WordPress Daily Prompt February 25, 2023

What advice would you give to your teenage self?

When I was a teenager, I did a lot of drawing with pencil, pen, chalk, pastels, and more. I also painted. I made a lot of traditional art. I was the president of the art club when I was in high school. I got to be pretty good and developed some nice skills. I even won an award from a congressman.

Sadly, after I graduated from high school, I stopped making traditional art. I focused on mathematics and computer science in college, but I completely left art behind. I stopped practicing my techniques. I have since moved on to digital art, but I no longer know how to draw or paint with traditional media.

The advice I would give my teenage self is this: “Don’t stop making art. Keep practicing. You can make art and enjoy math and computers at the same time.

If I had continued with my art abilities as a teenager and into college, my digital art skills would be even better today, and I’d also be able to say I can make traditional art as well.

WordPress Prompt for February 5, 2023

Something on your “to-do list” that never gets done.

There are many things on my to-do list that never get done. For the sake of brevity, I will mention just one of them in this blog post.

As some of you already know, I make art and do other creative projects. The art I make these days is strictly digital. However, over the past six months, I have bought a lot of art supplies so that I can make some traditional art. I used to make traditional art when I was younger. My problem now is that I can’t seem to get started making it. I keep making things digitally.

I want to use oil and chalk pastels, and make watercolor paintings. I want to draw with alcohol markers, pencils, pens, and fine-liners. I want to use my PrismaColor colored pencils, especially, because I bought the biggest set. I want to use my special art paper to draw and paint on. There is so much I want to do, but I don’t get it done.

I made this fractal on January 30, 2023.

Frightened By Fireworks – A Flash Memoir

Photo by Dynamic Wang on Unsplash

When I was a child, my mother and father would take my younger sister and me to see fireworks for the Fourth of July celebrations.  I was not too fond of the loud noises because they startled me.  So, I would always cover my ears with my hands to avoid the terrible sounds.  The pyrotechnics were pleasant to observe visually, nevertheless.

These days, as an adult, I avoid fireworks whenever I can.  To this day, when an unexpected bang is heard in the house as neighbors light fireworks, I jump in my seat.  But, I still try to shield my ears.  I’m just like the many pets that feel anxiety because of fireworks.

Luckily, I live in a condo, and the homeowners’ association has banned fireworks in the neighborhood.  However, in surrounding blocks, some people light them, so I am not free from them entirely.  The good news is that our two kitties do not seem to be bothered by them.

Fireworks are unavoidable.  They happen every year and sometimes without warning.  Occasionally, randomly they will occur throughout the year as people use their leftovers.  It never fails that I get startled, especially when the fireworks are unexpected.  I would be better off without fireworks, and I’m sure many furry or feathered creatures would agree with me.

© Stacey Guenther  July 2, 2022

Written for https://flashfictionforthepracticalpractitioner.wordpress.com/2022/06/29/flash-fiction-for-the-purposeful-practitioner-2022-week-27/