The Quotidian Journal

I've come back to blogger...

2011-02-27T14:32:00.000-06:00

After a round about search I have decided to stay with blogger...hop on over:

@ http://dthaase-lines.blogspot.com

one site!

2011-02-13T00:44:00.000-06:00

in an effort to streamline my various projects/interests into one site I have moved:

@ http://dthaase.posterous.com

it's all here:

2011-01-21T18:30:00.000-06:00

for those who hate Tumblr but still want to follow...

2011-01-17T15:55:00.000-06:00

Here are my two blogger sites that will continue to be active with regular posts & invitations to submit your own work - come join the whimsy & wonder:

http://dthaase.tumblr.com

my site has moved...

2011-01-16T14:53:00.000-06:00

yesterday's re-design turned into a re-visioning and so I am officially abandoning this blog. Please come and follow me at my new site and bookmark this address:

http://dthaase.tumblr.com

or CLICK HERE for my mailing list

a Saturday afternoon re-design...

2011-01-15T14:27:00.000-06:00

come check it out:

leave it to the Brits...here's a few puns...

2011-01-15T00:47:00.001-06:00

great video

2011-01-14T14:46:00.000-06:00

the coffee is on...

2011-01-14T06:09:00.002-06:00

and so is Blind Contour Friday - CLICK HERE to add your own!

"coffee and mug"
two one-line blind contour drawings

watch out, she's hungry...

2011-01-13T17:49:00.000-06:00

"magenta mantis"
one-line #20

this rocks...

2011-01-12T07:10:00.005-06:00

"hush"
one-line #19

Another week of whimsy...

2011-01-12T00:01:00.003-06:00

come join the play and add a submission for Whimsical Wednesday
(subissions close at 1am on Tuesday the 18th)

CLICK THE BUTTON:

Blind Contours...

2011-01-11T05:45:00.000-06:00

I was invited to be the featured artist this week over at Blind Contour Friday. Below is my submission for the Friday challenge. These are really fun to do and a great way to prime the creative pump - give one a try and then on Friday add your blind contour to the submission pool.
All the details can be found by CLICKING THIS BUTTON:

"lamp & clock ~ blind contour"
one-line #18

Tally Tuesday is here on 1.11.11 @ 1:11am!

2011-01-11T01:11:00.003-06:00

Come vote for this week's Wizard of Whimsy @ the

antique pulpit chair

2011-01-10T17:23:00.000-06:00

"antique pulpit chair"
one-line #17

The Blog Guidebook ~ check it out...

2011-01-10T16:44:00.000-06:00

If you aren't familiar with The Blog Guidebook I suggest you take a peek. A great site to find a listing of many blogs out there in the blogosphere as well as a helpful resource for many blogging needs...CLICK THE BUTTON:

trout deja-vu

2011-01-09T16:08:00.002-06:00

trout deja-vu
one-line #16

for Illustration Friday prompt: deja-vu
& Sunday Sketches

The Criminal - will he escape...

2011-01-08T20:24:00.000-06:00

The boys and I had a little animation fun this afternoon - enjoy:

lamp

2011-01-08T14:21:00.003-06:00

for Blind Contour Friday

"lamp"
one-line #15

2011 Calendar

2011-01-07T13:27:00.000-06:00

a year of whimsy now available...

CLICK HERE TO SEE INSIDE

my on-line shop is now open...

2011-01-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

cards, matted / laminated / canvas prints, posters, t-shirts, stickers

feeling blue

2011-01-06T12:58:00.002-06:00

for Inspiration Avenue prompt

"feeling blue"
one-line #14

Eye Wonder has something it wants you to see...

2011-01-05T00:04:00.003-06:00

CLICK IT!
one-line #13

ALSO - come add your submission to the Web of Whimsy:

CLICK HERE

He was beginning to wonder if he would ever turn back...

2011-01-04T12:03:00.002-06:00

"meow"
one-line #12

Mr. Folderol

2011-01-03T07:10:00.001-06:00

Mr. Folderol
one-line #11

Mr. Folderol is a flustered fellow -

trying to play his mini cello.

two faced

2011-01-02T19:42:00.000-06:00

one-line #10

not my cup of tea

2011-01-01T21:06:00.000-06:00

one-line #9

phone home sucka...

2011-01-01T00:01:00.007-06:00

I pity the fool...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

image source: http://circlesofcircles.tumblr.com/post/2548622790

They say I'm chicken...

2010-12-31T18:50:00.001-06:00

IF prompt: resolution

"resolution: learn to fly"
one-line #8

pileated woodpecker

2010-12-30T22:20:00.006-06:00

"pileated woodpecker"
one-line #7

old man winter

2010-12-29T13:36:00.000-06:00

this week's Illustration Friday prompt: winter

"old man winter"
one-line #6

rocket

2010-12-28T21:30:00.001-06:00

"Rocket"
one-line #4

Today we built a rocket that my youngest got with some Christmas money. 950' later this drawing is all we have left (that thing took off!) - across the field, then the road, then into the woods...we search the woods intently to find it - when it's all said and done it made for a great Christmas break memory.

Going

2010-12-27T23:53:00.000-06:00

"Going"
one-line #3

Violet Snap

2010-12-27T00:02:00.001-06:00

one-line pen & ink w/Prismacolor pencils

The violet snap

is an impatient bird;

I find it’s song

is quite absurd.

A new journal & daily challenge...

2010-12-26T16:41:00.000-06:00

Christmas delivered a new journal my way from my brother & sister-in-law (handcrafted by Ey Truman, an Argentine craftsman). I thought I would use it as a daily journal to hold my one-line drawings...here are yesterday's and today's (also composed with my new Prismacolor colored pencils!)

"Tree"
one-line #1

"diamond hoofed giraffant"
one-line #2

Snow Day & Talking Snow People

2010-12-25T21:25:00.000-06:00

A very happy Yankee...

2010-12-25T07:12:00.001-06:00

Down south in GA for Christmas (where it rarely snows) but woke this morning. looked out the window, and was given this sight of the world!

Merry Christmas

"...O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us, we pray;

cast out our sin and enter in; be born in us today,

we hear the Christmas angels the great tidings tell:

O come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel."

from the Christmas hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem

"The Night Before Christmas"

2010-12-24T14:22:00.000-06:00

My boys and I got out the puppet

for a retelling of the classic Christmas poem

see more here: http://dthaase-lines.blogspot.com/

introducing the omnium-gatherum...

2010-12-22T00:03:00.003-06:00

I am going to take a slight break from the blogosphere to spend my holiday vacation working on a new project...come and see...

http://dthaase-lines.blogspot.com/

Tally Tuesday is here @ the Web of Whimsy...

2010-12-21T08:55:00.001-06:00

Come cast your vote for the Wizard of Whimsy
(click the button)

"I Am a University Student Who Follows Jesus."

2010-12-19T06:26:00.001-06:00

An 8+ minute video from Nathan Chud. Nate just completed the nation-wide God on Campus Tour with Trent Sheppard and shared this each night as they visited campuses all the way from Rhode Island to Hawaii.

The Ache from Campus America on Vimeo.

paradox:

2010-12-18T21:23:00.000-06:00

This sentence is false.

meet Stamp, the armadillo, in his coat of mail (he happens to be a philatelist - I hope he doesn't go postal)...

2010-12-18T00:05:00.000-06:00

for the Illustration Friday prompt: mail

one-line pen and ink drawing

C.S. Lewis

2010-12-17T06:58:00.003-06:00

"Remember that, as I said, the right direction leads not only to peace but to knowledge. When a man is getting better he understands more and more clearly the evil that is still left in him. When a man is getting worse he understands his own badness less and less. A moderately bad man knows he is not very good: a thoroughly bad man thinks he is all right. This is common sense, really. You understand sleep when you are awake, not while you are sleeping. You can see mistakes in arithmetic when your mind is working properly: while you are making them you cannot see them. You can understand the nature of drunkenness when you are sober, not when you are drunk. Good people know about both good and evil: bad people do not know about either.” ~ Mere Christianity, 93

The Pilgrim's Progress: From This World To That Which Is To Come, John Bunyan (ed. by C.J. Lovik, illus. by Mike Wimmer)

2010-12-16T06:59:00.132-06:00

Crossway Books, 2009 (240pgs)

A time-tested work of classic status (originally published in 1678) and the illustrations accompanying this edition of the story are stunning. I read this to my boys through the semester.

OVERVIEW
Written in the form of a highly imaginative allegory, The Pilgrim's Progress tells the unforgettable story of Christian and the extreme, soul-threatening dangers he encounters on his journey to the Celestial City. But it is much more than an allegory; in a sense, it is both the personal story of Bunyan and the universal story of anyone who undertakes the same eternal pilgrimage. The result is a masterpiece of literature as well as spiritual truth - a book that one time was loved and read in nearly every home in England and North America, a book that has endured as a classic for more than three centuries.

INTERVIEW WITH MY BOYS
Dad: What was your favorite part of the book (what did you enjoy most)?
son 2 (age 9): When troll-man captures them.
Dad: Do you mean the part with Giant Despair.
son2: Yes, that's him
son1 (age 11): I like when Christian and Hopeful get trapped in the Giant's castle.
Dad: You two seem to enjoy the troubling parts, why is that?
son2: Cause for some reason in good books they always get out!
son1: Because it is fun to see how they escape.
Dad: Any other favorite parts?
son2: I really like the last chapter where Christian and Hopeful cross the River of Death.
Dad: Why?
son2: Because sometimes when you are so close to finishing something there is still something in your way. It's like a board game.
Dad: How about you son1?
son1: When they want to go to sleep but they can't because they are on magic ground and if they went to sleep they would never wake up.
Dad: What did that section teach you?
son1: To keep on going even if something is tempting.

Dad: Is there anything you didn't enjoy about the book?
son1: The only thing I didn't like about it is that the author made it seem long and dreary but it was still a good book.
son2: I didn't think there was any bad parts. I thought it was amazing!

Dad: Why should someone read this book?
son2: Because somebody tells you to.
son1: It helps you understand more things about the Bible.

Dad: What was your favorite illustration in the book?
son2: When Christian battles Apollyon.
Dad: Why that picture?
son2: Because it is cool. There is dark but there is light - like evil against good.
Dad: How about you son1?
son1: When Christian and Hopeful gaze at the the Celestial City.
Dad: Why that picture?
son1: Because it is so beautiful and it is a really good painting.

Dad: If you had to rate this book, how many stars out of five would you give it?
son1: For a kid I would give it a 2.5 and for an adult a 4.5.
Dad: Why so different for a kid and an adult?
son1: Because a kid doesn't understand it all as much but a grown-up would.
Dad: What if an adult read it to a kid and explained it really well as it was read?
son1: It would be a 3.5 then.
Dad: How about you son2?
son2: I am going to say, for a kid, I would give it a 3 and for an adult a 4.9.
Dad: Why do you have them so far apart?
son1: Because for a grown-up, they can read it and when they read it they can understand it and know where the different phrases are in the Bible and a kid has a harder time doing that.

A FEW FAVORITE QUOTES

"I advise you to quickly get rid of your burden." Worldly-Wiseman explained, "for you will never be settled in your mind until then, nor will you enter the benefits of the blessings that God has given you."

"That is what I am seeking," said Christian. "I want nothing more than to be rid of this heavy burden. But I cannot free myself from it, nor is there any man in our country who can take it off my shoulders. That is why I am going toward the small gate ahead, as I told you, so that I may be rid of my burden."

"Who told you to go this way to be rid of your burden?"

Christian answered, "He was a man who appeared to be very honorable and great. His name, as I recall, was Evangelist."

"Shame on him for such counsel!" Worldly-Wiseman protested. "There is not a more dangerous and troublesome way in the world than the way he has directed you. Look at the difficulty you have experienced already. I can see that you are already covered in dirt from the Swamp of Despond. Listen to me: that swamp is only the beginning of the sorrows and troubles you will find if you follow that way. Hear what I have to say since I am older than you: if you continue on the way that Evangelist has directed, your journey will be attended by weariness, pain, hunger, perils, nakedness, sword, lions, dragons, darkness, and, in a word, death! The truth of what I am telling you has been confirmed by many testimonies. Why should a man so carelessly cast himself into such peril by giving heed to a stranger?"

"Why, sir," Christian said, "this burden upon my back is more terrible to me than all the things that you have mentioned. I do not care what I meet with on the way, as long as I can also meet with deliverance from my burden." (pgs. 32-33)

after Faithful is killed...

Now I saw in my dream that Christian did not escape Vanity Fair by himself, for there was with him a man named Hopeful (a name he was given as he watched how Christian and Faithful in their words and in their deeds conducted themselves during all their sufferings at the fair).

Hopeful had joined himself to Christian and entered into a brotherly covenant with him, promising him that he would be his companion for the rest of the journey.

So one died to bear testimony to the truth, and another rose out of his ashes to be a companion with Christian in his pilgrimage. Hopeful also told Christian there were many more men in the fair who would in due course follow after them to the Celestial City. (pg. 140)

Hopeful offers counsel to Christian...

"But as for footmen like you and me, let us never desire to meet with the enemy or presume ourselves able to do better when we hear about the struggles of others. When we hear of others who have been sorely tested, let's not be deluded by thoughts of our own manhood, for those who do so are often the ones who have the worst time of it when they are tested." (pgs. 182-183)

risible Rita

2010-12-15T00:02:00.007-06:00

one-line pen & ink drawing

Risible Rita has a great grin
from under her nose,
down to her shin.

come add your whimsy
at the Web of Whimsy!
(or simply enjoy what others have submitted...)

vote for this week's Wizard of Whimsy...

2010-12-14T01:22:00.004-06:00

It is "Tally Tuesday" over at the Web of Whimsy - come vote for your favorite submission. Click on the weedy seadragon floating at the top of the blog.

Annie Dillard:

2010-12-14T00:18:00.001-06:00

"I cannot cause light; the most I can do is try to put myself in the path of its beam."

from: Pilgrim at Tinker Creek

zinnia

2010-12-13T07:07:00.011-06:00

Today's temperature is a high of 14 degrees so I thought I would post a bit of beauty in the starkness. Also using this as my submission for the Illustration Friday prompt: phenomenon & the Inspiration Avenue prompt: believe

pen & ink w/color pencil

New Mexico

2010-12-12T01:00:00.001-06:00

A sketch for Sunday Sketches

peace:

2010-12-10T20:45:00.005-06:00

the prompt this week at Inspiration Avenue

Inspired by the song below, I thought a one-line drawing was a fitting way to represent peace...unbroken, continuous - climb aboard:

Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) plays his classic: "Peace Train"

beware the me-monster...

2010-12-10T16:18:00.002-06:00

I have been struck recently at how often we talk about ourselves - a grave danger in the blogosphere, while traveling through facebook land in the forest of tweets...

comedian Brian Regan made me stop and wonder - who really has something worth hearing...enjoy this laugh and listen in for his answer:

wisdom...

2010-12-10T00:16:00.001-06:00

beauty, truth, and goodness enfleshed

a reverb10 prompt

Community Art....

2010-12-09T13:54:00.002-06:00

click photo to see enlarged

Here is a mural that was completed today in the Post Office of the College where I work. It was a project envisioned by a community arts class on campus and my boys and I helped paint some of it.

I thought it was a fitting post for Reverb10 - days 6/7/8/9 as it was made by a community and celebrates the beautifully different - then when the students finished they stood and sang together - it was a party.

vision

2010-12-09T07:55:00.002-06:00

"If you want to build a ship don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea."

Antoine-Marie-Roger de Saint-Exupery,
adapted from "The Wisdom of the Sands"
French writer (1900 - 1944)

Whimsical Wednesday is here...

2010-12-08T00:01:00.018-06:00

this week's line of whimsy:

pen & ink drawing w/color pencils

Plum Bird

Plum bird flew to the plum plum tree,

lands and sings the plum plum song,

sweetly nests in the plum plum boughs

then dreams the dreams of plum plum wilds.

Wakes to the pop of the plum plum bloom;

drinks the nectar of plumish juice,

nibbles the fruit of the plum plum plum—

takes to the sky till its nighttime roost.

Add your whimsicality & see that of others:
click here to visit the Web of Whimsy...

Tally Tuesday

2010-12-07T01:01:00.004-06:00

It is time to vote for this week's Wizard of Whimsy - you are allowed two votes...come and pick a favorite from the week's submissions (voting is open today until 9pm US Central Time):

click here to be taken to the Web of Whimsy...

Reverb10 prompt: make

2010-12-06T17:01:00.002-06:00

Here's one way to "make" the prompt:

put a snowflake into cyberspace
click above to visit flurrious.com
make a snowflake and let it go...

visit Reverb10 - a daily word prompt for December invites you to create...

Reverb 10 is an annual event and online initiative to reflect on your year and manifest what’s next. Use the end of your year as an opportunity to reflect on what's happened, and to send out reverberations for the year ahead. With Reverb 10 - and the 31 prompts our authors have created for you - you'll have support on your journey.

Something my boys made...

2010-12-06T12:13:00.001-06:00

thought I would post this for the reverb10 prompt today: make

tag team creation of poem and picture by Chris (11) & Ben (9)

Snoopy is a dog
that can hypnotize you.
If you look at his eyes
they will swirl
and hypnotize you.
But he is kind -
(it is opposite day).

trilobite w/bumbershoot

2010-12-05T17:49:00.001-06:00

Illustration Friday prompt: prehistoric
(I remember having one of these embedded in a rock when I was little - thought it was the coolest treasure - amazing to think you can touch the imprint of something from 500 million years ago!)

a one-line pen & ink drawing w/Inktense pencils

As Trilly left his house that day
he took his brolly on his way
for he heard the news man say,
"Be prepared for rain today."

But the rain that fell on down
was not the kind you want around
and in an instant all were bound
to be fossils in the ground.

Amaze the sage

2010-12-04T17:15:00.002-06:00

Here's my submission for this week's Inspiration Avenue prompt:
"Once upon a time..."

one-line pen & ink drawing w/Inktense pencils

Once upon a time

I drew a bit of line—

Suddenly on the page

Appeared a wizened sage

His name was Amaze

And I asked of his days

Wandering the shores of Lore.

He told me to sit

And listen for a bit

Then he made me cherry tea

Said, “It’ll help you see.”

But then my ink ran dry

Was that a tear in his eye?

I wonder what the wizard would have said…

What do you think; what would the wizard have said?
Leave a comment below.

fire hydrant

2010-12-03T11:09:00.000-06:00

one-line pen & ink drawing w/color pencils

two quick thursday reads...

2010-12-02T22:40:00.000-06:00

Pulled these from the local elementary school this afternoon - check them out at your local library or children's bookstore.

Don't Bump the Glump! by Shel Silverstein

A pure Silverstein delight. This was actually his first poetry collection and the only one in color - it was published in 1964 and recently re-published in 2008. It contains all the zaniness of Silverstein's better known poetry and the addition of the watercolor is marvelous. My kids had fun picking out their favorites and reading them to one another.
This book will cause you to smile.

ish by Peter H. Reynolds

I pulled this as it was standing on the top of the shelf and I was drawn to the cover art. The story really drew me in. My son then took it and read it and decided to check it out so he could share it with his brother later. Any artist who has struggled with not liking what they are creating will enjoy this book - a wonderful tale of being confident in what you create.

Come join in the whimsy...

2010-12-01T00:01:00.007-06:00

Here is my one-line drawing & poem for Whimsical Wednesday

Sally had a flower

whose bloom was blue and gold

and if you were to smell it

oh, the treasures you'd behold.

old man

2010-11-30T01:01:00.005-06:00

one-line pen & ink drawing w/color pencils

Lighten the load - It is time to vote for this week's Wizard of Whimsy - you are allowed two votes...come and pick a favorite from the week's submissions (voting is open today until 10pm US Central Time):

click here to be taken to the Web of Whimsy...

knight & yeoman

2010-11-29T05:04:00.000-06:00

savour

2010-11-28T07:18:00.003-06:00

some simple pen and ink/color pencil doodles for this week's prompt at Illustration Friday
I'm using it for Sunday Sketches & AEDM too...

Also, come and add your art for Whimsical Wednesday

click here to visit the Web of Whimsy

ingenuity

2010-11-27T21:59:00.001-06:00

for this week's prompt at Illustration Avenue

one-line pen & ink drawing

Also, come and add your art at The Web of Whimsy's Whimsical Wednesday - birth that child within!

the jackelope

2010-11-25T20:35:00.018-06:00

found this with my brother as we were down in our grandfather's basement...opened the closet door where he stores his wood for the fire and was greeted by the jackelope:

Giddyup

2010-11-24T00:07:00.000-06:00

one-line pen & ink drawing w/Inktense pencils

When Giddyup was a little pup
his hair was blue and yellow
but then he washed with seaweed pulp
and now he's a bald old fellow.

Come and see more whimsy @ The Web of Whimsy
join in the play of Whimsical Wednesday
click here to fall in the rabbit hole...

a simple tree

2010-11-23T13:46:00.000-06:00

for AEDM Day 23

one-line pen and ink w/color pencils

this was not drawn by a vegetarian

2010-11-22T18:52:00.000-06:00

Dandelioness

2010-11-21T23:50:00.005-06:00

a quick sketch for Sunday Sketches

She's lithe and wispy
and a little bit tipsy -

dandelions better beware,
for they are her standard fare.

good ol' Joe

2010-11-21T00:28:00.006-06:00

one-line pen & ink w/Inktense pencils

Farmer Joe is looking blue,
the cows are milked
but I think he's through.
Would ya mind if he came with you?

Listen to the whimsy...

2010-11-20T14:45:00.006-06:00

Over at Web of Whimsy I got two new links today that I thought I would invite you to enjoy:

Come and add your whimsical links - more here

The Magic Finger, Roald Dahl w/Illustrations by William Pene Du Bois

2010-11-20T14:21:00.000-06:00

5 stars
Harper & Row (1966), 41 pages

I was over at the elementary school this past week and I had a half hour to space - randomly grabbed this book of the shelf and I must say it was time well spent (got the whole thing read in that short time). I love Dahl's books and this was a welcome treasure - very fun and bazaar - you really have to watch out when you have a magic finger.

snub

2010-11-19T00:09:00.000-06:00

clown

2010-11-18T08:06:00.000-06:00

Whimsical Wednesday

2010-11-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

Visit the new Whimsical Wednesday site here: http://dthaase.blogspot.com/

I have created a site just for the whimsy! So, come on over and join in the play - also, make sure you check out the "more whimsy" tab at the top of that blog and add to the growing lists.

Come on over and post something (new or old) and join in the web of whimsy!

electric eel

2010-11-16T22:11:00.003-06:00

What's the deal with the electric eel?

He's not plugged in but his charge is real.

A Whimsical Wednesday & Inspiration Avenue post

phoenix

2010-11-14T00:01:00.001-06:00

Illustration Friday prompt: burning

one-line pen and ink drawing w/Inktense pencils

Dallas Clayton is someone you should know...

2010-11-13T17:16:00.005-06:00

I came across Clayton's website today and wanted to spread the word - it's a wonderful invitation to dream (this book would make a great Christmas gift for some kidos)

Here's a brief video that takes you through the story about the book that changed his life:

Awesome Book Tour from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.

YOU CAN READ THE WHOLE BOOK BY CLICKING HERE

Here is his newest release:

An Awesome Book of Thanks! from Dallas Clayton on Vimeo.

a medieval bestiary

2010-11-13T07:41:00.000-06:00

our home schooling adventures have led us to the Middle Ages and a look at medieval bestiaries - I gave the boys a prompt to create a watercolor splotch and then create their own creature (got the idea from this fun site)...I had to join in as well - here were the results:

The Curmudgeon
by dad (age 34 years young)

The curmudgeon is a beast of night,
one-handed, and a gruesome sight.
With vorpal sword in hand he'll strike—
then rides away on his bike.

The Fleingks
by Chris (age 11)

The fleingks is a rare creature. His liver grows at the full moon. If you can catch the fleingks it will give you its magical tongue that can grant you any wish you want but it can drive a man mad because it makes this noise: iiioiiioiiiohhheeed.

Big Bird by Chris

Something
by Ben (age 8)

Fluffy Bubbles is a dog. Every third Friday in the month of June Fluffy Bubbles turns into a german shepherd (awesome). [editors note: the rest of the story is written backwards (or at least each word is backwards but in the right order) because everyone knows that is what dog language is like]. tub nehw eh denrut kcab ni ot a god eh steg a der tod dna fi uoy ekat ti uoy lliw niw 000,000,1$.

Also, here is a great site for exploring a historical bestiary of animals in the middle ages

thumbody's missing

2010-11-12T08:42:00.008-06:00

Inspiration Avenue prompt: community

fall tree

2010-11-11T08:35:00.003-06:00

pen and ink w/color pencils

Whimsical Wednesday wk 1:

2010-11-10T00:01:00.003-06:00

Put some whimsy in the world

What is Whimsical Wednesday & how can I play?

one-line pen and ink drawing of a glump

The glump, he is a fishy fiend;
he’s mostly hollow but filled with mean.

Even though he’s the size of a nut;
he’ll start with your toe and eat you all up.

A Whimsical Wednesday wondering:

If I say the color green
what color in your mind is seen?
And if you truly do see green,
why’s that green the one that’s seen?

share your whimsy by adding your link:

What is "whimsy"? send in your answers:

2010-11-09T09:03:00.011-06:00

a Whimsical Wednesday pre-post!

Ok, I got a great question today from Gumnut (click to check out her art).

So, whimsical wizards of the blogoshpere:

"What exactly makes a piece whimsey?"

First off - you might have noticed the two spellings above: "whimsy" and "whimsey" - see how fun this is already, two spellings (both acceptable).

The New Oxford American Dictionary definition:

whimsy |ˈ(h)wimzē| (also whimsey)
noun ( pl. -sies or -seys)
playfully quaint or fanciful behavior or humor : the film is an awkward blend of whimsy and moralizing.
• a whim.
• a thing that is fanciful or odd : the stone carvings and whimsies.
ORIGIN early 17th cent. (in the sense [caprice] ): probably based on whim-wham .:

whimsical |ˈ(h)wimzikəl|
adjective
1 playfully quaint or fanciful, esp. in an appealing and amusing way : a whimsical sense of humor.
2 acting or behaving in a capricious manner : the whimsical arbitrariness of autocracy.
DERIVATIVES
whimsicality |ˌ(h)wimziˈkalitē| noun
whimsically |-ik(ə)lē| adverb

WHAT DO YOU SAY? Leave your definition/answer as a comment below and I will collect them and post them with links to your illos next week!

Thanks for playing.

epic

2010-11-09T00:09:00.001-06:00

IF: afterward

2010-11-08T09:45:00.000-06:00

Introducing Whimsical Wednesday

2010-11-07T19:40:00.009-06:00

This is a weekly challenge I have created for myself and any who would like to join. The common human experience is suffering - sorrow and sadness mark much of the world. My invitation is to bring a bit of delight into the despair. I spend a lot of time with children and in turn they have taught me how to play. So, come and join the play. Each week I will post some whimsy on Wednesday and I invite you to share your own whimsical creations (any medium). Simply post your link in the magical widget of the Wednesday post (like the one below - you don't need to leave a comment). For more info, click on the WHIMSICAL WEDNESDAY tab at the top left of the blog or simply click here.

add your link if you would like:

The Lady in #6

2010-11-07T05:39:00.017-06:00

Alice, the oldest survivor of the Holocaust & the power of music... (take 12min out of your life and be inspired):

try this link if the player doesn't work

Beowulf: A Verse Translation, translated by Seamus Heaney

2010-11-06T00:50:00.000-05:00

5 stars
Norton Critical Edition, 2002 (256 pages)

This is epic! A wonderfully crafted tale that has stood the test of time as it was first recorded sometime between the 8th and early 11th century - how many books today will still be around 1000 years from now? This edition also has a plethora of critical essays for those who would like to probe the story further (the actual tale is only 78 pages). I read this to my boys as part of our medieval ages study this semester and during the last couple of chapters I invited them to depict an illustration from the story - you can see those below!

Here was my favorite passage from the story. The scene: Beowulf has just come back from killing Grendel's mother and King Hrothgar offers him these words of wisdom (words we would do well to heed in our modern times):

"So learn from this and understand true values. I who tell you have wintered into wisdom. It is a great wonder how Almighty God in His magnificence favors our race with rank and scope and the gift of wisdom; His sway is wide. Sometimes He allows the mind of a man of distinguished birth to follow its bent, grants him fulfillment and felicity on earth and forts to command in his own country. He permits him to lord it in many lands until the man in his unthinkingness forgets that it will ever end for him. He indulges his desires; illness and old age mean nothing to him; his mind is untroubled by envy or malice or the thought of enemies with their hate-honed swords. The whole world conforms to his will, he is kept from the worst until an element of overweening enters him and takes hold while the soul's guard, its sentry, drowses, grown too distracted. A killer stalks him, an archer who draws a deadly bow. And then the man is hit in the heart, the arrow flies beneath his defenses, the devious promptings of the demon start. His old possessions seem paltry to him now. He covets and resents; dishonors custom and bestows no gold; and because of good things that the Heavenly Powers gave him in the past he ignores the shape of things to come. Then finally the end arrives when the body he was lent collapses and falls prey to its death; ancestral possessions and the goods he hoarded are inherited by another who lets them go with a liberal hand. O flower of warriors, beware of that trap. Choose dear Beowulf, the better part, eternal rewards. Do not give way to pride. For a brief while your strength is in bloom but it fades quickly; and soon there will follow illness of the sword to lay you low, or a sudden fire or surge of water or jabbing blade or javelin from the air or repellent age. Your piercing eye will dim and darken; and death will arrive, dear warrior, to sweep you away." (45-46)

Grendel

Beowulf

Sam the clam

2010-11-05T08:47:00.004-05:00

one-line pen and ink

Here sits Sam, the sulking clam—
His friendships all go south
when he puts his foot inside his mouth.

weedy seadragon

2010-11-04T05:49:00.004-05:00

response to the "happiness is..." prompt @ Inspiration Avenue

one-line pen and ink w/color pencils

I first saw one of these grand creatures at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga - it was like a Dr. Seuss character was motorvating right in front of my eyes - pure happiness.

Glint

2010-11-03T09:22:00.002-05:00

Glint’s a beast of enormous size;
though his brain is small,
his heart is wise.

Tuesday creativity:

2010-11-02T12:02:00.000-05:00

Today the boys were asked to gather items from nature in light of the following prompt: It was a dark day and out of the swamp there appeared...

The Evil Pumpkin by Chris (age 11)

It was a dark day and out of the swamp there appeared a pumpkin that could talk. But it was evil. So, one day it decided to play a trick on people. It would hit them with a shovel. One time the pumpkin hit a wizard with the shovel and he got mad. The wizard had a flock of birds attack the pumpkin but the pumpkin hit them off with his shovel. When the wizard saw that did not work he threw fire at the pumpkin but the pumpkin breathed on it. His breath was so bad that the fire died away. Then the wizard made it rain and it melted the pumpkin away.

The Uckygpee (pronounced "ug-ee" - most of the letters are silent) by Ben (age 8)

It was a dark day and out of the swamp there appeared a Uckygpee. A long, long time before there was a yellow-footed rock wallaby and a red-legged pademelon the Uckygpee was king; high king. He ruled over 1,000,100,001,001,000,100,000,101 animals. He liked being king but it was hard. One day he snuck out of the castle into a swamp full of scary creatures like the angler and football fish. There were funny fish like the icefish and shortnose batfish but he wasn't scared one bit. He had an idea. He jumped out of the swamp and got a net and then went back to the swamp. He caught all the fish in the net and then the whole swamp was his.

IF: spent

2010-11-01T22:21:00.003-05:00

This week's Illustration Friday prompt got me thinking of one of Hans Christian Andersen's famous short stories: The Little Match Girl (below my illustration you can read the complete story or watch the Disney/Pixar 6min animation of the tale)...

The Little Match Girl
A translation of Hans Christian Andersen's "Den lille Pige med Svovlstikkerne" by Jean Hersholt. from the The Hans Christian Andersen Center

It was so terribly cold. Snow was falling, and it was almost dark. Evening came on, the last evening of the year. In the cold and gloom a poor little girl, bareheaded and barefoot, was walking through the streets. Of course when she had left her house she'd had slippers on, but what good had they been? They were very big slippers, way too big for her, for they belonged to her mother. The little girl had lost them running across the road, where two carriages had rattled by terribly fast. One slipper she'd not been able to find again, and a boy had run off with the other, saying he could use it very well as a cradle some day when he had children of his own. And so the little girl walked on her naked feet, which were quite red and blue with the cold. In an old apron she carried several packages of matches, and she held a box of them in her hand. No one had bought any from her all day long, and no one had given her a cent.

Shivering with cold and hunger, she crept along, a picture of misery, poor little girl! The snowflakes fell on her long fair hair, which hung in pretty curls over her neck. In all the windows lights were shining, and there was a wonderful smell of roast goose, for it was New Year's eve. Yes, she thought of that!

In a corner formed by two houses, one of which projected farther out into the street than the other, she sat down and drew up her little feet under her. She was getting colder and colder, but did not dare to go home, for she had sold no matches, nor earned a single cent, and her father would surely beat her. Besides, it was cold at home, for they had nothing over them but a roof through which the wind whistled even though the biggest cracks had been stuffed with straw and rags.

Her hands were almost dead with cold. Oh, how much one little match might warm her! If she could only take one from the box and rub it against the wall and warm her hands. She drew one out. R-r-ratch! How it sputtered and burned! It made a warm, bright flame, like a little candle, as she held her hands over it; but it gave a strange light! It really seemed to the little girl as if she were sitting before a great iron stove with shining brass knobs and a brass cover. How wonderfully the fire burned! How comfortable it was! The youngster stretched out her feet to warm them too; then the little flame went out, the stove vanished, and she had only the remains of the burnt match in her hand.

She struck another match against the wall. It burned brightly, and when the light fell upon the wall it became transparent like a thin veil, and she could see through it into a room. On the table a snow-white cloth was spread, and on it stood a shining dinner service. The roast goose steamed gloriously, stuffed with apples and prunes. And what was still better, the goose jumped down from the dish and waddled along the floor with a knife and fork in its breast, right over to the little girl. Then the match went out, and she could see only the thick, cold wall. She lighted another match. Then she was sitting under the most beautiful Christmas tree. It was much larger and much more beautiful than the one she had seen last Christmas through the glass door at the rich merchant's home. Thousands of candles burned on the green branches, and colored pictures like those in the printshops looked down at her. The little girl reached both her hands toward them. Then the match went out. But the Christmas lights mounted higher. She saw them now as bright stars in the sky. One of them fell down, forming a long line of fire.

"Now someone is dying," thought the little girl, for her old grandmother, the only person who had loved her, and who was now dead, had told her that when a star fell down a soul went up to God.

She rubbed another match against the wall. It became bright again, and in the glow the old grandmother stood clear and shining, kind and lovely.

"Grandmother!" cried the child. "Oh, take me with you! I know you will disappear when the match is burned out. You will vanish like the warm stove, the wonderful roast goose and the beautiful big Christmas tree!"

And she quickly struck the whole bundle of matches, for she wished to keep her grandmother with her. And the matches burned with such a glow that it became brighter than daylight. Grandmother had never been so grand and beautiful. She took the little girl in her arms, and both of them flew in brightness and joy above the earth, very, very high, and up there was neither cold, nor hunger, nor fear-they were with God.

But in the corner, leaning against the wall, sat the little girl with red cheeks and smiling mouth, frozen to death on the last evening of the old year. The New Year's sun rose upon a little pathetic figure. The child sat there, stiff and cold, holding the matches, of which one bundle was almost burned.

"She wanted to warm herself," the people said. No one imagined what beautiful things she had seen, and how happily she had gone with her old grandmother into the bright New Year.

The Racing Gnicar

2010-10-27T06:28:00.018-05:00

Illustration Friday prompt: racing

The racing gnicar does it wrong;
his heels are where the toes belong.
Ever racing he sings a song:
“hum ditty, bum ditty” all day long.

I stopped him once,
said, “You’re all wrong.”

He replied, “My lungs are strong,
want to come and hop along?
It’s easy when your toes are long.”

“Be with you when you’re all wrong?”
I replied to his silly song.

“Hum ditty, bum ditty,” he sang alone—
I shook my fist and gave a groan,
“Don’t you see that you’re all wrong?”

You know what that gnicar did?
He raced away, probably hid.
Poor old creature with his stupid song
Never seeing he’s made all wrong.

Tuesday creativity:

2010-10-26T11:03:00.007-05:00

The boys were given an assortment of items and prompted to make something and then write about it. Here are the results:

The 360 Vacuum Cleaner by Chris (age 11)

Once upon a time there lived a mad scientist. The mad scientist was named Voncher. One day Voncher was experimenting and he made the Vacuum 360 which can vacuum anything, even a blue whale. It had three sensors on the top of the vacuum. The vacuum is coming out in 2011. It doesn't need man's help. It is the best vacuum machine in the whole world. It is the newest vacuum in all of the stores and the awesomest selling vacuum cleaner.

The Benjamin Spider by Ben (age 8)

The Benjamin Spider is a vicious beast, the most vicious of all. It eats 39 camels, 7 flies, and one insect. But some days he eats 54 camels (that's only when he is really hungry). Well I guess he is really hungry every day, except for Sundays, because there is air on Sundays. Just so you know he only lives on Neptune.

King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table, Roger Lancelyn Green

2010-10-26T07:03:00.005-05:00

5 stars
Puffin Classics: Great Britain (2008), 385pgs.

Here is a grand collection of Arthurian legend. Included within are the four books: "The Coming of Arthur", "The Knights of the Round Table", The Quest of the Holy Grail", and "The Departing of Arthur". This is a book to read aloud.

Interesting fact about the author taken from a write-up at the back of the book: "He was a member of the Inklings Club in Oxford, a group of friends who read, and commented on, each other's work. Its members included C.S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia) and J.R.R. Tolkien (author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbitt). If it hadn't been for Roger, The Chronicles of Narnia might never have been published. In 1949, Roger went to dinner with C.S. Lewis. Lewis read Roger two chapters of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. He also informed Roger that he'd read them to Tolkien a few weeks before, who had told Lewis that he didn't think they were very good. Roger disagreed. He thought they were great, and he encouraged Lewis to get them published. Roger even thought of the series title The Chronicles of Narnia, and he went on to become the very first reader of all the rest of the Narnia stories."

a few quotes:

“King Arthur’s adventures did not end when he had defeated the Saxons and brought peace to Britain; for thought he had set up the Realm of Logres—the land of true good and piety, nobleness and right living—the evil was always breaking in to attack the good. It would need many books to tell of every adventure that befell during his reign—that brief period of light set like a star of Heaven in the midst of the Dark Ages…” (93)

Sir Launcelot's brother, Sir Hector de Maris, speaking at Launcelot's funeral:
"Ah Launcelot, you were the best knight in all Christendom. You, Sir Launcelot, who lie there never had nor never will have any rival to you. And you were the most courteous knight that ever bore shield, the truest lover that ever loved woman, and the kindest man that ever wore a sword. You were the finest man that ever was seen in a company of knights, and the meekest and most gentle among ladies, but the sternest knight to your mortal foes that ever put spear in rest." (381)