Eclipse

My family and I (and an awful lot of Memphis) drove over into Arkansas for the Eclipse yesterday. I was traveling in 2017 and out of range, so it was the first time I'd seen one in person. We went early, took a smaller but good highway into Bald Knob, and drove down into the Wilderness Refuge. There was no one around except a farmer on his tractor, and we sat in the shade and picnicked and waited for it to start. I love the wide open Arkansas landscape and did a couple of sketches waiting for things to start. I also liked the stances of people looking up through their glasses, so I did a few quick sketches of my companions as well.

The Eclipse itself was 2 1/2 minutes, so FAST. The top photo is my real time sketching of it. The first was the partial view through the eclipse glasses, and during the partial I also sketched the shadows on the ground. The total was truly lovely. You could look straight at it and see the ring of light around the moon. My background, that I'd been using through the eclipse glasses, ended up too dark for what I actually saw, but it was fun to draw the sun as well as Jupiter below it in real time. I always seem to process things through art. I didn't take a photo at all but did sketch. The light was eerie and beautiful through the whole transition too, but I didn't feel I could capture it well and didn't take the time to try.

Afterwards we went to that classic Bald Knob diner the Bulldog. The employees had awesome Eclipse day shirts of a bulldog wearing the glasses. I hadn't had a shake from them in several years, and it was fresh strawberry shake season, so I was delighted. I'll have to try to get over for peach season this year. It's been too long. My family really enjoyed the Bulldog too, and I'm so glad I could offer a fun day out for them.

This morning I woke up realizing I hadn't really caught what I saw, and I had another run at it with my breakfast tea, getting more of the lighter blue sky and the different lengths of rays around the sphere. Still not what I have in my mind, but close, and it felt nice to honor that vision before it fades. Even years later, the process of sketching can help me keep the details fresh in spite of not getting them exactly right on paper. I'm grateful for this way of experiencing the world and processing it for myself.