Gimp on Windows10, or doing collage instead of coloring

My ear issues continue so this week has mostly been sleeping and reading.  I did make some progress on shading the yellow snail.  And after doing that, I realized I really wanted to work with fabric and use the inktense to add color, shadow, highlights. 

The colored snail is above with the fabrics I've selected for doing collage to the right. 

One of the things my experience has taught me is that collage is easier if I go larger.  I spent one day this last week trying to print the snail outline in a bigger size.  I have done this before using Gimp with no problem by changing the Print Size under the Image tab.  That didn't work this time.  So I called in my inhouse Windows expert who used to do stuff in the drivers area at Microsoft and after an hour or so of intense focus, he came up with a workaround.  Save the file as a PDF and print using Acrobat.  Still not sure why this is now broken but I suspect something changed in the Windows side of things.  I finally got a 13" snail printed (head to tail measurement).  And did the outline on a nice piece of fabric to use for coloring.  I'll be doing another on batting so I can put misty fuse on the batting and then collage onto the batting.  We'll see how far I get with those projects this next week.

The snail is significant to me right now as I'm reading a new piece about pacing to deal with CFS and the message is to slow down and rest frequently.  This perfectly describes the progress made by a snail or slug so I'm working on getting in touch with my inner snail.

Next babystep toward Inktense drawings

Despite six weeks of a miserable cold which turned into an ear infection, I'm still making steady progress on trying out the brand new Inktense bars I got for Winter Holiday. 

This week, I finished setting up my drawing area with the lovely LED light pad so that I can easily do abstractions from my photos and get my line drawings to turn into silkscreens or trace onto paper or fabric.

Tracing on fabric with gel pen

Yesterday, I cut pieces of watercolor paper sized correctly for the snails I'm going to use for my first trial and I made the 2 silkscreens of the 2 different sized snails.  Today, I traced with the 2 different pens recommended in the tutorial I found online and I printed the silkscreen images on both paper and fabric.  Tomorrow I start painting.

I have 3 of each size snail on paper and one of each size on fabric so I'll have lots of trials of the different color combos I might want to use and will also be able to try out different methods of activating the Inktense.  But right now, since it's a snow day here in Bellingham, I'm heading off to watch Baby Driver with my sweetie.

2019 in Review or how I did a surprising amount of stuff

I spent all of 2019 dealing with CFS and my eye problem.  In spite of these tremendous hurdles, I got a lot of stuff accomplished and I actually know what I did because I keep a Notes file where I log my accomplishments daily.  This helps me also know what sort of patterns there are to my activities due to flu season or summer birthday season or whatever.  So, here's what I did in 2019.

Discovered Dr. Myhill and her book giving me a plan to heal from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  This was the biggest single item as it boosted my energy level so that I could do more every day.  And feel better.

Let go of goals.  Part of this was finishing the online Lisa Call class I was taking.  Now I'm doing baby steps every day in half a dozen areas and things will be done when they're finished.  For a dedicated listmaker and todo person, this is a huge change.  It's important because my energy level is erratic and this is the best way to avoid beating myself up.

Salish Sea Mandala
Plan to add hand or machine stitching in 2020

Now to step down into the detailed list of things accomplished.

3.  cashed out my annuity, giving us a simpler set of retirement accounts to manage. (1/2)
4.  experimented with digital grounds for doing prints for etsy.
5.  explored Marine Park for daily walks.
6.  mounted 2 dancer prints done using digital ground on wood panels.
7.  started culling studio supplies by stamping stamps in sketchbook so I can sell/donate the stamps and make silkscreens if I want them.
8.  vacation with Jeff and discovered my sensitivity to Febreeze is stronger than before. (1/18-25)
9.  learned to use scan&cut to make stencils.
10.  Monthly eye shots for most of the year.  Ick.
11.  bought LED flat lightscreen for use in studio.  Love it!
12.  ordered art resin to try for sealing prints as the golden varnish takes 2 weeks to dry. (2/1)
13.  Read Acrylic Revolution and made notes of ideas to try.
14.  did critique of friend's children's book first draft.
15.  Seamsters retreat, 3 days in LaConner with friends playing with paint and silkscreens.
16.  photographed marbled fabrics for use in collages.
17.  put away sewing machine, accepting that for now, using the machine is not doable with my current vision.  (2/23)
18.  Started resin experiments with collages and marbling.
19.  Blogged about it.
20.  printed sumi owls for future thermofax screen.
21.  based on success with resin on prints, printed several dancers and prepped boards for mounting prints. (3/11)
22.  did variation on grounded dancer collage.  Blogged about it.
23.  experimented with marbling using shaving cream.  (4/5-9)
24.  Had 2 cataract surgeries a few weeks apart.  (4/15, 4/29)
25.  Fell and injured shoulder. (4/10)
26.  Made stencils and silkscreens for St. Jay piece. (5/10)
27.  Went to Toastmasters conference with Jeff.  (5/17-19)  Dinner with Karen.
28.  Had laser eye treatment in left eye.  (5/21)
29.  Rested after over exertion.  5/26 - 6/6
30.  Empirically determined bcomplex helps with energy level.
31.  Started culling many of my books as reading paper is now difficult.  Thankful for ebooks.
32.  Went to a trebuchet demonstration for James' class.
33.  Read Scalzi's Old Man War series.
34.  sold off old scanner and two printers because of buying Epson eco-tank printer.
35.  Verified Eco-tank black ink will burn thermofax screens by burning screens for daughter.
36.  Started decluttering studio and art supplies.  This was ongoing until garage sale on 10/5.
37.  Watched documentary about CFS (What about M.E.?) on Prime.  (7/4)
38.  Researched recommended supplements from Myhill book and ordered the initial bunch.
39.  Culled closet and donated items to sale to benefit DV shelter.
40.  Started acupuncture treatments to see if it helps with CFS. (7/17)
41.  Moved my computer from bedroom into dining room to give more space for resin/art work in bedroom and to not disturb Jeff when I wake early and do computer stuff.
42.  Moved all computer stuff to dropbox account (except for financial records).
43.  Set up new laptop.
44.  Read Anne Bishop Others series.  Loved it.
45.  Swapped bookcases from bedroom with wall mounted shelves from dining room.
46.  experimented with knitting fabric strips.  Don't like the look for what I have in mind.
47.  Moved etsy inventory out of bedroom.
48.  Culled sewing materials.  Moved what I'm keeping into bedroom work area.  (8/8)
49.  Went to wine tasting event with Jeff.  (8/10)  This confirmed that going out to dinner is now back on my list of possible activities.
50.  Picked up quarter of a cow at Skagit River Ranch.  (8/17)
51.  Made fabric bracelet prototypes.   (8/18)
52.  Started lunchtime dates with Jeff with trip to Whatcom County Museum to see Modern Quilt exhibit.  Excellent outing.  (8/22)
53.  Started reading Donna Andrews mystery series with bird pun titles.
54.  Moved treadmill from livingroom to garage.
55.  Visited heronry at Post Point. 
56.  Experimented with lower carb alternatives to milk.  Epic fail.
57.  Researched using transparencies with resin.  Also molds.  Found Resin Obsession website which is full of great info and tutorials. (9/2)
58.  rearranged livingroom so it's better for socializing since CFS means I stay home a lot.  Now people can visit.
59.  Shut down website, started process of moving art inventory to etsy store.  Redirected LizCopeland.com so it points to etsy store.
60.  Went out to dinner with family without energy crash.  Myhill plan for healing CFS is working!
61.  Resin experiments with transparencies and molds took about a month.  Resulted in necklaces with mandalas and tiny art prints.
62.  Made 2 runs to dump for things not good enough for garage sale.
63.  Spent a week finishing garage sale prep and holding garage sale on 10/5.
64.  Donated leftovers from garage sale to Ragfinery and Allied Arts. 
65.  Tried Photoshop Elements as alternative to my old version of Photoshop that does not work on Windows 10.  It reinstalled my printer drivers without asking which only allowed me to print 8x11 so I uninstalled it immediately and installed Gimp.
66.  Learned how to make my own molds since most commercially available molds are smaller than I want.  James did 3D printing of stars for me to try the moldmaking with.
67.  Second vacation week of the year with Jeff at Ocean Shores.  Way overdid, had major crash afterwards.
68.  Watched Jane Dunnewold video on using heat press for botanical prints.  I knew I kept the press for some reason.
69.  Started learning gimp by trial and error in printing and resizing photos.
70.  Sick for 3 weeks with major cold which has turned into 2 ear infections.  (all of December really).
71.  Ordered The GIMP Bible to help learn the differences in the interface.
72.  Had first mammogram in several years.  Still not pleasant but not as bad as it used to be.
73.  Bought The Intentional Thread and needles & thimbles for doing some stitching in the evenings.
74.  Did critique for a quilter friend who is expanding into art quilts.  She just needed a little confidence boosting as her work is very nice.  I look forward to seeing where she goes with it.
75.  Did first try of staged photos in livingroom for etsy.  Ordered new lights because of too many shadows.
76.  Started taking bilberry in October.  This stabilized my retina which means no shots as long as it continues to maintain or get better.  Also improved my blood pressure.

This is a useful and informative exercise, listing my accomplishments.  I averaged about 5 hours per week on my artwork so it's clear that even with my reduced energy level, I can still do quite a bit.  Here's hoping my healing continues and 2020 brings lots of arty goodness.