What Does One Do When Restless? Art!

Last night I was restless. I think I was tired and my knees were hurting and I wanted to do something but not too much of something.  All my sewing was upstairs and I just couldn't be bothered to climb the stairs so....

I decided to draw.  Now, you must understand that while my father was a very good artist and made a living at it, I didn't inherit the gene.  I knew this so I never even tried.  However, as many people do as they age, I have a new appreciation of art and enjoy a number of aspects of it.

Obviously fine art, painting, sculpture, etc is all art but I look at quilting, cross stitch, and paper crafts (i.e. cardmaking) as art as well.  I love the complexity of mixed media projects and have worked on a couple of those as well.  I was right on board with the new adult color book craze and love it -- I am going to indulge myself in a full set of prismacolor pencils as soon as I can find a full set someplace!

But, what I would really like to do is be able to draw.  I used to marvel at my father's ability to just sit and draw effortlessly.  The detail in his work was amazing (he was a cartoonist) and I would just shake my head not really knowing how he did it and being a bit resentful that I couldn't.

I will never be an artist but I have discovered that is ok.  Art is in the eye of the beholder and while I will never have the talent that my father did I can still play with it.

So, last night that is what I did.  I opened the internet and searched for sketching ideas and found a couple of things and gave it a go.  I was surprised to find that it was actually relaxing and not stressful because, after all, art is in the eye of the beholder, right?

So, here you go--Art -- MY way!

this is a vase in my kitchen -- this was done a few weeks ago

again with the vase

just the posy

a duck I copied off the internet

A penguin I copied off the internet

a fantasy flower and a magical bee from my imagination

more of the same

So, that is what I did last night -- huge waste of time but it was very relaxing -- I  might do it again tonight!

Booking Through Thursday

While acknowledging that we can't judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardover vs softcover? Trade paperback vs mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?

Ok, I will admit, I am a sucker for a neat looking book. I am attracted to the gorgeous cover art of the likes of Wendell Minor ("Then Came Heaven" by LaVyrle Spencer and William Ireland ("Evening Class" by Maeve Binchy). It was the cover art that drew my eye to the Jan Karon "Mitford" books which, of course, turned out to be absolutely lovely books.

I don't care for books with artwork from movies. In fact, I don't really like reading a book if I have seen the movie. Bad memories of an oral book report on "Mutiny on the Bounty" circa 1964. I have a copy of "Chocolat" that has a photo of Juliette Binoche on the cover. I have to say that, as much I like Ms. Binoche as an actress, I don't like the cover of this book.

Hard back vs paper back? Well, I really prefer hard backs if they aren't too thick. They just hold up better because I tend to carry a book with me every place I go and they are more propable. If they are too large, however, they are difficult to hold with my weak wrists. I do buy many paperbacks, however, and have to admit that they are more "purse-able". I think it just depends on how the mood strikes me and whether the book will become a permanent part of our little library or perhaps passed around to friends.

The typeface is another matter, however. It needs to be dark and easy to read. While I am not quite to the point of buying "large print" books, I can see it out on the horizon. Another negative about the "Chocolat" book -- small print on the greyish side.

All of this has to do with the initial attraction to the book, however. Once I have read the dust jacket or an excerpt from the book (mostly done while standing in the store juggling all the magazines I tend to buy), I know whether I am going to enjoy the book in spite of the cover art. I have reshelved many "cool looking" books because they just weren't for me. Unfortunately, I have probably never taken a second look at some great books because the packaging just didn't grab me.

I read/collect children's books and I am drawn to the illustrations -- who isn't. Again, however, if the story falls flat, I won't purchase the book just for the art -- it has to be a complete package. Like jlshall, I wish adult books could be illustrated -- they should be illustrated. I like the street maps in the Mitford books -- they create a visual for the reader that really puts you into the book.

At the end of the day, however, it is the content that matters and once I am "into" a book, the cover matters not a whit. All the decoration in the world won't "make" a book nor will lack of decoration doom it.

Great covers do make book shopping fun though and I am sure turn a good profit for the dealers.

From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler


The fourth book I have read for the Young Reader's Challenge is "From the Mixed-up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E. L. Konigsburg (1967).

I chose this book because it was my daughter's favorite book when she was growing up. I also chose this book because it was recommended by JLSHall. I have to say that both women have excellent taste in children's books.

This book is a charming account of two very brave and resourceful siblings who decide to run away. Well, Claudia, the main character and older sibling, decided to run away and Jamie, the younger, was chosen to go because of his vast financial ability -- and his $24.43.

Claudia planned her runaway down to the most minute detail -- her running away was to be DIFFERENT. ""Claudia knew that she should could never pull off the old fashioned kind of running away..." so she decided to run not from some where but to somewhere -- somewhere large, warm, comfortable, and beautiful. And that was how Claudia and her brother, Jamie, ended up living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art--and right in the middle of a mystery that made headlines."

The book is clever, the children are funny, there is something in it for everybody -- a little art, a little history, a little mystery. It is easy to read but not simplistic. I enjoyed it and hated to see it end.

I would recommend this for 8-12 year olds with the warning "don't try this at home".