SECOND CHILDHOOD

"They" say that, in old age, there is a "second childhood". I think I've found the proof that statement is true. I seem to be obsessed with colouring books in my old age. Not with colouring them but with making them. I can't seem to leave it alone, but maybe it's my obsession with cliches, puns and humorous sayings, because these all contain that common element. Here are a few more:

WHERE TO NEXT?

When I think I understand where I'm headed (for instance, another idea for a wood engraving), I suddenly find myself headed in a direction I would never have dreamed. It has been a period, lately, besot with slumps and dead-ends. Now suddenly I am beginning to find my concentration going in a direction I thought was temporary and incidental. Carol mentioned the other day that she had enjoyed colouring a colouring book that her activity group in the facility were involved with. She had enjoyed this when she was in a unit of the hospital a few years ago and I had made some line drawings for her then, which she coloured very well. She had enjoyed colouring them then, so I thought I would make some more. The more I thought about what to make, the more focussed I found myself and I thought, "This is a good thing!"

But instead of drawing line drawings of animals, birds or flowers, I decided to look through my collection of sayings to print on the computer and include some kind of related patterns or images in line as well. Here are some starters.

 

"See What I'm Saying?" has been printed!

I just received word from Porcupine's Quill that "See What I'm Saying?" has been printed and is now available. There have been some delays and now I'm happy that it's available. Let me know what you think.

WANDERING

It surprises me, the way my mind wanders and suddenly I am confronted with a series of ideas that become an obsession and I'm back on the track, motivated to pursue images that are linked. My fascination with all the words and phrases in the English language, that I interpreted visually, got me on a track that led me to the series I called "See What I'm Saying?".  I started the first wood engraving of that series in 2009 while going back and forth between images of that theme, and others, such as "Aliens of Planet Earth",  and illustrating some books and creating a series of greeting cards. Recently my usual pace of moving from one wood engraving to another has slowed considerably. There have been some problems and stresses that have been the cause, as well as the usual component of aging. Then this past July, when I had another slump and seemed to lack the motivation to search out the next theme (I tend to work in themes), I caught myself thinking about eyes. Eyes for looking. Eyes for watching. Eyes for spying. People watching animals. Animals watching people. And there I was, looking at another theme. Or was I?

As often happens I come up with a title of a print before I start working on an image. I thought of the phrase "I see you", and because I was still probably thinking along the "See What I'm Saying" track, I thought of: "Eye See You". Hey! a primate watching a human! That was it, and I was back in the saddle again. From that, a month or so later I started "Eye See You Too", which could (conventionally) be titled, I See You #2. There I was, playing the "See What I'm Saying?" game. If you're not confused by now, I guess I've failed.