Writing and drawing about everyday life

Added some colour freehand on the iPad, to a scanned in pencil drawing. An illustration for my “Mother as Writer” book.

Just touch on a picture to view the gallery carousel.

These everyday scenes I think are quite worthy of recording – both in words and pictures. I did the haiku in watercolour and pencil. To the scanned in line Illustrations from my book “Mother as Writer”, I’ve added some soft watercolour in the “Tayasui Sketches” app.

My haiku book is called, “Poems from Home: a Collection of Illustrated Haiku”. Everyday objects; quite important things, feature in this collection: tossed cushions, clattering saucepans, clothes pegs…are among the many household things that fill it’s pages. Too many to staple and bind together into a handmade book – so I’ve just placed photocopied versions of them into plastic pocket display books.

So many ideas, poems, drawings,..to sift through; collected in small pockets of time, while raising a family.

Daily immersed in housework and feeding hungry boys (young men now) I’d jot down: lines sentences, words ideas… perhaps a quick pencil sketch here and there. I still often have to write and draw this way!

Usually, at the end of the day, if not completely exhausted, I’d look over this collection: cross out things, put arrows every where, and circle around – words, ideas…look over a drawing..and from that mix I’d sometimes create a small poem or pic.

A haiku is often an ideal form to catch the essence of what you want to say, from a pottpouri of random sentences. I write more on haiku and ways to write them here

I use a great app called “Book Creator” to reformat my handmade books, into ebooks; although enjoyable it’s  rather a long process. There’s more about this app and a little about my books, on my page “Some App Information”.

I have many rough drafts of poems and sketches, I want to polish up and finish. The trouble, is I continue to have lots of ideas, (not a trouble really, as it’s great to have lots of ideas!) and not as much time as I thought I’d have by now to complete my arty projects. Not to worry, by prayer and perseverance I’ll get there.

Meanwhile I spy some dishes doing a tango near the sink – I will open the “Zen Brush” app and then parade them in ink.