Childhood Art of My Own

I've always been a doodler as far back as I can remember, probably as early as the age of three.  I always enjoyed coloring and heck, still enjoy it now with the grandkids or even without.  Opening a new box of crayons, preferably the 64 count or up, was like "ooooooo color!"

As I grew older my passion for sketching unfolded and I found that I liked to draw with charcoal but was happiest with a blank sketch pad and pencil.  Unfortunately, it's a hobby that I abandoned many years ago as I began raising a family and in having one child, another, then another and another I found less and less time to just sit and draw.

What led me to the topic of this post was this weekend I came across some old oil paintings that I had done during my pre-teen years.  My mom had put me in an oil painting class hoping to broaden my like of art. But after going for a short time, I knew it wasn't my niche and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much as simply sketching with pencil in hand.  Actually, I didn't enjoy it at all.  I liked it when I could sketch the initial basic outline of the painting up to the transfer of that same picture onto the canvas but after that, I was done.  I wanted no more.  I'm sure a lot of it was because I was overly critical of the finished result.  I struggled with the "lighting" and the "shadowing" and the blending never turned out as I hoped.  It's funny, even though I was only 11, things had to be just right or I wouldn't be pleased with the result.  I could always see what could have been done better, softer, straighter, and/or smaller.  Dang that perfectionist trait.

I envied my instructor (who had twice as many years experience as I was old) at how she dabbed and blotted the paint, gently flipped her wrist to glide the fibers in the brush to give her paintings such allure and visual appeal.  She also had some clever techniques in which an artist could take a toothpick to etch out lines in the paint to give a certain effect or even taking a kitchen spatula head to use the edge to swirl paint on the canvas to give another dramatic effect.  Even though I didn't come away with a love for oils, she definitely was gifted in her art.

A couple examples of my artwork below:

Sink Eye

 

Is this cool or what?  I had a blog topic in mind and was searching for something to be distracted by this photo (which I stole). I was intrigued how even though it's water being drained out of the sink, it gives the illusion of an eye. 

  

This is known as pareidolia .  According to Wikipedia, it is described as a psychological phenomenon involving a vague and random stimulus (often an image or sound) being perceived as significant.

I'm sure we've all done it at one time or another as a child, did you ever look into the clouds and see an object or a possibly a silhouette of a person yet knowing that object or person is really not there?  Or seeing the face of Jesus or heck, even Santa in the woodgrain of a door? 

So, I learned something today, pareidolia. 

How about you, have you ever experienced a situation, excluding the cloud example, in which you noticed something unique .... like a man's face in a tree trunk?

Accent Challenge Completed - A Vlog

A couple of weeks ago, I posted my first video blog which led to an offer of an accent challenge by a fellow blogger, Missy.  I said challenge accepted!  So, even though it's taken me a couple of weeks to take the time to do it.

Wallah, here it is.

Sharing the Warmth

I keep seeing blogs titled "brrrr" etc and reading about freezing cold temps.  So I thought I'd share how thankful I am for Texas winters.  Because I am.

Dang You Bar, You Will NOT Win

I purchased this from a friend at work, ohhh it’s probably been a couple years ago now, maybe even closer to three.  I bought it as a workout tool as I attempted to complete P90X which ended up being a 45 day workout schedule as I never made it through to the end.  Mainly because I got tired from day in day out activities, was busy, blah blah, you know the usual excuses why one gets out of the routine of exercising. 

Anywho, I never used it 1) because I lived in an apartment and the doorframes were inexpensively built and just weren’t made where it could support it without fear of injury and 2) you could build (supposedly) the same muscles by using bands instead. So I defaulted to the bands.

It’s been in the depths of my closet for the most part since.  So about a week ago I dug it out.  

Why? 

The challenge, what else? 

Well that, and for the love of pole.  My goal is to build better upper body strength.

I keep thinking once I eventually master one, just one, single solitary chin-up, I’ll engage whatever muscles that need to be engaged and then it will be easy peasy.  Okay, maybe not that easy but you get my point.  Even though I’ve only been attempting to use the chin-up bar for about a week,  I have been using a Total Gym where I pull up using my body as resistance (I think it’s about 65%) in hopes to  build some strength in the necessary muscles. 

Last night I did my usual walk/run on the treadmill to follow it up by going out in the garage and getting on the Total Gym.  I decided to raise it as far as it would incline, positioned the attachment bar and proceeded to do a few short sets of pulling myself up with my hands under and then over the bar clearly exhausting the muscles.  My arms even quivered and shook for some time after I went back in the house and was doing a few things unrelated to exercise.  I entertained the idea of finishing the workout with a set of push-up.  Bad idea, gravity took over (coupled with the fatigued muscles) and as soon as I assumed the position and attempted to lower myself.  Splat to the ground I went.  Oy.

I still can NOT do a chin-up.  I can pull myself up a few inches and basically chuckle at myself internally because I’m really just dangling there.  However, I do use the bar to work my abdominal core as I pull my knees to my chest and repeat.  I work on my obliques by doing the same, only with my knees pointing to one side then the other.  I’ve used a chair as support which I don’t really know that it helps a whole lot.  I basically place myself in the chin-up position and then lower myself slowly to repeat it again.

And even though the current score is:

Chin-up Bar - 5

Debora - 0

I’m gonna do it.  I’m gonna do it.  Damnit, I’m gonna do it.

While I’m chanting to myself that I’m gonna do it, any current or old chin-up senseis that have any tips, advice and/or suggestions?

Arbitrary Matter

My youngest (with me below) has been trying to persuade me to take her to go see the movie “Mama” that is now playing.  

Um, I say hell to the no.  Not only that, that’s why she has friends. So they can go watch scary movies together.

Here's the movie trailer:

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I wore jeans to work today and I didn’t wear black.  Both instances fall between rare and virtually non-existent.

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Do you ever feel like there’s not enough space in your mind to hold all your thoughts and if you think one more thought ......

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A co-worker/friend and I went to lunch yesterday and she ordered a baked potato.  The potato was HUGE.

 Speaking of lunch, my daughter calls me at lunch.  I was going to include part of our conversation here that was amusing at the time but as I typed it up, it just read poorly.  Plus, it just wasn't as funny anymore. So, I posted a random picture instead.

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I’m ready for my Burlesque Boa workshop (a mix between burlesque and chair fitness) tonight.  I’ve found that joining the studio has been a dance therapy of sorts.  In small ways it allows me to tap into my inner self and frees me of my thoughts even if it’s only for an hour or two.  But, I’ll take it. 

 

Lastly, it’s difficult for a lot of people to see the art in poling because usually the first thing to come to mind is stripper.  Below is a performance of a Pole Fitness competitor and she’s just an amateur.  However, she’s quite sensual, fluid, expressive, mesmerizing, beyond talented and has some serious flexibility going on. 

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This Ain't No Small Potato

If you're prude or extremely conservative or even lack a good sense of humor, you'll most likely be offended.  So, keep scrolling this post isn't for you. I stole this from my daughter who posted this on Instagram.  It immediately had me laughing.

Killer Karaoke

One evening my youngest and I were sitting in the living room and she was surfing the channels and came across this.  Steve-O from Jackass hosts this show where contestants have to karaoke while they’re walking in something gross and creepy, being lowered into a pool of reptiles or like this one, being shocked while he serves Steve-O a meal.  We were instantly amused.  You might find it amusing too.

 I found this one below to be the funniest.  His expressions and foul language crack me up.

An Intimate Blog

My oldest sent a message to me day before yesterday.  It lead me to type up my own personal response, nothing I'd send to her in return but more of an opportunity to release some cognitive components rather than barracading them deep within as I so regularly do.

In reading her message, it triggered an array of emotions.   I initially felt proud of what she wrote but then I felt doubt, self-judgment, loss, regret and sorrow.  It’s odd how a thoughtful message from her triggered so many emotions within me.

This is what she had to say …..