Beginnings

What I'm doing here...

Making "ahty shtuff" has become a daily habit over the last year. I'm drawing faces, figures, doing one-line contours, creating cartoon characters, drawing my day, and exploring zentangles.

I follow some really inspiring people on Substack. I don’t need or want followers but I do want a place to post my “ahty shtuff”; a place that allows opportunities and space for more writing and greater self-expression.

My creative life includes:

• daily portraits (I’m on #130)

• daily figure drawings

• learning a new zentangle daily

• illustrating my day/week

• multi-media/abstract art

• collage

• watercolor

• pen and ink

Today’s illustrated journal (and yesterday’s) were enough to make me realize I’ve got something inside that needs to get out… now.

My April 25th entry was born from serious nostalgia. A memory of my oldest putting his boots on for the first time in our Vermont kitchen with checkerboard pattern as I sat in front of the chess board where he now routinely beats me at chess. Times past overlay today and compress into one singularity of emotion. Grief and happiness.

Proper credit: I’m inspired by Amy Cowan of Creativity Matters Podcast. Her prompts and encouragement have somehow unlocked a side of me that combines my love for writing, art, and self-expression.

I hope to continue posting here. It seems like an interesting opportunity. Meanwhile, I’ll keeping “ahting” and “shtuff”.

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