Getting Arty When A Deadline Closes In

I’ve got this deadline, which is for a huge project. I’ve spent the last couple months not really taking weekends off, and working late into the evenings too.

The number of times D asks me if I want to watch a movie with him, and I cajol him into choosing something I *don’t* want to watch, just so that I can carry on with the project in the same room. Obviously it limits machine sewing – it’s not really fair to him if I’m sewing away noisily – but I do crack on with patterns and hand sewing.

There’s been a lot of time (and money) invested in this project, but in the end it will be worth it. I know that, and I’m trying hard to remember that. But, in the thick of it, I just need a break.

Art As A Break From Work

So today, I got up, got to work, and then my alarm went off – a reminder that there was a live Zoom session in a Patreon I’m a member of. Yay!

I can’t ‘art’ in my sewing room at the moment as I have fabrics all over, and it’d be risky. The same with my temporary worktable in the living room. So I set myself up at the dining table, right next to my ‘pressing’ station.

Poor D, he really has been super patient the last few months. Not only do we have a ceiling that is half collapsed in the living room after our cat sitter flooded our bathroom, but I have in effect set up a fashion studio in the main living space too.

Anyhow, back to the art…

I set myself a personal art challenge each month, and August’s was to use acrylic inks. The purpose of these challenges is to encourage me to practice with them throughout the month, as well as develop my skills, creativity and confidence.

Today’s Art Supplies

So, out came a couple of ‘allotment’ coloured inks – the host of the drawing session had selected allotments as the topic, so mostly greens and browns.

I also dragged out a variety of sketchbooks to work in. The problem with using wet materials is that they can take a while to dry, so multiple sketchbooks means I’m not working on a damp page when it’s time to start a new timed drawing.

Additional art supplies for the session included a jar of green collared – no auto-correct function, I actually meant colored! – pencils, and my pack of cheap oil pastels – the set of 50 from Pentel. These smell a bit odd, but they’re great for popping down color quickly and smushing them with your finger to get a bit of texture. I then scribble on top with color pencils for extra texture.

Ironically, the best of today’s drawings were the earlier 5 minute warm ups, but that is often the way. I find if it’s too long I end up focusing on trying to *exactly* replicate the photo, and that is not the intention. Sigh.

Results From My Quick Art Session

Below are photos of what I drew today. Nothing spectacular – my attempts at art rarely are! – but it was good for me to switch off for a couple of hours, and I can now get back to sewing a complex jacket facing together. Fun times.

I would have liked to get a weaving loom out, and woven something with yarn, but that’s far too risky – a drawing is something I can spend an hour on and then put away, something textiles based is just asking for trouble!

What’s your ‘go to’ when you have too much going on and need a break?