Friday, February 20, 2015

Little to Nothing

It has been a slow week, and I have nothing exciting to say.  That could be good news. At least nothing horrible has happened.

My Little Girls art class came on Tuesday. We did graph drawings.  Using our rulers, we made one inch squares on a photo of a dinosaur (statue). Then we made a graph on our drawing paper. The lesson was to draw the individual squares exactly as you saw them. As you draw each square, the whole dinosaur eventually takes shape. Of course part of  the lesson was to look at the whole picture to make sure you got it right. Then we transferred our dinosaur drawing to a clean sheet of paper and added the details (eyes, scales, muscles, etc) and the shading. My girls did well, but there is always someone who draws what is not there - what they cannot see. Ex: the feet of the dinosaur were hidden by grass. You could not actually see his toes.  Yet, one girl drew toes on the dinosaur, and another girl copied her toes. So I asked, "Can you actually see his toes or do you happen to know what a triceratops' toes look like?" It is funny how our minds work. We often draw what we know, but not what we see. Chances are that what we know is wrong.

In other big news, the hubby had a colonoscopy. Last time he had one, the anesthesia made him loopy all day. Fortunately, they used different stuff, and he was coherent afterwards. He got a good report, and we came home to rest and regroup. Later in the day, we went over to Lawton to do a bit of shopping and to eat Mexican food since Toby was hungry. We went into Hobby Lobby to do some shopping for a birthday gift for GBN1 and to check out the art supplies. I have a love/hate relationship with HL. I love to buy art supplies there when they are on sale, but sometimes they make me crazy. A few weeks ago, art paper and pads were on sale 40% off. I bought up lot of art pads for my girls. As I checked out, the clerk said that one package of art paper was not on sale. Now, I've bought this same paper many times before when art paper was on sale, and I said as much. She turned to the manager who happened by and asked him if it were on sale. He said no, because it was not "bound" paper - like a pad. I chose not to buy the paper - general principle of the thang. The next week when I was in HL (yes, it can occur weekly) I pointed out to the clerk that she had been in error - that many of the art pads were not "bound" and yet had been on sale - so why not the one pad. The clerk just looked at me. So I tried Michaels the next week. I bought a pad that said it was half-off. At the check-out, the clerk said it was not half-off unless you bought two pads - it was in the small print. I threw a fit telling the girl how small print made me madder'n hell.  So yesterday in HL when pastel pencils were on sale, I tried to buy a small set of pastels - a brand I had never tried. At the check-out, the girl said they were not on sale unless they were over 9.99. I burst out laughing - how very ridiculous. It was that small print stuff again. Toby was very proud of me for not throwing a fit this time. Yeah well, I started to ask the girl if she wanted me to put them back and then throw them across the store. Na, you know I would never do that.

I did start a painting this week, but it is too early to show you. The weather has been cold and windy, which I don't mind. Although, I need to be out walking and riding my bike and getting ready for great adventures this summer. But, I seem to be a fair weather exerciser.

That's all I got. Sunday will be my tenth blogoversary.  

8 comments:

CenTexTim said...

Fine print was designed by the Devil himself...

Okie Dokie said...

I watched an artist do a wall mural, and he had a little clear plastic grid over a picture of some Air Force planes in formation.

First he painted the background on the wall, and it was a mountain scene, very nice, with snow capped peaks. Then he lightly penciled in squares on the painting that were like 10 times larger than the picture ones, and roughed-in the planes based on the small grid.

It took him a couple of weeks, and it was neat to see him add a little bit every day. He could only spend about 30 minutes to an hour on it every day, as he was a mechanic in the squadron. When done, there were no lines, and it looked perfect with the enlargement.

I used to have Photoshop, and you could enlarge a picture and print sections of it out on 8.5 by 11 sheets of paper. I then taped the printouts to my garage wall, and then I could lift the printout and draw on the wall under it, kind of rough sketching this drawing of an old race car to life-size. Then I took a one inch brush and painted the drawing in a rough manner (brush marks and all). It was fun, not perfect, but I wish I could have cut it out and brought it to my new shop. Oh well, I'll have to do it again.

You've inspired me again.

I usually buy a bunch of stuff at HL to use as fiberglass molds. I'll come home with $20 if stuff I think I can use, and then it all just doesn't work out, and the curve or shape I was going for just doesn't happen. You're supposed to use clay, but I hate working with clay. Clay would be cheaper though after each failure is pushed into the dumpster, ha.

Bag Blog said...

The fine print Devil makes me curse.

Bag Blog said...

A friend of mine uses Photoshop to print out huge letters and paint awesome signs. Very handy!

Okie Dokie said...

I was raised in the inner city (Portland) and everyone was poor. We lived in what were known as tenements. These were not even nice when they were new in 1928, but in the 50's had become a cesspool of humanity.

There was a fenced-in yard behind the washroom that mothers did their laundry all day. It was big, mean't to be a garden (during the depression), but by the 50's was just a big pile of dirt. A perfect place for mothers to corral the kids during the day.

We kids would grab buckets and make a hole, and then fill it with water, and play in the mud hole to cool off from the summer heat. One thing led to another, and usually fights broke out and mud started flying 'till one of the mothers came out and told us to "knock it off!" I remember the older girls being the worst. They would make mud pies in the sun, and then try and force them down your throat for fun.

Anyway, this may be the source of my aversion to clay... Luckily Pa got a better job and we moved to the 'burbs, with even meaner girls...

Jo Castillo said...

I have a love hate thing with HL, too. I have been buying museum glass with the 40% off coupon and frames when they are 50% off. I buy other painting stuff on line from Blick mostly. Sometimes Jerry's. I used to like ASW but they went to bulk. I feel for you.

Bag Blog said...

Okie, I find tenement living fascinating - probably because I have always lived in the wide open spaces in TX, NM, and OK. A few years ago, we stayed in a hotel in Scotland that had once been tenement living. It made my imagination run wild.

Bag Blog said...

Recently I went into HL to buy a block of watercolor paper with my 40% off coupon, but they either were out or not carrying blocks anymore. Cheap Joes is my hero.