I received so much insightful feedback from many of you artists about my ongoing Darby calendar project. Superheidi of The Swing of Things was especially helpful when she advised “Just keep going on creating, don’t evaluate just yet. Somehow you’ll notice in which direction you are heading and then it’s easier to make choices and you can set some boundaries. I freak out when I think I want to create a ‘master piece,’ because the subject matters. It won’t work that way.”
She is right. I was freaking myself out. And it wasn’t working. So I found an old notebook and started sketching loose ideas. The first one (above) helped me put the pieces in place for the final January collage (below).
Then, I started playing around with ideas for February. The Narcissus is blooming in my yard, but instead of going outside, I’d like to include the interior too. That’s February here in Northern California — a cozy fire and spring flowers coming up. Also, I want to use this photograph I took…
Here’s my first idea…
Then, I did some close up sketches of Darby, trying to figure out where he puts his paws when he sits like this…
Finally, I went back to the pieces I didn’t end up using in my January collage and gave myself a “Quickfire Challenge” — a concept from the Bravo TV show Top Chef where the contestants are given limited time and ingredients to cook something delicious. Don’t think. Just cut and paste, I told myself. I made this in about 30 minutes with the January leftovers…
It felt very liberating.
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