Sunday, April 17, 2022

Mosaic Monday #174: Daily Drawing Challenge for Lent

Happy Easter, everyone!  Lent has drawn to a close, and for me and #1 Daughter, that is a literal statement.  You see, we took on a daily drawing challenge for Lent!  A period of time when Christians focus on spiritual purification, meditation and penance, Lent typically lasts 40 days, not including Sundays, based on the 40 days Jesus fasted in the desert before starting his ministry.  I asked #1 Daughter to consider something we could do together during Lent, and she came up with the idea of the drawing challenge.  We settled on 45 days, and she pulled from several Pinterest sources to compile the prompts.  And off we went!


These 45 days have brought laughter, amazement, and learning.  I asked #1 Daughter to make some observations, and she knew full well I would share them here!

I can commit to something daily, if I really put my mind to it. This honestly surprised me. I thought I would struggle to find the time each day to sit down and draw (and trust me, there were days that I did struggle or got swept up and completely forgot). On those days, I felt horrible, but had to give myself grace and tell myself it was okay. I have always been afraid to do something like bullet journaling because it requires daily sitting down to journal. I always believed I wouldn't have time for that.

It has been wonderful knowing that I will hear from her every single day.  But it's fascinating how that expectation can make a Mom worry.  We agreed that we would not send each other photos of our drawings until both of us were done.  No copying, or influence, allowed!  Given that #1 Daughter works full-time, and lives in an Eastern Time Zone, I knew that I would typically finish first, and would hear from her in the early evening.  This pattern was well-established after a week or so, when one evening came and went without a text, I worried!!!  

#1 Daughter is a natural artist; me?  Not so much.  (She drew "Milkshake", "Garden Tools" and "Sea Monster".  I think you can figure out the rest of her work from here.)  Where did she get this talent?  Even when I look at a real object, I struggle to recreate it.  We agreed (with a few pre-approved exceptions) that we would draw from memory.  It was amazing to me how often I could not conjure an image in my mind of objects that I have seen thousands of times.  As I read somewhere lately, you have to see it to draw it!  I also had to work on my competitive nature -- it would have been easy to be jealous of her skills!  (Most of the time) I focused on improving my abilities!  We both agreed that there are prompts we would like to re-do when the challenge is over.

My Mom is SO creative and her drawing has improved SO much since she first started. 


Some words/phrases prompted immediate ideas, but I tried to go beyond the obvious.  One example is Overgrown; my favorite is Evening Drink.


It was amusing that one time, we drew almost the same picture!  (The prompt was "Exhausted".)



I also found that I tend to "see" scenes rather than just the object that is represented by the prompt.  Or maybe this is just my way of hiding my inability to draw a certain object by giving the viewer lots of distractions!

For the drawing itself, I'm a very literal person. I don't often stray from the drawing prompt or draw additional items. You want a plant? I'll draw you a plant. Nothing more, nothing less. Even on some of my more creative drawings (ie. "Rain" prompt - rain coming from under an umbrella with clouds on it), I still almost always started with the item in the prompt or something closely related to it. I find the times I have the most fun doing it were on weekends when I had a whole day to take my time and enjoy it. To me, this is very apparent in the "Summer Fair" prompt. It started with the Woodstock sign, then the trees, then the guitar and then the posters on the tree. Because I had time to build it and stare at it and let my creativity flow with ideas.


One of the things I have learned from my daughter in the last 45 days is the value of sketching.  I tend to try and draw perfectly from the first line - and how often does that happen?  But even after I am done sketching, I like to convert that pencil drawing into something permanent.  I use markers of various widths to create emphasis, as needed.  I like to use color in my pictures, but sometimes I think the simplicity of the black and white is part of the message.  


Many of my drawings are in pencil. Sometimes this was intentional, sometimes I was too lazy to color it in, sometimes I just fell in love with how the drawing looked in pencil only, sometimes I was afraid coloring it in would ruin it. I think this is due to my limited color pencil collection and I have taken a vow to change that. Aside from pencil and colored pencils, my other medium was gel pens. I loved using a simple black outline to make a drawing pop (the "Music" and "Architecture" prompts are favorites of mine, you can also see my first attempts at this in the "Overgrown" and "Camera" prompts where a thin sharpie didn't quite cut it), but I also loved the crisp clean sticker-like feeling the gel pens gave me. The "Lantern", "Rain", and "Freedom" prompts are good examples of this.



The drawing journey also brought home the joy of shared experiences.  More than once, we each drew an object/scene that we knew would have meaning for the other.  At times it was amusing, even eliciting a full belly laugh.  Some drawings documented family memories, and I was touched to know that my daughter still finds them meaningful.


But the best of all was to hear this from her:

I love my mom. She makes people feel loved through her drawings. 

A fitting summary for Lent: it is all about Love.  #1 Daughter - thanks for the idea of the drawing challenge, and bringing a new element to this period of meditation and renewal.  I love you so much!

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I am taking a break next week; please come back for Mosaic Monday on May 1.

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29 comments:

  1. ...the two of you have been busy! I'll see you when you come back.

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  2. The drawings are super cute and fun. Speaking of fun, have a fun time and safe travels.

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  3. Hello,
    What a fun post! I loved all the drawings, you are both creative and talented. Take care, enjoy your trip. Have a great new week!

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  4. lol, cool, you guys did a great job sketching :) Don´t think I would do that :) I hope you had a great Easter. :)

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  5. Wow, Great drawing which I don't have ant talent. I LOVED to read the line of your daughter's comment♬ Have a great week and Thank you very much for hosting & Sweet comments, Lots of Love; Miyako.

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  6. This sounds like a great drawing challenge. Beautiful sketches. I like the lighthouse much!

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  7. That was a wonderful idea and you have created such beautiful art. It was great reading about it too, Angie! Enjoy your break!

    -Soma

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  8. What a talented family you have Angie. So pleased to hear that our weather is being good for you. Lapwings and Curlews - good stuff.

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  9. Dear Angie - How creative and talented two of you! I enjoyed each and every drawing. It’s nice you could dig into your drawing preference and style through this experience. Hope you’re having a good time on your trip.

    Yoko

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  10. Hi Angie Happy Easter.
    I luv your lenten art, every Friday at my blog Lunch Break its Art For Fun Friday, please join in

    much💛love

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  11. I love all these drawings! Especially because I have no drawing talent, and and have an appreciation for those who do!

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  12. Happy Easter, Angie! What a great idea you and your daughter had. You managed to keep in contact creatively and with great mental stimulation! Impressive!

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  13. Dear Angie, what a wonderful idea to spend Lent drawing! You and your daughter, you both have talent and I like the way you both tell stories with drawings and sometimes transform the pure meaning of words. I can imagine approaching the challenge with a bit of jitters because the idea of turning in a drawing EVERY day seems difficult at first (especially when you have a full-time job! WOW). So great that you both stuck with it and also gained interesting experiences from it!
    Happy easter, all the best and have a wonderful time in the UK
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/04/italien-reisebericht-zwei-relaxtage-und.html

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  14. Love the cute drawings! How fun!

    Hope you had a wonderful Easter, Angie.

    Happy Monday!

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  15. So much fun! And right up my alley. I'm in the more is more category when it comes to drawing (and decorating). Sometimes with my drawings, I don't know when to stop. Definitely love color. And outlining in black (funny because backstitch in cross-stitch isn't my favorite thing to do if there's too much detail :) Loved seeing what you both created. Definitely a fun challenge.

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  16. I love to doodle, keeps me from falling asleep in front of tv. I added 2 things this week, just missed joining last week. I've been on a blogging break for a few months so hopefully back to being a bit more regular participant in future.

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  17. Such funny drawings, Amgie, it's a pleasure. They are originals and it's always lovely to create a own picture, isn't!? I prefer to paint because it's a good way to forget the World outside for hours.

    Best wishes, have a very good time on your trip.

    Hugs, Heidrun

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  18. Great fun! I laughed at the Exhausted pictures.

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  19. I hope you had a great Easter holiday. You have been very creative. The drawings are cute and fun.

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  20. Well done to you and your daughter ...
    I enjoyed seeing all of the art.

    Have a wonderful break away in the UK.

    All the best Jan

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  21. What a beautiful and fun thing to do with your daughter. Your drawings show your dedication and love.
    Have a great time in the UK. I look forward to reading some stories when you return.

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  22. What a fun exercise to do with your daughter...love it. Happy Easter to you, I won't say belated as Easter is never belated and is always here because Jesus is alive!

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  23. What a very creative exercise. You did good, Angie. I loved reading this post and enjoyed the drawings. Have fun in the UK.

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  24. Sensational drawing for Angie and daughter, have a break you deserve it.

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  25. Hope you had a wonderful Easter, dear Angie. I love your sweet drawings.
    Amalia
    xo

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  26. Ooooo! Why didn't I see these earlier? The drawings are brilliant and totally fun! Of course, I fell for the umbrella. :))

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