Nostalgia

 I'm feeling a bit nostalgic today; one year ago today "my guy" passed. A few months before he had the strokes that in the end were impossible to come back from we went to Italy. Our first night was spent at Hotel Stanley in Florence. The black and white photos, above, were the view out of the window. All of the photos  have been fused onto a piece of black fabric discharged with Thiox. I have no idea what black fabric I used, but it discharged to tan/white.

 Near the swimming pool there was a greenhouse that was used for storage. The design was on a panel leaning against the window. And near the greenhouse was a lily pond. I don't have a clue where this fabric is headed. For now I've put it aside.

 I couldn't resist playing with some iPhone apps of the first image.

Sketchbook app, on the Kindle Fire, has a few fun brushes that I tried out. The blue image is completely sketchbook created. The other two are Camera apps on the iPhone using the
 imported blue drawing.

R.F's Rose. The first bloom of the year happened on this day last year; this year the first
flower bloomed two days ago which marked the 12th anniversary of my father's death. (Camera+ app shot > scenes > clarity > borders > vignette.)

Vintage Fabric Challenge

Last month (Feb 15) I posted some images of this quilt, in its infancy. Well, it's grown up now and made it to the finish line albeit 22 days late. Chalk it up to a little of this, a little of that, and more of that getting in the way of creative time.

 I was hoping for a curvy bottom closer to how the left edge turned out, but the bottom ended up slanting.

 Rather than attaching a hanging sleeve the finished piece is currently a dust cover for the Janome.

Thank you Karen and Rayna for the challenge. Check out Karen's blog to see more challenge pieces.

App Recipe Book at Dave's

It's time for Dave's App Recipe Book over on  http://www.clearerreflections.com/   Photo taken with a digital camera.Coliseum Pompeii, Italy. Imported to iPhone. Pic Grunger App > aged > border. This is more like Pompeii felt to me. I can't even imagine what the last days of Pompeii must have been like. For a collection of videos go here.

Another digital camera image of Pompeii. Two photos layered in ArtStudio; a fresco over a photo of columns Contrast adjusted > camera+> Scene > portrait.

This is the photo layered with the fresco, above. This version started in Grungetastic >; Style >; distressed #6.> Camera+ > scene >; clarity

Pompeii meets Orvieto, Italy. Another digital camera image. Layered in ArtStudio > adjusted for brightness. More photos on my other blog.

Decay

Sometimes when life isn't going in a doable direction a bit of decay seems to invade my brain; then It's time to breathe deeply and push the decay out before it settles in permanently. Apps turned what might have been a mundane image of two pink puffs on a vine into a depiction of how my body presently feels. And if I'm to believe Miller's quote, below, possibly the present condition will evolve into something wonderful.

quote:

I have always looked upon decay as being just as wonderful and rich an expression of life as growth.”

Henry Miller  The white elegant blooms of the bougainvillea are difficult to photograph; the leaves are windblown and the brick wall often peeks through the foliage. This is the mood I was looking for when I photographed the spray of blooms at sunset. One layer of texture added in PSE was all it took.

Blues

Blues, as in color, not mood. This piece started life as a doodle in Sketchbook followed by a few layers in PSE. The Sketchbook App is addictive, that is if you enjoy doodling; I love both the "undo" and "erase" features.