The Everything Project

I've moved this blog - and most of the posts, some of them updated and revised, over to my new website, www.susanadsett.com - join me there! 

Summer means mojitos. Well, it does for me. And oh, look, I have a special jug just the right size for making mojitos.

Do you want to know how to make mojitos? Of course you do!

Add a large-ish handful of mint leaves to your mojito jug.

Add equal amounts of powdered sugar and lime juice (2-3 tbsps, depending on whether you remembered to buy powdered sugar or not).

muddle.

add 8 oz white rum (you can use dark rum, but it will look rather alarmingly like swamp water)

muddle.

add a few ice cubes.

muddle

pour your mojitos through a strainer into an old-fashioned glass filled with ice. Top with club soda. Or not, depending on how your day is going.

Makes 2 to 8. Depending on how your day is going.

It's a glass water bottle  that we're using for mouthwash. Because I couldn't find a mouthwash bottle.

...but here's another birdhouse from Brian Curtis' "Drawing from Observation" (exercise 11.8).  And that's the last of the birdhouses - next week, it's on to biomorphic forms!

Yes, you should be frightened.

Especially for this guy. He's for James Gurney's "Art By Committee" of course - this months line was 
"Randall's avatar was a tortoise." 

I mean, come on people. It's February. Yeesh.

I've got shopping bags instead! I really like these ones - they're from Shoppers Drug Mart, and they fold up into themselves, like the windbreaker I used to have when I was a kid (apparently they still make  them )

For some strange reason, I've only seen these nifty shopping bags at one store, and I bought every single one they had.

Sorry.

She made this Christmas ornament years ago - a little stuffed candle. The candle and holder are muslin, with a bit of lace at the base of the candle, and needlepointed flames. I am quite certain she saw something similar and said "I can make that".

And she did.

Like I said, she's kinda talented that way.

Well, I didn't have time to draw them BEFORE Christmas - think of it as a really, really, really early attempt to get into the Christmas spirit.

This is a little bread dough teddy bear that I've has since I was a kid.  I think my mom might have made it, but I'm not 100% sure. If she didn't make it, she definitely took one look at it, said "I can make that" and then went off and created a bunch of her own bread dough ornaments.

Yes, she actually does that. It's kinda scary how good she is at it.

this is my life. It's also another just-for-fun sketch for James Gurney's super duper Art By Committee sketch-a-long.

Happy Birthday to me! OK, it was a while ago, but I still have the balloon. I want to do a more detailed color version, but I thought I'd throw this up for now - a detailed version may take a few days. Or longer. Ummm... stay tuned (or just subscribe - over there to the top right....)

Because they are so large, they use the updrafts generated by Kampala's tallest buildings to gain altitude - which meant you could always see them gliding around the Ugandan Ministry of Revenue.

Buzzards circling a tax office seems rather symbolic...

Mostly because I'm still having problems with foreshortened circles. Another imaginary birdhouse - but it didn't look anything like a birdhouse by the time I was done with it, so I added a smirk and made him into a scarecrow head. Perhaps I can turn him into a halloween decoration.

Actually, the exercise did make me think of those 70's styrofoam ball and bead christmas ornaments. Perhaps I should draw one of those from life - it might help me get a handle on these @#$% circles.

Either that or I'm going back to the liquor bottles.

Now I'm drawing imaginary things. This is an imaginary birdhouse (another one of Brian Curtis' exercises).

Looks a little like an olive on a swizzle stick.

I told you all these foreshortened circles would drive me to drink.

and back to Brian Curtis' "Drawing From Observation". This is exercise 11. 4 on foreshortened circles. I am not good at drawing foreshortened circles. I do not enjoy drawing foreshortened circles. And I have been reading the excellent book "Talent is Overrated" by  Geoff Colvin, which states that  best way to excel in a given field is to engage in deliberate practice: "activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher's help: it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it's highly demanding mentally; and it isn't much fun."

Which means I'm going to be spending the rest of the week drawing foreshortened circles.

These circles are a liquor bottle, a martini shaker, and a couple of shot glasses.

I can see those coming in handy.

Sometimes, I don't make sense even to myself.

Anyway, this is my submission to the monthly "Art By Committee" communal sketch-along hosted by the wonderfully informative, generous, and astonishingly talented James Gurney (what!?! you haven't been to his blog yet? GO, already!)

Now, back to less animated things.

Well, bigger than usual. As big as a... chair. Underneath a striped sheet. It's another drawing exercise - I'm really pleased with how it turned out. It's charcoal on bond paper, and took about 6 hours.

I've come to the conclusion that I am a "slow draw-er" (kinda like "slow food" only fewer calories).

I think I'll do some more things like this. They may not be my things, though. Perhaps I need to change this blog to "drawing everything I can get my hands on"?

I've spent the past couple of weeks working my way through the drawing exercises from "Drawing From Observation" - but none of the drawings have involved my things. Until now...

yep, it's my thermometer.

Bet you didn't guess that one!

Secret evil plan underway. watch this space.

actually, only two of the charms are owls - the one on the top left is a sort of abstract thingy from T. in Ireland... but it looked kinda owl-like, so I included it.

work with me, people.

Hi there! If you picked up one of my business cards at the port credit art show, and are wondering where the heck my paintings are - they are at my main site, www.susanadsett.com.

Of course, you're welcome to hang out here for a bit too! My favorite posts are on the list to the left, that's a great place to start.

And don't forget to go to the main site to sign up for my newsletter and get your free heat transfer print of "A Small Adventure".