With the completion of the felted flock I find myself once again facing new beginnings. And with that there is little to be done except the all important work of heeding the artistic nudge and carrying on.
That fact my artistic world mirrors my real one is a marvel and an inspirational road map of sorts. While I am often challenged by the worry that my day to day, and the subjects therein, will be of no interest to anyone, I feel as excited to draw sheep and dogs now as I did to begin raising them nearly twenty years ago. There is no difficulty in rising early or staying up late to draw (or write about it). A part of that excitement stems from trying something new again and being challenged with it, and failing at a few attempts, and then finally figuring out the how that eluded you before. And yes, I will return to felting, but upon the conclusion of the Felted Flock I needed to dive into something entirely different for awhile.
The three dogs in this charcoal drawing are all deceased now. That isn’t intended as a sad statement though, but as a notice of time passed and experience gained. The flock, the dogs, and the prairie have all shaped and carved their way into my being, they have all lead me to believe I belong somewhere. To be drawing them, to attempt to capture the experiences and share them over again, is no trivial plan.