Wolf Nouveau

As promised, the "other design":

(As with the fish design, the intention is tri-color- but shades of gold and white)

I Can't Let You Do That, O

Computer is on the fritz, so I'm doing this via phone. It's been one of those days, anyway, so rather than subject you to the half-hearted doodles I turned out, here is a photo of the OTHER design I did yesterday:

Never mind, it won't let me do that. So. Obviously it's bedtime, and I can deal with all of this tomorrow.

Life Patterns

One of the things Nathan has been adamant about getting for the house is curtains.  He lacks my utter un-self-consciousness (some might say "exhibitionism") and desires a bit more privacy for the lower floor.  I have been stubbornly ignoring his requests because I like light, and as far as I was concerned curtains = death to light.  But finally this past weekend I gave in and got us some curtain rods, with the intention of sewing some curtains in the next few weeks.  I was feeling very petulant about it, too, informing him that the only sorts of curtains that don't make me utterly puke are sheers (because of the whole letting-light-in thing).  He was fine with that, so long as there was something.  So this morning I was looking up curtain-making tutorials and I saw... well, I saw some awfully cute curtains.  And I thought, "Hey, maybe curtains don't have to be ugly or blah.  Maybe I can use awesome fabric!" so I got on Etsy and started looking for awesome fabric.  And, do you know, I found some?  I found some I wanted so badly for curtains I could taste it- the only problem is that the particular fabric I had the poor taste to fall in love with is printed exclusively for a shop that uses it to make custom bags.  As in, I cannot get that fabric.  And so I sulked and said to myself, "Well how does one print fabric, anyway?"

And thus did I discover Spoonflower, where you can print your own textile designs.  And I nearly choked with excitement over the implications.  I could not just have cool curtains, I could have cool curtains featuring my own artwork!?  Yes freaking please.  And I immediately started designing patterns.

Here, have a taste:

Can you see this as a pattern against my bright orange wall?  Because I TOTALLY CAN.

Sketchy Accounts

I was recently came into possession of some old family documents- namely paternal grandfather's father's genealogical research he did in 1940, which just so happened to include the transcription of a Civil War era journal.  When I first discovered these items I was beside myself with wiggly glee; I am an obsessive journal-er, and the chance to delve into an ancestor's journal made me feel like a piece of that person's DNA was proudly expressing itself in my veins.

Which I suppose is still technically true, even tho', after several hours of untangling and re-organizing, I've come to realize that Matthew Owens was not a direct ancestor, but rather my great-grandfather's paternal uncle (died without issue, as far as I can tell).  Ah well.  Still, it was an interesting read, if only for the sheer glee of coming across the phrase, "...the Rebs skeedaddled..." (he was a Union volunteer), not to mention an amusing account of insults exchanged with an exceptionally drunken officer (because it seemed the thing to do?)  More sobering were his accounts of some of his comrades wounds- he visited the field hospital after a battle and remarked, "...it is not a place for the chicken-hearted..."  Matthew was killed in 1864, in the Second Battle of the Wilderness.

So what does all of this have to do with today's sketch?  Nothing whatsoever.

I could stand to brush up on my horse anatomy, I think.

Costume Update

I've laid down the flat colors for that costume I designed a few weeks back.  It was time-consuming as all get-out, and I've yet to lay in the shadows (obviously), but I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along.

Pazhir (yeah, she has a name now)

 

And how here are a few fun facts about this character and her people:

Pazhir comes from a particularly wealthy family, which you can tell by the amount of pearls adorning her outfit (she even uses them as buttons- quite extravagant).  Her people live on the steppes, so pearls are hard to come by- the vast majority are posessed by those families that can trace their roots back to the tribe's migration from the Western Sea (that's what the image on her skirt panel references: she's from one of the Original Families).  The second tier families can trace their roots back to the migration from the mountains (in between the Western Sea and the steppes).  They've heard tell of another ocean far to the south, but the rumor is that it's bright blue (as opposed to the gray of the Western Sea).

When they're children both males and females keep their hair neatly braided in a single plait: once the females reach menarche they use a special paste which gives their hair a deeper orange tinge and allows them to form something like dreadlocks: the males shave their heads at age fourteen.

The indigo-dye used to mark married females will stay on the skin for about three months.  The women renew the mark every month on the new moon.  Allowing the mark to fade is how you divorce your husband: he has no say in the matter.  The priestesses of the tribe have permanently-stained fingers, because they use the dye for all sorts of rituals (in addition to performing marriages).

Pazhir's favorite color is green, although she prefers it in accents rather than large swaths.  (You might just notice that only gemstone in all of her rings is green.)  Her bodice and gorget are made of boiled deer leather and function as a lightweight armor- her people have a very violent history, which still shows in some of their fashion, although they haven't had a systematic war in a very long time.  The wide embroidered hem of her skirt and on the sleeves of her short jacket are detachable: she changes them to change her outfit, as well as the trim on her skirt panel.  The one she's wearing in the picture is meant for spring (hence the pink flower).

Mistress of the Munchkins

This is the sort of thing that happens when one spends too much time thinking about Oz...

Wicked?  Or the victim of a Postmortem Defamation Campaign?

Truth be told, I didn't intend to put down as much color as I did.  Not tonight, anyway... but it's also not as detailed as I'd like it to be.  But I seriously have got to get ready for bed, no  matter how inspiring my music is...

Feeling Good About Feeling Sore

It's been a really good day so far.  I've been on track, and it has me feeling both physically and mentally satisfied.  I got up when my alarm went off (this is a pretty big accomplishment for me, so right away I was feeling like a winner), did my sun salutations (because I made a third-week-of-January-resolution to bring my stretching regimin back), made breakfast, took out the garbage and recyling, and made it to work on time.  While at work I made the meal plan for next week, ate a primal lunch, and did not let Lazy Self talk me out of going to the rock gym after work.  I was feeling sullen about it- I felt ugly (it is very hard for me to want to do anything when I don't feel attractive- I'm not sure if this is just a weird quirk of mine or if all people get this...), I felt irritable, I didn't want to walk through the rain... so many excuses, but I shut them all down and forced myself to go because I'd made a commitment.  And I'm so glad that I did, because after flailing around (and failing and falling down a few times) I made a new belaying friend who was oh-so-patient with me (he was flying up 5.11s with no discernible effort, so it really was kind of him to take me under his wing) and with his help I conquered another 5.9, so even though I'd spent the day feeling like a haggard... well, hag, after I completed that climb I felt awesome and gorgeous and The Best At Everything Always.  Which, as you know, is my natural state.

So Nathan picked me up at the designated time, and I was actually a little sad I hadn't set it half an hour later... which I suppose I'll do next time.  And now he's making dinner while I update this blog (taking breaks to rub my screaming forearms).  And now I present you with the fulfillment of my other commitment:

Feruchemist

These are some doodles of Sazed, from Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series.  He is one of my all-time favorite characters, partially because his character arc is so compelling.  (Sazed is a eunuch, which is why I've drawn him with such androgynous features.)