“in my cosmic garden” (12 x 20″)

it’s very tempting to just play with elijah all day long and forget about drawing.

elijah, now 2 years and 3 months old, is a curious boy.  all summer, elijah and i were covered with dirt head to toe, digging holes as deep as we could, and watching ladybugs climb up on our fingers.  i’ve rediscovered that spinning around fast and falling down is fun, and that the sky is actually high and deep, and that getting dirty is relaxing.

i’ve heard that this stage of childhood is called the ‘terrible twos’.  i think children this age are just curious — we should call it the ‘curious twos’.  i want elijah to do as many experiments as he can think of even if he ends up feeling frustrated sometimes.  i try to play with him as much as he wants me to.  but at the end of a long day of running around in the playground and climbing up on monkey bars, i end up exhausted.  after all, i’m not a 2 year old. i’m a middle-aged mama.

when elijah was a baby, i used to stay up late at night drawing.  but with a toddler, it gets harder.  he just doesn’t stop, all day long.  by the time i put the laundry in at night, i need to go to bed and get ready for tomorrow.  i’d get ideas for drawings i wanted to do but i was so busy that i never got around to them.  even when i finally found some time, so many of the images in my mind would be gone, or stuck inside my head, not fresh or flowing out of me.  it’s fun to play with elijah but it was still depressing not to have time or energy to draw.

that’s how things have been going for the 6 months since my solo show opened this spring.  i’ve hardly done any drawings except the little sketches i do for elijah.  he draws more than i do and he seems to be having fun doing it.  i was jealous watching him — i almost forgot how much fun it is to draw.

a few weeks ago, i started to draw again.  all the images in my head started to stream out.  i felt better –drawing really is fun.

i was invited to send a new drawing to the mackenzie art gallery’s gala auction this november.  i took a piece i’d started earlier this month and finished it last saturday night.  it sure is a nice feeling to be drawing again after so long.

this is my first drawing after a long vacation.  it’s called “in my cosmic garden”.  i spent a lot of time playing in the garden and taking care of plants this summer.  my mind is still out in the wild and natural world.

Gala Art Auction

Friday, November 6th, 6:30 pm

With an East Indian theme, we will begin the evening at 6:30 with an appetizer reception, including entertainment, raffle offerings, followed by a Live Art Auction of approx.20 works of original art by local & national artists. The evening will end with our raffle results, dessert, coffee & tea.

Tickets: On sale October 1, 2009 at the Gallery Shop ($100 each)

Limit of 250 tickets available call 584-4295 to reserve.

Auction items will be posted on mackenzieartgallery.ca on October 14, 2009.