Yes. Some. It is cabin season and my eyes are too old to draw without electricity. We don’t have electricity in Mineral King. You Wilsonia folks have cushy cabins, but I am not complaining.
But don’t worry! I’m on schedule with the goal of finishing all the drawings for the upcoming boook, The Cabins of Wilsonia by the end of 2013.
Sorry for being so redundant. It is supposed to help Mr. Google find this blog.
More questions to provoke some thought and generate a story or two or twelve to include in the book:
What about cabin life is the most different from your real life?
Tell me about the longest stay you have had at your cabin
I’m drawing a book called The Cabins of Wilsonia. Drawing it, not really writing it. There will be a preface, an introduction and a conclusion, along with explanations of street names, and I have written most of this already.
It is my hope that Wilsonia cabin folks will do the writing.
The point of the book is to show what it is like to have a cabin in Wilsonia in pictures and in the stories and thoughts from the cabin folks.
When people are asked about their cabins, the tendency is to recite a list of previous owners by name and approximate date of ownership. Since it is my goal to shoe what it is like to have a cabin NOW, clearly I haven’t been asking the right questions!
A friend of mine helped me formulate a list of questions to trigger ideas and thoughts and memories and impressions and information and personal stories about cabin life.
I know it is a pain to write. It is a pain to email. We are all busy. So, for starters, I will just ask questions.
Perhaps over time, these will cause you to have ideas, and when we talk in person, you will have thought about or answers to a question or two. Or maybe I should mail out a questionnaire. . . or put something in the Wilsonia newsletter. . . or email those of you who have shared your eddresses?
Drawing 145 pictures in one year’s time can get boring, tedious and lonely. I love to draw, but occasionally there are signs that my enthusiasm is wavering.
Last week I found myself enmeshed in a terrible web of procrastination. I did some oil painting, organizing, painting of cupboards in the workshop, blogging, reading for fun, gardening, errands, and even attempted to balance the checkbooks.
When I do stuff with numbers by choice, you KNOW there is a problem.
No worries – enter NATALIE! We met in 1986, are close in age but far in geography. We had an agreement to write letters in spite of email, and we have stuck to that agreement with some exceptions. Natalie emailed me last week to ask if there was a time she could call me on the phone, because she wanted a real conversation. What a friend!
We talked for TWO HOURS while I worked on this pencil drawing of a Wilsonia cabin:
Thank you, my dear friend Natalie, for talking me through, for helping me figure out some things, for taking the time to catch me up on your life, for the incredible gift of committed friendship for 27 years.
Most Wilsonia cabin folks fly their American flags while at their cabins. If these were commissioned drawings, I’d ask to put color in the flags. Alas, I don’t think any of us could afford the book if it was printed in color.
This is cropped. I love to crop stuff. You might have noticed.
When building a book like this, there are so many things to consider. Look at this list:
1. Color or not? Will it reproduce well? Will it cost more to reproduce? If I put color in the drawings, will they reproduce decently in a single color of ink?
2. Who will print this book? It is too soon to talk to printing companies. I tried this in 2011 and had several hungry (rabid?) sales people calling me. (Hey Printing Sales Guy – The book isn’t yet designed or drawn: I just asked the simple question of “Can you print this sort of book or not?” DON’T CALL to try and sell me something – it is Way Too Early.)
3. When can I sell the original drawings? If I let them go and find out I didn’t scan them properly, I will be in trouble, groveling to get them back, scrambling around trying to find who has what, taking them out of frames, trying not to wreck the framing. . . oh my.
4. If I crop cabins and draw them the way I like, the shapes and sizes to make the book the most interesting, will anyone want the originals?
See what I mean? questions, questions, questions.
Anyone out there have a crystal ball to lend me so I can get some definitive answers?
A three month block is often called a “Quarter”. Why don’t we refer to a four month block of time as a “Third”?
I have asked questions like this my entire life. Inquiring minds want to know many things, and we sometimes end up annoying the rest of the world. Other times, we find folks who have always wondered but didn’t ask. And then there are those who laugh at us for asking. . .
The end of April is the end of a Third of a year of drawing the cabins of Wilsonia in pencil. Lots and lots and even more pencil drawings are stacking up in my studio and on my computer.
In April, I finished Mason, Meadow, and am currently working on Palisades Street. (Bet you didn’t know there is a Palisades Street.) It isn’t really a street. It shows on the map and there is a sign, but in reality, it is the yard area of 3 cabins that were all in the same family at one time.
Nope, this isn’t on Palisades. I’m not identifying individual cabins. I have a strong thing about other people’s privacy.
Next, look out Park Street, here I come, armed with pencils and ready to draw. No, I didn’t say “Park Avenue”. I may be the only pencil artist doing this, but it isn’t Monopoly.
This Wilsonia cabin was interesting to draw. The cabin caught my eye because of its bright blue shutters. Would it look like anything special in pencil?
I think it looks special because I love shingle siding and rockwork. Besides, sunshine makes everything look special. But, I can see that I need to rescan it, or mess around with some photo editing. My friend who taught me to use Adobe InDesign is visiting me this week, so I will ask her for help.
I need help building this book when it comes to the technical stuff. Thank you, Carol!!
Because of life and some good things taking place in April, I only have 11 drawing days. With my self-imposed deadline of completing all the drawings for The Cabins of Wilsonia by the end of December, 2013, this is tricky.
Not to worry, Oh Gentle Blog Reader and Faithful Friend of Wilsonia! I knew this was coming so I drew like a crazy caffeinated drawing maniac in March. Not too caffeinated, because that would make my hand tremble. Just with a laser-like focus, an unceasing forward motion, a not-to-be-deterred determination.
Instead of completing 126 in March, I made it to #132. Still in the Ms – Manzanita Street is almost finished, Mason Street was begun in 2011 and will be completed in April, Lord willing, the creek, et cetera. . .
HEY, WILSONIA FOLKS, ANYONE WANT TO TELL ME WHAT THIS PENCIL DRAWING IS?? Don’t worry, I know, I’m just asking to see if you recognize it!
This is one of the earlier drawings. Before the book was designed, I knew this was a view that belonged in the book.
Now that I am into the 4th month of the ambitious goal to finish all the drawings in 2013, I am pleased to report that this definitely looks possible. 230+ drawings, begun in 2011, with 85 done at the beginning of 2012, needing 145 by the beginning of 2014. Probably even more than 145. . .
More? MORE?? Yes, because there are lots of little decorative touches that are not cabins. I haven’t figured out what they all will be or where they will go. Once the book is set up on Adobe InDesign, the gaps and hollow places will be visible. Then, in spite of thinking “Yippee Skippee, stick a fork in me, I am DONE!”, I will have to face the reality of more work ahead.
As I finish a page, I pull out my scrappy sketches to see what to do next. Since this book is being drawn and arranged alphabetically by street name, there aren’t any superfluous decisions about that.
But, I designed this awhile ago. As it progresses, I rethink the layout of the drawings. I rethink which views of which cabins belong in the book. Fortunately, I don’t rethink whether or not the book is going to happen – that is non-negotiable.
Now on Manzanita Street/Lane/Avenue/Road, (what are these things called??), I questioned my choices of cabins, views, details, and page layout. What was I thinking when I designed this? WAS I thinking??
Hmmm, perhaps it is time to show you an earlier pencil drawing from Mason Street/Drive/Road/Lane/Boulevard. (Just kidding about the Blvd. . . it is a cabin community, not a city!)
This is a most unusual chimney with a built in area for an outdoor fire too. I love shingle siding and stone work. The book will probably be heavily weighted in that direction. Just warning you all!
Remember that I had to draw the dog before the fleas?
Here is the dog with all the fleas!
This is drawing #117. I don’t know what it is, but it is certainly interesting. It has history, lots of stories, but it isn’t talking. Sort of looks like a slave cabin. I know there were many Southern sympathizers in Tulare County during the War Between The States but I don’t believe there was slavery here.
To stay on schedule, #126 needs to be completed by March 31.
