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4 Calling Birds

Don’t Lose It…Day 4 in the 12 Days of Christmas Sketches

Mary Liz Ingram —  December 14, 2012 — Leave a comment
Little Elf, charcoal and conte on paper

My Little Elf, charcoal and conte on paper

On the fourth day of Christmas sketches…

4 Calling Birds fit well into my day: lots. of. noise.

Being calm and finding peace in the midst of the rush and whirl of life takes a lot of effort. A LOT of intentional effort.

I woke up late; it was a busy day at work. I had a packed out afternoon full of complications, rude drivers, and a shopping trip (thankfully only with one child instead of all 3!) during which I discovered at the register that my wallet was at home. So, we left the buggy to the side, drove home in traffic to retrieve the rogue wallet, then drove back in traffic to the store, to stand in line yet again to purchase my load.

I was quite proud of myself: I was still feeling calm and peaceful up to this point. The traffic didn’t get to me; the rude drivers gave me reason to teach my kids about being kind; I found humor in the forgotten wallet. Yet, I say “up to this point” for a reason. The cashier lady tipped me over the edge. I recognize she’s had a long day dealing with fussy customers…I get it. I’ve had a long day too. But, man, the attitude just got to me.

In the car, I vented on the phone and reigned myself back in. My daughter (who has had a streak of bad-attitude lately) and I talked about how good attitudes and bad attitudes will rub off on others. She blamed the cashier for making me frustrated… Cue the next life lesson: we have control over ourselves. Sure, the lady got under my skin. Yep, I got pretty irritated. But I’m my own person and have choices to make.

At those times, like tonight, when I think I might just lose it, I purposefully find my calm by recognizing my family. Thinking of my family grounds me and puts things in perspective. I think of my chubby little baby, my sweet kids, my strong and steady husband: my comforts, my constants. The frustrating trivialities fade, and I am surrounded by a grateful peace.

What brings you peace?

4 Calling Birds

4 Calling Birds

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2 Turtle Doves

1 Dozen Donuts…Day 2 in the 12 Days of Christmas sketches

Mary Liz Ingram —  December 12, 2012 — Leave a comment
1 dozen chocolate-covered, custard-filled birthday donuts, charcoal & conte sketch

1 dozen chocolate-covered, custard-filled birthday donuts, charcoal & conte sketch

On the second day of Christmas sketches…

Today is a very important day in our household. We’ve been preparing and counting down for a very long time. Today our little boy turns five! Of course parents are all biased toward our own children, but this little dude is truly something special.

As I reflect on finding peace in this day, it is fitting that my lesson comes from Patrick:

Be happy being you

He has no shame wearing his pants backwards all day;  he once wore a Darth Vader mask out to dinner, wondering why people were looking at him; a big pack of paper and a bunch of tape makes his day.

For his special birthday dinner, the dude chose chicken noodle soup (from the can only! Very specific…no delicious homemade stuff by Chef Dad).

For his special birthday school-treat, he requested chocolate-covered, custard-filled donuts for all.

He knows what he likes. He is happy being Patrick. He is quirky, wonderful and content.

As he celebrates many more birthdays in the future, I hope he will continue to grow in his contentment…and I hope I can learn to be at peace with who I am, my quirks and faults, good parts and bad; to stop being so demanding of myself, and be thankful for my life… learning yet another of many lessons from my funny birthday boy.

Christmas can bring out our crazy, but it can also bring out what is good and kind.

Don’t be afraid to like what you like, and be who you are. We each add something unique and beautiful to the world, that wasn’t there before. What are ways you can find greater peace with who you are?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?
Mary Oliver

2 Turtle Doves

2 Turtle Doves

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a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Checking it twice…Day 1 of the 12 Days of Christmas Sketches

Mary Liz Ingram —  December 11, 2012 — Leave a comment
Making a List

Making a List, charcoal and conte sketch on paper

On the first day of Christmas sketches...

For my first lesson in making my holiday season more peaceful, I took a cue from the big man in the red suit and made a list.

There were so many tasks, wishes, duties and plans whirling in my head that it was just a big Christmas blur. No peace would come by leaving my mental state in such a mess!

During the kids’ downtime, I spent about an hour making my list, giving thought to my plans (hmmm, what kinds of gifts does mom like?), reserving time on my calendar for upcoming tasks (Christmas commissions!), getting the easy jobs done (send in that $5 for the class Christmas party!).

This organization had several benefits:

  • my list relieved me of the fear of forgetting something important
  • writing it down made what seemed so overwhelming, not so bad once prioritized
  • having it down helped me form a clearer mental space from which my thoughts can grow…(now about that present for mom…)

For me, once I have a tentative map through the holidays, the Christmas Can-Can subsides, and it all seems much more manageable. It’s like eating your broccoli first…I got the bad part out of the way, and now the good stuff can be enjoyed.

Take that, partridge.

a Partridge in a Pear Tree

a Partridge in a Pear Tree

 

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The avoidance of narcissism

marylizingramart —  September 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

Reflection, Quick Graphite Sketch… I gave a speech today. I dont like public speaking…not one bit. In seminary, I took all the classes but the preaching classes. I love teaching; I can lead a pastel demonstration for hours and actually get energy from “speaking while doing.” But at a podium with a microphone? No thank you. I’ll do it, I’ll try my best, but I don’t like it. Who does like public speaking anyway? Oh right, my HUSBAND, who happens to be really great at it. Continue Reading…

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Tidy Up

marylizingramart —  August 12, 2012 — 1 Comment

Shoes, Graphite Sketch… Sunday, a day of rest and renewal; a time to reset. Sundays have become a mental health day for me…I tidy up, listen to music, drink slow cups of coffee, think about life. I shake off the stress and rediscover the joy. I clean up the grime, and unearth the shine of love and life; breathe in fresh air, notice my surroundings, find peace in my place. It keeps me going, week after week. Today I drew my little boy’s line of shoes: the epitome of tidiness in our house, since his room is always the messiest. “We are not afraid to look under the bed, or to wash the sheets; we know that life is messy. We know that somebody has to clean it up, and that only if it is cleaned up can we hope to start over, and get better.” -Marsha Norman, quoted in Real Simple, May 2012

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My POV

marylizingramart —  July 21, 2012 — 2 Comments

Hay Bale, Graphite Sketch…My husband and I have a ritual; it helps us decompress after our busy days, and is a routine time to relax and enjoy being together. Each night once the kids are tucked in bed, we sit on the couch, each with a glass of milk and two freshly baked chocolate chip cookies, to watch one of our recorded shows. Last night we watched the Next Food Network Star. Each Star hopeful must have a “POV,” a “Point of View” that would make their own Food Network show unique. Two weeks of my daily drawings are now complete, and over morning coffee, I reflected upon my “POV”…my own point of view around which my art revolves. I know art doesn’t have to have a “point” or a “meaning,” that it can be art for art’s sake, but my organized self loves to have everything in its place, categorized and grouped. I want my art to fit together and have a meaning, a purpose, a POV. When I reflect upon my daily drawings, I see the common thread of my own human experience: family, relationships, love, warmth, what surrounds me in my place, what is important to me in my life. Linking the theme of my sketches with my current pastels and paintings, my POV emerges as, in my husband’s words, “Southern eclectic”: a mixture of rural and city, objects and figures, past and present…the story of my place. I find warmth, family, richness and beauty in the South, in its porches and fields, its trees and marshes, its people and history, its rust and wood. A representation of the story of humanity, the South is a tightly woven tapestry of good and bad, hospitality and hatred, comfort and pain, smiles and sorrow. Despite its dark threads, my South triumphs with beauty, with color, with life, with strength; in my place and through my art, I hope to reveal and foster greater peace, honest love, and a warm, genuine reality of Southern hospitality, a welcoming with open arms.

In Alabama, Art, artist, Birmingham, drawing, Food Network Star, graphite, humanity, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pastels, pencil, pov, sketch, Southern , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Daddy’s Home

marylizingramart —  July 20, 2012 — Leave a comment

Daddy’s Home, graphite sketch…Today’s big event is that “Daddy is home!” My kids have been counting down to this day all week. Just as my dad did for my sister and I when he travelled, my husband always brings our kids a “prize.” This week he was in rural Alabama, not a place very conducive to buying souvenirs, but he nonetheless came home with some very interesting treasures! Cue the knitted Spiderman finger puppet made in Ecuador. It makes me laugh (it’s so odd!), and it made our son very excited. So here’s a fuzzy little Spidey: a celebration of homecoming, family and the funny things in life!

In Alabama, Art, artist, Birmingham, dad, daddy, drawing, Ecuador, finger puppet, graphite, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pencil, sketch, souvenir, Spiderman , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Homage to Degas

marylizingramart —  July 19, 2012 — Leave a comment

Nora, 3 months, Graphite Sketch…Today is the birthday of Edgar Degas, the French Impressionist famous for his figures of ballerinas, bathers, and other turn-of-the-century subjects. He also happens to be my favorite artist and major influence on my own art. I especially love Degas’ pastels…the vibrant contrasts, the intense markings, the vivid colors. His preparatory sketches are often a combination of strong, dark shadows mixed with precise, yet loose, lines. I like to study his work and absorb what I can into my own way of seeing color and interpreting subjects. In homage to Degas, I chose a figure drawing for my daily sketch, drawing my sleeping baby girl (who was a bit squirmier than I expected, once drawing commenced!) I used my darkest pencil, marking in the shadows, contemplating the art of Degas as I recorded this day in my baby’s young life.

The Tub, Edgar Degas, Pastel

Two Dancers Resting, Edgar Degas

In Alabama, Art, artist, baby, ballerina, bather, Birmingham, dancers, Degas, drawing, figure, graphite, Impressionist, Ingram, Liz, Mary, pastels, pencil, portrait, sketch , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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Thistle

marylizingramart —  April 21, 2011 — Leave a comment

 

About a week ago, while running errands with my family, on a persistent whim I decided I wanted one of the several thistles scattered along the shoulder of the road. As with most “whims,” there was not much reason for it…I just saw a tall, spiky, blooming thistle and became briefly obsessed with pulling one out of the ground. Partly driven by nostalgia, remembering a trip from my youth when my parents pulled over and showed my sister and I a thistle, partly driven by an “educational opportunity” for my own children (and humor at hearing my daughter say “thithle” with her slight lisp), and partly driven by an artistic impetus, I cajoled my husband into making two loops on a busy road so I could pop out of the car and pull up my coveted thistle.

It was one of my finer moments: dressed in nice clothes, climbing out of a little mini van, carrying a brightly striped child’s pullover (for spike-protection), dashing down a weed covered hill, watched by a whole intersection of onlookers merging off and onto the interstate, I quickly yanked up a thistle before scurrying back to the car with my strange prize. I’m sure I looked totally normal…

When I got close to my chosen thistle, which was much larger than I expected, I had a moment of panic that after all this trouble, in front of all these anonymous commuters, I wouldn’t be able to pull it up, and there I would be tugging in vain before retreating to the car in shameful surrender. To my relief, it came up with a quick snap.

My thistle has been blooming steadily all week in it’s little jar of water and giving me lots of opportunity to draw it, observe it, and reflect upon why I am fascinated by this odd plant.

At once both soft and jagged, with downy coverings and serrated thorns; both beautiful and dangerous, with soft red tufts of flower tempting the touch, while fingers must weave cautiously through the plentiful thorns. Strikingly harsh with it’s stiff, sharp leaves, and artistically intriguing with it’s curving, striated stems and colorful urns of flower. An unlikely place to find beauty, grace found among thorns.

Here are my impressions/studies of the thistle; I plan on trying it again soon with some different techniques.

3 Studies of a Thistle, 5×7 soft pastel on card coated with pastel ground

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