Local Park in Northern California by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

Little Stories – Seedlings

Local Park at sunset in Northern California by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

Hello Everyone!  I want to welcome all visitors, both old and new, here at InkTorrents.  This is where I have been sharing a bit of my atelier and my life.   This winter break was a tough one for me, which made a longer break necessary.  I do love the company of trees and mountains, so I visited a few natural places in Northern California for recovery.   At other times, I had my head buried in a sketchbook.  I look forward to sharing the photos and artwork with you over the next few posts.

 

 

As you know, photography is a very integral part of me.  For those of you who are new here,  I took one photo of my everyday surroundings per day for a year.  These photos played a big part in my life, and I have been sharing them here every now and then.

Here is the next set of my Simple365 photos.

 

Simple 365 – Set 9

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

 

 

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365.  I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here.  That way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos like in an old album.

 

 

Botanical ink making by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

Every now and then I make botanical paint from things I forage from my garden. 

 

Wild Child

I shared the basics of botanical ink making here.

 

 

Indigo and coreopsis seedlings by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

 

A few years ago, I got Indigo and Coreopsis seeds for the purpose of paint making.  I collect the seeds from both plants each year and save them in little seed packets.  Last week I had a great time sitting on the patio, sowing them in tiny little pots.  These green trays are great for a plant nursery.

 

Much to my surprise, I saw little seedlings emerge within just a few days.  I love watching them grow and look forward to the beautiful flowers and colours they will make.

 

 

Coreopsis seeds by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

I will write up a little tutorial on how to make these cute seed packets soon, in case you want to save or share seeds from your garden.

 

 

Yosemite Valley ink sketch by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

With a very frail 19+ year-old kitty at home, we have been limiting our travels to just a couple of days at a time, mostly within California.  I often spend the last afternoon of a trip drawing in a sketchbook while my husband reads. 

Visiting Yosemite in winter is a must for me.   I did this sketch in pencil while I was at Yosemite, didn’t have a pen with me then.  I wanted to leave it as-is, but my dear husband loves inked drawings. So, later on, I used a $10 fude pen for all the lines and a white gel pen for the snow.

I look forward to showing you more drawings and telling you a bit more about this sketchbook soon.

 

 

Lino carved vines by Soma @ InkTorrents.com

 

With the advent of March, my outside time became very limited due to severe allergies.  Since I couldn’t be outside enjoying the fresh air and flowers,  I started sketching and then carving this block.  This will join the everyday journal wildflowers collection covers.  I am very excited about printing this one and making a book with it.

 

These are just a few things from my winter break.  I have so much to share with you – ideas, tools and supplies, the makes, and of course photos from my travels.

Until next time,
-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please consider paying a visit to some of them.

 

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Viking ship in stormy waters watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

Near And Far

Viking ship in stormy waters watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

 

Hi Everyone!  As chance would have it, exactly one year ago, I shared my paintings from the very first little Blue Book called Lost Pages.  It was also the beginning of The Girl and Her Cat stories.  As I started working on the little Blue Books with a series of paintings, I was finishing up a series of black and white photos taken over the previous 365 days.

These photos played a big part in my life, and I have been sharing them here every now and then.    Here is the next set of my Simple365 photos.

 

Simple 365 – Set 8

Please Click on the image thumbnails to see the photos and read the captions.

 

 

 

 

Memories from past travels

 

Rosa fresca aulentissima Simple365 black and white photo @ inktorrents.com by Soma

 

We went to Italy for our very first overseas trip.  After spending a little over a week in Rome, we spent a couple of days in Florence.  It was a such a wonderful way to wrap up the time there.  We brought back these bottles of wine.  Not only did I save the bottles for nostalgia, I also love the beautiful labels.  It’s contains a few lines from a poem Rosa fresca aulentissima.

 

In The Present

 

 

Looking at these photos made me think of what I can work next  –

    • Sow seeds for plants that I can use for dye or ink making
    • Work on a few more ink making experiments
    • Hand bind journals
    • Sew flower blocks for Garden Path quilt
    • Finish kitty blankets

 

I created a page with all the previously shared photos from Simple365.  I continue to add photos to that page as I share them here.  This way I can relive the journey through the year via black and white photos like in an old album.

 

 

These photos are of the world around me, taken when I hardly left the house.  Photographing these little things daily provided me with much-needed focus at the time and brightened my spirit quite a bit.

 

 

Distant Pages

 

In contrast, the third blue book is called Distant Pages.  

 

 

Viking ship in stormy waters watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

 

Adventures tend to begin with a stormy sea

 

I have been obsessed about the north ever since I had conscious memory.  I was given a few books about voyages and expeditions, and about the mythology and stories of those faraway lands.  As I got older, the yearning for visiting those lands only got stronger. 

 

So it didn’t surprise me that I ended up making a whole book full of paintings with the adventurous Girl And Her Cat travelling through those lands.   In case you are wondering, The Girl And Her Cat is a series of paintings about an adventurous little girl who loves to travel and wander around with her little cat.

 

By the time I finished hand binding the little book, I could already picture the first painting.  These paintings are reflections of my travels to those places, specially Svalbard.

 

Please click on the image thumbnails to see the pictures and read about their wanderings –

 

 

 

 

 

The Girl And Her Cat travel to a stone ship

 

Viking stone ship watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

 

After walking and playing around for a while, they settled down with packed lunches and made up stories about the stones.

 

 

Far Horizons

 

Far Horizons watercolour painting @ InkTorrents.com by Soma

 

A painting for my dearest friend who made me listen to the same music album for hours on end while we worked together. 

 

I do hope you enjoyed this set of b&w photos and the paintings from the Distant Pages book.  Wishing you a lovely time whether you are in the comfort of your own home, or venturing into uncharted waters… or perhaps doing a little bit of both.

 

Until next time,
-Soma

 

May 25th, 2022

I am taking a break this week from Wandering Camera.  See you next week.  If you are in the US, have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.

-Soma

 

I am linking up with the linky parties on my Events And Links page.  Please pay a visit to some of them.

 

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