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Friday, January 16, 2015

The Good Old Days

I felt like I had gone back in time.  I was washing dishes.  Nothing to remarkable about that, but I was heating the water on the stove and washing in a pan.  Yes, the dishwasher went out!  The hot water was turned off at the sink so I had to heat the water on the stove or carry it from a bathroom.  Luckily it appears to be the heating element and can be repaired and won't have to spend $500 or so for a new one.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Should be fixed in a few days.



It reminded me of the good old days when we washed dishes in pans and heated water on a wood stove.  I think about how spoiled we are and how many things we take for granted.  This relates to art as well.  As lazy as I am, I imagine I would not be painting as much if I had to prepare canvases, paper and boards by hand.  I have made pastel surfaces with pumice and acrylic medium, but that was for fun.  Think about when oil painters had to carry their paint in glass bottles.  Not too much fun.

Looking around my studio at all the time savers and helpers I have.  Clips, tape that doesn't stick permanently, ink pens that hold their own ink, pastels all rolled for me in different degrees of hardness, and the list goes on and on.  I have a metal easel and a wooden easel in my studio.  I also have a portable easel or two.  I can oil paint with no strong oder and clean up with soap and water.

When I want daylight in my studio, presto -- just turn on my daylight lamp!  No candles and kerosene lamp found here!

And don't even talk about sketching.  I can sketch on my computer, iPad and iPhone.  Photography is instant.  When I want to check my painting I can take a photo of it or scan it into my computer and see what it needs to look better and then make corrections. 

I can make videos and "how to" tutorials to print out.  I can watch all the videos about painting that I want.  I can communicate with friends and artists and get instant feedback on my work or just visit by phone or messages.  We can fly off  across the country in just a few hours.

Still, I never have enough time!  Frances, my mother-in-law, used to say that all these time savers didn't seem to save time.  In the "old days" when she washed clothes by hand, made bread, butchered, and all the rest of housekeeping chores they still had time to go visit friends and family on Sundays.  We rarely just go visit anyone.  Maybe I just don't budget my time well. 

I'll be back to show you a couple of new paintings.  In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying our modern conveniences and making good use of your time!








8 comments:

Joan Tavolott said...

I don't find all those timesavers do much for us. Time just disappears! lol

Jo Castillo said...

Joan, and the older we get the faster it goes....

Joanna said...

I seem to have inherited your time-saving ways, Mom! :-) I hope the heating element for the dish washer comes in soon.

Jo Castillo said...

Joanna, I can't imagine you inherited them. Ha! I hope the heating element comes Monday.

Jennifer Rose said...

I think the problem isn't the time savers, just that we live in a society that is a lot busier then it was even 20 year ago. not sure if that is a good or bad thing :p

Bag Blog said...

These things save me so much time, I don't know what to do with it all. I start off the morning thinking I have lots of time, and before you know it, my time is gone, and I haven't done anything. Maybe time is just faster than it used to be.

Jo Castillo said...

Jennifer Rose, Ha, some of us are busier. Some of us are sluffers and procrastinators.

Bag Blog, that is the way I feel. I've been getting up earlier and doing less. Sigh.....

Jo Castillo said...

I got a couple of comments from Gene: "It appears to be more difficult to do now. My question or comment was how is your dishwasher getting fixed?

How is your dishwasher getting fixed? It is magic?" g

Hopefully the part will come today and it will be fixed by "magic Gene". :-)


About Me

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Bastrop, Texas, United States
I Grew up in a small town , Magdalena, New Mexico. I enjoy art and the pleasure other people get from my work. I always donate some of my sales and art to charities, especially for children. That started in Bolivia with Para los Niños. "I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colors. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns." -- Winston Churchill

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