Author: Rohvannyn

Rohvannyn Shaw, an Arizona author and illustrator, runs the blog Mindflight and also the art site, rohvannynshaw.com. Educated at the University of Washington with a Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Visual arts degree, she comes from a family of writers. She has edited several books, both fiction and non fiction, collaborated on three poetry chapbooks, and illustrates stories and poetry as a sideline. Her recent novels, Rageth and The Dice of Fate, are available on Amazon.com. Her ebook, Quests of the Avatar, is available free on Mind-flight.org. Her new book of comedy, How to P!ss Off The Customers, is out now and available. More to come!

Out of this world – amateur lunar photography

Photography

I have so much fun with my little Nikon.  If I brace it just right (usually on the mailbox or the hood of my car) and zoom in on the moon all the way, I can get some pretty decent shots.

Once, I used a sponge floor mop as a monopod.  That worked pretty well!  The sponge protected the camera and the handle provided some much needed stability as I propped it on the ground.

Here are a few!

 

waxing-crescent-dec-2016-1000

waxing-gibbous-november-2016-1000

november-supermoon-1000

shopped-i-cant-see-the-pixels-1000

october-moon-half-1000-signed

october-moon-1000

luna-1200

If that isn’t out of this world enough, here is a photo of the moon that makes it look all strange and mysterious.

blurred moon 1

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/out-of-this-world/

Artist tip – cleaning up your artwork

Tips for Artists

Though many like the “sketchy” style of artwork, be it a pencil drawing, charcoal work, or watercolor, one simple step you can take to pull ahead of the artist pack is to clean up your art work.

Messy lines (extra sketch lines, ink that doesn’t follow the color in a painting, splotches and smudges) can detract from an otherwise beautiful piece.  Luckily, a little care is all that’s required to turn an artwork from good to great.

It’s good to know your erasers so you can clean things up appropriately.  Most artists know about the venerable kneaded eraser, which is great for cleaning up rough textured paper.  If you are working on smooth paper, though, certain old fashioned drafting tools may work better.  You can use a white vinyl eraser, the kind with the cardboard sleeve (like the one you see above), for many applications.  It’s nice because it’s also gentle on paper but does a very good job cleaning up pencil marks.  As a bonus, the cardboard sleeve gives you a good grip and keeps your gingers clean!

Another secret weapon for cleaning up your sketches is an eraser shield.  They are small, cheap, made of metal, and perfect for taking a bit of a line while protecting the rest of the work.  They look like this:

index As you can see, you can use this to cover your art and then just erase a bit at a time.  Many artists and people who haven’t taken an old fashioned drafting class have never heard of them, especially in this day of Computer Aided Drafting.  I love mine.

 

Last but not least, a really good sketching tool is just a good, old fashioned mechanical pencil.  I really enjoy using one because I never have to sharpen it, I can use a variety of leads, and if I use a light touch with it, the lines are extremely easy to clean up.  It’s perfect for a sketch that I plan to ink later.  Then when I am done, I can make a nice, clean image.   I can go from this sketch to this drawing with very little trouble.

Elephant Sketch 700

Elephant Cow 900

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a last tip for people wanting to avoid messy looking artwork, I do suggest getting to know your graphics programs.  When you scan something in to the computer or photograph it, turning up the contrast even just a bit can help your black and white drawings look that much sharper and clearer.  It takes a bit of practice but is well worth the effort.

As a confession, I used to make the hairiest, sketchiest drawings ever and consider them finished work.  I don’t do that anymore.  I still sketch things out on occasion but I use those sketches as ways to develop ideas instead of thinking they are done.  Now, my erasers and mechanical pencil are my best friends.

Happy creating!

via Daily Prompt: Messy

Courage as you least expect it

Art of Womanhood

Some people say that courageous people are never afraid.

Not true.  They are afraid all the time.

The difference between someone who is brave, and someone who is a coward, is that the brave person acts in spite of their fear, while the coward lets it win.

Courage is also seeing the truth, as it really is, rather than how we would want it to be.  It means not settling for the explanations that are given to us, but digging deeply, checking our own sources, and thinking critically about the result.   There are so many common misconceptions that would be seen through if more people had the courage to see clearly.

It takes courage to shout the truth – it takes more courage to speak it, politely and in a reasoned way.  More people need to pause, consider their words, and then speak only the truth rather than resorting to shadings or leaning on the common rhetoric.

Here is a post I did about courage that has some tips for overcoming fear if you, too, want to be brave.

After all, cowardice is not a life sentence.

 

 

via Daily Prompt: Courage

Short Story – When the Eye of London Blinked

Books and Stories

I flopped down on the wide, pillowy, slid under the fluffy duvet and between the fine sheets.  It was late, the room was dark, I’d had a long day of exploring, but I just couldn’t get comfortable.  You could say I’m bad with hotels.  Not even this particular grand lady, the famous Savoy of London, could woo me into sleep.  True to legend, the hotel was a beautiful old place, lavishly decorated and full of Old World charm.  I was footsore from exploring London, window shopping and sightseeing and trying not to act too much like a blasted Yank.  My return carry on was filled with sweetmeats and trinkets and I fancied I was already developing an accent.

I shifted one way, then the other, trying to find just the right spot.  My business meeting would come early tomorrow and I wanted to make a good impression on the Senior VP of European Export.  I sat up on the pillows, looking out the window.  City lights shone pinkly against the clouds, and I had a good view of that dazzling Ferris Wheel, the Eye of London.  Personally, I hate the thing.  I think it spoils the skyline.  London is meant to be an old and storied city, not a setting for a blindingly modern eyesore.  Then again, I’m not from ’round here, and it’s not really my city to complain about.

Damn it, I thought, I have to get to sleep.  Old Man Bedford isn’t going to put up with me if I’m not a hundred percent on the ball.  He’ll want his money’s worth for flying me all the way over here, and I don’t blame him.  I briefly considered a Scotch and soda.  That wouldn’t do, though, I pondered.  Then I’ll be muzzy and tired.  I just need to relax.  I lay back again, still watching out the window.  Finally, almost miraculously, my eyes grew heavy.  They slid closed, opened again.

I snapped awake.  It was dark outside, most of the building lights were out, and the night sky was perfectly dark.  I jumped out of bed, my heart pounding.  Was there a power outage?  I looked out the window, sniffed vainly for smoke.  The Ferris wheel was completely black – had the power gone out?  I strained to see it, then realized it wasn’t there.  More, the sky was clear and I saw stars.

I looked down at the street and stared at the only glow I saw.  The streetlights had changed.  They were were lower to the ground and had changed to old fashioned looking lamps.  They shone with a yellowish white light.    I blinked hard, shook my head.  Was I dreaming?  The room felt utterly solid and real. The carpet was still soft under my curling toes.

Then I heard an unmistakable clopping sound, along with the rattle as of wheels on cobbles.  Presently, an old fashioned horse drawn cab – I think it’s called a hansom – rolled by.  The horse had his head down and was plodding slowly.  The driver looked tired too, slumped a bit into a his long, dark coat.  He removed his black hat, scratched his head, put it back on, gave the horse a touch of his whip, and they clattered out of sight.  There were no cars in sight, not even the ones that had been parked along the street, and I saw no painted lane markers anywhere.  Only worn, dirty cobbles shining damply under the yellow-white gaslights.  I began to look at the buildings, seeing how everything had changed.

Am I going nuts? I thought.  I leaned closer to the window, straining to see more.  Then the world rippled, there’s no better way to explain it, and all at once everything was back the way it should be.   The blasted Eye stared me down, almost mockingly, and all the streetlights stood tall, shining pinkly against the clouds.  The cobblestones were gone.  Cars were parked outside again.  I couldn’t help but check to make sure they were the same ones.

—

I hope that conjured up some interesting images for you!

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/conjure/

Tending my health with “Fire Cider”

Healthy Living

It’s cold and flu season where I am, and I am in the middle of helping teach a class of forty two adults, many of whom have little germ factories, I mean, kids!  This is in a highly populated building and I also have shopping and errands to do.  I also have narrow airways and wimpy sinuses.  Needless to say, I need something to help keep me well!

Enter Fire Cider.

This is a potent concoction consisting of apple cider vinegar that has had all kinds of good things soaking in it – like garlic, onions, ginger, turmeric root, horseradish, chili peppers, citrus, as well as various other herbs and spices depending on need and taste.  It steeps for about a month in a glass jar and then you take it by the tablespoonful.  You can mix it with raw honey, water, or both.  I use water currently and can deal with it just fine.  In fact, it’s tasty – I used a smoked chili in my mix so it has a lovely flavor.

If you don’t like heat, you can make this with weaker peppers, or fewer of them.  The onion and garlic really don’t make it that much hotter.  Some might not be able to handle the horseradish, but if that’s you, you can leave it out.  However, as for me…

Scoville Units.png

Anyway.  The whole point of Fire Cider is to harness all the good properties of these different roots and herbs in a way that doesn’t have you downing a bottle of supplement pills every day.

So far I have not been taking the full Fire Cider, but rather a concoction I made to use while the main batch is steeping – it contains ginger, black pepper, turmeric root, smoked dried chiles, onion, garlic, lemon from my boss’s tree (including peel since he doesn’t use pesticides), and organic apple cider vinegar.  It has many of the good properties of the main batch but probably isn’t as potent.

However, even this lesser batch has had the following clearly noticeable effects:

Improved energy (I use it sometimes instead of coffee)

Better digestion (there’s that ACV)

Improved mood

Better circulation (my legs don’t swell as much now)

And, this is the best part, I HAVEN’T GOTTEN SICK.  This is despite working very closely (like within inches) of people with various colds and strains of the flu.  In fact, when I start feeling run down, I just take extra and it seems to help.  Of course, during the wort days I did augment with extra garlic.  Still, I’m very pleased and am looking forward to starting the big batch at the end of the month!

For anyone who wants good info about how to make this, and more detail on the therapeutic properties, check out these two links:

The Organic Prepper Fire Cider making article, with video (includes “instant” version)

Mountain Rose Herbs Fire Cider article and recipe

mortar-900

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/tend/

Profuse Excuses

Healthy Living

Do you have a profusion of excuses for why you aren’t succeeding?

I know I do!

The secret to success is eliminating those roadblocks to success.  The first step is to admit they’re there, the next step is to identify them, then you admit it’s possible to overcome them, then you find ways to do so.

Sounds like a lot of work, right?  Not so fast – the first three steps take maybe a minute. 

Let’s use weight loss for an example.  And my own excuses – I make a great guinea pig.  After all, I’ve been known to squeak loudly at opening refrigerator doors!  I know I won’t really lose weight until I figure out what my excuses are, my roadblocks to success.

A good way to do this is to find times where I failed in the past, figure out why I failed, and come up with strategies to avoid the same problems this time.  Usually, there’s an excuse behind everything.

“I can’t stay on a diet, I get too hungry.”

Okay, I got too hungry.  That was my roadblock.  So I design a plan with lots of low calorie foods so I can be constantly eating.  Or I stay low carb and high protein, because that naturally makes my hunger go away.  Excuse nullified.

“I don’t have time to work out.” 

There’s about half a million ways to sneak in exercise, as seen in this article for example, and they are all great excuse busters.

“I get bored.”

Great excuse as that has been the biggest roadblock to many of my weight loss efforts.  So I switch out my healthy snacks, I use music when I work out, I seek variety.

“I don’t have enough money to eat healthy food.”

Another really good excuse.  Good thing vegetables are cheap, so are eggs, and it costs less to cook at home!  Roadblock removed, excuse nullified.

Once I have my biggest excuses identified, I am free to think of creative strategies to stop them in their tracks.  Then all that’s left is to take action!  A well planned strategy to overcome your own difficulties can eliminate your excuses.  This idea works for many personal struggles.  Budget, working out, losing weight, improvements at work, playing with your kids, and really whatever you want to do.

 

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/profuse/

Feline Inscrutability

Jokes and Humor

It is I, Nezumi!

The Moms are off shopping, it’s the weekend after all.  Littledog out back is making all the noise he can, scratching at his door, and I’m glad there’s a fence between him and me.  Out front, there is Bigdog.  He’s as big as some two leggeds.  Sometimes he comes up to the window in front and we look at each other.  Good thing I can’t smell him through the glass.  He hardly ever barks or makes noise.

Newcat, I mean Shinji, is pretty fast moving for an old man.  There’s something else about him, though.  He’s inscrutable.  I can’t tell if he’s going to hiss at me or run or just go lie down somewhere, because with those stripes on his face it’s confusing.

I think maybe it’s because his ancestors came from Thailand.  They guarded both temples and palaces.  Now, he’s got a fair dash of tabby mixed in, but he also has the long body and blue eyes.  I’m still getting used to those.  Before that, the only one who had blue eyes was Mom.  But Shinji’s are even bluer than hers!

Shinji seems happier than he was.  He’s even gained weight.  I guess that’s okay, since I still get the same amount of pettings and nobody makes me share my Gooshy food, or my beds.  He’s so quiet.  Except at mealtime.  Then he’s loud!  His feelings are very obvious then.  But the rest of the time he’s inscrutable.

Shinji Avoidant.JPG

Here he is, meditating.  Or possibly, just avoiding a photo.

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/inscrutable/

Art idea: Silhouettes

Tips for Artists

Silhouettes are a lot of fun to use in your art.  You can make them in any number of ways and they are a great chance to explore the use of negative space.  You can do them in black and white, color, in multimedia, with collage, or use them as embellishments on other things if you’re more the crafty type.  Pablo Picasso used to make cut paper silhouettes of animals when he was a boy.  Silhouette work tends to look elegant and tied together.  It also invites the imagination and can really engage the viewer.

If you’re looking for a new project, this is a fun theme to explore!

Ideas for projects involving silhouettes

Black and White – on a white background, draw the outline then carefully color it in.  Try this reversed, too, so the silhouette is white and the surrounding black.

Black and White with Color – color either the surrounding of the black silhouette, or inside the white one.   You could be realistic or abstract.

Shadow Play – photograph things that form an interesting silhouette.  Or create one behind a white screen then photograph that.

Collage – cut silhouettes of people, animals or objects out of colored pictures.  Place them alone on a plain background or make them into scenes.  You could even use decoupage techniques to put them on an object, such as a box.

Resists – color a silhouette on watercolor paper with white crayon then paint over it.  Or, use frisket or another form of masking fluid.

Papercutting – draw your silhouette onto paper then cut it out.  Glue it onto a backdrop, adorned or not as you choose.

Painting – try something classic, like silhouettes in front of a blazing sunset, or perhaps someones shadow in a window.

A word about Sharpie markers:  Though they are quite handy for silhouette work, I advise photographing or scanning whatever you make right away to preserve what you have done.  They are not archival quality and can fade significantly in just a few years.

 

crows web

 

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/silhouette/