SoCS: Taste and a new word….

I  journal and do morning stream of consciousness exercises, and
I’m again participating in Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday
I write to a timer, 15-20 minutes, no editing except spelling, and of course I add my art!
You can do it too!
The Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “-tast-.” Find a word that contains “-tast-” and use it in your post. Enjoy!

I woke this morning thinking about writing for my class and cooking.
Linda’s prompt was perfect for my early morning thoughts.
I wish the urge to cook, really cook up a storm, happened in July when everything is ripening — the foods are at their tastiest.  But October my cooking genes kick in and I want to try new recipes to pleasure our taste buds.  So in among my writing
(I’m in a class and weekends are when I will have time to do the work)
I am making broiled salmon with a side dish of stir-fried
summer squash /onions / tomatoes with Parmesan; and tomorrow, risotto!

I’ll admit the other word that came to mind immediately was distasteful.
I am not reading the news this weekend.  I want to stick my head in the sand and not think about our country.  I want to keep my creative juices intact.

Finally I learned a new word looking at possible words to use.
Poetaster.  That is me, a person who writes inferior poetry.

For the rules, go to Linda’s blog;  feel free to join the fun!

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Inktober 2019, 5


I adore INKTOBER!

FPR Himalayan with Papier Plume House of the Rising Sun ink…
OOOPS! smeared it!

Okay, it should be a fountain pen… but so so true!

**INK case you missed it, this year, I am taking on a class on illustration,
and that class is requiring a commitment for two months.
I’m excited and a little sad I will miss Inktober…
but I made it very very easy for me.
I am using the itty-bitty 2-inch Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and keeping it simple, hearts to begin. Every day.  A simple commitment.
To find out about Inktober, visit here.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Inktober 2019, 4


I adore INKTOBER!

Platinum Plaisir with Akkerman Garuda Red ink.

**INK case you missed it, this year, I am taking on a class on illustration,
and that class is requiring a commitment for two months.
I’m excited and a little sad I will miss Inktober…
but I made it very very easy for me.
I am using the itty-bitty 2-inch Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and keeping it simple, hearts to begin. Every day.  A simple commitment.
To find out about Inktober, visit here.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Inktober 2019, 3


I adore INKTOBER!

Jinhao shark (I turned into a stub) with vintage Skrip Red 02 ink!

**INK case you missed it, this year, I am taking on a class on illustration,
and that class is requiring a commitment for two months.
I’m excited and a little sad I will miss Inktober…
but I made it very very easy for me.
I am using the itty-bitty 2-inch Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and keeping it simple, hearts to begin. Every day.  A simple commitment.
To find out about Inktober, visit here.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Inktober 2019, 2


I adore INKTOBER!

Diplomat Aero with Robert Oster Fire Engine Red ink!

**INK case you missed it, this year, I am taking on a class on illustration,
and that class is requiring a commitment for two months.
I’m excited and a little sad I will miss Inktober…
but I made it very very easy for me.
I am using the itty-bitty 2-inch Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and keeping it simple, hearts to begin. Every day.  A simple commitment.
To find out about Inktober, visit here.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Inktober 2019, 1


I adore INKTOBER!

Above, Moonman Wancai with special grind cursive nib
with Akkerman Chinatown Red ink.
I can do this, just a few minutes each night to doodle a little heart!

**INK case you missed it, this year,
I am taking on a class on illustration,
and that class is requiring
a commitment for two months.
I’m excited and a little sad I will miss Inktober…
but I made it very very easy for me.
I am using the itty-bitty 2-inch
Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and keeping it simple, hearts to begin.
Every day.  A simple commitment.
To find out about Inktober, visit here.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Ink Painting, Visible Mending


I am captivated by he visible mending movement.
It totally thrills my hippy self; it makes me conservation self so so happy.
We use things up and recycle them —
my nice clothes become painting clothes, then finishing rags.
But now I can proudly wear my patched favorite clothes in public
*gasp*
and be trendy!

This inky experiment is one of the patches I am sewing for Mitchell’s knees on his jeans.

Other than the needle and thread, which is a waterproof ink, all the other inks are water-soluble.  I did a pencil sketch, layered lines, and erased the pencil.  I hit the lines with a waterbrush — quickly, and not all colors at once!  I don’t want to belabor the water — in fact, if the waterbrush is one of those soppy wet brushes, it is better to use a watercolor brush and water for more control.
Many of the colors mushed too sloppy, so I added lines after they dried.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Inktober 2019 is Coming!

I adore INKTOBER!

I’ve done it every year!
This year, however, I’m embarking on a class about illustration,
and that class is requiring a commitment for two months.
I’m excited, and a little sad I will sorta miss Inktober…
My creative time is going to be spent doing things that might not fit Inktober.

SO, I made this very very easy for me…
I am using the itty bitty 2-inch
Hahnemühle ZigZag Accordian Journal
and I’ll be keeping it simple,
hearts to begin, different inks daily!
Every day.
A simple commitment.

To find out about Inktober, visit here,
but the rules are simple, below.

Inktober rules:

1) Make a drawing in ink (you can do a pencil under-drawing if you want)
ANY kind of inky pen, fountain (my favorite) or otherwise…
2) Post it (you can post it daily or weekly or any way you want to)
3) Hashtag it with #inktober and #inktober2019

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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VSW: Amsterdam 7, Windmills

Remember how I thought I was done with my inky version of the windmill?


I lied!

I have some new brushes I am playing with and they called to me
in the middle of the night.  The Zen pointed oval did wonderful washes and
then was able to come in and handle trees with a nice point.
The Neptune round kept a nice point, and both held water well for this playtime!

Thanks to Wikipedia for the image of Molen De Paauw.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Chili Recipes


I love the feeling of trying something new and  it works!
I made the best chili ever the other night, and finally I thought to write it down.
Differences from my normal recipes were stew beef, not ground round,
and all fresh from the farm veggies, including our yearly dose of roasted chilies from Westwind Gardens.  I used to roast my own, but they do it in a huge barrels and they are the best roasted chilies anywhere.  We buy about 50 lbs and freeze them for the year —
and go through that many hot Sugar Chilies as we use them in everything!

BTW, our meat, when we have it, is Certified Humane and
as organic as it can be — because grass fed can’t be seen as organic.
Costs more, we eat way less meat than we used to, and it goes a lot farther.


I also changed my chili powder recipe.
I’ve used my mom’s forever, and she was a good cook,
but I like a bit less oregano and like the parsley, plus,
I love more cumin and cayenne.


Yum Yum Yum…

But know this is HOT Chili, not for the timid!
(I think I have to create a proper recipe page for this — but at least I got it down on paper!

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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VSW: Amsterdam 6, Windmills

I drew an inky version of Molen De Paauw and decided to do just that!
Inky, ‘cuz I know I won’t have much time during Inktober!
Thanks to Wikipedia for the image.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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VSW: Amsterdam 5 Not Another Windmill!


Sketchbooks are about experimenting.
It is nice when it all works,
but what about when it doesn’t?

I hadn’t much time and decided to try Anya‘s hydrangeas
in ink painting for a quick sketch and wow did not turn out…
blotchy and too dark…so went way further….

I don’t particularly
like the ground but
I decided to try layering
inks from different companies… Didn’t
turn out well..

I saturated these pages
and Hahnemühle Nostalgie Sketchbook managed to
keep up with the wet!
It made the pages buckle a bit but no bleed through… in fact, only certain inks bleed through, and they are nto inks I am fond of so ditch the ink keep the sketchbook!


Finished page…
Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be!

If I could just remove that damn ground!

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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Peacock Himalayan


New pen, the Peacock Himalayan with an
Ultra Flex nib, from Fountain Pen Revolution.

I inked it up with Robert Oster Blue Sea ink, but when I went to sketch the beautiful pen,
I used both Robert Oster Torquay ink and Blue sea to capture the colors.


RO’s bottle is a bit squatty body from the real size…
A note about Robert Oster’s plastic bottles:
Made from recycled plastic, in an effort to clean up the environment.
Yay!


Okay, nice quote… and yet I am thinking that he is writing
from the position of a privileged white New Englander…
I don’t think you can just do this when serious trouble is walking in your door….

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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SoCS: Blue

I  journal and do morning stream of consciousness exercises, and
I’m again participating in Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday
I write to a timer, 15-20 minutes, no editing except spelling, and of course I add my art!
You can do it too!
“The Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “blue.” Write about the first thing blue object that you see when you sit down to write this post.”


Better late than never!
My new blue FPR Himalayan with the ultraflex nib was on my calendar…
This pen causes such controversy.
Peeps either love it or hate it — but the thing that annoys me
is that when they say it doesn’t work I ask them if they contacted Kevin
or asked what they can do and I hear , “NO.”
I’ve learned how to heat-set certatain pens…
not all — you can ruin some of you do that.
I’ve learned about pens from this ultraflex…
not a beginner’s pen, lovely writing, still not as pricey as gold nibbed flex pens
(which I can’t afford frankly) but makes lovely lettering —
the line widths are easy to make fat or thin…

Of course, you have to have great handwriting to begin with!

For the rules, go to Linda’s blog;  feel free to join the fun!

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Red Himalayan from Fountain Pen Revolution

Kevin from Fountain Pen Revolution fixed my
red Himalayan with the Ultra Flex nib!**
Yay!  I love this pen!

Above, showing the pencils that went into the sketch to give the color
when I finally applied ink with a wet brush.


I filled it with Papier Plume House of the Rising Sun ink from New Orleans.
A beautiful ink, well suited to this pen!
(Plus the bottles are so beautiful with their drippy waxed tops.)


Don’t fault the ink or pen for the skipping…
I was running out of ink and didn’t know it!

**So a small rant here…
People biatch about product, but I find MOST good companies will make
right bad product.  Kevin from FPR is a case in point.  I have several of his pens, and this one, even after heat setting, didn’t quite work right.
I sent it to him, and he fixed it.  I usually only publish negativity about businesses
who are not interested in making something right.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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VSW: Amsterdam 4


Can’t get enough of these windmills….
And ink painting!  Really having fun with it!

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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USK: Dentist


I hate dentists
*sorry if you are one, not personal*
He is not frightened of them; I am phobic.
*i think that makes me smarter than the average bear*

I went with Mitchell to an emergency dental appointment
because we both have to switch dentists AGAIN.
*love the ever-changing insurance games*
He was making scary faces while we waited for Dr. Lao;
as we are both rereading Calvin and Hobbes, I thought of Calvin’s face freezing.

To hear about classes, follow me on Facebook
or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com

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SoCS: Way back…

I  journal and do morning stream of consciousness exercises, and
I’m again participating in Linda Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday. 
I write to a timer, 15-20 minutes, no editing except spelling, and of course I add my art!
You can do it too!
The Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “weigh/way/whey.” Use one, use ’em all, bonus points if you do that last thing. Enjoy!”

I watched “Feminists: What were they thinking?” last night on Netflix.  It took me way back to my days in college and as a young architect.  I was a feminist, raised by a feminist, though I was too busy trying to keep my head above water to join in any cause.

I think the worst were the men who wanted to be cool so they acted like they were on board, but they were not. Michael H., a perfect example. Never acknowledged me as a businessperson. He got his job and intro to teaching in the University system (UCLA) through me bringing him into the department. And he fucked me over. Used me to get ahead then dropped me as if not good enough.  I was good enough for him to accept my introductions, good enough for him to accept my hand-ups to projects, just not good enough to be seen as an equal.  He was no friend, and I was stupid. Friends have your back. He was a good old boy prick with a PC “feminist is okay” exterior, a consummate game player.  Just like his philanderer father, Mick, he wanted to play in the sexual energy
but not have to deal with the fallout from women who would not react like Mom. She would bash her own head in; I wanted to bash his head in.
Different times, different kinds of women.

Rocky was a better, asked what was I doing when I was working during the recession. I was happy to talk to my best buddies, and Rocky at least gave me credit. But really, architects, ALL OF THEM, were good old boys.

Remembering USC professors who did not take me seriously, and the few who did (Ed Niles, Pierre Koenig, Stephanos Polyzoides). The fucking men who would say things to me they would never say to a man. If a man’s drawings were incomplete after days of no sleep, they discussed what the man had on the boards. But with me, especially with me because I was pretty, they asked me if I was busy doing my nails or getting my hair done. I was left speechless, jaw dropping speechless.  I had not been treated like a second class citizen often in my family. Nevermind that I had done everything to not look pretty, hair in a tight bun, wearing men’s jeans and earth shoes, with nothing but a little mascara. I was just a girl going after her MRS degree, and they were hitting on me but not giving me good grades because I didn’t sleep with them.

I am stopping.  My image ended so I will too.
You can bet I will be weighing in again, because we are being taken back to
the 50’s and 60’s by the current push to keep women down.

For the rules, go to Linda’s blog;  feel free to join the fun!

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