miscellaneous

Blog of the Year 2012 Award

| Anna Cull

Blog of the Year Award 1 star jpeg

My thanks to J. E. Lattimer of Fictional Machines for nominating my little blog for this award. Fictional Machines is a story of intrigue and possibilities. And machines. Where is Jack? Has he stumbled upon an alternative reality? Is he dead or is he finally home? Who is really in charge of the planet, what’s with all the robots and will Charlotte ever snap out of it?

Danny Gregory’s blog is my pick for Blog of the Year 2012. Danny Gregory, as some of you will know, inspired me to start drawing in 2009 when I first read his wonderful book The Creative License. I’ve been a fan of his work and his philosophy ever since. Danny gives us — in his blog and in his books — something we actually already have: permission to be intensely, brilliantly and wonderfully creative. He talks about what creativity is, how to stimulate it and how to express it every day. Here is one of my favourite quotes (an excerpt from his blog, posted way back in 2004):

All I Really Need To Know I Learned From Drawing:

Always carry a pen.
The best way is to be still.
Everyone can do it, except those who say they can’t.
Forget your eraser. There are no mistakes. Only lessons.
Don’t do it for fame. Do it for you.
Don’t seek beauty. See it.
Everyone’s perfect pen is different.
Learn from others. But don’t be an imitation.
No books, no teachers, no system, can teach you as much as practice.
If you don’t like a drawing, turn the page and do another.
Study how kids do it.
A forest is just a lot of trees. A tree is just a lot of leaves. And you know how to draw a leaf.
Value everything you make.
Give your drawings away.
If you can do it perfectly, it’s boring.
It’s all about the Now. That’s why it’s called a drawing, not a drawn.
Know when to stop.

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Here are the ‘rules’ for this award:

1 Select the blog(s) you think deserve the ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award

2 Write a blog post and tell us about the blog(s) you have chosen – there’s no minimum or maximum number of blogs required – and ‘present’ them with their award

3 Please include a link back to this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award and include these ‘rules’ in your post (please don’t alter the rules or the badges!)

4 Let the blog(s) you have chosen know that you have given them this award and share the ‘rules’ with them

5 You can now also join our Facebook group – click ‘like’ on this page ‘Blog of the Year 2012’ Award Facebook group and then you can share your blog with an even wider audience

6 As a winner of the award – please add a link back to the blog that presented you with the award – and then proudly display the award on your blog and sidebar … and start collecting stars…

Unlike other awards which you can only add to your blog once – this award is different! When you begin you will receive the ‘1 star’ award – and every time you are given the award by another blog – you can add another star! There are a total of 6 stars to collect. Which means that you can check out your favourite blogs – and even if they have already been given the award by someone else – you can still bestow it on them again and help them to reach the maximum 6 stars!

Check out Frequently Asked Questions for more information about this award.

Beautiful Blogger Award

| Anna Cull

Imagine my surprise! Mary from The Backdoor Artist has nominated me for a Beautiful Blogger Award. Thank you, Mary!

The Rules A Few Guidelines:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you — tick.
  2. Post the award image to your page — tick.
  3. Tell seven facts about yourself — keep reading…
  4. Nominate 15* other bloggers for the award and let them know about the nomination.

*Some blogs suggest nominating seven other bloggers for the BBA and that’s the option I’ve decided to go with — not because I can’t think of 15 worthy nominees (I can think of way more than 15…) but because I like the number seven.

Seven Facts About Me:

  • I met my husband in a band (I was singing and he was playing guitar).
  • We will be celebrating our 19th wedding anniversary next week.
  • We still sing together at open mic nights (and occasionally elsewhere).
  • I write songs.
  • Some of the songs I’ve written are rubbish.
  • Some of the songs I’ve written are not rubbish.
  • The last song I sang at open mic was Kate Bush’s Wuthering Heights (yes, in the original key). Having done that, I’m now fearless — at least until next week.

Seven Beautiful Bloggers:

Thanks again to Mary for nominating me. To hear that I’m an inspiration… well… I was lost for words for a couple of days. And that’s unusual for me : )  Another seed planted.

Polishing cats

| Anna Cull
Unpolished cat sketch – ink on paper, 55 x 60 mm, 2012.

My friend has introduced me to the wonderful world of polishing cats.* Closely related to procrastination, it’s a term for doing things that don’t really need to be done right now but which mysteriously rise to the top of your ‘to do’ list when there is something important that requires your attention.

I’m supposed to be working on a logo. I have the concept, the reference material and I’m now ready to draw it. I really like drawing and I enjoy designing logos but, for some reason, I can’t seem to settle into the sitting-down-and-getting-on-with-it stage. Instead, I have posted a birthday card, put petrol in the car, done the dishes and finished my mise en place for dinner. I’ve also written to my friend telling her all about it and now I’m preparing this entry for my blog. That’s a whole lot of shiny cats… and still no logo.

*DISCLAIMER ~ The author of this blog does not advocate or in any way condone the literal polishing of cats. That would be silly.

Procrastinating

| Anna Cull
Little lizard brooch – ink on paper, 45 x 65 mm, 2012.

It’s really good to be writing letters again but I’ve discovered a catch. Writing about doing something is not the same as doing something. I had the best of intentions today. I was going to photograph and catalogue some of the jewellery I’ve inherited in recent years. Instead, I’ve written a letter to my friend telling her all about it (which is why I drew this). And the necklaces and rings and other pretty sparkling things are still waiting. Patiently.

Maybe tomorrow…