Garden

Hello Everyone! I want to welcome all visitors, both old and new, here at InkTorrents. This is where I have been sharing a bit of my atelier and my life. This winter break was a tough one for me, which made a longer break necessary. I do love the company of trees and mountains, so I visited a few natural places in Northern California for recovery. At other times, I had my head buried in a sketchbook. I look forward to sharing the photos and artwork with you over the next few posts.

As you know, photography is a very integral part of me. For those of you who are new here, I took one photo of my everyday surroundings per day for a year. These photos played a big part in my life, and I have been sharing them here every now and then.

Here is the next set of my Simple365 photos.

Simple 365 – Set 9

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here. That way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos like in an old album.

Every now and then I make botanical paint from things I forage from my garden.

Wild Child

I shared the basics of botanical ink making here.

A few years ago, I got Indigo and Coreopsis seeds for the purpose of paint making. I collect the seeds from both plants each year and save them in little seed packets. Last week I had a great time sitting on the patio, sowing them in tiny little pots. These green trays are great for a plant nursery.

Much to my surprise, I saw little seedlings emerge within just a few days. I love watching them grow and look forward to the beautiful flowers and colours they will make.

I will write up a little tutorial on how to make these cute seed packets soon, in case you want to save or share seeds from your garden.

With a very frail 19+ year-old kitty at home, we have been limiting our travels to just a couple of days at a time, mostly within California. I often spend the last afternoon of a trip drawing in a sketchbook while my husband reads.

Visiting Yosemite in winter is a must for me. I did this sketch in pencil while I was at Yosemite, didn’t have a pen with me then. I wanted to leave it as-is, but my dear husband loves inked drawings. So, later on, I used a $10 fude pen for all the lines and a white gel pen for the snow.

I look forward to showing you more drawings and telling you a bit more about this sketchbook soon.

With the advent of March, my outside time became very limited due to severe allergies. Since I couldn’t be outside enjoying the fresh air and flowers, I started sketching and then carving this block. This will join the everyday journal wildflowers collection covers. I am very excited about printing this one and making a book with it.

These are just a few things from my winter break. I have so much to share with you – ideas, tools and supplies, the makes, and of course photos from my travels.

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please consider paying a visit to some of them.

Simple 365 – Set 6

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

I also created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365. I will add more photos to that page as well, as I share them here.

A little tradition

When we travel abroad, my husband sends me a postcard from that place. That way I have something in the mail after I come home. I rotate these postcards on my desk. My little desk friend loves to pose in front of them.

A little joy from the garden

Japanese Indigo loves hot weather. I mistakenly sowed some seeds at the worst time of the year, in autumn. They were indoors in their little nursery for the longest time until I couldn’t keep them there any longer. Unfortunately, I had to replant them in large pots right around winter. We tucked them in at night under big shrouds, and used my husband’s halogen task lights to keep them warm.

They not only made it through the winter, but are now blooming with the most beautiful tiny little flowers. I love it when plants survive and thrive. Do you talk to your plants? I quite often pet them and talk to them.

A quill story

However, even the garden work came to a sudden halt. A few weeks back, it was quite abysmal outside due to the bad air from the wildfires. By that Friday, I hadn’t seen a natural sky for days, only a smoke-filled grey-red sky. My eyes kept burning, and only stopped when we filtered the air in the house. All this from fires that were not even very close to us.

I decided to close the windows so I didn’t have to see the outside, sat tight inside and worked on making a bookmark out of a scrap piece of paper.

I have collected quite a few ink bottles and writing instruments from our travels to medieval castles and abbeys. I transported myself into a place where a scribe is working by candlelight.

Art can be such a wonderful balm, and it really helped that day when I was so emotionally exhausted. Working on this bookmark while listening to one of my favourite audiobooks was just perfect.

I feel much more refreshed and ready to take on the world once again. The air around us has cleared, and I can go outside and play/work in the garden again. Little stories that make everyday special.

I hope this provided you some escape from the everyday and made you smile. I would love to know which photo is your favourite.

Until next time,
-Soma

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page. Please pay a visit to some of them.

Little Stories – Seedlings

Simple 365 – Set 9

Little Stories – Escape

Simple 365 – Set 6

A little tradition

A little joy from the garden

A quill story