Welcome to my blog! This is a sketch book of things I'm drawing, photographing, writing, or just thinking about when I'm not busy designing fabric.
wendyslotboom@gmail.com
www.inthebeginningfabrics.com
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I wrote about Toby’s love of YouTube here, and in response B. sent me a link which she thought Toby might enjoy.
I liked this video very much, and watched it three times, but Toby’s attention wandered. He just did not make a connection to anything going on in the Antwerp station. The problem? No dogs.
So, we returned to Toby’s favorites: Bizkit the Sleepwalking Dog, Bizkit the Sleepwalking Running Dog, and Bizkit the Sleepwalking Barking Dog. I watch Bizkit and think “neurological disorder,” but that’s just me (and my total lack of medical knowledge) talking. To Toby, Bizkit is endlessly fascinating and as perfect as can be.
I’m thinking, “Would Bizkit benefit from drugs?” and Toby is thinking, “Can we watch that again?!”
Of course we can.
Wednesdays are Dog Days
This dog has to be a metaphor for something. He’s tied up in line (LEAVE THE LINE: LOSE YOUR PLACE, the sign above him says). But, when looking at the bigger picture, there is no line. And so there’s no place to lose. And yet…he’s tied there. In line.
In my heart, I know this says something important about the human condition.
I’m throwing this out there, not because it’s a good idea, but because it led me to a moment of transcendental love of the internet.
First: the idea. It’s the Taco Takeout Purse. I love tacos and have apparently spent more time than I realized contemplating the plastic baskets in which they are served at my favorite restaurant. One day it occurred to me that if you took two baskets and…
…you’d have a purse.
That got me wondering. Where do these baskets come from? They come from the internet, my friends. Specifically, I found them at foodbasketworld.com. They’re asking $9.90 for a dozen Tablecraft Chicago Platter baskets. What’s more, they have all kinds of food baskets.
I spent a blissed out few minutes thinking of all the purse possibilities, and then I came to my senses. Still, I am delighted that Food Basket World exists. Makes me wonder what other worlds are out there.
The quilt I referred to here is finished, except for the binding. The machine-quilting (I wish it showed up better in the photograph) was done by the wonderful Carrie Peterson.
Instead of snippets, I now have a whole stack of Lily Pond fabric. That’s one of the great benefits of fabric design…at the end of the process, there is fabric.
It’s enough to make you want to start the whole routine all over again.
1. I have this goal of drawing people better. I decided to stick with the characters of Penny and Ice Grrl since I’ve already drawn them once, and they could use some improvement.
2. There is a word for when you get the first letters of words mixed up. I’ve been doing that a lot lately. The other day, my brain was thinking “non-fat chai,” and my mouth was saying “non-chat fai.”
So, here is Ice Grrl in her real-world guise as Penny, the barista.
One of these days, Penny will have friends and a pet. Ice Grrl will have a total superhero costume makeover. It’s going to be great.
Wednesdays are Dog Days
I’ve decided that Wednesdays are Dog Days here at Sort of Sketchy (even though, technically, this is being posted on Tuesday evening…)
I’ve never had a dog as a pet so, in that day-to-day care-taking way, they’re kind of mysterious to me. But they also seem pretty obvious – unlike cats – the way they wear their hearts on their sleeves.
Even this wooden dog can’t hide his feelings. He is very annoyed.
Next Wednesday: a real dog.
P.S. I received an email asking about the interviewee’s response to the barn question. I actually overheard two interviewees. The first was a green barn. The second was purple.
A few weeks ago, I was sitting in a public place, minding my own business, when I became aware of a job interview being conducted about 10 feet away from me.
There was minimal discussion about prior work history, then the interviewer said, “You are a barn, in the middle of nowhere. What color are you?”
I am still thinking about it. Still stumped. I hope no-one ever asks me that question.
1. Cat ears will make anyone look at least 10% cuter. Cute cat ears are available at nekochii.com.
2. Wigs. I want one. There is an amazing selection of them here. This one is my favorite. I don’t know anything about Ruby Moon. I hope she isn’t evil.
I was having another one of those I-have-an-illustration-but-no-story moments. Like with the pigeon, except it was a dog this time.
For some reason, I started thinking of my favorite news stories, which usually involve heroic dogs. Great! I thought. My illustration shows a heroic dog who has just saved a child’s life.
And yet. This isn’t just a random dog sketch. This is a drawing of an actual dog, an old dog, who was giving off a curmudgeonly vibe on the day I took his picture while he was tied up outside a dress shop.
Could an old cranky dog still pull off an act of heroism? I pictured his human having a heart attack while watching TV. The dog observes, processes the information, then trudges off to the phone and dials 911.
Good boy!
But what if the rescue requires more exertion? What if his human is drowning?
What then?
P.S. I have not yet improved my people-drawing skills…
1. Hair. The lighting effects in hair are very difficult. I had to consult “How to Draw Superhero Hair for Dummies” in order to draw Ice Grrl’s hair. And it still leaves a lot to be desired.
2. Noses. In manga (Japanese comics) they tend to minimize the nose, and sometimes do away with it entirely. I might embrace that strategy.
3. Hands. The ways I’ve misdrawn hands are too numerous and embarrassing to mention. But, again, Ice Grrl.
So, why do I want to draw people anyway? In my fabric design work, I draw animals (which I love), and flowers (also fun), and geographic designs (fun, yes), but not people (difficult, not-so-fun). In fabric design, you don’t really need to draw people. But wouldn’t it be so much better if I could?
Which is why this is my mid-year resolution. Is it mid-year yet? Anyway, I’m going to work on my people-drawing skills. There’s nowhere to go but up.