Fun Car Is Fun!

And Highly Prized, which just happens to be the theme for this month's Sketchbook Challenge.

This is my zippy little two-seater Altima.

She just got paid off last October and after our three-year companionship, I think she and I understand each other brilliantly. She'll be with me for as long as she can roll down the road. Her name is Fun Car because... well... because she really, really is.

This is my zippy little stacked journaling sketch of my Highly Prized Fun Car.

I lightly sketched in the outline and added the blunt details with pencil. Then I stacked journaling inside the details with Steadler Triplus Fineliner pens. 

This week also sees me preparing for a week-long independent study group I'll be attending this month with my masteries instructor, Jane Dunnewold.  I've been doing a little 'old fashioned' fabric dyeing- using my washing machine to dye yardage of pale-value solids in several different primaries. 

I spent a lot of time making sure that my machine would be appropriate for dying a good solid color. I measured the water temperatures before and after each agitation cycle, and then timed the cycles themselves. Turns out that all necessary factors were in perfect balance for full immersion dyeing, so I launched into it.

The first two pieces came out of the machine with a soft, even color across the length of the fabric. I have no reason to think the other two I do today won't be just as beautiful. I wish I'd known how easy it would be to achieve a true solid just by using my machine- I'd probably have done bolts of fabric this way by now! My hope is to continue to layer color, imagery and text onto these pieces throughout the indy study week.

I hope your new year is filled with fun, creativity and laughter!