Text Me!

We just got back from a trip to the city.

Have you ever noticed that everywhere you turn in the city,

 people are on their iPhones?

Well, except for this guy who seemed to have had an epiphany,

or maybe just saw a light bulb that was out :)

Happy creating to you!

Lensbaby Love Blog Circle: April

On a recent vacation, I spent some time working on a personal

 photography project titled, Sacred Spaces.

I made images with the Lensbaby Sweet 35 in a chapel, meditation room, and garden.

Today, I'd like to share with you glimpses of Saint Marys Chapel.

It is a grand space - the quality of light is amazing and the peace is palpable.

I also experimented with ICM - Intentional Camera Movement,

as I'll be contributing an article on this topic to CM's Notebook in the coming months.

Finally, the day ended with beautiful warm light and shadow play.

It certainly was a sweet way to spend a day!

Next, please follow the link in our Lensbaby Love Blog Circle

 to the inspiring work of my friend, Caroline.

Enjoy!

People Watching

On my vacation to the city,

 I got to visit with my favorite gal -

that would be our smart, beautiful, and talented daughter.

We enjoyed long walks, and talks, and great food.

I also did some people watching with my camera, of course.

I saw Leggy Conversations,

Pollock's Inspiration,

Reflections on Reality,

Age and Infirmity

and 

Suits in Motion.

Gotta love vacations!

Urban Stories

I've been using the cold, grey days of winter to catch up on some photo editing -

street photography, life in motion.

As always, I'm interested in design, creative framing,

 and storytelling juxtapositions.

Happy creating to you!

Sacred Spaces

I find places of meditation, prayer, and worship intrinsically fascinating.

These spaces are filled with history and wonder.

It is as if the human thoughts, prayers, joy, and angst

are all forever imprinted here -

etched upon the walls or gilded onto the towering 

columns and ceilings.

My interest in these spaces has evolved into a personal

 photography project titled, Sacred Spaces.

These images were made in a very beautiful sacred space,

Saint Marys Chapel.

Happy creating to you!

Comments are off.

City Heights

I'm off to the big city for business and fun,

or maybe just the business of fun.

Either way, I'm looking forward to good food without cooking, 

museum visits, and catching up with my favorite peeps!

Have a great week!

Comments are off.

Sanctuary

Time travel today, back to the month of July and a city trip.

It was hot.

The kind of hot that negates the freshly-showered and clean clothes

 feeling in a matter of minutes.

A hot that lingered in shadowed alcoves.

The sun glared, cars honked, and pedestrians bustled.

I crossed the street and entered a sanctuary.

Inside it was dark with jewel-toned tinted light, and cool.

A refreshing cool that made me sigh in relief.

And, it was peaceful.

A peace born of 150 years of prayer within its walls.

I made pictures.

I marveled.

Wishing you a bit of peaceful sanctuary today and all the year through.

Bead Frenzy

There is a whole lot of beading going on in my studio

 as I'm working on an elaborate project for a show.

Since I want you to think I'm very neat and tidy,

there will be no studio photos today.

Instead, I'll tell you about what you'd see ~

a large Chinese Writing Stone Cabochon

from Gary B. Wilson Lapidary Design - it's a looker,

Swarovski crystals - the ultimate in bling,

Pyrite stone beads with an AB finish - subtle shimmer and texture,

seed beads - bags upon bags of them in a rainbow of colors,

drawings, tracing paper mock-ups, Ultra Suede,

 and the usual beading tools -

long beading needles, Nymo thread (size D), plus scissors.

If you're wondering what this amazing peacock street art mural

 has in common with my project....

well, they're both colorful,

both large (my necklace only in relative terms, of course),

and

both stop you in your tracks!

(hoping this necklace will when it's done - we'll see).

Wishing you a colorful, creative week!

Thankful

Wishing you happiness and blessings

 on Thanksgiving Day!

Comments are off while I enjoy time with my family

 and lots of delicious food :)

The Changeling

In my last post, I mentioned that while teaching at ISQSC

I had a free afternoon to walk around town with my camera.

I spent part of the time chasing reflections,

which is kind of like playing with a changeling ~

magical, elusive, dancing this way and that.

Should I shoot straight on or at an angle?

In full light or shadow?  Low POV or high?

High contrast or low?  

Look for vivid color harmonies or subdued?

Question after question arose, as I tried to find logic within the

light, angles, colors, and shifting shimmer.

Yes, indeed......like playing with a changeling!

Design Framework

Whether making a photograph, art quilt, or piece of elaborate beaded jewelry,

 I first seek out, or design, a solid framework for the artwork.

The framework is a combination of tonal values and lines.

This is the base that all other elements,

 such as mood, color, story, and meaning,

rest upon.

While teaching textile and beadwork at ISQSC in Fargo, ND,

I had one long afternoon to myself.

So, I walked the downtown streets and alleys with my camera.

I think the design framework is particularly apparent in the geometry

 that I found within the urban landscape.

Wishing you a creative week!

The Latest

A couple bits of goodness ~

Recently, I was featured in the Impossible Project's Analog Travelog Series.

This is the Polaroid version of my summer trip to the city,

 taken with Impossible film.

Hope you can check it out - here.

Secondly, I just got back from teaching at the 

Indian Summer Quilt Show & Conference.

Many thanks to Muriel, Marcia, the friendly guild members, and all

the enthusiastic students that I had the pleasure of working with.

It was a delightful week!!!

Wishing you joy in creating.....

it's a wonderful way to live.

Reflecting

I've mentioned that I have a thing for reflections.

Maybe it's because reflections toy with visual reality. 

They are like fact, fiction, and fantasy all woven together.

Oh, and throw in a little magic also.

Reflections are visual magic!

I'll be away teaching next week,

probably looking for reflections in my off hours.

Wishing you a creative week!