My life has suddenly changed!!

This little house in the CA desert near Palm Springs will soon be my new home!!! I never thought I'd be moving into a new house nor to the desert! But sometimes the solution to problems comes in a way that is so perfect that it's as if it were written in the stars! The two windows in the front are where Mom will reside in her own separate Casita/guest room that is attached to the house with a breezeway! Two bedrooms, two baths, laundry room, great room where the living space, dining nook and kitchen are! Over-sized garage with a sink in it where I will finally have space to dye fabric and make paper! A 12 foot covered patio with overhead fans and a fairly decent sized backyard. It's in a gated community and one must be over 55 to live there!

We discoverd that my aunt, mom's sister, and uncle are moving there in Feb. The sisters haven't lived near each other in 35 years!

The minuses! Leaving the Monterey Peninsula where I've lived for 30 years! A part of me will always remain here even though I may never return! The weather here is moderate; the temps in the desert are above 100 for at least 3-4 months a year!

The pluses! My daughter, two grandsons and fabulous SIL will be two hours away! The area is quiet and has more amenities than I'll probaby ever avail myself of! Mom won't be alone anymore and I feel a lot better knowing that she'll be only a few feet away and that we'll both still have some much needed privacy! It's hard to be in this situation of needing to take care of one's parent, be a care-giver for a 38 year-old daughter and have numerous health issues myself. The worry and stress was taking a huge toll on me! My SIL decided to locate a house and move us and once he makes a decision my daughter is only to happy to sit back and let him do "his thing." Did I mention how great he is!!!??

Escrow closes on Sept 26 and the GRAND EXIT from here is planned for the weekend of Sept 29th! Excitement, fright, gratefulness, relief, panic, grief, are all mixed together into a jumble that has a tight grip on me! La Quinta here we come!!

Maple Tree #2

A little black-and-white manipulation. Same photo as below. I seem to be running out of steam regarding the photo-a-day. A new challenge perhaps?

Maple tree

Another case of putting something behind the branch in order to isolate a portion of the tree.

New leaves on the Maple tree are pristine from about Jan. to April and by August they begin to look weathered and beaten down by life. Today, I'm feeling a little like these leaves.

Claws!

Another view of the cactus!

Tip: if you strategically place something black behind the object being photographed two things happen: you can create negative space plus a specific area of interest can be isolated. I used to have a piece of black cardboard in my camera bag; I no longer have a camera bag. Following the adage, "use what you have" I propped a piece of black cardstock behind an interesting section.

There are numerous things that can be done with negative space, or not.

Photo-a-day continues!

I forgot to post this yesterday even though I had it ready! There used to be 3 large specimans of this plant in the front yard, but High School kids couldn't resist carving their initials into them which was bad enough! Once graffiti started to appear it was time to pull the plants out! Around the bottoms of the 5 foot wide plants there were some babies and I now have 5 pretty good sized plants living on pots.

Sometimes the best abstracts are done in black-and-white; only then can one take in the shapes and textures.
"I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way--things I had no words for."
Georgia O'Keeffe

I feel the same way about black-and-white images.

Found Art?

It's not only foggy today but windy as well. A few branches blew off of the plum tree. I was on my to the trash can with some newspapers I had used while spray painting a lantern on and had an epiphany! Newspaper - branches!

No motivation!

First non-photo day! I just didn't feel motivated . . .

Paris - Bench near the Eiffel Tower.

This is fun!
http://www.blogthings.com/whateuropeancitydoyoubelonginquiz/


My city is Paris! At least it's a city that I've been to and love!
"You enjoy all that life has to offer, and you can appreciate the fine tastes and sites of Paris.You're the perfect person to wander the streets of Paris aimlessly, enjoying architecture and a crepe"

Garage Sale

Books, magazines, and zines for sale. If you're a reader of this blog feel free to make an offer for any of the items for sale!

http://tinyurl.com/gkzqt

email me at:
mizriley2003@yahoo.com
Note: I'll do my best to keep the list updated. Five books sold immediately, thank you!, and that's when I discovered that I need to manually delete them from the list. So, please check
with me to see if an item is available; that way we can avoid disappointments.

The Joy Of Flying!

Sometimes one needs to look up to find a perfect scene! I heard them coming; they aren't quiet birds, so I was ready when they flew over-head.

Pine cone study

1. Straight photo. 2. Manipulated to make the shadows more intense. 3. Manipulated; frosty tips.

More pine cones fell into my yard last week during the heat-wave.

Santolina

I first became aware of this plant with its filigree leaves about a decade ago. Outside of the gym door at the local college there was a huge bush of it. I broke off a few pieces and to my surprise they rooted within two weeks.

The left top image is a close-up of the plant, the other three images were manipulated. The manipulated images might add a touch to an underwater scene.

Sky-scraper

This particular succulent has always reminded me of sky-scrapers. After a few attempts I nearly have an image that I like. The viewpoint is difficult to get but with a little PSE manipulation the black-and-white image is pretty close to what I visualized.

Quote:
"The sentimentalist ages far more quickly than the person who loves his work and enjoys new challenges." Lillie Langry - actress 1853-1929

Starting over after the hard drive crash of a month ago this quote shed some light on why in some ways I've stoped mourning over the lost images. I'm not much of a sentimentalist . . .

A rich patina!

"In solitude we give passionate attention to our lives, to our memories, to the details around us."
Virginia Wolf

The brass bowl has been out in the yard for a few years; the benefit is the rich patina its acquired! A patina like this can't be faked with one of the new faux paint kits on the market.

The feather was lying on the stone path, but it didn't photograph as well as I had hoped it would. A little drama was required; I challenged myself to find something in the proximity of the stones . I think there is bit of humor in the scene. The handles on the bowl almost look like ears . . .
The play of the dark moss against the light stones only became evident when I looked through the viewfinder.

I might have missed the feather on the stone if the sun had been out. After a nearly week long heat wave the fog came rolling and and cooled us off in a big way! The temp yesterday and today is 60 degrees! Amazing how fast a heat wave can vanish! The fog softens/flattens the light and often brings out details that are missed in bright sunlight.

Sweeping away . . .

A rather mundane object, but a necessary one! The broom leans against the house next to where the brick fireplace juts out. The combination of the textures is more evident in the manipulated version than the color it was shot in. I couldn't wait to get inside and turn it into a black and white photo!

I need a broom to sweep away more than debris! I keep mourning the lost photos and work that can't be retrieved from the crashed hard drive! Word came earlier this week that the hard drive is refusing to give up any of my work!
What a hard leason to learn! So, now I'm getting into the habit of saving a second copy of anything I'd like to save and most likely I'm over-doing it and will have endless CD's! Keeping them organized will surely drive me mad!

Prehistoric

No sooner than I say that finding images might become more difficult than this one appears! In bright sunlight the rocks are flat and uninteresting, but in the early morning when shadows from the tree land on them the colors and depth are quite beautiful. No, I didn't place the feather there. Birds occasionally leave behind a variety of treasures such as acorns buried in pots where an oak tree has no business sprouting from.

Labyrinth Assemblage

The 5X7 inch frame is more gold than green . . .
Embossed metal, metal strips, and wrapped metal bead.

SOLD

"The piece is done when it stops questioning me."
Joan Mitchell

Pine Cone Study

The search for images continues as I make my way through my yard. Pine cones drop into my yard from the giant tree next door! Whatever is in my yard becomes "found art." Two of the images on the left, the second and third ones, are manipulated. The rest of the images have been cropped and all were taken using the close-up feature on the digital camera.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." Mark Twain

How true! For years I've thought about photographing on my home turf, but it wasn't until I broke it down into a daily activity that I was able to start the project. I give myself 5 minutes to find an image; if I don't find one in that time-frame I try again later in the day. Sometimes when the light has changed suddenly something will appear that I hadn't noticed earlier in the day.

Faces in Stone

The "caricature" in the stone walkway from a few days ago was the inspiration for this. The color was removed from the image and manipulated a little, then 3 face brushes, that I created, were blended in. The number 56 is on the upper area.

Speaking his mind!

When I opened the front door this morning to bring in the Sunday newspaper the crow, who has decided he too lives in your yard, gave me a piece of his mind!! I hadn' t yet filled the birdfeeder or put cat food in the bowl by the front door for Gilligan! The crow prefers cat food.

I photographed the clouds this morning along with the crow perched on the fence and a shot of a birdhouse I made a couple of years ago. I couldn't resist putting the crow in the pic with the birdhouse. The crow needs a name! Any ideas?

We're on the 5th day of record breaking heat! I was so tired of the fog so it's kind of nice to have warm evenings.

Count None But Sunny Hours

I didn't get yesterday's
double image posted. My dad built the birdhouse and I repainted it about 6 years ago. There is cobweb in the doorway so I imagine a nasty creature has made a home inside!


I absolutely l0ve the stone walkway into my house! On the lower right side there appears to be a caricature. My neighbor gave me the sundial because it was in lousy condition! I sprayed it
black and used gold paint to highlight the numerals, design and quote! She wanted to know where I got such a nice one! Ah, the miracle of paint!

Mandala - Labyrinth

A little Labyrinth history:
Medieval European churches often incorporated a labyrinth pattern in the floor near the entrance. The circular design is a representation of the pilgrimage to Jerusalem; some believe that performing the symbolic journey to the center helps the devout Christian move closer to Jerusalem and union with God.

This labyrinth overlay is based on the one in Chartres Cathedral in France. The overlay is attached to a piece of embossed metal and hangs from a dowel.

Ribbit, ribbit!

Day 5 of photo challenge.

The frogs have been myteriously sitting like this for awhile now. They are supposed to be perched around the bird bath, but between the birds, Gilligan (the cat who has claimed us as his people!), the deer and raccoons the frogs are constantly knocked off of the rim. The mystery? How did they end up in such a perfect pose? I doubt that I could have posed them any better than this!

(Yes, I know that I left the "r" out of turn. There are flaws in most of the scans, it's just my way of insuring
my copyright. Some flaws are more obvious than others.)

Photo Challenge

I haven't been able to tame the ivy from popping through the boards on the gate. The gate could use some paint; actually, I prefer the aged look!

"Youth is the gift of Nature, but age is a work of art." Garson Kanin

May your days be filled with art!

Photo Challenge

I believe that if you can't photograph your surroundings in an exciting and expressive way it won't matter how far you travel to photograph; the subject matter may be different but without acute obserservation a change in locale won't improve your photography. I also believe that we should occasionally observe our surroundings with a "fresh eye." Become a tourist in your own house or town!

Outside of few day trips this summer I don't have any major vacation plans so it's the perfect time to concentrate on making "anew" what is in my own backyard. The photos on the left were shot on the 16-18th ; the "712" is obviously a house number. The rocks are of my fireplace and I sort of cheated on the bottom photo, but the crate is in my yard! A friend gave me a crate with peeling paper on it and it's a treasure!

Not only is the challenge to photograph something every day for awhile but to do something with the photographs. The 3 images on the left were used in the manipulated photo on the right.

Mandala

The waterfall photo was shot at the Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga. A little manipulation and viola! A Mandala!

The text says: According to Jung, the mandala is the ultimate symbol of well-being and wholeness.
The bottom text: The mandala is an ancient pattern that has a specific center, and concentric rings that emanate from the center.

Not all mandalas seem to be based on the belief above. I added a touch of light emanating from the center. The photos shot at the garden on July 7 were previsualized, something I hadn't done in quite awhile. I knew exactly why I took each of them. Previsualization makes working on photos even more exciting than the moment they were taken!

Hwy 156

The day, June 30, I shot this I had no idea what the night held for me! This shot can only be taken from a moving car and I've tried for years to get it. The road is narrow, busy and the speed is normally about 65, but on that day we were able to slow down to about 45. I had rolled the window down and my friend, the driver, said, "now," and I clicked! I'm pretty happy with it.

On that Friday we were on our way to San Juan Bautista for lunch at our favorite German restuarant and after I shot the above photo I thought the day would continue to be perfect. The weather in San Juan was a perfect 85 with a slight breeze. Lunch was great and browsing through a couple of antiques shop turned up a post card of a man riding in a carriage. In another shop I purchased a printing block with a motif design.

At about 10pm I was downloading some photos when the computer froze and then delivered a message on the screen letting me know that Windows had shut down to protect the computer from further damage. I had no idea what that meant but when I couldn't reboot I knew in the place where we sometimes know things we don't want to know that the computer had crashed big time! The next evening at 4:45 I got the word from a guy at PC People that I had been right and of course I hadn't backed up anything in about 2 years! Hysteria!

A week later the computer has a new hard drive and I can honestly say that life feels a little bit lighter now that there isn't so much stuff on the computer! Maybe it was a good thing to lose so much of my work. I had no idea that it was dragging me down. 

Mixed Media Explorations - continued

The Blues - Altered image of one of my art dolls.

Gleaned from "Mixed Media Explorations." When a theme or a glimmer of an idea strikes start with a color palette. Paint/dye papers and fabric. Choose purchased paper and fabrics in the same palette.

Hand made embellishments mixed with a few purchased ones make a piece more personal. Purchased embellishments can be altered with paint and thread; altering embellishments helps them blend into the piece rather than distract from it. Try using purchased embellisments in unusual ways.

Dimensional ephemera, can be as simple as buttons, charms, or air dry clay castings. When considering textural elements, think cheesecloth, netting, mesh, and molding paste spread onto paper and fabric with a palette knife.

Hand stitching can tie a piece together in ways that a sewing machine can't. Use metallic thread, cords and ribbons.

Collect motif ephemera. Once you start a selected motif collection your work will take on a personal style.

What I learned from "Mixed Media Explorations."

Plum Crazy - revisited! A friend asked if I could create a card using one of my art dolls.

When I finish reading a new book I often review it by making notes about what I've learned from the book, or what I'd like to experiment with or in some cases jot down reminders of things I've forgotten.

Beryl Taylor's book "Mixed Media Explorations" is a book that has haunted me since it arrived from Amazon a few weeks ago! Her work is completely different from mine and I have no desire to copy her style, but there is something so engaging about her color palettes, use of simple materials, and approach that I knew I could learn something if I spent some time with the book.

So, this is what I've jotted down.
We all have "early years" on our creative journey. And if we change mediums we go through another "early years" phase.
Beryl grew up in England during the same years I was growing up in the US. We both made our clothes and we both discovered creative embroidery and while I dabbled with it Beryl studied at City and Guild. It was through C&G that her love of fabric blended with creative embroidery fell into place.

We're all inspired by different things and that once our imagination is sparked we should keep it fired by feeding it accordingly.
Listen to music that inspires and surround ourselves with exciting visuals. Beryl is fond of the Medieval period. Her favorite motifs are hearts and fleur-di-lis. (Mine aren't)

Beryl agrees with me about the importance of carrying a digital camera with you. You never know what might spark an idea.

She also believes like I do that it's a good idea to spend time experimenting with new techniques and materials. Keep good notes; you never know when a touch of a technique might be the start of a new piece or the perfect finishing touch. Practice new techniques by creating small projects such as ATC's, postcards, cards etc.

Paper really does complement fabric and vice versa!

Learn some hand embroidery stitches which will add character to both paper and fabric.

Some Fun Supplies Are:
Hot water-soluble fabric
Model Magic by crayola
Wonder-under is wonderful!
Kraft paper and tissue paper
Water-soluble paper by Solvy makes great paper castings

Beryl's intricate looking pieces are actually lots of small pieces that are combined! It's her attention to detail and layers that is truly innovative.

to be continued . . .

Blahs!

I have one of the worst cases of blahs* that I've had in a very long time! I can't shake off what this FM flare-up is doing to me physically and mentally. Thoughts fly out of my brain as soon as they enter. The pain keeps me awake most of the night and stands in front of me during the day like a prickly stabbing shield. I can't break through the shield so the days become endless and unbearable as I watch them slip away from me. A day not filled with creative pursuits always seems to feel like a wasted day. I know that this won't last, it never does, but when the fare-ups last for a few weeks I mourn the end of each unfulfilled day . . . But, even in the midst of the blahs I wake up optimistic each day. I am a realist, this is what my life is, has been, and will be until it's over; life with a dysfunctional immune system that attacks itself without any reason. I have discovered that the grieving process is the road back to coping mentally. I also know that if I skip this process it will take me longer to break through the shield.

*Blah - lacking interest or general dissatisfation. This sure fits!

(Photo: Close-up of a cactus with script overlay.)

Something exciting is on the horizon! A long-time member of ExpressionVillage has volunteered to be the first Artist-in-Residence! Ginger's enthusiasm is infectious and couldn't come at a better time. Her gift to the group is a life-saver while I find my way back to a better place health-wise. Please check out her work at:
http://gingerfied.blogspot.com/ And if you'd like to join us click on ExpressionVillage under links on this blog.

Abstract Cactus

Abstract cactus! This was taken with the mini digital Innovage camera mentioned below. It's a white thorny cactus with red flowers and doesn't look much like this photo.