Creating art, or “arting” as I like to call it, has never come easy for me. Besides the issue of developing the necessary artist skillset, I’ve always battled the little voice inside my head smirking that I’m not good enough, why am I wasting my time, what’s the point?

Lately I’m doing most of my arting, in the form of watercolor, in sketchbooks. I feel a little freer to paint in them, and that little voice doesn’t nag at me quite so much. I mean, it’s only a page in a small sketchbook, right? If I mess it up, I can rip it out and throw it away (I never do, but the possibility is there).

I also feel the need to create art that has some sort of relevance, no matter how small the artwork. So, when I head out with sketchbook in hand, I head to places that I’m interested in. Places that have interesting history.

The photo below was taken at one of those places: historic Muddy Creek Forks village, now the Ma & Pa (Maryland and Pennsylvania) Railroad Heritage Village in York County, Pennsylvania. The village, located where the north and south branches of Muddy Creek meet, has been in existence since at least the 1750s. Milling of grain and the transportation of produce and goods from the local farms occurred there.

My husband and I had passed through the village a couple of times before we decided to do some sketchbooking there. A few weeks ago, we parked in the large parking lot near the old roller mill and pulled out our sketchbooks. I sketched the scene and began painting it with watercolors while we sat there, but I finished it later at home (I think that breaks a cardinal rule of urban sketchbooking, but oh well).

One of the nice parts of sketchbooking is that it makes you slow down and really look at your scene. You become aware of small details that you might otherwise never have noticed. For instance, I found it interesting that the siding on the buildings is all different–something I didn’t notice when I took the photo.

We recently drove again through Muddy Forks, and I felt a sense of attachment to the scene. I remembered that sunny afternoon when my hubby and I sat side by side, capturing not only an image, but what would become a shared precious memory.