In Which One of My Crops Actually Seems to Be a Success!

Back in early spring, before we left for Spain even, I bought two packets of okra seeds and planted them heavily in the plot adjacent to my square foot garden.  I was growing them in hopes of having enough okra for a gumbo, and also for the pleasure of watching them grow.  Occasionally I weed the plot, but the plants were very short and in the shade of the monster Rudbeckia that have taken over most of the garden and yard.  Today I risked being destroyed by mosquitoes and actually crouched down in the garden to draw the lovely deep red pods that are forming all over the place!

The odd stick-like insect on the left in three poses was parading around on the countertop near the kitchen sink this morning.  I drew him once, and then he flew at me like a New Orleans roach.  But by then I was too interested in the architecture of the thing to squash it, and I ended up letting him wander off into a pile of trivets and hot pads by the sink.  Hope he made it back outside.

Unpleasant Drawing, First Step in Tearing Out a Block with My Teeth

I'm getting ready to carve a 34 x 34" piece of tempered Masonite for a steamroller print event.  My design is from a 4 x 4" sketchbook drawing of some sheep.  I've decided to forego my usual way of transferring the image and instead to dive right in and draw the image right on the block using a carving tool.

Step one is to trace the little image, since I want to draw it backwards so that when I print it, it comes out the way I originally drew it.  So I made this tracing on tracing paper and flipped the paper so that the design will be backwards on the block.

Step two is to scale the small drawing up to a giant drawing using a grid.  I folded the small drawing into 16  1 x 1" sections.  Then I divided the big block into the same 16 sections, only these sections are 8 5/8" x 8 5/8" square.
The next step is where the not-fun begins.

I want to lightly sketch the design onto the block, just sort of map it.  I can't do that very easily with a woodcut tool because the tool doesn't make curves quickly , and the Masonite is somewhat slippery;  so if I'm trying to move fast, there's a good chance that the tool will slip.  So I have had to unearth my ancient, infrequently-used Dremel tool from the back of a cobwebby studio shelf.  The tip that's on the Dremel is very pointy but tiny blades flare out rom the tip on four sides.  There is another tip, but it's a fat little ball, also possessing of flaring blades.

When I turn on the Dremel I discover how much it vibrates and requires a strong grip to control it.  I also notice how awkwardly fat the handle is.  Drawing with this vibrating clunker is going to be like doing intricate topiary with a weed whacker.  And the cord is short, and I'm working on the floor and need to get into a yoga split to reach the top of the giant surface.

The best I can do is a rough approximation of the drawing, but that's okay, since I want to do the actual drawing with my woodcut tools.  The main thing is that I am able to scale the drawing up by going square by square as I D-d-d-dremel, referring to the small drawing and shakily clumsily sketching the lines up to scale and in the approximate position.

There are lots of slips and errant lines.  The tip is no good for curves.  Next time I'll try the ball tip.  But I am able to do what I set out to do.  And I want the final carving to stand on its own and have its own meaning, not depend on being an accurate facsimile of the original drawing.

This closeup of the sheep's head shows the jerkiness and sketchiness as well as the grid lines (which I did in water-soluble Caran d'Ache crayon and can wash away with a damp-not-wet sponge.  Tomorrow I will start carving.  This is going to be a contour line carved drawing with some abstract textural marks maybe outside and maybe inside the shapes.  The lines will be white (carved out) and the background black (left in), just the opposite of the original drawing.  I have only a couple of weeks to carve this thing, not enough time to clean out all that space!

I'm counting these as drawings as 5334-5337.

Lounging Cat, Walking Onions

At M's this morning I admired her walking onions.  Then she told me that she pulls them up when they die back and cooks with them.  Somehow I missed that step with mine, concentrating as I did on getting the heads to plant themselves to make more onions.  So I went home and pulled up a bushel of weeds and found two onions that seemed ready,  and I sliced them up and we had them with dinner.  But not until I drew them.  Nice red skins.

M's cat Buddy is a dead ringer for Jesse, minus a few of Jesse's stripes.

White Things

Really, the only thing I could think of to unite this disparate collection of objects was their color:  a couple of paper napkin utensil rolls, a stack of flour tortillas in a foil wrapper, and four random charlottes.  I am just fulfilling a quota tonight!  To tired to think!

Tomato Hornworm Under Siege Plus a New Collaboration

I found a tomato hornworm chowing down on one of my two tomato plants yesterday.  Usually tomato hornworms blend so seamlessly into the colors and shapes of the tomato plant that they're almost invisible, but this one stood out.  It was half-covered with small white cocoon-like things that looked like  miniature silkworm cocoons.  What the heck----?  The worm was very sluggish and at first I thought it was dead.  Maybe it was in the middle of laying eggs?  I googled tomato hornworms today and learned that the white egg-like things are actually eggs of a brachonid wasp, and the hornworm has been parasitized.  The eggs will turn into larvae, which burrow into the hornworm and feed on the body of the hornworm, eventually killing the worm.

Jacob is leaving Friday for Zurich, and today was our last chance at finishing the collaboration we started last week at the old dam.  We used Jacob's black and white photo of the dam with my drawing of one of the doctor dolls in its box.  I like the sort of adrift feeling in this weird environment.

We had a family send off dinner for him tonight at Wasabi.  I tried very hard not to cry and create a scene but I am incapable of saying goodbye gracefully!

Figgies!

My mother used to tell us, with the air of presenting a great treat, "Run outside and pick some figs for your breakfast!  They're still warm from the sun!"  And then she could sit back and drink her coffee while the four or five of us scrambled all over the fig trees in the side yard, slurping those figs and dropping the skins on the ground; and no dishes or egg pans to wash  up,  no damp Cheerios to strain into the sink and dump limply into the garbage.

I can never pass by a fig even now without getting excited and bringing home a basketful.

a leftover boutonnière from the wedding

Wedding in the Clouds of Hydrangeas

These sketches are all unfinished, done on the fly.  I carried my sketchbook all day, and whenever I could I drew.  On the left is Maya's basket that held the two rings resting on a satin pillow,  under a bed of flower petals that she scattered along the path through the backyard as she began the bridal  procession.  Here's Jacob doing some photographs of the yard, flowers, garden trellis, and basket before the ceremony began.  And on the right, Lynn's lovely and delicious chicken and olive pastries, which were part of the hors d'oeuvres that she fixed for the time between the ceremony and the reception while Jacob was taking formal photographs and those  not involved were dancing and talking.  (For photos see jacob-diehn.blogspot.com, where the wedding photographs will be posted.)

A couple of drawings of the garden trellis after Lindsay, Maya, and Phil and I draped the peachy pink satin over it and Maya and Lindsay tied it to the trellis with satin bows and attached the flowers.  Earlier, Jacob, Sam and I had decorated the backyard with pots of flowering plants and vases of hydrangeas in front of the trellis.  On the right is a not-very-accurate sketch of Hillary taken while she was posing for numerous photos.

On the left is David plus another attempt of him as well as a detail of the trellis.  On the right is Jacob hidden behind the flowers and under the trellis drapery while taking a group selfie.  On the far right is a kind of composite of the two fathers, who were co-celebrants and had to sign papers afterwards.

Finally some people sitting still!  Here's Lynn on the left, and the back of Maya showing her curly hair and wreath.  On the right are two sketches of Lindsay dancing with Kate the dog, who wore her wedding dress and was a fine participant.

The last group photograph was a selfie of the kids and David and Hillary all jumping for joy together.  This took many attempts to get everyone off the ground simultaneously!  On the right is David showing everybody how to do it.  A perfect day!  We concluded the celebrations with dinner at the Grove Park Inn Sunset Terrace.