Portuguese shoes
First, let me show you my old shoes and haiku.
I’ll explain after…
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| Bij de achterdeur
slijt schoeisel uit Portugal zijn laatste dagen |
Portuguese shoes spend
the last years of their life right next to the back door |
..
The haiku was written for Haiku my Heart Friday, and if you want to
see more photos and read more haiku, I recommend you hop on over
to Rebecca’s blog to find the list of participants.
By the way: you are very welcome to join the ‘Haiku my Heart’ group
if you like – and if you don’t know what haiku is exactly, you might want
to read this post in which I explain about the ‘rules’ of writing haiku.
..
So – why do I show you my old, worn out shoes today?
Well, it started with Tammy…
..
..
Tammy of Daisy Yellow wrote a blogpost about ‘EDM’ (which stands for
‘Every day Matters’.) I’ll try to make this short: EDM challenges is all about
drawing something every day. You can find the info on Danny Gregory’s blog
and he published a list of subjects to draw here.
Now I have been thinking of picking up drawing and even made several starts
- you may remember these sketches – but I was not able to hold on to drawing
for long let alone make it a habit, mostly because I didn’t know WHAT to draw.
Finding a subject cost me too much energy and so I let go easily.
But now, with a list of subjects at my hand, I decided to take it more seriously
and work my way through the list. See if my drawing skills are still there
because I sure did my portion of drawing in the days when I was in art school.
I was curious to see how rusty my skills would be when I would start drawing
the real stuff: subjects. How would I do?
Would I still be able to get the proportions right?
What about textures?
Shading?
It has been 25 years…
First challenge on the list was – you guessed it:
EDM #1 Draw a Shoe
(click to enlarge)
Well, that was a surprise!
My skills came back pretty easy and I’m quite proud and satisfied
with this first attempt after all these years.
Of course I wrote some text with the drawing… the shoe looked too pitiful
standing alone and lost on the page without any words to comfort him (her?)
Here’s the translation:
These are my Portuguese shoes. They don’t look much like shoes anymore
because they are completely worn out. They stand at the back door for
ten years now, ready to be used to walk into the garden or a trip to the barn
to get food out of the freezer. Even Nout, with his big feet, makes good use
of this ‘system’. The shoes were quite expensive, but given the lifetime they
were well worth it. Even now they are not completely worn away,
not even at the heel.
I might not be able to draw every day, but I certainly want to continue
drawing as I find it very relaxing and fun to do!
..
I have lots and lots of art journal pages that I made in the past weeks and
was not able to post yet – it’s amazing how much I got done in the week that
I was without my computer, but I won’t publish them all at once. For today
I choose to show you the latest spreads in the Chronicles Art Journal.
The Chronicles of Marit – Week 26
(Size: 24,5 x 49 cm – 9.65 x 14.86 inch)
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The Chronicles of Marit – Week 27
(Size: 24,5 x 49 cm – 9.65 x 14.86 inch)
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… and I’ll leave you with some random things I want to point out to you:
- I slowly get the hang of ‘tweeting’ and start to enjoy writing messages
by using only 140 characters… I’m not a ‘bulk tweeter’ yet, but if you
like, you can follow me here
- It may seem quiet around FEATURING magazine but I can assure
you that there’s a lot of work going on behind the scenes’.
Issue #2 will probably see the light in August and next issue will
again be packed with inspiring artists (I’m sure some will blow
your mind, as they did mine!) and interesting articles.
Keep an eye on FEATURING’s website, facebook, twitter
or subscribe to the newsletter to stay informed.
Issue #1 is still available in the web store
- Quirky Dutch Summer – my series of inspirational posts – is half way
and lots of beautiful art – made by the participants – can be found in
the Quirky Flickr Group. QDS posts go online every Tuesday and I
have something (uhhmmm, someONE) very special for you next
week… you wait and see!
- Seth from The Altered Page hosted the annual event ‘Buried Treasure‘.
I participated and dug up an old, but very dear and close to me, post
from 2 years ago. I re-posted it yesterday. Find it here.
That’s all dear ones..
enjoy your weekend.
Draw a shoe!
See ya next week!
July 13th, 2012 at 2:35 pm
love the look of your well loved cosy shoes
I did the “draw a shoe” prompt too this week, there are loads of good ones on that EDM list, I’m hoping to use it to get lots of drawing practice
July 13th, 2012 at 3:19 pm
Are these Portuguese ‘water’ shoes? unusual looking things……nice wistful haiku
July 13th, 2012 at 3:26 pm
I’ve had a fair few pairs end up like that.
July 13th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
marit…i love your haiku to old shoes! it is a wonderful practice to elevate the old, the worn and the well served elements of our daily life. you honor them with as a drawing subject too.
simply refreshing!
July 13th, 2012 at 4:39 pm
Lovely haiku in tribute to favorite shoes. Your drawings are amazing for one who hasn’t drawn for years. Must be like riding a bike.
July 13th, 2012 at 4:55 pm
love seeing your art progression
here
but
actually
very profound,
this haiku,
i am thinking…
like old friends
standing ready,
these worn shoes…
because
You Never Know…
♥
July 13th, 2012 at 5:05 pm
your pages are just really fun to see, color, details!!!
And the haiku is great fun!!!
Have a lovely weekend!
July 13th, 2012 at 6:00 pm
haiku to ‘old shoes’ ~ can relate ~ wonderful and your art creations are excellent ~~ ^_^ (A Creative Harbor)
July 13th, 2012 at 6:13 pm
Marit, Your drawing of the beloved and well worn shoe is lovely, the shading just right. Your skills indeed are still strong. The Chronicles of Marit pages are quite fun, bursting with energy. Cheers!
July 13th, 2012 at 7:41 pm
These shoes from Portugal are having the time of their life (lives) acting as useful shuttles of people to barn and garden; and now you’ve shared a glimpse of that life with us!
July 14th, 2012 at 2:01 am
What a lovely tribute to well worn and still loved shoes!
July 14th, 2012 at 2:29 am
I have been following danny gregory as well and started the EDM challenges last week also… I’m at 9 even though i haven’t posted them all. So glad to see your sketch and your photo with a perfect haiku!
July 14th, 2012 at 4:00 am
Thanks for sharing your shoe story. Your drawing is impressive for somebody who hasn’t drawn in many years.
Inspired by your post:
your shoes
by the back door . . .
all these years
I feel safe knowing
your just close by
Christine/Chrissi
July 14th, 2012 at 4:02 am
correction:
your shoes
by the back door . . .
all these years
I always feel safe knowing
you’re just close by
Christine/Chrissi
July 14th, 2012 at 5:42 am
Your drawing is fabulous and i loveeeeeeeeee your pages!!! GORGEOUS!!!!!
July 14th, 2012 at 10:23 am
I did my quota of observational drawing at art school, I’m glad I did, like swimming once you get the hang of it, there it is for life.
Have a lovely weekend. x
July 14th, 2012 at 1:06 pm
I like the shoes haiku…it speaks of your travels ~
And your chronicle pictures are amazing ~
July 14th, 2012 at 4:44 pm
Marit – You still got it! The drawings are well-executed. (BTW, those look like super comfy shoes…) I liked the whole blog post!
July 14th, 2012 at 9:44 pm
Lots of creativity going on in this post! Thanks for inspiring!
July 15th, 2012 at 4:36 am
Hi, nice to see your next installment of journal pages. I like your haiku and I think you did a fantastic job on the drawing. Old shoes are hard to get rid of. They have so much personality and history.
July 16th, 2012 at 12:10 am
omigoodness, if a person felt sad, seeing these colorful journal pages would offer the cure.
July 16th, 2012 at 12:13 pm
Mooie tekening hoor. Stoer dat je de EDM lijst af wilt gaan werken. Ik heb nog steeds het plan om hetzelfde te doen, maar dan niet in schetsen maar in foto’s (met bijschrift). Mooie journalspreads ook. En natuurlijk kijk ik vol verwachting uit naar Featuring #2!
July 16th, 2012 at 4:03 pm
I’m so glad to see you’re joining us in doing the EDM challenges. Have fun! You’re off to a great start,
Danny
July 16th, 2012 at 11:12 pm
I am just back froma ten day retreat of sorts where I created my little heart out and loved every second of it. It was so magical and felt so good ! I actually did a little drawing too and was surprised at how much easier it comes when I just relax into it.
I love that you celebrated your old shoe in your drawing ! Grace in simple things.
Happy Summer, Beautiful and Talented One !
August 16th, 2012 at 9:39 pm
Ik ben bezig in Danny Gregories ‘The creative license’ en heb laatst zijn ‘Everyday matters’ gelezen, als je wilt mag je ze wel een keer lenen als je zorgt dat ze niet teveel naar sigarettenrook gaan stinken
Zal nog wel even duren voor ik the creative license uit heb. Gaaf dat er een tweede nummer van Featuring uitkomt (of is gekomen? ik loop achter)