Category Archives: Progress Report

Still Drawing, But Behind Schedule

In my previous schedule to complete the 230 drawings by January 1, I was meant to have 208 finished by the end of October. Might make that, might not. Not even going to address the problem with the new schedule to complete 270 drawing this year. Ain’t gonna happen.

What, me discouraged? Nope! I’m still moving ahead. As my husband likes to point out, “It is a self-imposed deadline!” This is true. However, as a self-employed person, who else will impose a schedule if not me?

On the other hand, this means as I adjust the design of the book, I can also adjust the schedule of completion.

Now that my explanations (excuses?) have been made, have a look at a few recently completed drawings. (Hey Mr. Google, I’m talking about pencil drawings for the upcoming book The Cabins of Wilsonia.)

pencil drawing Sierra 18

Recalculating

Ever used one of those talking GPS deals when you were driving? If you go a different direction from the instructions, the female robot says “Re-Cal-Cu-La-Ting”.

That’s me, a female robot. A recalculating pencil picture production person.

When I visited Wilsonia in August, I was a little unnerved by how many changes I wanted to make to the design of The Cabins of Wilsonia. I added pages, added cabins that I previously didn’t believe would fit, details that I hadn’t noticed before, and even decided to redraw a couple of completed drawings.

WHAT?? AM I NUTS?

I might be by the time this is finished.

It was my plan to finish all the drawings, 230 of them with a little head start of 78, by the end of 2013.

Now that I have 5 months remaining, it seemed like a good time to assess my progress. This time I added in all the little decorative pieces too. Maybe I just wanted to feel overwhelmed, or maybe I like pain or maybe, just maybe I wanted to impress myself with the magnitude of this project.

Actually, it isn’t a project. It is a

PROJECT

According to my current count, there will be 269 drawings in The Cabins of Wilsonia PLUS the cover, and I’m sure a few more places will crop up that need decorative touches. I have 186 finished, which means there are 73 remaining if I am to accomplish my goal, with the moving carrot dangling out there.

73 divided by 5 equals approximately 15 drawings a month.

‘Scuse me for a bit. I need to go lie down. Maybe have a hit of chocolate, or knit a few rows, or just talk to Perkins, my Wonder Cat The Survivor. (Just heard a bunch of horrid coyotes yipping outside the studio as I type this.

IMG_9717

Visiting Wilsonia

After spending days, weeks and months just drawing, designing, studying photos and thinking about Wilsonia, it feels almost dreamlike to be there in person.

I was privileged to be a guest in this little cabin:

wilsonia cabin drawingIf it weren’t for the fact that the water heater has only a 10 gallon capacity, I might be tempted to move in permanently. Smart folks, my hosts! 😎 This might be my favorite cabin. (I know, I say that a lot!)

Visiting Wilsonia causes my project to become more complicated. As I become more familiar with the cabins and the community, I get to know them all better and I keep seeing more things to draw.

I redesigned some of the pages to accommodate more drawings, and added several pages. This means that I need to complete more than the 230 drawings on the schedule for 2013.

It might be good to stop visiting Wilsonia until the drawings are completed and the design is set in cement.

But, then I’d miss you all. Wow, your friendliness, hospitality, enthusiasm and support just bowls me over!

Thank you, Wilsonia!

A Whole Street of Cabins

Here is the last drawing to meet my July quota. I got ahead so that I could enjoy some time off. You didn’t think I’d just flake away without doing my work, did you? Wouldn’t be able to have 230 completed drawings by December 31, 2013 with that attitude!

pineBefore I actually spent time in Wilsonia, I contemplated how I might be able to get 200 something cabins drawn. I envisioned pictures like this, with multiple cabins in a single drawing.

Hahahaha!

There are maybe, just m a y b e four places I’ve been able to do this.

Can anyone name the street? First one to comment on the blog with the correct answer gets a prize!  Neal won!

Drawing # 150 something or other

I remember some numbers, like my second grade best friend’s telephone, or my 6th grade teacher’s birthday, or how many feet in a mile.

But, because the numbers are changing so rapidly, I can’t remember the number of drawing I’m on.

Wilsonia cabin window

I do remember which street I am on. Park. Park is long. That will be a large-ish chapter.

Pine is next.

What’s Going On Here?

List Lady Here. A progress report, thoughts on building a book, and new information about the arrangement of Wilsonia streets for you:

pencil drawing of wilsonia cabin

This cabin on Park Street/Lane/Road/Avenue (just kidding on the last one!) is an architectural design repeated throughout Wilsonia. There were 5 cabins like this. Now there are 4, and one has been remodeled so isn’t immediately recognizable as the same design. Do you know which cabins these are?

  1. All the drawings are finished for June. Yes, you read that right. This is so I can do all of July’s drawings in June. What’s going on here? July is going to be extraordinarily busy for this California artist. If I don’t draw ahead, I’ll fall behind.
  2. I found someone who calls himself The Book Designer. He is a book designer. (Duh.) He helps people self-publish their books. (If they pay him.) I feel greatly reassured that when the time comes to make some difficult decisions such as cover design, typestyles, and finding a printer, The Book Designer will be my new best friend.
  3. Has anyone else besides me noticed all the streets in Wilsonia that begin with “L” are going east and west? This is confusing at times. When I think of all those L streets, I’m flipping through my mental Rolodex, reciting Laurel, Lily, LeConte, Lupine, Lilac. . . sometimes they are alphabetical, sometimes they are random. But I just figured out that they ARE alphabetically arranged in Wilsonia, beginning in the southern end of the community! There’s an AHA! moment!

Natalie Talked Me Through

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:

 wilsonia cabin pencil drawing

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. 

 

Why Blog About A Book In Progress?

a Wilsonia cabin doorPencil drawing of Wilsonia cabin door. (Thank you, Captain Obvious!)

For you:

  1. You can track my progress,
  2. You can hold me accountable, because working on my own can get a little squishy.
  3. You can correct any misinformation I have about your cabin community,
  4. You can ask any questions about my process or progress
  5. You can share this project with your cabin friends and family
  6. You can stay current. When someone wonders how it is going or if it is going, you can have the answers or send them to my blog!

For me:

  1. To have a record of my progress
  2. To be held accountable
  3. To get more accurate information if I mess up
  4. To answer any questions you have
  5. To share the project
  6. To keep you current

Hmmm. That sounded a bit redundant. Captain Obvious is alive and well on the writing end of this blog.

Four Months is One Third

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.

wilsonia cabin drawing in pencil

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.