Since in the last week I indulged in the purchase of a new computer, lit up keyboard, trackball mouse, external hard drive and nice new hi-def-monitor... 22 inches... (like my waist), Ralph went out and got me some new headphones for Skype. Nice. Right? What a guy and it doesn't stop here... he decided to go out and get me a QuickCam without my knowledge. So this means not only am I available 24/7 for Skypeing to my internationals.. (insomniac that I am), I now have to appear reasonably okay looking to certain parts of the world and all of my Facebook, family and internet in general friends. Urgh. Do hate additional grooming. BUT it means I'm alive and kicking. Real time. Hmm... no more bathrobing it. Sigh.
« April 2008 | Main | June 2008 »
May 29, 2008
May 21, 2008
Been holed up lately
It's been a few REALLY hot days here in the desert: got to 108 degrees today... so I am glad I did a lot of gardening before it reached these levels. Anyway, I've been holed up because I'm doing a lot of studying. I'm doing two online classes right now: one is learning an organizational program for digital scrapbook supplies and is quite indepth... and another is called Artistic Edges and it's for doing cool things with photographs. Then I'm teaching myself how to use Photoshop Elements 6 with DVD's lessons and manuals, and then a course on how to use this latter program to create digital art and digital scrapbook pages. So... no pics just yet... the computers in our house are working overtime trying to organize and back up everything and it's taking forever. Big learning curve but I'm excited. Hopefully I will be able to create lovely images like this one which I found online by an artist called Arthur Daniel Roman. Cool eh?
May 13, 2008
Few new updates
Warming up in the desert here. Supposed to rain tomorrow... whoopie. Love it when it rains in the desert. Lots in bloom.
Well... a few bits of news from around here. My old studio (the lovely shed) got moved into storage. It was a white knuckled job as even though it doesn't look like it weighed much, it was a bit of a big job as the shed had to be swiveled from it's 10 x 10 side to it's 8 x 8 side to be legal down the highway! I had to walk away at one point as the grinding noises were scaring me and I was convinced it was going to fall back and smash (and there were still some things in it). But it was all okay.
And I sold my car on the internet to a lovely lady called Lorena. It's gone. I found I almost never drove it. Never sold to an independent before so that was a learning experience.
Making more books. This one is based on the concept of TIME and is about 9 inches tall. Used 5 'action' words and then put them in past, present and future tense and found 15 photos to match and added journaling. It uses illustration board and good old duct tape for binding!
May 02, 2008
Inspiration
Lately I have decided not to give away every single thing I create!
I have been wanting to keep a journal for many years but am uninspired by a blank book from a store... so I thought I would use us some supplies and just have a bit of a free for all more 3-dimensional journal... no rules attached kind of thing... and it seems to be working and I'm really enjoying it. I used the basis of my inspiration from a catalog I love called Anthropologie. They have a line of wallpaper I fell in love with... so I recreated the b/w cover with my kind of spin on their design using two stamps I happened to have (hardly own any) and a black pen and doodled on some white cardstock. Had some paint and bits and pieces of embellishments of course hanging around the studio as well as some lace I picked up years ago with the idea of doing 'something' with it. Here is the 4 x 6 book so far.
Ooh and I have been making recycled enveloped from an art book someone was going to throw away. How can you throw out a Gauguin book? Sure it wasn't in the best of shape but I tore out the pages and opened up every size of envelope I could scavenge around the house and retraced them and glued them. (Had to keep Gauguin's nude prints out I'm afraid for US Post Office, as they might be not be too impressed. That would be half the book!) I'll hand give those ones to friends!
And I'm totally inspired to really get my teeth into digital scrapbooking and have been downloading lots of stuff online and starting the learning curve.
Pinal Peak
- These photos were taken on November 24th. The light and colors were amazing today... it's been far too long since Ralph and I have been out east exploring. I had forgotten how odd the little cities are that we drove past and how high the elevation is to Pinal Peak.
Home decor creations
- There seems to be endless possibilites as to what to embellish... here are some items that I had a lot of fun creating. Watch this space for a set of scallop coasters in a box and triangular box, a box that is a book for photo storage and wooden frames.
Digital Layouts
- Here are the first of (hopefully) many more digital layouts I hope to create using Photoshop Elements 6. There is certainly a huge learning curve ahead, but now I've at least got my feet wet, it's not nearly as intimidating as I thought. Watch this space for more soon!
BOOKS - miniBOOKS
- Here are some miniBOOKS I have been making recently. I guess I got a bit bored with 12 x 12 layouts and wanted to do something a bit different.
Layouts for scrapbooking
- I love to scrapbook. I can't put it more plainly. It allows me the time and space to be by myself but it also gives me the mindspace to be around my family, relations and old friends. Why do I scrapbook? Because there are no boundaries to what idea you can create a page with. It seems a richer form of either a diary or journaling; it's a way of preserving a moment in it's entirety. Moments in time are nuggets, like gold, and worth keeping. Almost nothing is insignificant. Once gone, memories may or may not return. We're all aware how the intensity of a moment dims, no matter how good that moment ever was. Scrapbooking can keep that feeling alive for a long time. I love to document the simpler things in life, not necessarily just the important events. I can see how myself and others close to me in my life are growing. I can appreciate the now.
Desert Photography
- Here are some of the many thousands of images that I have taken of the Sonoran Desert. I love the desert so much. Anyone who really knows me knows this. I chose to live in the US southwest above anywhere else, and that has made a real difference. Not circumstance, but choice. It is inspiring to me for my art and in other areas. So many trails, so many views and such variety. It's breathtaking. Every single day, really and truly I appreciate it, whether it's small things like my little but beloved cactus container garden, or a certain light of day or something in bloom (because there's always something in bloom here)... the desert is endlessly fascinating, a source of constant awe and inspiration, and I'm so glad I have discovered it in this lifetime. Thanks for looking.
San Diego Zoo
- San Diego Zoo is an amazing place. It has to be one of the best zoos in the world, hands down. I love it there so much. I have a mental note that 2 times a year is the minimum I would want to visit. I love all the tropical plants, the vastness, the enormous variety of plant life as well as of course the huge variety of animal life. The ways of transport in the zoo are so cool: skychairs over the entire site, open-top double-decker buses, trains, etc, it is fabulous. Ralph and I have taken some of our very best photography here and there is more to come.
Phoenix Zoo
- I love zoos! I'm really happy to get these shots as the time before this visit, I took 150 photos and at around 4pm (an hour before closing) I discovered I had left my memory card at home and had been snapping away at nothing....eek!
Edwards Park
- Ralph and I went out on the atv to Edwards Park. It is beautiful remote area near Four Peaks here in Arizona. It is entirely wilderness. We did not see a soul all day. These photos were taken in May of 2006, long after Spring down in the valley. The elevation there is 6000 feet, so Spring is longer coming, hence these shots of wildflowers. This alligator juniper is charred as two summer prior, there was a large wild fire that spread through the entire area. It was quite strange and eery to see such vibrant bright wildflowers springing up amongst such black charred decay.
Daryl's Garden
- These are some shots I took of Daryl and Merlin Flemion's lovely garden, back in 2003 or 2004 I think. I used these images and more to make a hardback book, sized at 8 x 10 with 20 double-sided pages. I made it for their 2005 Christmas present. Making it was a lot of fun and allowed me to appreciate their garden all over again. Daryl and Merlin are members of the Milwaukee Rose Society, but there are much more than just lovely roses in their garden. Each time I visit, there is something new to enjoy, photograph, and then later share.
Wisconsin Wildflowers
- Love Wisconsin when it is lush and green and before the cold takes over. Daryl is the best person for exploring the beauty of this area. All these photos were taken in one lovely afternoon. Thanks for looking.
Sunsets
- There are always sunsets in Arizona, or in the southwest for that matter. The skies are bigger, I mean seemingly more expansive here, I am not sure why it is, or seems that way. It's easy to take sunsets and sunrises for granted, but they are spectacular, and these images are just a few of many I have taken over the years. Hope you like them.