IF - Expired

Expired for Illustration Friday. Just a quick concept, seems a little depressing but I have been having this thought lately of our country quickly losing its' power especially with all the news of state governments being in the red, cities closing schools. All these events going on, too many of them that we don't seem to pay attention that we are in some deep do-do. But has our greatness and our time "expired"?

IF - Drifting

Logo-ish image for Illustration Friday. I came home from work and decided to do something quick, fun and frivolous for myself, to remind myself that I can be fun and frivolous and not a grump who seems to do everything wrong.

IF - Hierarchy

Thinking Chap for Hierarchy challenge for Illustration Friday. I started a little project for myself to try and finish something! Anything! Called Series of Ten ... but my I have only manage to finishe 5 of 10 for my first project. The idea was to a series of something of the same theme.

Illustration Friday - Momentum

Maybe a stretch for Momentum for Illustration Friday, but I thought of this driving home tonight.

Air Apparent

I usually don’t write personal thoughts on my blog. Honestly, there are so many random thoughts skipping around in my brain, it is hard to capture one good thought in a sentence for anyone to understand. But tonight, I must write about the smell in the air. In Texas, you can smell rain an hour before you feel it. It is dust settling, the ozone changing, a sweet smell that tickles your nostrils and you just know rain is on its’ way. Tonight I can smell a wonderful rain scent in the air here in Seattle. It is water saturating earth that has been long dry, the organic smell of sweet dirt being moved around, hot pavements being cleansed, mixed with peppery, wet leaves on their way to decay, so fragrant it almost like I have crushed a leaf in my hand. It rains often here, but it the first rain after a long, hot summer is the sweetest.

When I saw the prompt of FRESH for Illustration Friday, the first and only thing I could think of was the fresh air that would slap me awake when I worked a 430a shift last year. The air would be different depending on the tide, or whether we had a blustery night to blow away exhaust fumes, smoke and leave the most brisk, clean, pure air I had ever inhaled. I would stand on my front porch, looking at the moon and stars for a good 10 minutes or so just experiencing it. That is it - is was, AIR AS AN EXPERIENCE. Some mornings, fog would be so thick that I could taste minuscule particles in my mouth, dense mist would wrap around my face, tickling my skin. And the best would be when blooms abound in pre-dawn, baby birds chirping loudly, the air would be so sweet that I would laugh out loud alone in the dark. I was never an early-riser but each morning I had one of those experiences, I would say a little prayer of thanks for letting ME have that air-encounter in a dark night, under moon and stars.

So with that little story in mind, this is my entry for Illustration Friday for Fresh (Air), illustration by Kim Carney (snorting flower scents up her nose).