Sunday, April 12, 2009

bird sketch book and tyrone


its been awhile since i've written, but i figure school is a good excuse. i'm taking a couple of great classes, including a bird class and a drawing class. my idea is to combine my love of being out in nature, with drawing and identifying what i see. i'm also trying to get better at recognizing the species specifically living in the pacific northwest. this definetly helps me connect more with my surroundings and gets me outside, even on an academic level. i have to start a formal sketchbook, although my current one fills up weekly. i am dedicating this new one to the birds.

speaking of dedicating...i am also dedicating this blog to tyrone. he was our funny sweet rascally hamster. he recently passed away from a hamster-related sickness and i miss him. it is quiet in the house without his curious and ambitious spirit. he would build nests a foot high. he really made it an artform. he was extra snuggly and would ride around in my partner's hoodie just for fun, seeing the world of our tiny apartment and taking naps. he was modest about his cardio routine, which included night-time, hour-long runs on his hamster wheel. we shared many laughs. one of my favorite things about him were his tiny hands. we had a similar diet, and i recall eating broccoli with him one afternoon, his hands holding the florets and me holding mine, crunching away. we were also similar in our appetites. always shoving down food and hiding it away for later. his fur was extra soft and his eyes dark and wise. i hope he has joined many of my other pet friends wherever our spirits end up together, surrounded by the forest and a soft ground of pine needles.

currently reading Birds! From the Inside Out, by Dan Gleason and John Muir's Wild America, by Tom Melham and Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards.

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