Right Brain Redux Crash Course: Projects 24-26

Still playing catch-up.  We have a few projects to post for you today. First up is a Wild Card project from Jessica. We put in a couple of blank pieces of paper so we could do whatever we wanted.

Jess's Challenge Projects for #24-26

#25 Create something using recycled materials

Sometimes you just feel like painting on a popsicle stick... well, I do. It's not perfect or my best work, but I'm okay with that. (That's definitely a big thing for me.) --Jess

#25 Random Photography 

This is Jess's favorite barn to photograph. She really has an eye for capturing it. It sits around 3,000 feet above sea level on a ridge forming the state line between WV and VA near the southern tip of WV (The road is the state line.) --Kev

#26 Art Based on Scripture

I draw while studying my Bible. God made me a creator, so I remember what I read better when I connect it with doodles and pictures. It's not about creating perfect pictures; it's about connecting with God on a level that resonates with both of us. --Jess

Hebrews 12:15- "See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."

Kevin's Challenge Projects for #24-26

#24

Today, I drew "Create and draw a new character". This bear will be the main character in a children's book I wrote with my son today. He is inspired by my son's teddy bear.

#25

"Create a newspaper blackout poem". This one is pretty random as far as poems go. To tell you the truth, I had a hard time wrapping my head around this challenge. Don't know if it was the lack of sleep the night before or if I just didn't get it. I can write poems, but the challenge of picking out words from an article... I think I could do a lot better, I'd just need to take more time and be more alert. Not being allowed coffee until they straighten out my heart is maybe one of the worst things about what I'm dealing with.

Here is the text of my "Poem"

No Choice! Go Home!

Racing for the exits

Blasted cat, Outrage! Ridiculous!

Oh, get over it.

The day is so backward!

Grow up. Unless you like ice cream

Ice Cream? Terrible

#26

Pulled a blank paper out today, so that's a Wild card. I got to pick what I wanted to do, so I decided to do my other idea for a t-shirt design based on a scripture verse. I do intend to put digital colors to this, maybe this weekend. The Verse(s) for this image are Ephesians 6:10-18, concerning the "Whole Armor of God".

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Right Brain Redux: Project 23 of 30: We're baaa-aaack!

Right Brain Redux: Project 23 of 30

We're baaa-aaack. Sorry for the gap between posts. Lots to do and colds to fight (life with kids. Someone ALWAYS has a cold to share). So, post number 23. 

For this challenge, Jessica pulled out the one-line challenge "Draw something using only one line" in which she had to draw a picture without lifting pen from paper. Kevin (that's me) drew "Write a one-page story based on a random dictionary word."

Kev: Well, I don't have a paper dictionary available, so I used a handy-dandy random word generator and got "Sloughed". For me, the challenge was writing a one page story. I just realized writing this that I missed the spirit of the challenge, sort of. I did USE the word in the story, but I was so focused on limiting myself to just one page that I forgot the story was supposed to be based on the word rather than just including it. But it is already written, so I submit to you:

"Exponential"

Brannix cracked open the containment unit, raising the internal temperature by more than a degree. Working quickly, he shaved off a razor-thin sample from the specimen inside and hurriedly resealed the cap. Transferring the sample to a petri dish, he carried it over the high-powered  microscope manned by his colleague.

"Are you certain we shouldn't be working this under full containment, Ardon?" he asked nervously.

"What are you so worried about? This things dead for at least five thousand years. The only reason we keep it chilled is so it won't break down before we can study it."

The sample slid into place and Ardon adjusted the focus on the viewer as he continued "Something killed this thing outright, and it wasn't an EMP. The planet is covered with remains of them. Figuring out what kind of weapon did it will be a real boost in the fight, not to mention our bank... oh..."

Brannix looked up from stirring the noodles he was boiling in a beaker "Oh? What's Oh? Oh doesn't sound good. That was a bad Oh."

"Look here," Ardon tipped the screen around so Brannix could see "There's one nanite functioning. Barely. It looks like its eating one of the inert ones."

"Wow," he replied, slurping his noodles, "Guess after five k, he's pretty hungry. Why would it do that?"

"Reproduction cycle, you boneheaded idiots," boomed the voice of Professor Xedos through the intercom, "Who authorized you to open one of the alien samples?"

"Uh, we just thought we'd do some hands-on studying while we..."

"Look at the screen."

On the monitor, the first microscopic machine had already become more than two dozen. As they devoured the corpses of their ancient fellows, the number doubled every half-second. Then the screen went blank as a silvery mass surged up out of the dish and around the camera lens of the microscope. Within seconds, it was boiling out of the top of the cylinder. Plastic components sloughed off like dead skin as a form took shape in the center of the writhing mass.

"I'm sorry," the lab shuddered as Xedos explained, "Containment protocols have been activated. The lab has been sealed off and ejected from the station. You two... you knew better."

The lights went out as the lab was disconnected from the station's power, leaving only the red glowing eyes of the fully formed alien robot standing amid the ruins of the microscope.

Jess: Jessica's task for today was a true challenge for her: Draw using only one line. My love is a perfectionist, and using the single line means you can't fix mistakes. She is trying hard to embrace the imperfection, but it drives her nuts at the same time. I think she did great. Here are a few of her pieces.

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Right Brain Redux: Day 22 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux Day 22: Beware Robots Bearing Gifts... Hey, is that ice cream?

Challenges for today include: 

Kev "Draw a friendly robot" 

Jess "Create a newspaper blackout poem".

Robots. You can't trust em. Except for Optimus Prime. Totally trustworthy. Now, this little guy here, he looks right friendly. He's smiling. He's got ice cream. Real cute fella. But note the red eyes. The control panel on his chest looks like it's up to no good. That big grin... is it just his neck plates? Run. He's coming for you...

Pen & ink on 2.5"x3.5 Strathmore vellum finish Bristol

Jess: A newspaper blackout poem... pretty simple concept, blackout words and create something entirely new, a poem in this case. I can't get through it without laughing...

Done?
by Jessica Rose

Water is good for you,
But water in your wallet
Bad.
Instead, invest in a reusable glass.
Cheers to savings!

Ever use a tie?
Did you know they are reusable?
You can reopen a tie
Release the tie.
Once it's open, it's like new.
Since ties recycle.

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Right Brain Redux: Day 20 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux Day 20: Blind Man's Bluff

At the 2/3 mark, Kevin had to draw while blindfolded and Jessica was challenged with "Draw Zentangles".

Kevin: "Draw without looking at the paper". That's what the challenge slip I pulled out of the jar for today said. Without looking? I knew that was impossible. So I grabbed a blindfold. Because I knew, jest knew I wouldn't be able to resist looking.

For my subject matter, I chose three characters that I have drawn before.  Two of them very frequently and for years. I used a Pilot G2 gel pen on plain printer paper. I spent about 5 minutes on each drawing. Overall a fun little experiment. I used the fingers of my left hand as placeholders to give me an idea where I had drawn what, but it was still tricky, as Hulk's puny left arm and Warhawk's skinny legs attest. Here are the drawings.

First up is Marvel's Hulk.

Second was Optimus Prime.

And thirdly I drew one of my original characters that I've been drawing over and over since creating him about 25 years ago, Warhawk. Since most of you will have never seen Warhawk, I included a quick sketch of how he's supposed to look.

Jess: Draw a Zentangle

So what's a zentangle? "The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns." I think mine probably turned out more doodle than zentangle. Here are my results before I had to stop because my hands hurt too badly. I really didn't want to quit. These are a lot of fun actually.

Can't wait to finish it.

I love to create to music. Here's what I'm listening to tonight:


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Right Brain Redux: Day 15 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux Day 15: Super Scary Saturday

Me n Mini-me hit the woods this morning to try and find us some ginseng (along with MawMaw). We only found two diggable plants (Have to be at least a 3-prong, so we couldn't dig the smaller stuff we found). Fun time, but it ate up a lot of the day. The projects for today were:

Kevin: Draw something that scares you.

Jessica: Create a timeline of significant events in your life.

(Kev): Right off the bat, my first thoughts were to draw a monster of something. To see what I could imagine that was super-scary (Hey, anybody remember/ miss "Super Scary Saturday" on TBS? Old monster movies hosted by Grandpa Munster.) But I digress. It dawned on me that I should draw what I am scared of, not just something scary-looking. So I thought about it.

I'm not really worried about monsters and a lot of stuff like that. Roller coasters, now... THEM'S SCARY! I used to love 'em. Would stay on them all day when we went to amusement parks. Then I got hurt on one when I was a kid and ever since then, they freak me out. I rode the Scooby-Doo kiddie coaster at Carowinds and by the time it stopped I was a heap in the floorboards. Is that still there or did I just date myself?

Clowns gimmee the heebie-jeebies. 'Nuff said.

There's a 3rd fear in there. Bonus points to anyone who spots it. Not a current fear, but a recurring childhood and young adulthood nightmare.

Jess: Create a timeline of the most significant moments of your life. I took a little bit different approach with this task in choosing a theme of "What I want to be..." 

I freely admit to having some pretty random things on my timeline. Notice also a pattern of wanting to be creative. Random is definitely my style and how I think, and I no longer apologize for that. 

1981: Alive!
1984: Read "Harold & the Purple Crayon" and decided that was the life for me, drawing everything!
1985: Full-time babysitter of my new little sister
1986: Head Playground Activity Coordinator (The Boss of Kindergarten)
1987: Dump truck driver just like my Daddy & Personal body guard to my two little sisters

1988: Jem's Personal Stylist- Truly Outrageous! and 
A Dancer because I just knew I was better than Paula Abdul, straight up!
1990: Wedding Dress Designer (None of you fellow 4th graders called me up for your designs. What's up with that?!?) & Inventor of new art supplies (I totally invented colored glue!)
1993: Person who studies sharks because Ichthyologist sounded really cool and confused adults when they asked "what do you want to be when you grow up?"
1994: Fashion & Shoe Designer
1996: Writer / Journalist / Poet
1998: Dream school= Savannah College of Art & Design // Majoring in Textiles & Furniture Design

2001: Photographer
2002: Not a loser or failure at life // The best mommy I can be to my baby
2005: Founder of a non-profit- counseling children and teens utilizing the arts as therapy

2007: ??? Honestly, I had no idea. I felt really lost when it came to goals in life. I really had to pray and seek God for direction.
2008: Graphic Designer & A great, loving wife

2009: Branding consultant for small businesses, especially start-ups
2010: Jewelry Designer

2013: Artist // The BEST mommy I can be to 2 awesome boys!

2015: After a great deal of prayer and fasting, Kevin & I realized we were both being led to start a Kids' Church ministry. // Children's Church Co-Pastor & whatever God wants me to be

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Right Brain Redux: Day 7 of 30-day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux
Episode 7: Revenge of the Sick

Great day for creativity. Every last one of us woke up sick this morning. Even Little slept till after 9, and he's usually up with the chickens. It's a challenge, right? Every day is a challenge of its own, and we keep on getting reminded of that. That very thing has a lot to do with the creative doldrums we are breaking out of here. Accountability and a structure keeps us rolling.

Kevin: Draw something left-handed

Jess: Cook something you've never cooked before













Jess // "Cook something you've never cooked before"

Honestly, it's been a rough day. I (Jess) know I'm sick because I'm sitting here in a long-sleeved shirt and socks. I DON'T wear socks in the summer... I rarely wear anything beyond flip flops/ sandals. Growing up in Georgia, it's easy to push that no-socks rule clear into October. 

Anyway, I slept while our Little One took a nap, and then had to go back to bed again after dinner. I did end up making something I've never cooked before and learned something to boot. Anything in our lives can be seen through a filter of creativity... think "how can I do this different/ creatively"? 

I had some leftover beef and broth from cooking a roast in the slow cooker. It was marinated in Soy Vay Teriyaki, soy, ketchup, onions, and some water. I mostly had stock and just a little meat, so I thought "how can I stretch this?" (Thanks, Mom, for that lesson of many.) Soup seemed a perfect solution, especially since we were all feeling puny today.

Tossed some stir-fry veggies (baby corn, peppers, peas, carrots, sugar snaps, broccoli, water chestnuts, and bamboo shoots) with lo mein noodles, and that leftover stock in a large pot. Let it boil then simmer for about 15 minutes. Done. Something I've never cooked before, Teriyaki Vegetable Beef Soup. 

Kevin // My (Kev) challenge for today was the same one Jess had yesterday: Draw something left-handed. She set the bar pretty high on that one, but lucky for me we aren't competing. I wasn't quite sure what to draw, and put it off till later in the evening because I just didn't feel like drawing (see accountability above). A gunfighter and a dragon were both rattling around in my head, so I decided to try both, despite being warned that I was being overly ambitious. The results are below for you to see.

This one really was a challenge. One of the biggest difficulties I encountered was my hand wanted to move in the exact mirror image of what I wanted it to. Up and down were fine, but left-right was reversed. I did not finish. But I did write a story in my head while I drew it.

11x17 on Canson Bristol

Doc walked up on the porch and sat down next to the Marshall. The huge corpse in the street was already drawing scavengers both human and animal. Lots of meat and leather to be had.

"Hated to see that happen, Doc. Ol' Joe been a fixture around these parts as long as I can remember."

"Hated to have to do it, Marshall," came the sad reply, "Joe's the third one I've had to put down in the last month. Had to deal with that big finback out on the McKeever place just last week. Half their herd is gone."

"Doc, I ain't never seen anything like this. They're usually pretty even tempered critters, long as you give 'em wide berth. What you think's goin on?"

Doc leaned his chair back and took a long pull on his freshly-lit pipe, "I tell you this much, Marshall; No one's safe in these parts until we figure out what's got the dragons riled up."

What we're listening to // Music to create by











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Right Brain Redux: Day 6 of 30-Day Creativity Challenge

Right Brain Redux: Day 6

Today's Challenges were for Jess to draw something left handed and for myself to create a timeline of significant events in my life.

For my challenge, I decided to jot down a quick list of events that stand out in my mind. Things that happened to me, not historical events. I eliminated a few items from the timeline as being too personal to share online, but the ones that I left are memories that, I feel, helped shape who I m now.

Just writing out a list was a little clinical, so I decided to represent it with a cartoon infographic. It's just a quick ink and marker doodle timeline due to today being crammed again. I am going to list out each event on the timeline just in case you can't read what it says.

First, Here's the whole thing:

1973: Issue #1, First appearance and Origin of ME!

1976: Broke arm, got first sister

1977: Watched a massive flood from my bedroom window. We lived up on the hill. I watched trailers go down the river.

1979: Started school. Principal's office on first day of kindergarten

1982: Got saved

1984: Transformers! Life would never be the same.

1988: Pawpaw Bill died

1989: 2nd sister, 1st car

1992: Graduate HS (Valedictorian)

1994: Bad wreck, wrecked truck

1996: Started Working first full time job

1998: Grandmaw died

2003: Appendix ruptured, died, came back (am I a zombie, then?)

2004: Met Jess online

2008: Broke leg, Met Jess for real, Married Jess, my Mini-Me called me "daddy", Move to GA

2013 Little arrives! (Name loosely translates to "Peaceful Builder"... answers to "Hurricane")

2014 Moved back to WV

2015 Children's' Pastor FWC Kid's Church "Spark Kids"!

Good start, eh?

Jessica selected a very detailed close-up of a dandelion scattering its seeds as her left handed art project. It's done on plain copier paper with a #2 mechanical pencil. Totally freehand and done completely with her left hand. She felt it was unfinished, but her hand was cramping too badly to continue (carpal tunnel). I think it is beautiful. Art is often like raising a child; you may not feel you are done shaping them, but there is a time they are mature enough to stand on their own. And this piece definitely is. She has set the bar quite high for me when it comes my turn to do this challenge.

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