I’ve been happily sketching along through the month of Inktober, trying to keep a habit of daily sketching (or almost daily). I have been working more this week on journaling, color blocks and fun lettering.
I did a sketch at Madison last weekend, at a local hamburger establishment. After a fun meal, I quickly sketched two people, added paint a few hours later…
One day I looked out my window at the milkweed pods in my garden. They were just bursting with seeds, so I wanted to capture the fluffy down in the pods… I loved watching them float off in the wind!
Last Tuesday, disaster struck. I tripped on a step going out to my patio, falling down. My left shoulder, hand, and arm took the brunt of the fall, leaving me in a lot of pain. I sat and collected myself for several hours before going into the doctor. Luckily, no bones were broken. I was very fortunate because I sketch with my right hand (which was not injured worse than some scratches).
The next day, I sketched my sling, and wrote about that too…
I have been sketching daily since my injury. I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “When life brings you lemons, make lemonade.” I have a new saying, “When life brings you lemons…. make a sketch.”
While in a sling and on ibuprofen this past week, I’ve had to take it easy and curtail many activities. Basic things like meal prep, dressing, typing, driving, and other normal arm and hand movements have been impossible due to pain. But in the last day or so, I’ve started doing basic things slowly again. And while I’ve been stuck at home a bit, I did sketch some of the activities of our house getting a new roof (coming in a future post) and going to sketch with my urban sketching group yesterday. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon at the Bakken Museum in Minneapolis, which I enjoyed very much!
Life threw me an injury that’s still not healed completely. But I see progress and was lucky to not break bones. I had my tough moments, hours, and days, but sketching has helped me make it through, and I’m so thankful I could still draw! If you find life bringing you lemons, give sketching a try. Journal about what you are going through. And see if you can find the lemonade in it all!