© 2013 Mellanie Collins
India ink on paper, 6 x 4 inches
I was looking through Morguefile for some reference photos for a project and came across this photo of a pensive homeless man. I got out a brush and my india ink and had a wonderful time trying to capture the expression of the photo.
“I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.” ~Walt Whitman
Filed under Celebrating Myself in March
Who is this grumpy woman? It’s me! Only I’m really not grumpy. I’m just looking a little to intensely at my mirror. It doesn’t really look like the beginning of a celebration, does it? But it is.
During my birthday month, I’m making a conscious effort to focus on the things I like about myself instead of finding more things to improve. Why not take a stab at celebrating who I am. Drawing, as always, is a great way to start.
IWhat kinds of things do yo do for yourself on your birthday. Do you ever celebrate for the whole month or the whole week?
Filed under DRAWING
Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) the legendary civil rights activist would have been 100 years old this year. While many people know of her role as catalyst of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and as an icon of the Civil Rights Movement, many people are not aware that her career as an activist started before her arrest in 1955. At least I didn’t.
Here’s an interesting interview w/ Jeanne Theoharis, a Rosa Parks biographer conducted by Gwen Ifill on the PBS NewsHour detailing the beginnings of her life as a civil rights and community activist:
Filed under DRAWING
5.5″ x 8″ pen and markers
In the past I’ve occasionally posted some drawings for Black History Month. Since it’s that time again, I thought it might be fun to revisit some old subjects.
Back in 2010 I did a sketch of a young Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993), the first African American on the Supreme Court and the lawyer who argued the famous Brown v. Board of Education case before the Supreme Court. This current sketch was drawn from a photo taken in 1967, around the time he became the court’s 96th justice.
I’ve always been fascinated by his story: the grandson of a slave, who initially went to college to study medicine and become a dentist, eventually becomes an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Check out his biography on Wikipedia.
Filed under DRAWING
I’ve been doing well with the Creative Every Day Challenge. I’m up to day eight. This is the best page I’ve made over the last few days.
I’m starting up another illustrated journal, something that I used to do and enjoy, but inexplicably dropped a few years ago. It’s the easiest way for me to do something creative every day and acknowledge parts of my life that I may not pay much attention to.
For instance. I guess I never really noticed how many poppy seeds there are on an everything bagel, or really see how many bubbles there are riding along the surface of cup of coffee. So many tiny things that never would have been acknowledged. How many other things do I miss every day? Too many to count.
Filed under DRAWING, journalling, sketchbook
Today I signed up for the Creative Every Day Challenge. I’m committing to doing something creative every day in 2013. What I like about Leah Piken Kolidas’ challenge is that it calls for creativity in it’s broadest sense. So while I may draw or doodle some days, I can also practice my ukelele, take some photos, try a new recipe, or get my garden back into shape.
I often need to remind myself that being creative isn’t always about my drawing and painting. It’s about anything I do that gives me room to express who I am and allow me to stretch my wings as I strive to live more authentically.
I’ll not post everything I do, really, you don’t want to see it all. But I’ll be updating much more frequently than I have in the past.
So this is it. I dove in with this self-portrait in my sketchbook. We’ll see where 2013 takes me.
Cheers!
Filed under DRAWING
