A Little Fabric and Mod Podge Boat for a Change of Pace

“Attempt easy tasks as if they were difficult, and difficult as if they were easy; in the one case that confidence may not fall asleep, in the other that it may not be dismayed.”
– Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Copyright Beth Parker Art 2012

Fabric and Mod Podge Boat

I bought this little wooden boat (with oars) at Hobby Lobby. I used Mod Podge to apply fabric squares all over it.  I used orange acrylic paint to do the edges and the oar handles.  It was fun!  It looks like it belongs in Bethville, doesn’t it? 

About Baltasar Gracián y Morales

Baltasar Gracián y Morales, the Jesuit scholar and moralist author, was the leading Spanish proponent of conceptism (conceptismo), a method of expressing ideas through puns, epigrams, and other verbal devices. He was born in 1601 in Aragon. The Jesuit leadership frowned on his oratorical style, which included reading a letter from Hell to his congregation. His best known books include The Art of Worldly Wisdom and The Hero, which repudiated Machiavelli. He died in 1658.

Illustration Friday – Yield – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie ATC

“Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.”
– Helen Keller

 ”An optimist is the human personification of spring.”
– Fortune Cookie



Illustration Friday – Yield – 2.5″ x 3.5″ Watercolor & Sharpie ATC

I have had my eye on a weekly blog project called Illustration Friday.  This is my first entry.   A blogger friend, Cindy at The Slumbering Herd, enters her beautiful artwork into it every week, I think.    Here is a link to her yield.   They put up a word on Friday and many people do their illustrations based on the word.  I am doing Yield and this is my tomato crop. 

Yield -verb (used with object)
1.  to give forth or produce by a natural process or in return for cultivation: This farm yields enough fruit to meet all our needs.

I painted it from a reference photo by KreativeKay at WetCanvas.

About Helen Keller

American author and activist Helen Keller was born in Alabama in 1880; she became blind and deaf after a childhood fever. When she was 7, Ann Sullivan famously coaxed her out of her sullen, angry shell and taught her to communicate. From then on, Keller took on the world. She graduated from Radcliffe, traveled the world visiting sweatshops and speaking out for the powerless, helped found the ACLU, and wrote eleven books. She died in 1968.

Rose Macro – Watercolor

“Freedom lies in being bold.”
– Robert Frost



Rose Macro – Watercolor

This morning, I made a very bold move and gave my stash of fabrics to my friend, Shannon.  I used to sew a lot.  I made clothing, small quilted items (no patience for full sized quilts), pillows, etc.  It has been 10 years since I touched my sewing machine.  Shannon makes wonderful creations with fabric.  She made me an apron for Christmas that I adore.  I feel so good, knowing that she’ll enjoy the stash and it won’t turn to dust, sitting in the corner of my shop.

Now if I could just find a home for some of the other things I’ve been holding onto for “someday, when I have more time”. 

About Robert Frost

Robert Frost, the influential American poet known for his rural settings, uncluttered language, and meditative themes, wrote the poems, “A Road Not Taken” and “Mending Walls,” among many others. He was born in San Francisco in 1874 and moved to Massachusetts at age 11. He ran a farm for ten years, selling it to move to England and become a full-time poet. After achieving his goal, he moved back to New Hampshire. His ambition was to write “a few poems it will be hard to get rid of.” He died in 1963.