Peptober Day 5 is all about process. Before I make anything, there is at least one page in my sketchbook that looks like the above image. I try to work out all of the composition, colors, and structure before I begin so that I can just work straight through on my final piece. Sometimes that plays out, and sometimes I wind up coming back to the sketchbook if I think I have a better idea.

My sketchbook practice started in high school with my art teacher, Mr Spicer. Fridays were "Sketchbook Fridays" and we would spend the entire period working on whatever prompt he gave us to explore. And then when I was in AP Art, he started to show us what sketchbooks could look like if you made them into a daily practice. The way people can think with their hands has never ceased to amaze me.

After high school and college, my sketchbook practice was sporadic for a while (being a sleep-deprived mom will do that to you), but now I am carrying one with me almost everywhere. I have one that goes to work, I have 3 or 4 at home. Being able to rough out ideas when they strike is extremely satisfying. Not all ideas become finished works, but it's nice to have a physical record of my progress. 

Peptober Day 5 was supposed to happen on Tuesday, October 5, but I had a full day of work followed by metalsmithing class. That's why you're getting a 2-for-1. 

I am currently working on a winter series of fabrics for my Spoonflower shop, and in preparation for that I drew all these winter icons. My question to you is: which of the above symbols do YOU want to see on some fabric? 

​That's all I've got for you today friends!  

Today, Facebook had a very, very bad day. As far as the internet has been able to figure out, someone deleted a bunch of code that tells your device how to get to Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp/Oculus. 
The downside to this is that I can't post my Peptober post on Instagram. I was really enjoying seeing everyone's posts and art styles. 
I'm going to try and post the rest of Peptober here, and if/when Instagram comes back I will post there too.

WHAT IS PEPTOBER? 
Hey, I'm so glad you asked! It's a challenge from Andy J Pizza via his podcast Creative Pep Talk. The idea is that you don't have to be a content-generating machine in order to engage folks on social media. The hilarity of this being interrupted by a social media blackout is not lost on me. Each day is a new prompt, which Andy outlined in podcast episode 333. Today's prompt is Do a Part Two.

In my planned Instagram post, I had really pithy things to say. Trust me.

I chose to showcase these folk-art inspired flowers because they have led to a part two, three, and four. When I was in undergrad, our art profs were always telling us to make a series of work. Never just one! And it turns out they were right. The more you make, the more opportunities you have to explore the "what ifs". When you're in the "what ifs" things start to get really interesting, your art starts to expand, and you find yourself in a completely new place of making. 

So the next time you sit down to make some art, don't just make one. Make three. 

Until next time, friends!

I'd like to draw your attention to a new tab on the website: Downloads! 

I'm consolidating all of the handouts from teaching and a couple of other things there. 
Feel free to download, print and use. But also attribute because it's good manners. 

First up is the handouts from the mini zodiac painting class I'm teaching (virtually) at Elmhurst Public Library. 

I decided that my big goal this year is to encourage more people to make art. Anyone can do it and it's good for you. 

​Enjoy the downloads and go make stuff!

And why I think it is so important to vote in every election--not just the big ones. It's so important that I spend time researching the candidates on the ballot (do you know who's running for Board of Directors at your community college? Because you should).  I was looking around for a shirt that says "VOTE" to wear and I couldn't find one I liked. In true DIY fashion, I decided to design one myself. And then I fell down the rabbit hole of fonts and wound up designing 4 different options. All of which are available at my Society6 shop.

I really liked the shape of the E on this one. 

This one is why I shouldn't do line work after 3 cups of coffee. Everything wobbles....

I think this one is my favorite. I like the balance of the white inside the letters against the color outside. 

Do you have a favorite? 

It's me! 
This bizzaro year has had me reevaluate how I want to spend my days. The short answer is that I want less time in front of a screen and more time with people I care about, doing things that bring me a deep sense of satisfaction. I'm going to be leaning harder into art-making and applying to various publications as an illustrator. I'm also going to be updating my Society6 shop, and taking more private commissions. 

Thanks for checking in and riding along. 

This piece is available as a print in my Society6 shop. 

Crafts are fun! Crafts are great! I love crafts!
No seriously, I am one crafty mammajamma. But crafts are for school and adult-type people.

Process art allows for exploration, experimentation, and provides an environment that is conducive to peer-to-peer learning.

So what's the difference?
A craft is a project with a specific end goal in mind.
Process art is a project that focuses on the making (or process) rather than the end product.

We frequently hear that libraries are about fostering life-long learning. I ask you: are you likely to continue with an activity that is not fun? One that has a narrowly defined version of success? Or are you interested in spending your time doing something that is fun, open-ended, with a wide variety of outcomes?

Oh my gosh--I'm so glad you asked! 
If you take a look at the way preschool is being taught right now, you may have an idea.  A better concept comes from schools that have a Reggio Emilia based curriculum. The thing I like best about Reggio Emilia is that you show the kids how a thing works, and then get out of their way. You put before them tools, tell them this is the time for them to explore the tools and watch what happens. If they get bored, you can ask: what would happen if you added water? Or what would happen if you combined two of these things? 

It's really hard to let go of the idea that everyone leaves your program with something pretty to take home. I know. And more often than not, what kids create is (to the casual observer) a mess. 

But what they are actually getting out of the time spent with you is so much more than a craft that will ultimately find it's way to the recycle bin. 

Process art 

• Builds confidence
• Encourages creative thinking
• Enhances vocabulary (use those fabulous art-words like form and composition!)
• Stimulates curiosity
• Strengthens children's ability to predict, plan, and problem solve

There are a lot of places you can go for crafts (Hello, Pinterest!) but I have found that some of the process-art posts there aren't truly process art. 

If you want to read more about Process Art and what that looks like, go to the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Meri Cherry in L.A. spent several years as a K-2 teacher, before leaving to pursue running art workshops fpor families and kids. 

TinkerLab is a great resource for art and science for young people.

ArtBar Blog is a favorite out of Connecticut--and her Instagram feed is a delight. (@artbarblog)

These are just a few places that I go to for inspiration. If you have a favorite resource, I'd love to know what it is! 

It's taken me a long time to process my feels into coherent (shareable) thoughts. And I am not entirely sure that everything has been worked through. But I'm going to share with you what I can, in the hopes that we can at least reach a common understanding.  

First, a wee bit of background: I am a fixer. If there is a problem or a conundrum, I love to untangle it and set it to rights. I like to say that undoing tangles is my magic (seriously, if you have a tangled chain from your jewelry box bring it on over). This desire is undoubtedly a huge part of what pushed me to join AmeriCorps after college. And so I went to work at the Cherokee Heritage Center--where I was served my first slice of humble pie. And rightly so. 

This may come as a shock to you, but there is a long and unpleasant history of white people showing up to "fix things" for Indigenous people the world over. And, bless my 21 year old white lady heart, I thought that I was different. Because I just wanted to help. Well, I was set down and gently explained that while I could assist with this one project I should mostly just keep my opinions to myself until I had a better grasp on the nuances of the culture and the ball-and-chain of history that everyone was dragging around. 
And they were right. They were 100% absolutely unfailingly correct. Everything that I knew up to that point I had read in a book. I could stand up and correctly point out overt injustices, but I was blind to cultural insensitivity and the way the system had been set up to disenfranchise a whole nation of people. 
So that was my first lesson in the difference between wanting to help and actually helping​. 

My next lesson came many years later when I was a mom. We had moved into a lovely neighborhood, with two playgrounds within walking distance and tons of children outside everyday--riding bikes, playing football, jumping rope. Our neighbors would sit outside in the evenings and converse across lawns while children played in the warm light of the setting sun. It was the kind of neighborhood I had always wanted to be a part of; where everyone looked out for everyone else. Can you picture it in your mind? 
Now let me tell you that we were the only white family on the block. 
It took a good long while for people to get comfortable with us--understandably. We were other. We were the physical manifestation of the oppressors. But once I had a friend on the block who was open and honest with me, I was set down once again and gently explained how it feels to send your kids into a world that is openly hostile to them. The same world that would throw open it's doors for my white kids had placed a guard out front to deter her kids. 

 So we circle back around to the recent events: Alton Sterling, Philando Castille, and the Dallas Police Officers. 
And again, I am a fixer. I want to help. But I know better than to stand on a chair and start yelling out directions. 
When Michael Brown was killed in Ferguson, someone (if you know who let me know!) suggested that I take my Twitter account, unfollow a bunch of cishet white dudes and replace them with people of color. I suggest ALL OF YOU GO DO THIS RIGHT NOW. It was through this choice that I was able to hear the voices of the people who live under the unfair social rules that us white folk don't think about. And it was through the amazingness that is Feminista Jones (@feministajones) that I learned my latest lesson.  She said the first question you should ask when reaching out to people is: Do you need help? 
(But wait! There's more!)
If the people say, "Yes! We need help!" Then you ask, "What kind of help do you need?"

Because the long and short of it is: 
People who are in the middle of the chaos know what they need most right now. 
To think or act otherwise is removing the power from and infantilizing the people you are trying to help. That's the opposite of helping.

​So take a deep breath and say it with me: 

Do you need help?

What kind of help do you need?  

There's something about a sky full of stars that is awe-inducing and humbling. Recently, the Girl Scouts went on a camp out and were given the opportunity to look up into a star-filled sky. It was fun to point out the different constellations and to show the girls Jupiter. 

There's a world of resources for star gazing; but I will share my favorites with you here. 

These websites were chosen for their ease of use and information contained therein. 

To see what's going on in the sky at any time during the year, check out StarDate.org 

For a free sky map each month, try SkyMaps.com. In addition to the map, there is a list of all of the celestial objects that you can see--with the naked eye, with binoculars, and with a telescope. 

To learn more about the mythology behind the constellations, download this PDF by Norm McCarter for the Tulare County Office of Education.

​ If you've had enough of star gazing from Earth, check out the website dedicated to the photos taken by the Hubble telescope.