How about a hoodie?

I can make that happen for you. Click! HERE.

Start of a new drawing:

The second drawing is inspired in part by this one, from Aldrovandi; I was originally going to put a headdress on the deer (I was thinking of an octopus for a headdress, actually), but once the antler was in there it felt like too much. Somebody in one of these drawings is definitely going to be wearing an octopus on their head, though.

This bird’s head is way too big, but whatever. Also hand-bird is bothering me, it’s too much knobbly neck. Perhaps it needs to be wearing a nice frilly ruff.

Monday January 2

Warm up: 20 minutes on the treadmill, 12 running (I was at 25 minutes of continuous running when I hurt my shoulder, and now it’s hard for me to do more than 10 at a time, so this will go up incrementally but I am not in any hurry).

Kettlebells routine, twice through the following (on these no weights were changed from last time):

25 swings x 30lb
12 each 1-armed squat press x 8kg
15 each dead lift x 20kg
15 each sumo squat x 16kg
15 each Gaspari’s crunch x 30lb
15 upright row with squat x 16kg
12 overhead extension x 12kg
16 seated abdominal twist x 8kg (not lifting much weight here because it’s hard enough to balance on a still-injured-a-year-later tailbone)
12 each bentover row x 30lb

with interstitial cardio after each two exercises, rotating between 15 jumping jacks (4 times), 30 bicycle crunches (2 times) and 50 jump rope (2 times); ending with a 60 second plank.

Cool-down: 10 minutes brisk treadmill walk.

Tuesday January 3

Warm up: 1000m on the rowing machine (100 sprint, 100 rest)

Push ups (yes, I’m going back to the push up programme, starting again way back in week two and only doing it once or twice a week, DON’T WORRY I am not going to end up in physiotherapy again). 5 sets, as per week 2 of the programme, with 60s rest between: 9, 11, 8, 8, 13 (minimum 11 for the last set) for a total of 49.

Cool-down: Jump rope x 100, 10 minutes on the treadmill (5 running).

Wednesday January 4

Warm up: 15 minutes on the bike, random hill programme, level 14

Free weights grab bag (this is where I started lowering some weights from what I was lifting before my shoulder injury), 3 times through the following:

10 wide front pull downs x 120lb (down from 130)
10 each leg split squats (instead of lunges because split squats are HARDER) (so much harder) x two 15lb dumbbells (down from 2 x 20)
12 barbell rows x 60lb (no change)
15 squats x two 15lb dumbbells (down from 2 x 20)
10 hammer curls x 15lbs (x2) (no change)
10 military press x 15lbs (x2) (no change)

Ending with a 60 second plank. Cool-down: 10 minutes treadmill walk.

Thursday: day off, massage day!

Friday January 6

Warm up: 15 minutes bike, random hill programme, level 14

Weightless “A” routine, 3 x through the following:

20 squats
30 bicycle crunches
20 lateral box jumps
20 lunges
10 each leg side lunges
10 each leg split squats

Ending with 60 second plank. Cool-down: 5 minutes treadmill walk.

Tuesday January 10

2.5 hours derby skating practice. As it was the first practice back after a two week break and I had some lingering leg pain (there is this ongoing hamstring thing I’m trying to sort out. . . ) I took advantage of the open skating format and mostly just skated around in circles. Worked on crossovers and speed for the last half hour or so.

Wednesday January 11

Warm up: 10 minute treadmill run.

Once around the weight machines circuit:

12 leg extensions x 60lbs (down from 70)
12 leg curls x 60lbs (down from 70)
12 lateral pull downs x 130lbs (down from 135)
12 chest fly x 70lbs (down from 80)
12 chest press x 70lbs (down from 80)
12 shoulder press x 35lbs (down from 40)

Oddly, when I got to the circuit there was nobody using it and each machine except for the shoulder press (where I don’t lift much anyway due to the whole recurring injury thing) was already set at exactly the weight I USED TO lift, so that I had to look at that and then move it down. I said to Peter that there must be some literary device to describe this phenomenon but that I couldn’t think of what it would be called, maybe something with the word fallacy in it? and he said, “um, coincidence?”. Yes, so helpful.

No cool-down because I’m reckless like that.

Thursday January 12

30 minutes on the bike, random hill programme, level 14.

For an upcoming (date TBA) solo show of tattoo flash drawings at rEvolution gallery & studio in Kingsville.

For inspiration I am looking at: early printed books about animals and mythological creatures, in particular my old favourites, Edward Topsell*’s The Historie of The Foure-Footed Beastes (1607) and The Historie of Serpents (1608), and Ulisse Aldrovandi**’s Monstrorum historia cum Paralipomenis historiae omnium animalium (1642); old botanical engravings of weeds and mushrooms; various danse macabres of different eras; renaissance manuscript illuminations of fantastic animals, demons, hellmouths and the like; early 20th century ex libris plates***; old lace pattern books; typeface catalogues; old engravings of insects and cephalopods and who knows what else.

*I’ve been scanning images from facsimile editions of the Topsell, but you can find images of the plates at this link.

**Aldrovandi’s History of Monsters can be seen in full at this link (a warning: while this book is full of strange and funny imaginary creatures it also presents a variety of birth defects and disabilities as equally “monstrous”, so, that’s disturbing).

***Pratt Libraries has a wonderful collection of over a thousand ex libris plates in this flickr set.