Photo A Week - Spring!

It's spring! Woo Hoo! I can't believe the difference in my mood and energy level when the sun comes out.

This week's photos were taken by my 20 year old daughter. One of the happiest signs of spring around here is when the ground is hard enough to let the animals out to graze because they get so excited about having so much room to run and so much FOOD that they dash around aimlessly for hours. It can be entertaining to watch, especially the calves.


They are also incredibly curious. All Lydia had to do to get this photo was to sit down in their field and wait. That light tan one is so cute.

I'm not sure how she managed to get this shot. This very noisy starling nest was built in a hollow spot inside the wall of the calf barn. Her camera is smaller than mine, but it's still quite a reach to get to the hole. I can see at least one chick, but probably two in this photo.



This last one is mine. I need to do some research on how to photograph rainbows, but in the meantime I'm just grateful it isn't raining any more! Happy Spring!

WIP - next steps completed

I managed to find a little time every day this week to work on my Fairy. Her dress is finished now and her wig is on, though not styled yet. I applied this hair exactly the way Wendy Froud did it in her video, but I'm not crazy about the glue I used (stinky!)or the lack of a finished part. I want to try Linda Smith's method for my next sculpt.


I probably should have embellished her dress before gluing on her hair, but I got a little ahead of myself. (To be honest, it kind of freaks me out to be working on a bald doll.) Oh well, as long as I'm careful I shouldn't mess it up too bad.



Even though I'm not going to use them after all, I'm including this photo of the fabulous wings I got from My Wycked Ways simply because you have to see just *how* fabulous they really are. Trust me, this photo doesn't begin to do them justice, but you get the idea. I WILL make a fairy to wear them soon, but this girl is just too big.

Photo of the Week - WIP, continued

Even though I promised myself I wasn't going to do any more bird photos for my Photo of the Week, there was a beautiful egret out in the north field this morning posing just for me. I grabbed my camera (yes! the long lens was still on!) and ran out, snapping away happily for a few minutes. But when I tried to call up the photos for review, all I saw was a blank black screen with the words "No CF Card" in stark white letters. Arghhhhhhh!!!

At least I get to keep my promise of no more bird pictures, LOL.

Instead I set up my light box and took some more photos of my Fairy-in-Progress. Her second sleeve is on the floor by her right foot ready to add to the dress, but I wanted to show her skin and how it was attached before it all got covered up by her clothing. Oh how I love that color of blue!

I didn't make her smile on purpose, but I didn't realize I had sculpted her face so cranky! I need to give her dress a bodice yet, then add her hair, and then I can attach her wings and finish her. My favorite part!

In between stitching and gluing and letting things dry I managed to get the first layer of texture added and baked on to my dragon eggs. I'll play with them some more tonight.


I am adding one more photo of a sculpt in progress - this is the photo I took in order to check whether or not it was ready for a final smoothing.


Darn it... not quite!

And just one more... I took this one of my daughter and her boyfriend Saturday night before they left for Prom. I got others that were more formal, but I absolutely love their expressions in this one. Don't they look like they're already having a wonderful time?

Of UFO's and WIP's

Here it is the first of May already! Time for another UFO challenge. This month I choose to work on a set of dragon eggs I am making using instructions designed by the incredible sculptor Julianne Sizemore. I don't even remember when I started these... it's been years.


They don't look like much now, but watch this space..

My other project, and one that has entirely captured my attention and my enthusiasm this week is a fairy figure I designed to go with a set of wings I purchased from My Wycked Ways, an absolutely fabulous web shop that carries the most wonderful supplies. She will get her skin today, and then I can begin on her costume.



I know the ears are a little "out there", but I wanted something different. It will be interesting to see how they work with her wig when I get that far.

She will be holding this fairy lantern I made at the Iowa Dollmaker's Retreat last fall - I'm so happy to have finally found a use for it.



I love getting on a roll like this. Makes it extra hard to go to work some days though. Oh well, I work to afford more art supplies,so it's all good.

Photo of the Week - April 27

After a few delicious days of sunshine and balmy breezes to tease us, the weather in the Pacific Northwest has returned to dark, cold, and dreary. I took my camera out this afternoon in a rather grim frame of mind, and the best my imagination could conjure is a few flower photos. Geez, I am getting into a rut, but at least the plants know that spring really is coming, even if the sky won't cooperate!

I grew up in Southern Wisconsin where Forget-Me-Nots are a common wildflower. When a small patch volunteered to grow in my herb garden a few years ago, I couldn't bear to weed them up. Aren't they the prettiest things?


My Mother-In-Law planted these Royal Anne cherry trees years ago - looks like we are going to have a bumper crop the year.

Pretty Little Thing

Even though the weather has finally turned spring-like and I have been very busy getting my garden cleaned up, I still had enough time this week to make and *finish* (woo hoo!) this little embellished stone donut. I had to rearrange the charms several times to get them to my liking but I am glad I put in the extra work -- it was worth it to get it just right.


I LOVE that little fairy charm. I think I want to do a pair of earrings with that charm as well...

If you are interested in learning wire wrapping, the tutorial for this and many others can be found at Eni Oken's site. This one has a small fee, but there are lots of free lessons there as well. AND some amazing eye candy!

Photo of the Week - a Labor of Love

The Church of the Pater Noster is built on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem on the site where tradition says that Jesus taught his disciples The Lord's Prayer. Set into the walls inside the building are tiled plaques with the prayer written out in 62 languages. This snapshot is of the plaque with the prayer in Friesian, my husband's parents' native language.

My husband's youngest sister (easily one of the coolest people I know) recently traveled to Israel where she took this photo. I volunteered to clean it up a little so she could have it printed and framed for her mother as a Mother's Day gift. This memento of the Holy Land will be very meaningful to Mom, as members of both her family and that of her husband were active in the resistance against the Nazis in the Netherlands during World War II.


It took me a little while (OK, a long while, LOL!) to figure out the proper order in which to make the corrections, but both of us are pretty pleased with the results. The more I learn how to play in Photoshop, the more addictive it becomes!


I never was able to totally square up the tiles. I suspect that the tiles themselves aren't level or square on the wall.

Marilyn Monroe Can Keep Her Diamonds

I much prefer earthier and more colorful stones. I was tempted to use these photos as my photo of the week because they were such a challenge to set up, but I wanted to be able to talk about a Finished Object for a change instead. I wish now I had used a higher f/stop for better focus throughout the photo, but even in natural light they got too dark without a flash.

No, what I *should* have done is get my tripod, but I was too lazy. Sigh...

These are free-form wire wrapped pendants -- I have so much fun wearing them! The one on the left is an older piece, an amethyst crystal point caught in a cage of 14 gauge silver wire embellished with beads. The dangle is two more amethysts and a silver spacer.

The pendant on the right is a fluroite wand. I dropped it on the floor and broke it about half-way through wrapping it, but I couldn't bear to throw it away and waste all that silver, so it just sat there on my beading desk. I finally decided it was pointless to just let it sit there getting in the way, so I glued the stone back together and finished wrapping it as my UFO challenge for this month. I can't even see the fault in the stone any more, and it turned out so pretty. I just need to get a chain for it yet.



I purchased this piece from the artist who taught me all I know about wire. Her name is Emily, and unfortunately she doesn't have a website, so this is the only example I have of her work that I can share. Her style is very free form, but still manages to have a rhythm and flow that reminds me of Art Nouveau detailing.



Here is a detail view of the Kyanite and Aqua Aura pendant. If I could afford it, I would own much more of her work, but I am satisfied to make my own pieces.



Because I am a collector by nature, I have quite a few stones waiting in the wings to be wrapped in their turn. I've been saving the partially faceted and polished piece of citrine in the upper left -- I think I hear it calling "Me next please!"



I should probably be ashamed to have so many raw materials just lying around waiting to be used, but I just like HAVING them, so I'm not. :-)

Another Princess in the Family

Please forgive a proud Mom for just a moment for using her art space to show off her daughters. Last night, Lydia's year as the Marion County Dairy Princess-Ambassador came to an end, just in time for her to hand off the tiara to her sister Alice.


That makes the fourth young lady brought up on this farm to be our county's Princess-Ambassador. It's a lot to live up to, but Alice is well capable of handling the responsibilities. Have a great year Alice!

Photo of the Week -- Easter Blessings

I hope that all who celebrate Easter had as wonderful a day as I did. Easter has long been one of my favorite holidays.

It was my project for the week (alas for my UFO!) to cook a dinner for my family worthy of the day. Our menu included Roast Leg of Lamb, Roasted Potatoes, Haricots Verts, and an enormous English Trifle.



Oh, how I love raspberries, and not just because they are so pretty!

I know I promised photos of finished objects last week, but my attention was caught by a book I just couldn't put down. It was wonderful to disappear into a fantasy world... for just a little while.

Photo of the Week - April 6

I was delighted to see this little guy visiting the blooms of my rosemary shrubs - aren't they the most amazing little beings?? I was also delighted to get a photograph of him as they move SO fast it is tricky to catch them in the viewfinder, much less sit still long enough to focus. This one *would* have been clearer if he hadn't been scooting around so much!


I increased my shutter speed to 1/300 to finally get a shot with respectable focus. Unfortunately that made for an unpleasantly dark photo. Thank goodness for Photoshop!

Oh my, he's pretty.


This guy is my next quest. I hear him often but see him rarely, so you can just bet that I will be paying more attention to the treetops at dusk in the future! I didn't see him last night until it was nearly completely dark, so this is the best I could do, even WITH photoshop. sigh...



I do have some finished works to share, as well as this month's UFO challenge project, but I haven't photographed them yet. Spring is finally here and I haven't been motivated to come back inside and set up my light box yet. Tomorrow maybe, LOL!

Photo of the Week - March 30

I had looked forward to photographing the sights in and around Lincoln City last week, but between the fog and the rain, it was too wet to risk taking out my "real" camera. We did manage to bundle up and get one good walk on the beach, so I put my old point-and-shoot in my pocket before we left. Even though the breathtaking panoramic views were nearly completely obscured, there was still plenty to see in the details.


I love to collect shells on the beach, but these mussels were all I found this trip.


Oregon's coast is made up mostly of volcanic rock. These ancient lava flows are everywhere, forming tide pools all up and down the beach.


Let's see... I see sea anemones, mussels, barnacles... I didn't notice any shrimp or crabs this day, but you never know what life you will find in these pools.


This massive sea star looks well fed. I've never seen such a pretty red one before.


I didn't draw this, but I couldn't resist taking a photo as I walked along with my own Jake. I "heart" him too, LOL.


We got back to the suite to find this "Psycho Crazy Gull" trying to terrorize the girls into giving him some food. He and a buddy were actually pecking on the window to get their attention. Too bad seagulls can't read -- the sign he's standing on reads "Thank you for not feeding the seagulls."

I know, I know... I am WAY too easily entertained.

Home Again

I can't believe that here we are, home again from our little coast expedition already. It was SO nice to get a change of scene, even if only for a few days. The weather was dreadful, but the company was wonderful and we all brought along plenty of other things to do in case of rain.

I spent most of our down time sitting at the table looking out over the ocean playing with my watercolor pencils. I finished a color sample chart and began working on a portrait of my mother. My reference photo is a faded old snapshot taken around 1950 - she would have been 12 or so. I attempted it in oils a while ago, but I am having much more success this time with a smaller format. So far, so good!


Guilt-free sleeping in AND unlimited creative time... my favorite kind of vacation!

Cheating, I know

It's My-World-In-A-Photo Monday, but I just didn't have what it took to get out the camera today, so I am going to cheat and put up one I took this time last year while the girls were on Spring Break. Every year we pick a few days to go to the Oregon Coast and just hang out, and this year the escape just can't come soon enough.


If ONLY the weather will be warm enough to let us go barefoot again!

More watercolor pencil

I would have posted these earlier, but I've been fighting another round of bronchitis this week. Fortunately, watercolor pencils are the ideal companion to hide out in the corner of a couch with. I have had these pencils for a while, but I would never have learned how to really use them to their full potential without the gracious teachings of Sherry Goshon.


I'm not crazy about the lettering on this one, but I love the way the bloom turned out. I used Macro Pearl pearl-ex powders to enhance the texture edging the petals.


This one is going to say "Love" with one letter in each corner once I give the darks another layer of pigment. I lost my black pencil and am finding it difficult to lay down a rich dark the way I'd like.


And this one -- yet another attempt at a white-on-white project -- is going to be "Grace".

I want to make a few more undersketches so I can take them along with me when we go to the Coast next week. I haven't been this excited about learning a new medium in a long time.

Photo a Week - March 16

The birds are returning to the Willamette Valley... could this possibly mean that spring is near at last? I couldn't see any of the newcomers to photograph today, but I got lucky anyway.

This little guy is a year-round resident. (He doesn't look very happy about having his picture taken, does he?) I caught his portrait by accident when my finger snapped a photo while I was still trying to adjust the focus. The white-ish blob to the left is what I was *really* trying to photograph.

Ah, there he is! This enormous red-tail and his mate have set up housekeeping in one of the oak trees across the road. It's too early for nestlings yet, but you can be sure I will be watching!


I have been trying to take a decent portrait of him for a while now. I wish he would let me get closer. Thank goodness for zoom lenses!


I saw a bald eagle yesterday while driving in the country. I didn't have my camera with me (arghhhhh!) but I will be on the lookout for another glimpse. I knew that eagles lived in the foothills and along the Willamette River, but I didn't know that we had them here in the Valley too.

March 9 Photo of the Week -- All I Want is to Rock Your Soul

(That is actually a song lyric. My daughter's dance team is using is as the music for their competition piece this season. Wouldn't it be cool though, if some day I could take a photo good enough to rock souls??)

Silverton High School's dance team has a history of excellence, and this season is no exception. I know I'm prejudiced because my daughter is senior captain, but I really do love going to these tournaments. All the teams work so hard, and many of the pieces are absolutely wonderful to watch. These are some photos of our girls at their last competition before the state tournament next week. I'm getting better at action shots, but I still need to track faster. I will keep trying.


Smile for the judges ladies!


Grace in movement... beautiful.



A dramatic team moment...


Extend and keep smiling!


This was my best shot of the day. I actually caught them in mid-air this time!

Evolution of a Canvas

I was so happy to find a way to rescue the canvas I ruined that I couldn't put it down. Because it is not my project to give away I didn't photograph each step, but I can give you a wrap up of the finishing process.

In this view the design has been colored and blended, and a layer of glaze has been added to give warmth and a unifying tone to the whole image.


And then because I am an absolute failure at working pale, I sponged some deeper richer colors around the edges to add depth.



I still want to add some flat back pearls as "blossoms" along the vine, but with the addition of lettering she is essentially finished. (The lettering is the only addition - she looks lighter because I photographed her in different light. And oh yeah... I fixed her crooked upper lip. I think...)


So of course, rather than moving on the the next UFO (UnFinished Object) I had to start another canvas. I HAD to -- this is an image and an invocation that I have been wrestling with for some time and it is more than time to let it out.


I am all for World Peace, but these days I will settle for a truer faith and a little inner peace.

Photo of the Week - More Layers Play

I have been wanting to try this technique since I saw a similar example in a magazine a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I don't have an *ideal* photo to try it out on, but this one is almost good enough. Don't I just wish that I had unlimited access to my subject for more photos...



If I had known how easy it was, I would have tried it out sooner. In fact, I think my new problem is not going to be so much "what do I do now..." but knowing when to stop!

And yes, her eyes really are that blue.

Trying something new

Time for another challenge! A few of my friends and I are going to tackle our backlogs of unfinished projects -- just one a month. Today is the first of the month, so I present here my first UFO. I began this one last month and set it aside in disgust when I found out that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Just about the time I was afraid that I had lost all urge to create... the incredible Sherry Goshon shared her techniques for a wall canvas using watercolor pencils and I HAD to try it.

While I do own a small set of watercolor pencils, I never played with them much until now, so the learning curve proved a little steep -- I made a total mess of my first attempt at using these techniques. sigh... I was too embarrassed to take a photo to show how badly I had mangled the canvas, but now I kind of wish I had because I think I may have rescued it.


It took a layer of gesso, a partial layer of texture medium, and yet a little more gesso to almost cover the original problems, but I'm pretty excited about the way she looks at the moment.

At the very least, I think I have finally learned to keep a very light hand with delicate techniques. My personal preferences run to the rule that "more is better", so this has been a challenge!