Thank you!
Art, life and everything else I am grateful for
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It’s November and this month Illoguild members are discussing gratitude - I am grateful so many of you are reading these posts and I hope you are finding them interesting. I’m often wondering what I should write about so the first thing I do is go through my phone’s camera roll - I snap many pictures throughout the day, sketches I’ve drawn, things I’ve seen that made me smile, beautiful sky on my daily dog walk, a yummy dish I cooked (to show to my mum 😊) and anything else I think about.
Here are the things I am most grateful for:
My family and the time we spend together. My eldest entered university this year and we only get to see him on the weekends so spending school vacations together is a real treat. Last spring break we went to London and this past autumn break we visited some places in Bavaria where we used to live many years ago - a very pleasant trip down the memory lane.
While in Stuttgart we visited the Mercedes-Benz museum and it was fascinating to see not only the evolution of motor vehicles over the last century but also how it influenced the society in general. The giant exposition stretches over eight floors of the museum and I managed to sit down every once in a while for a quick sketch.
Packing a travel sketchbook is the latest of things I am grateful for, I finally found a perfect size I can always carry in my purse and the tiny leather pencil case holds just the right selection of pens and pencils - no more “I forgot to pack sketching supplies for the trip” excuses, now this little ensemble is permanently at the bottom of my bag - unless I occasionally switch the contents of the pencil case, of course.
When we’re not traveling around Europe, I find plenty of inspiration in my own back yard - a tiny high altitude village in eastern France. I’m grateful for my garden, potted plants on my terrace, Lisa my canine companion and wild skies we encounter on our daily walks past the cow pastures.
And when I need some serious animal quirkiness, there are still joyful pockets of internet one can be grateful for. When algorithms are kind and cooperative, Instagram reels can be a fantastic carousel of future picture book ideas - at the moment I am working on one of them.
What are you grateful for in your creative yourney?
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for our next live on Monday, November 18, when we’ll discuss the theme of gratitude - we’ll share our favorite new books, highlight the value of review groups and collaborative projects, and discuss how appreciation for these connections and resources fuel our creativity.Sign up below for a FREE live session and we’ll see you soon!