There are probably other uses I haven’t even thought of yet.
Carolyn
Category: Sketchbook
Ireland Dreams
Another page from my Ireland sketchbook, soon to go up on the website.
Corinne
Demons Out! Happiness In!
In the northern hemisphere, early February is the season of festivals of light, spring, and beginnings, because of its placement approximately mid-way between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. Candlemas and Groundhog Day are but two examples. Another is the ancient Celtic festival Imbolc, named for the pregnancy and lactation of ewes, and celebrated with the lighting of fires in anticipation of the returning sun. In Japan the festival of Setsubun marks the beginning of the spring season, and this year, according to the old lunar calendar, it falls on February 3rd.
Given the numerous Japanophiles in our household, we are moved to celebrate Setsubun. First, we eat special sushi rolls containing seven ingredients—seven being a lucky number—in complete silence, while facing the auspicious direction for the year (in 2010 it’s sort of south-southeast) and making a New Year wish. After dinner we eat one roasted soybean for each year of our lives so far, pondering the memorable events. This alone keeps certain of us busy for some time. Then we toss the remaining soybeans out into the darkness and shout ONI WA SOTO! FUKU WA UCHI! to chase away wicked demons (and wary neighbors) and bring happiness. Some people (not us) also hang a fish head on the front door. Depending upon the kind of demon, I bet this is pretty effective.
Expectant
I sketched this fellow in Politics & Prose bookshop. I was interested in his reading material.
Ancient Snails of Ireland
A page from my Ireland sketchbook.
Ireland/Stone Circle at Uragh
In a few days my Ireland sketchbook will be going up on the SheilaHarrington.org/Sketchbook page. Here is one of its pages. I will post two or three others between now and then.
A Story
Knitting/Nature Table
In the dining room we have a “nature table” that displays whatever the current season brings our way—violets, dandelions, seashells, squash. It’s where we set up the Christmas crèche, the family photos for Día de los Muertos, the pot of winter rye grass grown for Easter. And it’s been a handy destination for the acorn caps, seed pods, and interesting rocks that come home in everyone’s pockets.
The other day my daughter left her knitting project on the nature table. I was struck by the colors and fortuitous arrangement so I asked her not to move it until I’d drawn it in my sketchbook. She was patient, but happy to retrieve it.
Roxy
Elsita
Jurors’ Lounge Part 2
Being called for jury duty is never convenient, but there are two benefits. One is that whenever I have been empaneled and have served, I am each time impressed by the conscientiousness of my fellow jurors, the seriousness with which we all perform our job, and the fact that we live within a democratic system that calls upon ordinary citizens for this task. The other is that I get to pack a bag with work, lesson plans, and a sketchbook, and spend hours with them in a quiet room. And on my lunch hour I go to the National Gallery of Art around the corner.
This turned out to be a slow day, though, and a lot of us were dismissed mid-afternoon.
Jurors’ Lounge Part 1
One January a couple of years ago I was called for jury duty. (Hmmm… I ought to be hearing from them again soon.) As usual there was some sort of movie playing on the monitors overhead, but the woman assembling the juries was more entertaining.