Sketching During Pandemic Months

For two months, I've been sketching on a daily basis.  In early March, when I returned from San Antonio, I signed up for an online journaling class with the same artist and group that had given me such a wonderful experience at the end of 2018.  I could not have imagined how much life was about to change, but I had some glimmers.  Here's a sketch from the early days of the pandemic:

The journaling group began later in March, and as March progressed into April, we read our way through Cynthia Bourgeault's Mystical Hope:  Trusting in the Mercy of God.  I found a lot that inspired me:

As we got to the end of our first journaling group time, our leader offered another experience for May.  We've been reading Meister Eckhart's Book of the Heart.  It's a book put together by Jon M. Sweeney and Mark S. Burrows; they've taken the words of Eckhart and put them in poetry form.  I haven't found myself journaling/sketching out specific passages as much, but it has been inspiring, and I have continued to sketch each day:

As I've sketched each day, I've noticed that I return again and again to the swirl, so occasionally, I've experimented with other forms and shapes.

I've used words and passages from the books we've been reading together.

I've even experimented a bit with realism--although it's always been a fanciful realism.

Occasionally, I'd start a sketch and then return to it.  Here's a progression that pleased me.  Day 1:

Later that day:

I've been using the same 4 markers throughout:  1 lilac and 3 shades of gray.  Occasionally, I used only the fine tip pens that I bought for the course:

Today is the last meeting of the journaling group.  I'm looking forward to expanding my color palette.  But I will miss this group!