Photo of the Week - "My Favorite Color"

Only one? sigh...

I finished my goldfish as well, but it's my daughter's birthday and we are going out to the movies tonight, so I don't have time for more pics today. Woo hoo... party!

Not Satisfied Yet

I haven't had time to work on much of anything this week, but I did make a little progress on the goldfish. (I am getting tired of goldfish, LOL!) Anyway, this is what I have so far. It's getting there, but it's not there yet.

The details don't show up well in the full view, so I'll put up a few close-ups too. This one is of the shells I added to the bottom. I absolutely love the broken one toward the right. Thanks Linda!  (That runaway strand of silk hanging from the bottom is not part of the piece .  If you have ever worked with silk you will know that it goes everywhere with a mind of its own and clings to everything.)

And because I simply can't resist them, I also added several sizes clear hole-less beads and a little sprinkle of micromarbles in gold.  Yumm!

The whole thing does not  yet feel like an integrated whole, so I am going to add some more silk from another cap. The original cap is on the left. I am thinking that a lighter color of the one on the right will help everything blend together better.

We will see!

Photo of the Week - "Feet" and a WIP update

When I learned what this week's theme was to be I knew right away what I wanted to shoot, but I would need a sunny (or at least dry!) day to do it.  The weather cooperated, so this afternoon I took myself out to the barnyard, got down on my tummy without anyone catching me at it, and shot this week's photo of "Feet".   (Back when Jake still milked in the afternoons, I could always tell about where he was in the job by the number of cow legs visible underneath the wall of the holding pen. Judging by what I see here, the milker has just started in on the second herd.)

A while ago I shared some practice watercolor sketches I had done of goldfish - I was so pleased with them that I decided to use some of them in a mixed media collage for my bathroom. First I painted and textured a canvas as a background, then I added the fish pieces. (Smarter people than I am will probably have already figured out that I should have applied the fish BEFORE the texturing, but oh well, now I know that too AND why, LOL.)

I decided that the fish stood out too strongly against the background, so I lightened the color a bit, then added wisps of silk torn from a hand-dyed silk cap over the edges. There are also some painted strips of cheesecloth along the bottom right - I wish they stood out a little more, but I will hit them up with some highlights when the medium dries.

I had hoped to finish this piece today, but there is so much medium holding everything down that I want it to dry undisturbed for a while before adding anything else. I have some little seashells that will be tucked into the folds of the cheesecloth, and also some micromarbles that are begging me to let them play with the fish. I really tried to avoid the micromarbles in this project, but I can't seem to help myself. :-)

Photo of the Week - "Changing Seasons"

The hard part about gardening in this corner of the world is that the weeds find the weather much more conducive to activity than the gardeners do.  Or maybe I'm just lazy, LOL.  Anyway, even though the weeds are always ahead of me, I still love my garden, especially after the long, dreary winter we have had.


I took a dozen photos of my flowers this afternoon, but this one was so perfect right out of the camera it is the only one I want to share. As a rule I don't care much for daffodils and narcissi, but they are cheerful, especially on a rare sunny day in March.

And now, please meet Pleasure and Fun. (Remember the Doublemint Twins?) These two aren't really a sign of the season as we have calves born all year, but a set of twin heifers, both alive and thriving, doesn't come along every day.

They won't stay this cute for long, but they are adorable today.

Watercolor interrupted

It was so deliciously beautiful today that we decided to let the cows and calves out to the fields to graze. This is the true first day of spring for me. The older cows know just what to do, but the younger ones get a little confused.  "What is this? An open door? I've never seen an open door before... should I be worried?"

The bigger ones tend to be a little braver and catch on quickly.

It is SO funny to watch them frolic!

The smaller ones aren't quite as bold and need a little encouragement.

OK, a lot of encouragement, LOL.

But they get the idea.  Eventually.

I have a feeling they are going to sleep very well tonight.

I wish I was having this much fun!

Instead of working on my paintings as I promised myself, I got 8 rosebushes pruned. Only another dozen or so left to do...


I have been playing with watercolors again this week. I ripped some watercolor paper into 4-ish by 6-ish pieces and painted these little goldfish to use in another mixed media collage. I think that all the reading I have done over the years is sinking in at last, because a few of these little pieces actually make me happy. Of course I still have a lot to learn, but it's a start.

Monday Photo of the Week - "Buttons"

I have so many more buttons than I was ever willing to admit to owning... but it seems like I am not the only one, LOL!

I received this cut glass candy dish as a wedding present. I did not then and do not now need a cut glass candy dish... but it makes a wonderfully handy-dandy container for my "interesting" buttons (you know, the ones that aren't plain ol' white or black or grey plastic...)

This little piece of my collection does not include the "boring" buttons (remember the plastic), my grandmother's box of vintage buttons, or the ones still on cards waiting for me to complete the garments for which they were intended...

It's a sickness I tell you!