Have you been over to CreativeTherapy today? Catalyst 16 has been published and I hope you’ll take some ti
me to read about what we all did with this week’s catalyst! To the right is the picture I drew for this week’s catalyst. Click on the image to see a larger version at the site and to read the journaling that goes with it. In short, since it was over 110 degrees outside, I took a photo of our house and then drew it freehand using a Pigma Micron pen on 140# Cold Press Watercolor Paper. I colored it in with watercolor pencils.
I’ll also take this opportunity to say “Au revoir” to my faithful reader(s). I’ll be leaving for France tomorrow, I will not be bringing my laptop, so I’m not sure that I’ll get a chance to post from France. I also won’t be able to respond to your emails while I’m away, but I will be sure to share drawings and photos when I return!
I’ll be publishing additional Catalysts and, perhaps, some other posts while I am away. I’m setting these up to publish while I’m gone (fingers crossed that the technology will work!).
June 29th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, art, drawing |
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Well, as usual, I’m completely wiped out from treatment. I woke this morning groggy, but I felt good for about an hour and a half. Then the fatigue smacked me down. So, here I sit, in front of the TV on the den couch with my MacBook. Yesterday I was ok for a short time in the morning and then I took several short naps and one 3-hour-long nap. I suppose by now I should be used to it and I shouldn’t be surprised by the level of fatigue I feel. But I’m an optimist, so I always hope that it isn’t going to be as bad this time. Add to that the additional side-effects of the medication that I’ve been noticing more - hair loss being the one that bugs me the most. Vanity, I suppose… 
Today is Sunday, which means that the catalyst for CreativeTherapy is posted on the blog with our design team submissions. This week’s catalyst is “What’s your happiest memory?” I do hope you take a moment to go visit and learn what is behind the picture to the left. Unlike my usual drawings which ar done with some sort of source image as the basis, this one was done from memory. And, I hope you’ll participate with your own response to this week’s catalyst. Take a look!
June 22nd, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, art, drawing, health, living with chronic illness, watercolor |
2 comments
Have you stopped by CreativeTherapy yet today?
No? Well, get over there to see some of the fabulous artwork for this week’s catalyst! I hinted that I participated this week, and the image is to the right. To learn about the story behind it, you’ll have to go to the CreativeTherapy blog!
Stop by and check it out! If you participate and post a link in the comments at CreativeTherapy, you’ll be in the drawing for this week’s RAK! Jump in now! Can’t make the Wednesday deadline? And, be sure to join our Flickr group, too!
June 9th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Therapy, art, art challenge, journaling |
3 comments
There is really not much to report here. No art to share…
The good news is that I’m feeling well. I’m exercising regularly, making sure I’m ready for all the walking we’ll do in France. And, happily, I’m also finally shedding some of the pounds and inches that have been bugging me for a while. I’m also sleeping better, which has always been a by-product of regular exercise for me. Though, to be honest, I’m happiest when I try on a top or pair of shorts that are loose, where they either were a bit tight or are fit perfectly. I bought two new pairs of shorts in April and both are a bit loose. I couldn’t be more pleased!
I’ve been practicing my French, though I am sure I will not be near fluent in it. I can translate the jist of the written word, but hearing the words and understanding them is a challenge. Even with the Baha, it’s still an issue with my hearing. It’s one thing to listen to English and to understand because I can make a few good guesses to figure out the words by the context and with the clues of the sounds. With French, it’s going to be a challenge. I suppose it will just add to the excitement of the visit. At least, that’s what I hope!
I’ve been doing some art, but I have not been inspired to do anything in particular. It’s too hot out and the ozone warnings are too high for me to just go and sit and draw. I am working on a painting that I started a year ago that I finally had the courage to start working on again… You know how it is: You get to a point in it and you’re afraid you’ll ruin it. Well, I’m done with worrying. I just dove in. I don’t have a clear vision of where it’s going, but I’m letting it flow. It’s how I prefer to work, anyway. I’ll try to post a photo of it in-process later this week. It’s different for me.
In addition, I do have my CreativeTherapy catalysts to work on and I’ve been doing that. Tonight there will be a catalyst posted along with the artwork from the team, so that’s something for you to check out later today. I’m trying to get the next month’s done in the next two weeks, since I’ll be gone for three of them and then I am sure I’ll have the usual post-travel fatigue.
I’ve also been doing a lot of reading. I just finished reading The Other Boleyn Girl
which was quite intriguing. I studied English and American Literature in college and along with it learned a lot about British history. This series by Philippa Gregory has me hooked! I’m now reading the book that came before it, The Constant Princess, which is the story of Katherine of Aragon. I’ve always liked historical fiction, so it makes me happy to read a series like this that attempts to get into the minds of the women who were a part of the history. I know how women were used to build alliances, improve a family’s station in life, etc. It’s quite interesting to read these from the woman’s perspective and to see how the author really makes them heroes for what they did, rather than as subservient pawns in the game. The author shows them as women with ambition, as well.
Dave has been on call this week, so it’s been a hectic week for him. It used to be that June and July were quieter in Phoenix because the Winter Visitors (snowbirds) would head north. Not so this summer. It seems as busy as it was in the winter. But we’re doing fine with it. Unfortunately, Friday evening, my MIL called that my FIL was having some tachycardia again. His pulse was at 150. This is the second time in a month that this has happened. When she called, she had already called 911 and the ambulance was on the way. Dave went and met them at the hospital. Luckily, his heart reverted to its normal rhythm and Dave drove them home. He got in at around 2 am on Saturday morning. Poor guy was tired all day.
So now Dave is rounding at the hospital and will call when he’s headed home. I’m going to have a protein shake and then exercise. When Dave calls, I’ll be ready to go. We’ll go to visit his parents and have lunch with them and see how they’re faring. I hope you all have an awesome Sunday!
June 8th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, books, family, living with chronic illness, painting |
3 comments
I’ve been quiet the past few days, but not because of my health. I’ve been focused on sewing and painting for a gift I created for my mother-in-law as a Mother’s Day gift. I’ve had to keep it under wraps, because my MIL reads my blog regularly (*waves to mom*)! It’s to the left. It’s a purse and a matching pouch with hand-painted images of apples. My MIL collects apples and even wrote a children’s book about the importance of apples in the Jewish holidays. I’m helping her to edit and we’re hoping to self-publish before summer is out.
Today, we picked up PF Chang’s and brought it to their house for a family lunch. I spent time with my MIL editing her book and going over the images she has and needs. This week, I’ll start laying it out to be sure we have all the pictures we need and to make sure it’s going to fit within
the parameters of the self-publishing company we’re going with. It was a nice way to spend the day.
This weekend, I also continued to practice drawing. I did a lot with my mannequin. I wanted to get better at proportions and body gestures.
I photographed only a few pages, but I’ll photograph more tomorrow and post them here. It’s much harder than I thought it would be, but it’s good practice, for sure.
And some of you may have noticed that it’s Sunday! Sunday means the new CreativeTherapy catalyst is up with the responses from our design team. Please stop by and see what we’ve all come up with in response to this week’s catalyst #9, “Something you’re pessimistic about”. It was a tough one for each of us, but I believe we got some great art from all the participants!
In the past, I haven’t really posted mine here. However, this was a really difficult one for me. I spent more than a full day on it - unusual for me. To the left is the picture of what I’m pessimistic about. You’ll have to read the journaling here. 
And, don’t forget: If you participate, respond in the comments at CreativeTherapy and you’ll be entered in a random drawing for a prize from one of our sponsors!
May 11th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, art, drawing, fabric, family, journaling, life, pouches, sewing |
4 comments
While my niece was here, I did get some time to do a bit of drawing. As always, drawing always keeps me grounded. That’s why it was even more important for me to do it while I was hosting the family.
To the left is my CreativeTherapy response to “What makes you, you?” which is Catalyst 7. Here is the journaling that goes with it:
“Like a tree growing from the rocks of the Grand Canyon, I am a survivor. I work my way past obstacles that might make others sit back and cry. I may not be flourishing with bright green leaves all the time, but I am strong and I can and have survived many challenges through my life. That makes me, me.”
To the right is a drawing of two pillows that were on the floor of an office I waited in yesterday. They looked so soft and inviting that I had to draw them. Even better, they fit EDM Challenge 138 - “Draw something soft”!
Tomorrow is my treatment. I’m drinking lots of fluids in the hopes that the IV insertion will be a smooth one. Last month it took six tries before we got it in and that’s just not OK! So, I’m drinking lots and lots of water to keep myself hydrated.
April 29th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, EDM, art, drawing, health, living with chronic illness |
one comment
Friday I got up very early. DH decided not to exercise, but was still up at 5:00-ish. So he jumped in the shower and turned on all the lights, ran the hair dryer, etc…
So, I got up and showered, dressed for a day of volunteering for Cochlear at the Devonshire Senior Center. They were having a health fair. I was to meet Melanie, another volunteer, at the center. Melanie is lovely. We met last month at a volunteer luncheon and we hit it off. She uses cochlear implants and is as happy to share her story, as am I. We had a lovely time and met many people. By 12:30, I was exhausted. I knew I still needed to finish packing and I had to have lunch. The senior centers do offer us some lunch, but with my food allergies (and there are many!), I usually can’t eat what they are kind enough to offer. I brought a protein bar; it was just enough to hold me for the time I was there.
I came home, ate a salad, and finished up a drawing (sorry, can’t share it. You’ll see it on the creativeTherapy blog (link in the sidebar!) this evening!) and then I went to finish packing. I finished and had a quick dinner with Dave.
We went to bed early so we could catch a 7:20 flight. That was a rather short trip - 3 hours, much os which we both slept through. Arriving in Chicago was a shock to our heat-of-the-desert bodies for the first time in over a year I saw my breath. Egads! What werwe thinking?
We had reservations for dinner at Bice Ristorante with a group of friends and colleagues. Habing been cooped up in a plane and then a taxi, we chose to walk the short distance. There were a few flurries, but at our brisk pace, we didn’t feel too much of the cold. Dinner was lovely - good food, good friends, and good service.
As we headed out, our unhappy surprise was that it was sleeting. We hailed a taxi and went back to the hotel.
This morning we had a quiet breakfast together and Dave went off for a day of directing his neuromuscular course. I plan to take a walk later and to have a day of relaxation, drawing, and window shopping!
April 13th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Baha Implant, Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, art, art challenge, health, travel |
4 comments
This week’s catalyst for CreativeTherapy was “The best part of today” I created my entry using the drawings I did while I was with Angie on Saturday. It’s always the best part of the day when I’m with Angie. When I’m not, the best part is the meditative act of drawing. As a result, the best part of Saturday was clearly sketchcrawling with Angie! Take a look at what other design team members found as the best part of their days and join us for a chance to win a RAK!
March 31st, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Therapy, drawing, journaling |
one comment
I’m a true believer that art can be a great form of therapy. It has always been a safe haven for me. And so, when I was asked to join a design team of creative bloggers who would work on weekly journal prompts I heartily jumped in! I am now a proud member of the Creative Therapy Design Team. We launched the first Catalyst today. You can see what my fellow team members and I did with this week’s catalyst, “Something I lost”. Please join in and enjoy!
March 16th, 2008
Posted by
Fran |
Creative Every Day, Creative Therapy, art, art challenge, drawing, group projects, journaling, life |
3 comments
