Bamboozled by an Escher Mug
Dear Sarah - 040
Hi Nikki
February 9, 2025
I look forward to drawing every single day, and I wish I had more time to sit and stare at things and figure out how to apply what I learn at class and from following instructions in a book or video.
Today I thought I'd take what I learned from drawing cylinders and apply it to a pot of bamboo on my deck that's struggling to survive the cold. The pot's a cylinder, I thought. I know how to draw a cylinder. I'm gonna try it in pen. What can go wrong?
Well, you can see the trouble I got into, especially on an overcast day, when there's no light source to speak of. Where does the shadow go? How do you draw that rounded lip on the pot? The bamboo itself was comparatively easy and very forgiving. But I wasn't willing to give up. I decided to draw it again, this time in pencil, using the ink drawing as my guide. I'm much, much happier with the results! But now I think I should draw it again, in pencil, this time from life. Sigh. Perfection is not the goal, right?
Good day today, starting with our thriller check-in this morning, followed by a long walk along the Songhees Walkway with a good friend. Came home, had lunch, read the club scene! What is Cass thinking?! Can't wait to get back to it, but must do a bit of work now.
Aaagh! I just noticed that I forgot to draw the bit of twine holding the bamboo stick and the bamboo plant together! I'll fix it but won't send another photo. I'm happy with what I sent.
Dear Sarah,
February 9, 2025
Technically, your pot is not a cylinder - it’s tapering - not quite a cone, but not a cylinder either. I LOVE seeing your two drawings side by side. They are both bamboo-in-a-pot, but so different! I love the playful, fun feeling I get from the first one and it’s so cool to see how you made adjustments between the first and second so the second pot is more technically correct. That only comes from careful looking…
And the bamboo! It’s great in both :) Studying the drawings carefully, I only spotted the bunny after several backs and forths as I was concentrating so hard on the pot anatomy.
I decided to draw something on my desk - a cylindrical mug - plain, unadorned, boring - it should have been straightforward to draw, right? Ignoring the obvious challenges of drawing a glossy black mug sporting some glossy highlights, I just wanted to get the basic shape and proportions correct. Hah!
That handle! The more I looked at it, the more Escher-esque it became, twisting and turning, pretending to be one simple curve! Mobius handle loop of madness…
Despite the frustrations of things never quite looking the way I think they should, I, too, love the time I manage to carve out of each day for drawing. When my head is bending around cup handles, there is no room for other, more stressful matters to take centre stage.
Managed to work a bit more this evening on the morning-after-the-club scene in the thriller. Things are definitely getting complicated…