holly

Even fooling with lacy curtains helped in this class

Using a hand to close around your better eye [or have a small, packable telescope] instead of simply squinting for a your first, immediate view of your field object; or use one piece of paper you stash in the back of your journal with its center cut for you previously with a square or small round you can squint through.

Was anybody in the class a drafts person B-4 he or she became a interested in field sketching and journalism? I was taught about measuring proportions most simply using a pencil at arm's length or holding my thumb on my paintbrush at arm's length to make measurements and count. Another thing my first teacher suggested re: measure, focus & proportion was use two sheets of printer paper folded into perfect rectangles;  from the folded tip , cut a 1"square from the center of one sheet & from the tip of the other cut a perfect 1"circle. This paper tool worked like the 'squint test ' Fuller asks us to use.

Bill, were you a draftsman before you got involved with nature and that pocket of your creativity?

I like Prof. Fuller's suggestions to 'wanna be' field journalists and I will certainly find them useful. I will try to share more of the work I did PRE CORNELL & Fuller and hope she & others will give me the constructive criticism [which will be welcomed],but if I can get some my before and after work in the portfolio I'd appreciate an 'atta girl' if you all think its deserved.

1. It's thirty years since I attempted two adult evening course [when I tried to learn about photography and about H2o painting]. I've always loved birds and growing up in central MA where my dad & I fed the birds all year round [and the squirrels when they robbed the hanging  feeders]. I learned a great deal about gardening and its importance for the birds and the bees. I want to improve and stretch whatever skills I learned initially. A journal could solidify memories. 2. I've kept journals since I was a teenager. I never drew in any until after the evening art classes. Hearing Fullers other students speak and show on line their own journals reminded me more about my need to remember beautiful things I see, but can't trust my mind to remember. I was reminded also after looking at others field journals of something a grandmother always told me:"Always write the names & dates because you might not remember when you see them when you're older. 3. I like Fuller's positive attitude and encouraging ways to teach us all more. I'd remind people to never stop looking up!. You have to be able to hear in the field and look around. But look up to see shadows, spider webs or birds in thermals. When I was a soloed student sailplane pilot I learned to watch clouds for clues for areas to soar or look for the birds who thermal.

A comparison study is a very interesting way to manage and maintain my small garden properties. As October settles in central MA the plants and trees in my West Garden [almost all perennials] have gone to seed. Today I attempted to use Fuller's idea to contrast the one plant of Silvermound Wormwood I purchased and planted and the enormous quantity of 'Hens & Chicks' I received from a favorite aunt. They both seem to be spreading plants [I know the Hens & Chicks is]. I could see green, healthy looking portion of the Wormwood & on it's strongest stems there appeared to be bits of smaller , green. Before graying the leave, still feathery, turn yellow and start to curl. Hens & Chicks are VERY sturdy. The most tender of leaves remain green. The outer leaves are clearly seed hulls that release to open up the green within. I never saw it bloom, except except in my own garden. I have to look up whether a plant can be biennial. One can clearly see the flower stems all gray,brown then topple and reproduce spread & grow. Both plants have mounding ways of growing and make them pretty at the garden's edge. It's really difficult sketching as a left handed artisan. I use my eraser [and thankfully] keep a draftsman's brush in my basket. Without a doubt recording date, # of day and numerical data would help spark visions and make memories clearer Reply         t

I want a journal to more properly remember the beautiful, odd things I see when I'm out and about, even if it's just on my small property. I don't always trust my mind to remember, but notations of any kind can help. A journal could be used as 'the spark' necessary to recreate and solidify that memory. I want to be able to return to it and ,with some assurance, subdue the hesitation and chaos I often feel. Ideas on paper might keep my mind sharper, share ideas I had with others. It might feel like pulling the curtains apart and aid me in seeing more clearly into my own memory. I believe Fuller's class will aid me in helping elementary things I learned years ago in the beginners drawing I accomplished. Learning from other students is something to look forward to here also. Muller's idea of zooming in and squaring details of drawing will be useful. Her interest in shadows and light is something all art students share. Nnuro jr's speed with pen and paint is something I wish I could gain. I'd remind everyone to 'DON'T FORGET to LOOK UP! The clouds are something I learned to watch carefully as a sailplane pilot. And I'd have missed a red-tailed hawk perched on a pole in my backyard if I'd not also been watching the clouds.

Holly Mailloux My first attempt to post to Prof. Fuller's class and my answers to her questions.