.  She's a favorite for taking on strolls around the neighborhood, and I'm getting a vibe from Belle, the super sitter, that it might be nice if Naked Baby had some clothes. Mind you, Naked Baby came with clothes but the Small Fry isn't fond of those clothes.  So we sketched a little pattern, dug up some fabric and Naked Baby is now sporting a skirt and shirt.  For the record, designing sleeves for a body with a 4-inch inseam and 10-inch waist holds no romance for me... so, sleeveless it was.

The sketch and my muses

The subject of my Pages and Paint assignment ended up being all about the time spent with the Small Fry and Naked Baby.  It involved the creation of a very simplistic pattern, some minor embroidery, an intermission (or two) for coloring and an audience of playmobil "guys". 

The sketching was really enjoyable, for both of us. It seems that my love for fresh sketchpads and uber sharp pencils has not waned since childhood. The Small Fry got her very own page and uber sharp pencil (requiring some supervision to prevent stabbing of inanimate objects or herself) and I sketched away for an hour or so. I unearthed an old Koh-i-noor Rapidomatic mechanical pencil that was loaded with 0.3 mm lead (be still my beating heart).  It is the sharpest and finest pencil ever, and it makes me want to draw miles of fine lines.

Closeup of my embroidery sketch

My sketch is too tight, I think.  Somehow I reverted back to near-technical illustration; I'm sure that pencil had some influence.  But this is my first attempt at drawing in years, and I'm kind of stymied by the idea of it. I'm hoping to loosen up over time.  Sarah's work is so sunny and ethereal, I'm not sure what she's going to think of me... but I'm hoping she won't give up entirely.

It was fun to get those creative juices flowing.  And although sketches of doll clothes and playmobil toys aren't likely to go down in the annals of history, we don't care.  We had a good time.