For this year’s Sketchbook theme, I chose — “a path through the woods”.  I wanted something that offered the possibility of optimism, as well as a prompt for a narrative with a beginning, middle, and end.

I like the idea of surprises, of being lost, and of finding clues about the way out or forward.

Some close ups of the bark and markers make me want to try and translate these textures to cloth.

And suddenly, there it is, the way out.

With just a few differing perspectives, there is a rudimentary story.

I found a path leading into the woods, and followed it.  Through twists and turns, past leaves, branches, and rocks, I lost my way.  I paused to take pictures.  Destruction from a recent storm caught my eye, as did an inky dark pool with its aura of bottomlessness.  At some point, red markers, striped on trees, signaled the direction.  I followed.  Red stripes.  Then, suddenly, sky – a teeny triangle of it – appears.  Taking off my Converse all-stars, I left the woods and went home.

Today, the rain plops down and a chicken boiling on the stove fills the house with its homey aroma.  Very little beats this kind of day.