Cat and Pig love coffee, digital phone drawings, 9/29/19

Cat and Pig have coffee in the morning. They will have it with breakfast. They enjoy coffee with company later.

Cat and Pig like lobster and comic books, ‘touch’ phone drawings, 9/25/19

Cat and Pig find a lobster.
It has only six legs, but should have eight ‘walking’ legs plus the claws. Maybe it lost two legs in a fight.

 Cat and Pig share comic books.

St. George Grange, Wiley’s corner. Adult art class drawing display, 9/23/19

Once you notice that a simple building almost appears as if it is a face,  faces start staring out at you from so many buildings you see. Hard not to see them. I see this building as a kind of jack-o lantern face. That porch is the jagged toothed grin.

Students worked from color photos of the building. We practiced isolating and trying to capture the various dark shapes of the roofs. One can imagine them as little origami creatures with wide open triangular mouthes. 

Class  also worked from copies of the photo converted to an outline image with superimposed grid.

Apple picking - Children’s drawing class. 8/24/19

Apple picking - children’s drawing class lesson, 9/24/19

We started with a border so we could warm up and have a frame in the process. We drew the tree in a continuous line - a bit like writing pretend script. It gives practice in keeping the drawing tool moving. If you draw in short little hesitant strokes, you will never learn to hit your mark. Here those loops give lots of apples to color. Drawing took quite a while. We have pics of the line drawing and the colored version.

Barnyard farm animals - Children’s ’ drawing class, 9/17/19

We drew every animal we could think of. You may even find a girdog here, (combo giraffe dog). Chickens, roosters, ducks, pigs, goats, sheep, cows, horses, dogs, cats. Phew - lots to take care of. No geese at least.
Kids and adults drawing display from 9/17/19 class.

Finn-Am church, St. George Peninsula, adult art class display, 9/16/19

Exercises before the final drawings, (descriptions are probably out of order):
Practice in observing and looking at things differently than we are used to. It does not matter if you do it right or wrong. It just matters that you try. We need new experiences for our sense of well being. We need the challenges.
First try drawing just the dark shapes - without using outlines. Color into imaginary outlines.

Continuous line drawing of the reference image. Drawing tool stays in contact with the paper at all times. Draw backwards if you need to get back to a spot.

Ex. Draw just the sky area. Make boundary edges but not outlines. Again, you are coloring in this shape to imaginary outlines. Do the green area too.

Do a coloring in with one dark color, but make some of the shaded areas using a different set of marks - like stripes.

Final drawing as you wish. Use the reference images. Class had photos and a digitally prepared outline over a graph.

October Adult Art Programs with Catinka Knoth at Rockland Library, 2019

Press Release 

09/20/19

Autumn Themes Free October Adult Art Workshop Series with Catinka Knoth at Rockland Public Library, 2019

Rockland - Catinka Knoth offers drawing October's autumn themes, with a focus on drawing in color, 11 a.m. Most Mondays, in October, (no class - library closed for  Columbus Day 10/14), in the Community Room, Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St. Led by Knoth, participants will create their own colored drawings of  fall leaves; autumn landscape scenes; and Halloween pumpkins. Knoth provides the classes free of charge and open to the general public, with materials supplied, and Friends of Rockland Library hosting. FMI Knoth at 691-1691 or Rockland Library at 594-0310.

Knoth will provide instruction and guidance in drawing October fall themes. Each week is a different subject, as follows:

10/07   Apples, Apple trees

10/14   No Class - Library closed, Columbus Day

10/21   Autumn leaves and fall scenes

10/28   Halloween pumpkins

Knoth paints watercolors of Maine and whimsical animal scenes, which she offers as cards and prints. She teaches a free weekly children's drawing class at Rockland Public Library, sponsored by Wendy and Keith Wellin. For more information about Knoth's work visit www.catinkacards.com.

attachments: art by Catinka Knoth

Harjula’s Barn, along the St, George River, Rte 131, So. Thomaston Maine.

Harjula’s Barn, along the St, George River, Rte 131, So. Thomaston Maine. - adult art class student display, and maybe a lesson description. We barely touched ‘perspective’ with a ten foot pole.

Harjula’s barn lesson:

1. Look at that roof shape. You know that it is a rectangle if you were to see it from the crows POV. But you are seeing it foreshortened. That means depending on where you are in relation to the building the lines or the edges of any plane will appear to slant down to your horizon/I level or slant up to the horizon/high-level. It all depends on your vantage point. It happens because as things get further and further away from you, they appear smaller. So, for instance, if you were to look down railroad tracks, the two railroad rails would converge to a point finally. The ties would appear to get smaller and smaller the further away from you they are. That same  principle is happening with any set of parallel lines. There lies the problem in drawing a building using a feel for perspective. Your brain has it so deeply ingrained so that you know at all times what something is no matter what it looks like to your eyes, that it’s very hard to draw the illusion of an object. Your impulse is to draw the meaning of an object, your symbol for the object. But that is not what gives a convincing “Realistic“ appearance to an image. So we need to use the parameters of an artificial system to convey that illusion. It’s not a perfect system though.
2. It’s very dyslexic and mind-boggling a system to explain or teach to The lay person. I believe only a serious art student is willing to learn how to do this. And even then all that can do is inform you, because that is not where the art lies. That has nothing to do with design and pattern, which is much more important then perspective.
3. We can try a few exercises to give a ‘feel’ for form in space.
4. So we looked at the shape of the roof and tried to see it as a shape separated from the whole. It is a kind of kite shape, but all the edges I have different measurements. 
5. Start by drawing the outlines of that shape.
6. Now try to draw that shape by coloring in the shape into imaginary outlines. You will be making clean edges but you will not outline per se.
7. Practice this a few times with the roof shape.
8. Try the same practice on that long wall with the windows. Don’t connect it to a building yet.  Just isolate it by itself.
9. Now try the front wall of the barn.
10. That front wall consists of a rectangle with a triangle on top of it. That rectangle is not parallel to you it’s slanted away a little bit. The ground line slants visually up to the horizon line. The top of its rectangle slants down to the horizon line..
11. How to assess the triangle on top of that front rectangle wall? Where is the peak visually? We know that it’s over the centerline of the building. But it’s not at the midpoint of the visual length of the ground line. (Now you see why this is so dyslexic and such mind-boggling topic, ... it becomes just a slew of words that are impossible to make meaning out of!)
12. To find the peak of the building, where the apex of the triangle should be, draw crisscross lines - corner-to-corner of that rectangle of the front wall. Draw a vertical line straight up from the ground line through that intersection of the crisscross lines. You can decide how high you want your roof to be. Or you can use the photograph as a guideline for where that roof peak should be. For now we’re just trying to make a building or a barn that is somewhat functioning as a building. It has form.  It’s not leaning too badly.
13. After we had done this practicing a bit, students used an outline/coloring page of the photograph with the grid superimposed on it. It was a good sized reproduction to work from. The students were not supposed to trace from it, but to use it as a guide or a tool to draw from. Only one person tried to draw a grid beforehand so that the drawing would work just like the photo, but that left no time to do the actual drawing. (Which is why I had decided not to instruct that they should actually make the grid.) It’s simply an aid to be able to see just how certain line slant in relation to each other in the image. If you draw a grid you should be able to easily draw or map out the building onto another piece of paper. Doing this on a semi regular basis might help your ability to see buildings without needing a grid. 
14. A grid is more helpful for drawing a small sketch of your own of whatever topic you want to do and then enlarging it to a larger scale. That is how large paintings were executed long ago.
15. After the exercises, students drew their final drawings as they wished.

Mini quick bread or breakfast cake by toaster oven, CK’s invention.

A mini quick bread cake, using the toaster oven.

c.  Three  heaping cutlery teaspoons of white flour
Maybe a quarter cup of rolled oats, (?)
A heaping teaspoon, (cutlery), and a half of cornmeal
Some salt and some baking powder, generous sprinkle of cinnamon - amounts that this much flour etc. would need.
Dollop? olive oil, ( EVO).
As much water as is needed to make this into a drop batter – 7 to 8 cutlery teaspoons I think.
 Mix the dry ingredients well with a fork
Add the oil and mix that well with a fork
Add the liquid bit by bit quickly so that you’re not developing the gluten. Stir a bit after each splash of liquid.
Grease the pan with butter.  In this case I used a little round ceramic pie plate - I don’t know what it was - it’s about 4 to 5 inches across.
Scrape the battery into it. Pat it down.  Prick holes so that you have six pieces after you’re done baking. That tells you that this is not a very wet batter – because it can keep the prick holes .

Toaster oven set to 400°. Timer to 15 minutes. After 5 minutes, put the cake in. Another 15 minutes when the timer dings. Try to turn the pan around too. Then another 10 minutes. About 35 minutes total.

Turn the cake out of the pan and set it on a rack, or something, to cool. I used a bit of crumpled foil. You  want it raised up so it won’t sweat too much. Once it has cooled a bit, you can further break off along the prick holes for a little piece. It is adorable, and the three little pieces I ate tonight were delicious. We’ll see how it is tomorrow after a night in the fridge.

... a few days later, (9/9/19) I ate the last piece. It was still quite tasty.

Butterflies Kids’ art class 9/3/19, and a reference sheet of old butterfly illustrations

We invented butterflies in kids’ art class. So many people have been showing photos of cocoons about to release their butterflies - Monarchs mostly. This is the time of year for the mass migrations to the south. What magic.

I want some butterfly quotes, captions and/or jokes.

Another adorable mini loaf of bread in the toaster oven

Cranberry Oatmeal corn mini muffins from my toaster oven!

Yay! I think it worked. The recipe is vague as I made it up on the spot using my eyeballs. It made barely enough for these six little muffins.
Measurements so approximate:
Mix dry ingredients in a small bowl, getting everything well distributed.
3/4 c. Flour
1/2c. Rolled oats
1/4 c. Cornmeal
1/4 c. Sugar
1/3 t. Baking powder
1/3 t. Salt
Add
2 T. (?) EV olive oil, really distributing this well so it becomes a fine grain/crumb rather than clumps.
Add 8 cutlery table/soup spoons of water, just a few at a time. I splash the water across the batter and give a few stirs with a fork before adding the next splashes and repeating. Mix fast - just enough so the liquid seems incorporated. Too much and you'll make glue. Let that sit a bit.

Meanwhile I'd made a quickie cranberry preserve(?). Any fruit would do. Or jam even.
Grease the muffin tin with butter, (or anything).
My intention was to put this in the batter and have it thru-out. But then I ended up putting the batter in the muffin tin. It was a drop consistency. Spoon some fruit onto each muffin.

Preheat toaster oven to 400°. All the elements come on. That is what scares me. And to make it come on I have to set the timer. I set it for 15 minutes, the most it will go. After 5 minutes I put the muffins in. When the timer rings, I look and reset. They have risen but not browned. I think I did 25 minutes total. (I don't think it was 40 minutes!) I was too busy being excited over how they looked and taking pics. Also needed to fold paper for the pic!

I'm posting this now, and will add pics later.
As a test I'll try sending one pic with this. .,.yes, one small pic posted just fine with this as an email posting.

Scenes of September - buildings along the St. George Peninsula

Knoth Teaches "Scenes of September in Maine" Adult Art Workshops, at
Rockland Library, 2019

Rockland - Catinka Knoth  will  teach drawing  "Scenes of September in
Maine", with a focus on buildings, at 11 a.m. most Mondays,  Rockland Public
Library, the Community Room, 80 Union St.  Led by Knoth, participants
will make their own  drawings in color, using colored pencils and crayons. Knoth offers the  adult workshops
free and  open to the general public, with materials supplied. The Friends
of Rockland Library host. FMI Knoth at 691-1691 or Rockland Library at
594-0310.

Knoth will lead students in drawing several scenes of iconic local
Maine buildings. Students may experience simple aspects of  perspective
theory. They will also practice the technique of coloring in without
using outlines. Familiar buildings from St. George and South Thomaston
along the St. George peninsula and Rte 131 will serve as subjects for the
classes. Each week is a different building - a one room schoolhouse or church, a barn, and a grange.

9/02 Labor Day - Library closed
9/09  Harjula's Barn

9/16   Fin-Am Church or Little Green Schoolhouse

9/23  St. George (Wiley's Corner) Grange
9/30  No class - Library closed for staff development
Knoth paints watercolors of Maine and whimsical animal scenes, which
she offers as cards and prints. She also teaches a free weekly children's
drawing class at Rockland Public Library, sponsored by Wendy and Keith Wellin.  For more information about Knoth's work visit
www.catinkacards.com.

 

Trying my old Magic Chef toaster oven because I still have not gone shopping

Two days ago I tried that shipping delivery service. Big snafus there. It turned out not to be fully set up here. I can always make a mini bread on my stove top. Got brave though and tried my old toaster oven, (that I’ve always been scared of). Made a quick yeast dough for a flat bread. I don’t understand how the 15 minute timer works for the oven. So this flat bread dough went in on a cookie sheet at an unknown temp. I did the timer a few times, perhaps a total of 25 minutes? At least I would not forget it and really burn it. No smoking or flames. Did it get hot enough? No way to tell that I knew of. I had flipped the bread halfway through, so both sides were light brown. I cut the bread in strips and sliced the strips open. The dip, of which I did not make enough, was just some mashed kidney beans, seasoning from oriental ramen noodles, vinegar and olive oil. ...the flat bread was pretty good but I’d used sugar for the yeast to feed on, so it was too sweet.

I’m looking for instructions on how to use this toaster oven - how do the temp controls work? The 15 minute timer for the oven or what?

And, uhoh, now that I can use this oven - it does not burn as easily as using my stovetop does since I don’t use a timer there - I can really get away with having no bread in the house. I could bake a proper loaf but that means all that proofing time...and I like a sourdough - that really takes a long time...We’ll see!

Later that evening I set up a dough to proof overnight

Pictures are out of order, as I cannot easily move them around when editing from my phone. One pic gives a relative idea of the size heaping cutlery teaspoon of flour to the container I scooped that flour into and the total amount I used for this. Oh boy, 6-7 of these measures.

c. 1/8 t. Active instant yeast

c. 1/8 t. salt 

Mix together well

Splash (?) extra virgin olive oil

Mix that in well with a fork 

Make a cup? water hot and let cool til it’s hot/warm but you can easily touch it

Start splashing it into the dry a few spoons at a time, distributing quickly. Don’t mix too much. You have just keep adding a bit at a time until it forms a dough and pulls all the flour from the sides of the container. If you can get a feel for this you won’t have sticky hands or a sticky bowl. 

I think in this case I ended up using 11 cutlery teaspoons. These of course cannot be heaping spoons of water! It will always be the right amount of water relative to how much flour you have. Can you repeat this exact taste? No. Just think of it as being a different recipe each time. Over time you would learn by feel. I just hate having all those measuring spoons to wash, so I stopped messing with them. I do most everything by eye and feel.

Cover the dough with a piece of plastic wrap so it’s outside won’t dry up overnight. I put that whole thing into a little paper bag for overnight. I hoped it would sour a bit. Perhaps 12 hours later(?), I gently let the dough roll out from the container onto the little baking sheet. I had sprinkled oats and cornmeal onto the sheet first. It was a small loaf and not a flatbread. With a knife I tried to make those diagonal slits along the top. 

I still don’t understand how this toaster oven works. I set it for 350° because I’m afraid of a 400° in that tiny context. That’s not really good for a quick initial expansion of the dough. I had to reset the timer every 15 minutes. It never really browned but made a very crunchy crust. I’m so busy writing this etc. that this is all still waiting for me to eat properly.

I had frozen chickpeas that I mashed up and made some kind of hummus with. I’ll put mayo on the little bread slices. I also cooked up some frozen cranberries and blueberries with sugar, water, and cinnamon. Makes a nice quickie jam(?)

Hope I can get these pics in order later. Now on to dine!

September children's drawing workshops program with Catinka Knoth at Rockland Library, 2019

August, 18, 2019

Press Release

September Harvests a Theme for Children's Drawing Classes at Rockland Library, 2019

Rockland - Children, and those young at heart, will explore farming, harvest, and seasonal themes in this September's ongoing drawing classes led by Catinka Knoth at Rockland Public Library, 80 Union St. The "Let's Draw Together!" sessions, geared for ages six and up, also welcome adults. The library requests that children age ten and under have an adult accompany them. Classes meet every Tuesday from 4-5 p.m. in the Friends Community Room, FMI the library at 594-0310.

September subjects include butterflies and Monarch butterfly migration; farm scenes of haying and the fall harvest; farm animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, roosters, geese, and ducks; visits to the apple orchard and apple picking; and September gardens. Each week is a different subject:

09/03 Butterflies and Monarch butterfly migration, September gardens
09/10 Farm scenes of haying and the fall harvest
09/17 Barnyard animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, chickens, roosters, geese, and ducks
09/24 Visits to the apple orchard and apple picking

Participants draw along with Knoth and experience drawing in a safe community environment. She expects students to be able to work independently for the most part. Knoth, known for her watercolors of Maine scenes and animal drawings, also gives art workshops for adults at the library. Her work may be seen at www.catinkacards.com.

Wendy and Keith Wellin sponsor the children's workshops, which are free and open to the public, with all materials provided. The Friends of Rockland Library host.

Attachments: demonstration drawings by Catinka Knoth