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Age of the Dinosaurs

Mary Liz Ingram —  September 8, 2013 — 1 Comment

Long ago, in some of my earliest yesterdays, I took a trip. Amidst mouse-eared balloons, sky-painting lasers & flying elephants, we approached the dinosaurs.

My father ushers me into place with the rest of my family. We begin our journey to the Mesozoic Era…the age of the dinosaurs.

Entering in darkness, unsure of what lay ahead, we creep tentatively under huge palm leaves. Something red is glowing up ahead, huge moving shadows warn me of coming doom. Dinosaurs.

These things are huge. They are moving. They are not stationary models, replica skeletons. In my 6 year old mind, with widened terrified eyes, if I’d know the words, I would have been saying “holy s$*#!!” If I wasn’t held in by a lap bar and my dad, I would have been in full on flight mode, running hysterically through the dark in a desperate search for 1987. Horror. Terror. I thought these guys were extinct?! But there I am, trapped in dinosaur land, eyes squeezed shut in hopes I’d survive this slow moving train of death.

All the while, as heart palpitations and sweat consume me, hysteria setting in, my poor Dad is trying in his logical, parental way to force me to look at these monstrous, man-eating beasts, promising they’re not alive.

Um, did you SEE them? They’re chewing on leaves and roaring for pete’s sake!? Not real?! You are kidding me!

Somehow these people don’t understand the situation. We are all going to die. Eaten by dinosaurs at Disney World. Perhaps crushed by a giant foot, chomped by a tyrannosaurus….who knows what horrific end awaits?

Well, so maybe I was mistaken. We made it out alive. Shaken and scarred for life, yes, but alive.

Traveling from the Jurassic period (or Triassic, Cretaceous…who knows?!) to present day, one week removed, you arrive at my 32nd birthday. One night over dinner, the kids asked me if I’d ever seen dinosaur bones. Well, yes, I answered, they are in museums. After a quick google, I announce that there’s a stegosaurus skeleton at a natural history museum an hour away.

So we take a trip. To see dinosaurs. On my birthday.

Call it motherly love, parental sacrifice. I STILL do. not. like. dinosaurs.

But we came, we saw, we photographed, we cheesed, we went. There were more dinos than I expected. Gross.

But the kids were AMAZED. I guess it was cool.

But they give me the creeps. Thanks Dad. 😉

Dinosaur & Hubby, ink & colored pencil

Dinosaur & Hubby, ink & colored pencil

The one and only drawing of a dinosaur I will EVER do…

A few photographs from our adventures at the Anniston Museum of Natural History:

Birmingham Artwalk

Mary Liz Ingram —  September 5, 2013 — Leave a comment

Artwalk is this weekend!

Come see me Saturday on 1st Ave N @ the Legg Lofts…

I’ll be selling my art & working my shift with the Birmingham Art Association from 3:00-6:00!

There will be some great artists & awesome art!

Birmingham Artwalk

Belle Nuit

Mary Liz Ingram —  September 1, 2013 — Leave a comment

C’était une belle soirée pour un dîner d’anniversaire. Nous avons eu martinis et le dîner au restaurant Chez Fonfon. La nuit était chaude, le soleil couchant d’or. Nous avons eu une petite table romantique pour deux. Je ne parle pas français. J’utilise un traducteur, donc je ne suis pas sûr de ce que j’ai réellement dit. J’espère que c’est juste!

Mais je m’égare.

Ah, if only I’d spent my birthday dinner in Paris…

Highland Martini, charcoal sketch

Highland Martini, charcoal sketch

 

Farmyard Additions

Mary Liz Ingram —  August 24, 2013 — Leave a comment

How many pigs does it take to make a drove? How many cows to make a herd? How many sheep to make a flock?

Whatever the answer, I’ve added a few more to my farmyard brood. Each of these new friends wants a home, and are currently boarding with me before making their way to the foster families at Alabama Goods and elsewhere.

Let me know if you are interested in adopting! Email: marylizingramart@gmail.com

Day 1: Legs itched like crazy. Had to stop.

Day 2: I’m going to DIE. Seriously, I might.

Day 3: I’m not going to die. But it’s close.

Day 4: I ran the first mile without stopping. 

I bought new shoes.

This was my motivation to begin jogging again. They are fabulously bright, with neon orange shoestrings and grass-green insoles. That, and my coordinated running clothes (dressing the part always makes it more fun), are about the only thing I like about exercising. I really don’t like exercising at all: I have to get up really early, I’m sore most of the day, and I fall asleep on the couch at 9:30.

Exercise is one of those nagging reminders that a healthy lifestyle brings to my guilty mind. So this week I started trying to relieve that guilt, and get in shape. GO TEAM INGRAM!

I do enjoy “going somewhere,” which is why I only like to jog outside: no track, no gym for me. I’m too tired in the morning to do yoga, and the cat gets all up in my business. So ear phones in, new shoes on, and off I go down the street for the sunrise.

Here’s hoping I can keep it up when it gets chilly! I’m an exercise wimp!

New Shoes, ink & colored pencil sketch

New Shoes, ink & colored pencil sketch

It Figures…

Mary Liz Ingram —  July 31, 2013 — 2 Comments

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future…. A day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for.” -Maya Angelou, Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey

Sometimes you just need a break… get away from it all, clear your head, breathe in life.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. He so sweetly surprised me by taking me on a long journey, far away to a Scottish resort.

Okay, really we dropped off our three kids at my parents’ house and drove 15 minutes to a lovely resort which felt very far away (and they did play bagpipes at sunset!). It was a fabulous 18 hours of relaxation and peace. We were both able to hang out in our respective spa areas for quite awhile and have a massage.

Now let me tell you something about Mary Liz and massages:

I’m a bit uptight. Massages stress me out a bit. I get nervous beforehand, and try my best, in my yammering stream of consciousness, to relax. But still…massages are lovely. Somewhere in between feeling awkward, wondering how many nasty feet the guy rubs a day, and finding my happy place, I began contemplating the human body: muscles, skin, shapes of calves…we people are pretty cool.

When we returned from our mini vacation, refreshed and ready to hug our tiny people, I felt inspired to do some figure drawing. 

Right down the road, there is a figure drawing class once a week in the evening. Unfortunately, that doesn’t work in my family schedule, so… I tried the next best thing. Home alone, kids asleep, I had to draw myself. I’m not a fan of pictures or drawings of myself, but you do what you gotta do to feed a whim.

So I present to you two self-portrait sketches, in graphite on paper.

Self portrait, graphite sketch

Self portrait, graphite sketch

Self portrait, graphite sketch

Self portrait, graphite sketch

 

 

 

Following Whims

Mary Liz Ingram —  July 30, 2013 — 2 Comments

Maybe it’s my artistic nature.

Maybe it’s the quirkiness inherited from my granny, as my family attests.

Maybe it’s because I can’t seem to grow up.

Whatever the reason, I get carried away by whims fairly often.

This time, my mother says, I’ve used up my “whim allowance” for awhile. My latest whim was a little larger than usual.

About 4x8x10 feet large, if I estimate correctly (and, as an artist, I’m not the best measurer. Eyeball it!!!).

We built a fort of all forts. It is spectacular. My children are in heaven.

I had to rope in reinforcements = my parents & husband.

But here is our fabulous, home-made (or built) result!

Flying Pastels

Mary Liz Ingram —  July 28, 2013 — Leave a comment

So while my blog posts have been lagging, my pastels have been flying.

This week I completed 9 pastels in anticipation of upcoming opportunities. I worked hard every afternoon after work, usually while the baby snoozed.

They range in price from $55 for the 4×4, $135 for 8x8s, and $175 for 8x10s.

Let me introduce you to our new barnyard friends:

Summer Blooms

Mary Liz Ingram —  June 17, 2013 — Leave a comment

Hydrangea, original photographyDown my sidewalk, between the rows of tall Monkey Grass, you meet my front steps. The beige paint is weather-worn, showing patches of brick red and copper underneath. We sit on these steps often; we welcome friends and family to our home; we watch the rain and wind during summer storms.

My baby learned to walk by going up and down the path, with the flowers on the big hydrangea bush as her goal. The hydrangea stands to the left of the porch, under the window, drooping under heavy clusters of rich blue flowers. A backdrop for the softest, greenest part of our yard, the hydrangea sees a lot of summer play. The kids play in the sprinkler before the blooms, making sure they get enough water in this Southern heat. The kids wrestle in the grass, picnic in the shade, and play with neighborhood cats. Our baby loves to smell the flowers and gather as many as she can hold in her tiny arms.

The flowers, so dense and colorful, overflow vases all around our home, and are always a sweet treat from my little boy to his mama. They bring life to indoor spaces, and beauty to our home.

Bouquet, 6x7 watercolor on board

Bouquet, 6×7 watercolor on board

Mother Hen

Mary Liz Ingram —  June 3, 2013 — Leave a comment

I woke up early to the sound of the baby crying, impatient to be lifted from her crib and deposited into her high chair for some Cheerios. The other two were scurrying around in their pjs, building legos and sewing felt animals, asking for their breakfast.

I stumbled my way to the kitchen for some coffee, and had one of “those” moments: where everything feels like Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

All I heard was “Mommy, mommy, mommy” and I felt really tired. 

For some reason, colorful barnyard animals have been popping into my head at these moments of heightened “sensitivity,” we might say. And this morning, as I sipped my coffee, I thought of a bright orange mother hen and her chicks.

A protective, attentive mother, a bit tired, perhaps letting out a sigh during a moment of weariness. Warm and cozy, but feeling a little irritable.

Well…that description came to me after I drew it. My first thought was of a tired, grumpy chicken.

I ADORE my children. They are unique, precious and beautiful to me, and I devote my life to their happiness, well-being and care with all my heart…

But, occasionally, a mom feels grouchy about being a mom, at least for a moment. And it’s okay.

We shouldn’t feel guilty for feeling like it’s Groundhog Day, when the cycle repeats and beats us down. We still gladly protect our little chicks– we still fix their breakfast, comb their hair and smother them in love and kisses.

The weariness passes quickly, and balance is restored…

Mother Hen, 8x8 pastel on card

Mother Hen, 8×8 pastel on card