It's a mixed bag this week--creativity, long distance hiking, celebrating a multi-passionate life. Here are the things that caught my eye. Enjoy.
ONE
I always wanted to start this habit of making art. Sketching seemed like the most accessible, but I had a hard time getting it off the ground, mostly because I never knew what to draw. I had some idea that "real" art had to make a grand statement, change the world, shatter the earth.
Screw that!
I find the artists I love following the most are the ones who just capture their lives on a day to day basis. And now that I've adopted that, sketch journaling, as a strategy, I find I LOVE looking back through my sketchbook.
If I ever get stuck, though, I can turn to Danny Gregory's Every Day Matters challenge, a list of almost a year's worth of sketch prompts to help get past the fear of the blank page.
TWO
I stopped by Uncle Johnny's Hostel in Erwin, Tennessee. (What a great vibe, there! Too bad it was early and I had to hike on.) I chatted with Gary about hammocking, about how I loved the idea, but never could get the weight down enough for it to make sense for me.
He told me about this thing--The Khione hammock sleeve. It's a tarp, bug net and underquilt in one, so, at 30 ounces, it shaves off quite a bit of weight. The price is reasonable ($149), so there's no reason not to give it a try.
Stay tuned for a review.
BTW, Khione pronounced Key-o-nee, but Gary insisted on calling it the Cojones. Still LMAO about that.
THREE
They Draw and Cook, OMG! Three cheers for embracing a multi-passionate life and combining two random things into one great idea, a website collecting illustrated recipes from artists who are passionate about food.
The name says it all.
The drawings are delightful and I can personally vouch for the Best Ever Eggplant and Mushroom Chili. Yum!
FOUR
Handprint. This site is pretty whack overall. The guy, Bruce MacEvoy, is a renaissance man and, I imagine, somewhat obsessive, exploring lots of random topics, so explore his site at your own risk, knowing you might get sucked into the undertow of the internet. (It strikes me that this is another example this week of a person celebrating his multi-passionate life. Right on!)
The link, though, takes you to his exploration of painting with watercolors. I particularly appreciate the section on building a basic palette, where he (rightly) asserts:
"The beginner's mistake is always ... too many paints. Too many paints! Color is a seductive experience, and it's easy for a beginning painter to get pulled into an orgy of paint purchases."
And here in his own journal where he shares his journey of learning how to paint with watercolors.
FIVE
Van Dog Traveller. He quit his job, built out a van and travels Europe...be still my beating heart. Plus, he's got an eye for photography, so his posts are inspirational on several levels. I just loved this collection of photos from Berlin.
What have you found interesting this week? Leave a comment and turn us on to something whack.