One thing about having to clean up and discard damaged items from the flood is that I found a lot of things I had lost, buried in the debris. I also cleaned out the garage for 4 hours the other day, reorganizing my loads of loads. My muscles are sore and my mind is blank. There are still some things in the living room, but as the bins are full, I am forced to take a break. That’s good.
One thing I found was some sumi-e ink and thin paper for practicing traditional painting strokes. I still had a bit of a knack for ink painting – one of the founding subjects of this blog, too – but don’t have quite all I need. Nonetheless, I decided to try my hand with my ink stick, suzuri, brushes, and rice paper.
Nothing spectacular. I managed to remember a few things. I also realized I had to find a few other things, like a felt mat and some paper weights to hold my paper steady. Easily done.
From there, I drew a cat in purple ink, thinking about painting cats could be fun.
And easy.
And I found out they are not easy!
So, I tried to follow a few “how-to” videos on YouTube, I got frustrated and had an epiphany: I much rather paint in my own way, not following traditional formulaic representations. And this is not to put these traditional ways down – they are amazing in their own right – but I find it very frustrating to paint like someone else. Learn from someone, from tradition, but ultimately go on my own path.
So, I painted some cats. I copied some, I looked at photos of cats, and that is when I realized I need to learn more about controlling my brush and the shades of grey and black and manage the moisture on the paper. So, inky black cats, some of which may give you nightmares, but working on their shapes and using my brush has opened my mind to a lot of potentials. That is the exciting part!
The Black Cat Rebellion is here.
Ink, Yarn & Beer 
Cats are individuals and so are yours. What did I miss about a flood?
Anne, last week a sprinkler drip broke and shot water into the open window of my studio for 20 minutes, flooding the hall, studio, and bedroom. Luckily the floors are vinyl, but I lost a dresser that got soaked, lots of art paper and music books. This was around 1030 at night. We had to mop up the floors and hall, move furniture. The next several days were spent sorting out what to keep and discard. We had to replace some furniture, discard a lot of paper and books, etc. Not a super costly adventure so we did not file insurance claims etc. Instead, it has been a lot of chaos reorganizing and sorting things. In the long run, it was a good thing as my life is a bit less cluttered and tidier as a result. The living room had a lot of stuff lying around, like bags of clothes from the dresser, and who knows what else! Now, wait for the trash to be removed so we can sort out and throw out even more!! It’s going to take a few weeks.
Glad you like the cats!
Wow! That’s a lot to contend with. I hope you get reorganized quickly!
Love the cats!
Thanks, Fraggy!
Time is the key here, Anne, and the generosity of our neighbors who let us use their bins when needed, and vice versa. I figure another 2-3 weeks, but that is not just clean-up. It is going through shelves in the studio and sorting things out – taking inventory, really!