Cath Sheard Art

Blog

  • #100dayproject

    I’ve done a 100 day project before; it’s a good way of doing a deep dive into a topic. This year I decided to improve my drawing skills with the aim of being able to draw faces in my art journals. I signed up for Dina Wakley’s Facing the facts class at https://dinawakley.com/store/.

    I drew a face at the beginning of the journal so I can look back at where I started. When I did an Advanced Diploma of Creativity (Honours) over 4 years by distance with The Learning Connection we did some drawing, and I improved, but didn’t keep it up. It’s definitely a skill that needs constant use, for me anyway.

    I’m on day 10 and already seeing an improvement and feel able to start making the faces a bit more my own. It’ll be interested to see what I’m achieving at day 100.

  • Shallow cracks run deep!

    My art practice runs deeply through my life, and sometimes cracks appear. Life gets in the way, and my art practice takes a lower priority for a time. From the outside that probably looks like a wee crack on the surface and no big deal. But actually those shallow cracks run deep – art is vital to my life and it’s important I always find – make – time to move my hands.

    Since Tony moved into the rest home I’ve found less time for my art. At first glance I should have more time, not less – but that’s not how it works. By the time I work, and visit him 4 weeknights out of 5, then bring him home at the weekend, time is precious. When he was at home, sure things were difficult, but I sat at my art desk while he slept the days away.

    Over the last few days I’ve made a concerted effort to do a bit more art and it feels good to be moving my hands. I need to prioritise my art time better! These pages are all in my Dina Wakley journals.

  • Collage ideas

    Today I’ve made nine A5 collages, using a variety of gelli printed and stenciled deli, tissue, rice and copier papers. The circles were inspired by Froyle, who I’ve started following on YouTube. I love doing small collage, it’s a great way of testing ideas. The ones that are successful are a good price point for selling.

    Here’s a sample of today’s work, plus a shot of the chaos while I was creating; I make a point of cleaning up when I’m finished so I don’t feel overwhelmed by the mess when I next sit down to create.

  • And more gelli printing

    Tony bought me the Klimt inspired masks and stencils designed by Elizabeth St Hilaire from Joggles.com for Christmas. Good shopping Tony! This time I’ve been playing on 6×6 paper, with Reeves paints and Golden metallics. I prepped a heap of dark backgrounds then used layers of mixed colours, and a final layer of metallics. For a few of them I used the one background layering stencil at right angles to itself, and love the grid effect. This is a small sample of about 30 prints I did last night.

    Poor night photos, but you get the idea!

  • I went for a walk!

    It’s 9 weeks on Thursday since my second total knee replacement. This morning my best mate took me for a walk to the Manawapou Viaduct on the old Ingahape Road. It’s a paper road no, but still largely sealed, so a relatively even surface. It’s a 2.5km round trip from the rest area at the side of SH3. The hardest part was climbing the fence at the start; the stile is missing one board at the bottom so it’s quite a step up & down for someone with two new knees 😉

    The walk’s meant to take 10 minutes to the viaduct – I did it in 15 which is pretty good considering. By the time we got back to the car I was limping slightly, more from my hip than my knee. My hips have had a difficult time adjusting to my significantly change posture.

    I often walk 4km in a day, but that’s bits and pieces, not a sustained effort. I’m so pleased I was able to do this – after 9 years of using mobility aids it feels like a huge achievement. Thanks for helping me accomplish it Sandra; you’ve got a new (sometimes) walking companion!

    Me climbing the stile, and Sandra in front of the Viaduct