Challenges, November and December '05

A diffuser for the draw something ceramic challenge.





















Two drawings for the 'draw something Christmas' challenge. This was the first portrait I had done in years and I stuck with the plan of doing it quickly and not fussing. It felt a bit sterile though. I think I need to take my time over portraits, this is simply an image.
















I drew the boy because there are aspects of Christmas, like the mad consumerism, that make me uncomfortable when I think about the many millions of children who could really benefit but don't. Christmas doesn't change anything but quite a few people get into debt unecessarily. The little bag I drew shows the side of Christmas I do like - the silliness and tackiness of it all!
















The challenge was to draw the view from your window. This house opposite illustrates the ramshackle buildings the Kuwaitis used to live in, adding bits on as the family expanded. I noticed that these neighbours and our Palestinian landlady never greeted each other even though she had lived in the street since the 1940's. I'm told that's because the Palestinians supported the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait.

I included the bin in my drawing. During the bird flu scare, the maids threw the entire stock of chickens (many families keep farm animals in small enclosures) out by the bin. Some chickens were already dead, some clearly alive but not so well. The landlady's son rang the ministry to be told that only the owner could report the incident!