The Art within

If you just want My Personal Boot Camp stats and facts- click here.
If you like my chatty way of telling a story and you wanna know more about the experience from a personal view please continue reading. Thanks very much.
…Thursday May 5th, 2:20 am- That is when the current sketch was done. (I think that is the correct date-I’d have to ask someone to be sure-but for now let’s go with it.) It was the morning of my second day in YMCA Boot Camp. (hence the boots)I often sketch what is on my mind, then again, I often DO NOT sketch what is on my mind-I didn’t snap a picture of it but on that same page are multiple tall buildings and multiple tiny people on top of those buildings..…sure that has some creepy meaning or something-but whatever…boots..sketching…boots and a tent at 2:20 am…couldn’t sleep, filled with dread. And fear..yep-there said it. I was experiencing fear of Biblical proportions…in fact-one might say “I was SORE afraid”. I said it was the morning of my SECOND day of Boot Camp-I had already been to one such class the day prior and mustering up all my will to live-had in fact completed the 42 minute class…why then, knowing I could make it thru what promised to be the toughest workout available-do I feel so consumed by this…unrest, dread, nausea….ughhhh fear….???? (I hate fear) I’m not even being dramatic here followers and friends-I sat on the little couch wide awake-sketching by hall bathroom light….internally at war with my decision to accept a friend’s challenge. I had already committed to do this thing-so the war was pointless, the fear was pointless, the staying awake was even MORE pointless-once committed-I was "ALL IN" even if it killed me-the nerves were making a very valid point..."How did you get here? What possessed you to do this? You are good with "okay". What are you trying to prove? You are no athlete-and this aint Biggest Loser...." (yes ahh that's correct I always thought "If the girls didn't have to weigh in in half shirts I would soooo apply to Biggest Loser...and yes. Win." :)
The answer:
I think deep down I just knew I needed to move on-to take on a little more.
Three days prior to that looooong night-while me and Lucy finished our Monday workout (which was no slacker-style hang out, lift a few light weights, walk on the treadmill 20 minutes and go have a smoothie-kind of workout I might add…when I come to the gym…I come to get down. I mean-ear buds in (kinda sorta “stay away from me-I’ll half wave if I feel you are “safe” enough but please give me a few months to make that decision and please PAH-LEASE-UH! Don’t stop and talk to me stranger-who I only know by site-don't even know your name…then I have to take the ear buds out…and I might or might not want to pause the song and it might throw off my keeping time with how long this set took compared to last time…and my focus will be off for the rest of the workout…OOOORRRR… I will actually WANT to talk to you-but I only have a certain amount of time and if I DO stop to chat I will have to skip something I came here planning to do…meaning the check mark will not be made…etc etc and so on…see? No talking people.) So..we were finishing our workout and one of the few (I mean very few) friends at the gym is talking to this intimidating  director/workout guru gym person about….you guessed it, BOOT CAMP! So yes---one thing leads to another and before you know it a challenge was made. Always up for a challenge and often unaware of physical limitations while not being physically limited... and finding this particular friend highly respectable as far as fitness and healthy lifestyle goes….I said yes before I could help myself. Lucy too.


On Wednesday morning-the first day for me, it was raining so boot camp was held in the gym. Nothing any person who received a public school education hasn’t seen or done before-no tight ropes to balance upon, no rings of fire to jump thru-nothing crazy…just constant-repetitive coach driven exercise-lots and lots of core strengthening drills, lots and lots of basic calisthenics (jumping jacks, lunges, squats, push ups FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY-there were push ups!) and even though my muscles burned and my head sort of swam and the sweat did pour…I was “in” game face on-determined to complete the task…and then there was a bit of cardio worked in. By a “bit of cardio” I mean a LOT. OF. CARDIO. None the less-the 42 minutes passed and I was still alive. Along with the others in class. (this is key-there were others doing the same things as me-and THEY ALL LIVED TOO) I recall the satisfaction now and it makes me smile. Big.
As I sat quietly sketching and worrying about the pending workout and the workouts that would certainly come on regular basis for the next 4 weeks (side note I signed up for 4 weeks and stayed for nearly 3 months and am still alive to write this post) I prayed. I am NOT KIDDING…I did. I prayed-thankful for the opportunity-thankful for the new excitement I had about this never before attempted personal goal and I prayed real honestly about the fear. The fear of failing, the fear that my 100 year old knees would not allow me to finish (also failing in my mind), the fear of letting my workout partner down,(a different kind of failure but failing another person-wow-even worse than failing yourself. Am I right? yes, yes you are Amber Kail. Thanks.)  and to be real honest-the fear of running so much I would throw up right there in front of everyone. (Monumental FAIL! yes? yes!) There is a calm that comes after being just this honest with yourself-and after that calm came rest. And after that rest-came…..BEAT DOWN #2! But once again-42 minutes passed and then it was over-and once again I was proud and thankful and giddy. The kind of giddy I couldn’t express to anyone outwardly (lets be honest who among you would have understood? Anyone….?Anyone??? okay then…) I talked obsessively about it with Lucy and from time to time with another friend or two. And by “from time to time” I mean ALL. THE. TIME. Let's pause for a moment here and let me say a heart felt "Thank You" to friends and family and coworkers and strangers and that real nice farmer guy at the Farmer's Market who said I have a nice smile for which I also gave credit to Boot Camp at the Y. (haha I keed I keed) But Boot Camp did make me smile real big...A-LOT. and it still does right now as I wrap this up. I thank you all for sharing in my excitement or tolerating my excitement and I thank you for not making it clear which you were doing! I  Can’t help it-excited about it-want to talk about it-want others to be excited about it. Not my experience but excited about their own “I pushed and tried and puked and cried (umm yes, there were a few days in May I did throw up after class-just being honest-and ummm yes…I used to wonder why sometimes on Biggest Loser the contestants would break down and shed tears during a workout-I no longer wonder about that.)  It was perhaps the most rewarding experience I have EVER had at the Y. And I have been there several years and I have achieved some cool goals. People like to know numbers and statistics and we all like results when we exert this kind of energy. I am no different. So the first thing people ask when they are thinking about trying boot camp is:  “How much did you lose?”  so I will, for the record post my stats below.  But I will also say this- For me, personally, and I know I am a wackadoo-and if you have read this blog much you know that about me as well so it’s cool. But for me-more than what I lost-is what I gained thru this experience. Friendships, for those of us who started together and finished together, we have a cool “battle story” kind of bond-I love that. I have gained new passion for something that has been so important to my health these past 6 years-and honestly-I struggle now to admit-I had sort of just accepted as "gone". Wow! I didn’t even realize I missed it.  I have gained muscle and strength physically-both reflected in the stats you will find here . But also-I gained the WANT to be pushed-I mean it, I re-gained the desire to be challenged and inspired and it's really hard to graph those kinds of results. 
Lately there has been a bit of discussion regarding this "inspiration" and people who do inspire others. I sort of reject the notion that a person not seeking inspiration can find it in another. Like some other person has the power or magnitude to "fling achievement" onto innocent slacker-type bystanders. However, if a person is on a quest after inspiration-it's already within that individual. And if they look hard enough-they will see it. It takes an artistic eye to look inside and envision, whatever the current state of the project-a masterpiece being created. But even if a tiny glimpse is all one can see-it's enough-isn't it? It's enough to be called inspiration-and if there is any inspiration to be found anywhere-there is inspiration to be found everywhere.  That's  one of the things I love so much about art, it's everywhere-you just gotta look.

Boot Camp Info-Short form

So if you aren't into reading my ramblings and you clicked here b/c you just want info about this crazy Boot Camp thing I did. And will be starting again in September. And welcome-NO...CHALLENGE YOU to try with me...then here is the short form.

 The facts.

Boot Camp is:  Instructor Led-group exercise. Very challenging. The BIGGEST HARDEST workout I have ever done. ever. And THE MOST REWARDING workout I have ever done. It's outside-even in the heat. Even in the wet with due piles of grass. (only inside when rain is falling). Apx. 42-45 minutes long. 3 to 5 times per week. Motivating. Encouraging. Challenging. B2TW. AWESOME. Hard as Heck! Early in the morning! at 6:00 AM.  Conducive to building friendships. Good for your soul.

What we did in boot camp:  Moderate to high intensity interval training. Some days tons of abs and core mixed with running thru an obstacle course. Some days more push ups and sit ups than I can count mixed with more lunges and squats and 20 second sprints than I can count. Some days we used resistance bands for muscle toning and the curb in a parking lot for character building. :) Some days we split into teams and worked as groups, other times we had a partner while still others it was every man for himself. We were never alone tho-that's one of the best things about it-"safety in numbers" right? All for one and one for all. No one was ever yelled at for giving 100% but falling short of the prescribed reps. Ever. All words spoken were encouraging and challenging and motivating and hi-fives and fist bumps were given freely at the end of every workout. 

What it did for me physically: And this is the part people start off wanting to know :) Me too so it's cool.
Start, mid way and finish we took a PT Test-  pushing ourselves to do as many of the following exercises in one minute. Then completing as many laps as we could run,walk or crawl in 10 minutes.  I have figured my progress percentages and listed this information below:

Push ups- In regulation style "man" push ups  I increased by 20%.
               In modified style "girl" push ups I DECREASED by 22%  *note, I believe in the first test I had improper form so I was banging them out like blue blazes. However, I learned proper form thru this experience and wow! are push ups difficult when using the correct method. 

Sit ups- Increased by 25%
Triceps dips-Increased by 100%  (not kidding-seriously did twice as many in the last test.
Squats-Increased by 36%
Cardio-strength (the 10 minute run) Increased by 29.72%

Weight lost-42 lbs.
Inches lost- HERE'S THE KICKER. I DO NOT KNOW! Because I didn't think to measure and it might be a good idea to do-for future reference. :)
Inches grown taller- HAHAHA just kidding-Boot Camp won't make you taller- but it will make you smile more! Or at least it did me.

*I will say this about the weight lost. 1. I have a significant amount to lose. 2. I was faithful to the workout. Every time. I missed 1 class in the entire series and was on vacation or would not have missed that one. and I did visit another gym that day so...just saying the more you put in the more you get out. Not in ANY WAY bragging or anything like that- I hate to even give a number-but I believe in boot camp and I want others to know it can help them achieve new goals. and finally this is REALLY REALLY important. 3. I track the food I eat.I am not militant about what to eat-but I am very aware of the number of calories I eat every day. even on weekends.  I have an occasional splurge-and by splurge I mean ICE CREAM. I like to be in charge of what I eat, and I eat as local and whole (real-like grown in the ground or raised on a farm)  foods as I can afford.  I limit processed foods. I do not eat ANYTHING FRIED. EVER.

Please Please Please PAH-LEASE!!! don't leave comments to me personally on here. I'm proud of my self and all that jazz but really-I am only leaving the comments open if anyone wants to know about joining us in Boot Camp or something like that.  Seriously tho, comments like "we're proud of you" etc. are appreciated but they kinda make my skin feel tingly and hot in a bad way so...just don't. thank you. :)

Messy Cross II

 Answer to a question no one asked: When I paint crosses-I never end up with something that looks “pretty”. Truthfully, unless given a specific example of a “pretty” cross, I don’t even approach it as such. Right from the start-I am all-in, freely painting lines and “x”s and going back over those lines and making the colors darker and smudgier (no that’s not a REAL word, it’s an ART word-it’s okay to use it, go ahead) and darker and messier and then comes texture…lots and lots and lots AND lots of texture-again no real “plan” just putting it on the canvas then scraping some off and leaving some and drying some and applying more and painting over that…and so on and so on.

A lot of what I call art is for pure fun and relaxation for me. A lot of projects I get to do for other people are decorative for their homes and I love love love love that. However, fun or decorative and some of it might even be sentimental-yet not have a lot of personal meaning (I love it anyway)

Painting a cross is different tho. It’s symbolic and meaningful to me on a very personal level. I got nothing against a pretty cross hanging for decoration-fact is I have lots of them in my house. But when I paint a cross-I paint it as I hope it was…I paint it dark and messy. With “x”s and crossed out parts and re-dos and (totally see where I’m going now right?) I am not a big “feeler” when I paint (that seems a little too artsy to me) but when I paint a cross I like to consider what that cross was for in my own life -and what all it accomplished. Having that in mind-I just can’t make it pretty. I believe Christ died on a big ole’ dark and stormy-scary-humiliating- painful-bloody-ugly-cross. Covered in sin. For me. I believe the cross was for the mess, and while painting that out-I find great comfort.

A Bird For Adrianne

Fancy Bird. Prancy Bird. Dancy Bird.
Happy Bird. Sappy Bird.
Girly, Twirly, Swirly Bird.
A Bird that dances. A Bird that sings.
A Bird that prances-I put birds on things.

Adrianne,
I hope this brightens your day!  It was just an ordinary recycled board....no one noticed it...sad...but now, Now! There is a bird-A BIRD!!!! 

To all other followers- if you don't "get it" it's all good- just watch This Clip

Art for my peeps-"An ode to the Peep"

Having decided to stay in the dirty south for the Easter Holiday, we thought it best to send a blog shout out to our peeps in "The Nation"  So...we artistically took a few photos this afternoon.
"An Ode To The Peep" 

             Peeps with my Vanns


                 Peeps in my hands

             Peeps in a row-sitting in marshmallow attention

             Two "Peepin Toms"-At the window  peepin in to the kitchen

             All "Gangsta" wit my peeps-chillin' in my hood

             Kababing up some peeps-goin'a grill em' over wood (not really)
                             

             Happy Easter! To the peeps in my heart, our friends and family

                                               
               "Happy Easter"..and...."Im pretty sure they just peeped on me"
                                                        


                                        

Progressive Project Day1

As promised, I am starting a new BIG project. The canvas size is 36x48. Literally, I could hide behind it.  Answer to a question no one asked- I LOVE to paint BIG projects.  I don't feel compelled to draw anything out and I am not concerned with mess ups or things like that. It's just way more fun, to me.  So, yea, totally excited to start this one. 

I have seen lots of really smart art projects on YouTube where the artist posts either edited video of their progress or still frame photos in sequential order-typically the images are set to some "too cool for the room" music (yea, I said it-and I guess I should disclaim at this point) I got nothing against Indie music or film as long as you are being true to yourself-what I guess I mean it's like I've said before- we get it, you are artistic, you like things "boring normal people" don't. Now might be a good time to link you back to a previous blog where I rant about being artsy.  Honestly, I suppose one of the reasons I never considered myself an artist is because I wasn't "cool" enough. Yea, even tho I sorta talk smack about the chick in miss matched Chucks with her hair in dread locks and ugly girl-really thick black horn rimmed glasses (she doesn't even need-she has perfect vision-she just likes to wear the ugly thick glasses...I DON'T KNOW WHY? Have you been listening??? I AM NOT THAT COOL!) See, even tho I throw off on that persona, there is a part of me that likes it. *sort of secretly and from a distance- I would never admit it publicly* I like it I mean- I admire it if it is genuine. Me, personally, I am artistic and all but pretty much a conformist. Fairly main stream in my entertainment choices and certainly when it comes to clothing. I'm okay with it tho-I mean, it's who I really am.
....As I was saying, I think I will take a photo of my progress each time I paint this one. Who knows-I might stream the images together in sequential order, mix in a song and upload the finished product to YouTube. (of course by "I" I mean "TK"  my medium is paint, NOT technology- seriously- I am amazed every time a blog I post actually uploads!)  Now....about that music...I'll have to give it some thought...

The Project Recap

As I sit waiting for this "tornado" to I guess pass is the right wording-I am not sure. As I sit and wait for the "all clear" I decided to recap and wrap up the details of last month's painting a day project. I know some of you are ready to take your painting and I finally got the chance to take the "group shot" I wanted this past weekend. So...First some business. If you requested a day and you would like to purchase your painting-they are now ready for pick up or shipment!!!! IF you live in a state besides Tennessee, I will gladly ship your painting to you just send me your address. I will post available and unclaimed paintings in one week. Thanks again for being part of this project. I did have a fun time and I am thinking about doing it again. OHHH also, I have a big idea coming later this fall. (what a tease, I know!)


Below are a little more "artistic" views of the finished project. This IS an art blog after all.... Happy Rainy stormy day!