Sumi-e Class with Susan Frame - Peonies and Cliffs

 

Last Friday I took another sumi-e class with Susan Frame at the White Bear Center for the Arts. The focus for this class was peonies and cliffs. Peonies are one of my favorite flowers and it just so happens to be peony peak time here in Minnesota. I didn't venture into color ink but stayed with black to work on my strokes as you can see from my paintings.

 

 I also did a couple of cliff paintings. I don't know why landscapes intimidate me so much but they do.

I really have enjoyed all the painting classes I've taken and will definitely continue. It makes me less homesick for Korea where I was taking some kind of Korean craft class every single day.

 

I'm also learning to listen to my body and to not overdue especially when it's hot out. Yesterday, I wasn't planning on mowing the lawn as Rocketman has been in town to do that so I went on my 3 1/2 hour walk which I do every morning.  When I returned home, I heard on the news that we would have rain starting in the afternoon. Rocketman was going to mow that night so I decided to mow and so I began around noon. It was in the mid 80's and humid.

 

Our mower has also been acting up with thick black smoke that spouts out of it as you mow and the blade decides at will to disengage. It's extremely frustrating but we only have one mower so we make due. I had finished the front and was working on the back when I started to feel lightheaded and I was also sweating profusely. I came in and drank a bunch of water and rested for about a half hour and went out again.

 

I mowed for another 20 minutes or so and it happened again only I felt a whole lot worse. I came in and drank lots of water and rested again. I ended up taking three breaks to finish the lawn. I came in when I finished and felt horrible and knew I had heat exhaustion. So I took it easy the rest of the afternoon including dinner which was a frozen pizza which Rocketman did not mind at all.

 

I was feeling so poorly that I went up to bed early and slept nearly 12 hours. This morning I was still feeling pretty tired but I did do my daily walk anyway but that wore me out for the rest of the day. So I know now for the hundredth time that I can't do my walk and mow the lawn during these hot summer days. I need to remember this next time and you can be sure there will be a next time. Will I ever learn?