A few years ago I came across a book written by Danny Gregory entitled, "
Everyday Matters." It was from this book, filled with sketches and commentary, I began to understand the power of the simple sketch, and started shifting my aristic pursuits in that direction.
Some snooping around the internet led me to a yahoo group, "
Everyday Matters," initiated by Danny and a couple of his friends. In no time a
list of things to sketch was developed. People began sketching those things and posting them on the yahoo group. The list grew, and more people joined the group.
Today there are over 320 items listed and the group is still a place where sketchers can discuss Danny's vision, discuss their own visions and post their sketches. In the beginning, people posted the items listed ina fairly sequential manner, but long ago, the emphasis moved more toward people posting whatever they wanted to post. It is still mostly sketches, and sometimes it's a sketch of something off the list, but mostly it's just "show and tell," and a lot of fun for those involved.
But like all good things, nothing stays the same and now there's a spin-off: a
Facebook page. It works well and the number of people involved there continues to expand as well.
My plan this January is to begin anew with the Everyday Matters list - beginning with #1: "draw a shoe." Each day this January I plan to post a new sketch from this list here in Art-A-Day.
I might post some other stuff too, because it's just too much fun doing and sharing.
Here's the first:
Wrapping up a painting I started in December was a good way to start the New Year. I usually work on one painting at a time, so now I can start on the second installment of an orchid triptych.
Photography is really 80% editing and only 20% shooting , and I've been neglecting my editing for some time now. So I'm currently addressing that and working on editing a ton of slides to see if I've missed any hidden gems. I especially enjoy this process. 
New year. New art. Here is the start of a new piece for my series of book art/kinetic hangings. The paper is hand made by Helen Heibert, a Portland papermaker. I stained the center portion with tea leaves and outlined the stains with brown ink and then used watercolor pencils to add the pop of color. The poem is written in graphite and is from a book of old Japanese poems I've had for sometime. The writing on the side is done in ink with a crow quill and is my attempt at imitating the poets name in Japanese. I have a total of seven panels that will be strung together and will hang from a foot long rusted bolt pulled lovingly from the Columbia River by my dear friend Te' who knows me well. Happy New Year fellow art-a-day bloggers. I look forward to seeing what everyone has to post!
