Day 18 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge _ 3rd White

The last of my  white drawings is of my dog, Rafiki.  Once again, I never would have thought I could do this... I'm just so thrilled!

This was done almost exclusively with a straight edge rubber shaper and a brush that a very nice lady on the blog told me how to make.  It's made from bristles of a whisk broom, taped to a chopstick.  It only took a few bristles... like 4 for this guy's long hair. 

Doesn't he have such soulful eyes??!

Day 17 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Something White #2 - Dolly

Day 17 is my second white drawing.  I've had this picture of Dolly for over a year now and have always wanted to do something with it in glass.  Honestly, I thought I was getting in over my head trying to draw a sheep, but I'm pleased with the results!

Most of this was done with the business card but the rubber shapers were invaluable tools today!  One was a straight edge which was good for the woodwork and the hay floor.  The other was curved and thus useful for leaves and the wooly coat.  This was so much fun!  I'm astonished at the progress I've made since the beginning of the challenge.  Never in a million years would I have thought I could draw this.

Day 16 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Something White for Special Olympics

The next 3 days we will be drawing something white.  Today's choice of subject was an easy one for me because I can bring attention to one of our favorite causes, Special Olympics.  This is the logo for the Polar Plunge adapted for my family's team, the Frozen Zebras.

This is the 5th year the team has been together (formerly Team Let's Take a Dump... don't ask!) and they have raised over 6K for the Special Olympics during that time.  Please check out my son's page and help the team with their fund raising efforts as they take another icy plunge into the Atlantic Ocean on February 1st.  It is said that the more money they raise, the warmer the water! 
http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/david-moellers-1/2015-lewes-polar-bear-plunge-for-special-olympics

Day 15 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Something I ate today

Day 15 assignment is to draw something eaten today within a 15 minute time limit.  Here is my offering:

This is a gyro, in case you are wondering, lol...  In my defense, it's hard to make a gyro appetizing in black and white...  15 minutes doesn't give me enough time to develop details either so it's tough to differentiate between the meat and onions and tomatoes...  Just a business card and my finger was used in this drawing.

Day 14 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Fear Factor

Day 14 assignment was to draw our fear factor.  I thought about this for awhile since there really isn't much I'm afraid of.  If I had to name something I guess those gross spiders would be it.  I'm not as afraid of them as I used to be but the sight of them on my wall still does get my adrenaline going.  I just know that once I turn off the light it will come down from the wall and wreak havoc on me...

ewwww!
The only thing worse than finding a spider in your room is losing a spider in your room, lol!
The only tool used on this sketch was the business card.  I had to tear small strips to get to the smaller spaces and when doing that it left a curled up edge which became useful for distributing the powder for shading.  Cool discovery!

Day 13 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Gnarly Shark

Day 13 Challenge is to draw a really gnarly looking shark.

Like this

I opted to attempt to draw the less scary looking one...

Not so much because of fear but in an effort to quell negativity.  To wrap my mind around this attempt I tried to remember that this magnificent creature is my spirit animal... my 'Amakua... determined by Hawaiian folklore from a belief system which named the shark as one of my family's ancestral deity. Before missionaries brought the Christian religion to Hawaii, religion was intimately entwined with nature and each family had their own 'amkua who could be called upon for protection, support and spiritual comfort.  I was always told that sharks were our cousins.  Our protectors.

I found this in a quirky little website:

“If Shark has come swimming by you today;

He is reminding you that opportunities in life are abundant – however you must move forward in order to create the opportunity. By exploring the world around you and the emotions within yourself you will be shown new ways and be presented with abundant opportunities. The universe can be so much larger for you if you simply stop waiting. Do something – anything to stir up the energy and create motion with in yourself.” 

http://spirit-animals.com/shark/

Here is my tribute to my 'amakua

I hope I did him justice.

The whole point of this assignment was to learn about contrast, texture and form.  I won't quit my day job just yet, but I think this is respectable.  I couldn't quite figure out how not to be too heavy handed with the powder.  Tools used were the basic ones... tiny sifter, business card, fingers and occasionally the flat end of the chopstick.  I wound up covering my pointer finger with a small strip of the card and just sort of mashed the powder around to get the shadowing.  It isn't what my mind's eye envisioned, but perhaps with practice...

Day12 Powder Sgrafitto Drawing Challenge - Draw something used every day

Day 12 assignment is to draw something I use every day.  As I read this last night I couldn't imagine what I would draw... my toiletries???  As I was getting ready for breakfast I grabbed the coffee beans to grind and that's when I decided I would draw my french press coffee maker.  Coffee is my sustenance.  Coffee, coffee, coffee, coffee... I've had and have just about every kind of coffee maker made in the past 50 years from the glass stovetop percolator to electric percolator to Mr. Coffee, Kitchen Aide, stove top and electric espresso makers, Keurig, etc, etc, etc... but I've always come back to the french press.  This brings out the flavor and richness of the coffee bean way better than the percolator and drip coffee makers but not as bitter as espresso so no milk or sugar is required.  Mmmmm... I love a good mug of coffee!

Tools used were the standard business card, sifter, bamboo skewer, chop stick, and I used the handle of the sifter to get the holes in the strainer.  I wanted to also draw some coffee beans but honestly, it took so long to do this... and I do have a day job!  Once again, I am sooo thrilled about how well I am now using my left hand to draw!!!