no fail, no learn #3

Here is the finish to yesterday's project:

"The chain of friendship/ stretching far/ links days that were/ with days that are."

Next came the homework for the sketching & watercolor course:  painting a shoe.  I'd done the prelminary sketching a few days ago (the November 4th post) and decided to re-draw and paint it from another angle.  Here's the painting.

The drawing went fine, but as usual the painting didn't go well.  The sole (the black thing under the shoe) did not end up looking like a sole.  The real sandals are all-gray with a hint of gold where the light hits them.  I feel "meh" about this painting. 

Once the course is over (just another week) I'll be taking a more casual approach to learning watercolor.  Something doesn't quite feel right for me with this course.  She's a wonderful artist and teacher (I love her stuff), but perhaps she's beyond me at the moment.  Still, I'm glad I did it.  She's been great about providing feedback to every single one of a very large number of participants.

On the upside:  I'm continuing to make progress on the kitchen and am actually finished.  Until I live with it for a few weeks and begin to get a sense of where I would be better off moving things.  That needs time, but everything's in an initial place for now.  No more boxes!  I cannot believe what a difference unpacking this room has made to me.  I suddenly feel more optimistic and have a lot more mental space.  Everything feels better.  This is the half of the kitchen that has all the supplies for dyeing wool in one place:

"Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it's not all mixed up."
~A.A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh

"In any household, junk accumulates to fill the space available for its storage."
~Boston's Irreversible Law of Clutter

"Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire." ~Wendell Berry