Sometimes Art Just Needs to Be Made…

One of the reasons I have a hard time sleeping is that Art Brain doesn’t get a lot of time during the school day to process ideas. She tends to start at about 10 PM and since I’m going to bed earlier this year, it doesn’t leave much time for the work of it. I fell asleep last night to her taping more paper to the top and right side of this drawing so she could add storm clouds and another figure. She and I will talk later…I know she’s frustrated at only drawing for an hour a night, but last night, I was exhausted when I got home (at almost 6 PM) and had forgotten I was in charge of dinner (never defrosted, let alone marinated meat), so after food was handled (we went out) and my non-Art Brain had a chance to decompress, there was only an hour and a bit before bedtime. And I was exhausted. So I went for the sleep.

I woke up this morning with the drawing stuff still in my head, but now it has to wait until tonight to get drawn and/or decided. Tape more on top? Definitely. Not sure about the other bit. I’ll think about it.

I have been drawing for about an hour a night, though. Some weeks, I get to make art for 10+ hours, some even 18 (OK, that’s when I completely blow off work on the weekend, which I pay for later)…this week is a solid 6 so far. Not great. Could be better.

I roughed in some stuff on the right side when I started this, then started adding protest signs.

And a white woman with cash…because they can always get an abortion, right? If they’re rich enough? That’s one of the many things wrong with this system of Christian ideals. They are only for everyone ELSE. If my precious gets pregnant and that will affect her future, we’ll find a way. I hate that shit.

And then last night, I kept working on that right side. I think there’s going to have to be hand embroidery on this thing for some of the smaller writing.

I’m ignoring all the deadlines popping up. I might even be ignoring size restrictions for some big shows. Not sure. Nah, it’s still smallish. Ha! Not if I add more at the top and sides. Ah well. Sometimes art just needs to be made. Sometimes they never get into a show. It sucks. But it needs to be made.

I still need to add the entire landscape behind the women. The bubble gets none of that. They live in their bubble world. We get nature. Fuck ’em.

Sometimes I write notes on the drawings as I’m going along…apparently a cat objected to my focus on human rights…

Nova. Seriously. So I’m back to covering up all the edges so she doesn’t get excited again. Midnight used to eat my drawings. Annoying.

This is what I started at dinner.

Trying to keep the weekly drawing practice going, in between trying to manage art and art supplies and science and science supplies and grading and contracts and getting tested. I’m hopefully going hiking tomorrow. And then I’ll grade and hopefully get the drawing ready for the next stage by the end of the weekend. It’s got 6 hours into it so far. For those who want to know how long things really take, I’m betting there’s at least another 2-4 hours to go before she’s done.

So I’m going to drive off into the rain (rain? We have rain?) and get through the day, persuade a bunch of 11-year-olds to actually FINISH their art and not just take the fastest route to done, try to keep track of 100+ 12-year-olds who want to partner with ALL their friends, and somehow manage to get some grading done in between all that (ha! whatever). Nature and art this weekend, though. Yes, grading…but the others too.