Joy List Monday and a New Venture

This past week has flown by and I've been awhirl working on a new project that's stretched me (way) beyond my comfort zone.

If you're on Instagram you may have an idea of what I'm talking about. I posted this photo of my studio this past week.

Sadly, that big impressive camera (more than a few years old and hand-me-down) didn't take high enough quality footage for me to use. Which I only discovered after having spent several long days filming.

Ah, well, that's the way these things go sometimes. Definitely a learning experience. At least I had a plan b (my out of service few years old iPhone, which didn't give me as many options and required a bit of creative thinking in lieu of a tripod, but which got the job done).

You might be wondering just what it is that I've been filming. It's my first class on Skillshare (if this one doesn't do me in I hope to have a series of them) and it's all about beginning a botanical sketchbook. Here's the intro/trailer video I've been working on. I'm still struggling with the sound and the feedback I've gotten so far is that it's too long, but it will give you an idea of what I have in mind.



I feel a little funny writing about this project before it's finished. I have lots more filming (and editing!) to go, but as I posted my intro on YouTube as part of today's assignment I thought I may as well share it here. Maybe writing about it will help keep me from getting cold feet and putting off or abandoning the project.

(I sketched and filmed four versions of that viola flower while working on my video).

I feel as if I've been on the go so much this past week that I've barely had time to slow down enough to savor joy. The news headlines haven't helped with that, either. But if we don't take the time to notice, savor and be thankful for life's beauty and magic, no one else will do it for us.

Joy List Monday: 

a weekly ritual

a reminder to stop and pay attention to the little beauties and graces that make life magical and to set aside time for gratitude each day

I hope you'll be inspired to write your own Joy List.

Here's mine:

• greyhound antics and the way my boys get along with Matthias' father's dog while he (and my FIL) have been here visiting during Matthias' recovery
• an empty bird's nest I found beneath our maple tree created with all sorts of bits from grasses to insulation to plastic wrappers
• nighttime thunderstorms followed by days of clear blue skies
• a treat of a bottle of a special beer from a local(ish) brewery
• flower firsts for the summer: cosmos, oriental lilies, nasturtiums
• overcoming fears and trying new things
• emails from the Sketchbook Conversations participants with their stories and photos of their sketchbooks (come back on Wednesday to meet the first artist!)
• eating pea pods (and cherry tomatoes and gooseberries) right from the plants in the garden
• harvesting garlic