Talk Derby to Me

Yes, it's Derby time in the 'Ville, Louisville that is. I have not been following any of the talk on which horse is favored or which has the best story. I just know Friday is a holiday at my corporate office, but some of us are required to work so I will get holiday pay without even trying. Yeah!

I came across these pictures on an old memory card. I had forgotten I had taken them, but decided to revisit them, crop them, and post them.

Attention to my home girls in Louisville...on one of my visits up there next time, we should all go on a photo safari downtown. There are a lot of intersting patterns and textures to take pictures of. I had planned to print some of these on fabric, and maybe I'll eventually get around to that. Lots of projects in my head.

I love these interesting bicycle racks, all done by different artists.

This is one thing I have learned from reading other blogs. There is always something interesting in your path, if you only open your eyes and look around. You don't necessarily have to go to exotic locations, just train your eyes to see things differently. Or maybe to see things for the first time again. And it is certainly helpful if you actually remember to have a camera with you when you experience this Newness of Seeing.

I Have Your Camera

Well, not really, but more about that later...

These are some photos I got last summer at an estate sale. I always wonder about strangers in found photos. Who are they and what kind of lives did they lead? Why did their heirs not want these pictures? Maybe their heirs didn't know who they were either. My mom gave me a box of old photos a couple of years ago. There were some people that she didn't recognize, so I guess the lesson is to always write the names on the back. None of these had names on the back. One, however, (the fellow on the top left) read "Was taken when he gragerated in Cincinnati, Ohio". That struck me as so funny. I wondered if the person who wrote it had "gragerated"?

But we definitely live in a digital age now. There is not even a picture to write the name on. It is all digital, memory card or stick, etc. Which brings me to today's helpful hint. If you ever lost a camera or media card, you know that sinking feeling that you will never see it again, especially if you are on vacation in another part of the country or even the world. Or, maybe you find a camera and wonder how on earth to find the owner. I came across a great website that tries to match orphan cameras with sad owners. What a great service! You can even use the drop down menu to search by state or country. Looking at the list, either no one in Kentucky ever finds a camera, or people who lose cameras don't come to Kentucky. Anyway, keep that in mind if you ever lose your camera or media card. (I have reverted back to a hint from back in the days of film cameras... write your name and address in bold writing on a piece of paper and take a picture of it. That way, should your camera become lost, you would be easier to find.)

(I liked the back of this photo that proclaims "Artist and Photographer")

For Entertainment Purposes Only

Since I've been working most of the weekend and have not had time to post, talk amongst yourselves. And enjoy these fine videos to keep you amused:

This is helpful in case you are ever stranded at the Cincinnati Airport (which we all know is not actually IN Cincinnati, but in Northern Kentucky). I came across that accidentally while following a link to the awesome mosaic art there. Either one of these goofballs could be my brother.

Also, if you are like me and hear people talking about Trader Joe's but you don't have a Trader Joe's in your area and wonder what the big deal is, enjoy this video entitled "If I Made a Commercial For Trader Joe's".

Both these have catchy tunes that will be stuck in you head all day!

Hot Chicks

Now that I have your attention...

I finally got my issue of Studios. I could not find an issue locally and finally ordered one online. After all, when your best friend's studio is one of the ones pictured, you want a copy! I was worried they wouldn't convey the true feel of Gaye's studio, but they did a good job. I know it's my favorite place to go when I need to absorb some creativity. Of course, there are some other great studios pictured, but this one is my favorite. Since it is copyright, I can't really copy it here....

[pictured image will self destruct in 10 seconds]

K U D O S, Gaye... I'll be waiting for that autograph!

One

It has been one month since I started this blog. What have I learned?

1. I have learned that it is not a good idea to name a blog something so obscure that you have to save your own blog in your favorites because you can't remember how to spell it.


2. I have learned that having a blog is fun.


3. I have learned that it is not as stressful or demanding as I expected.


4. I have learned that I have an interest in photography. I like trying to find something to take a picture of and post. (I have also learned I have a long way to go to become a Great photographer.)


5. I have learned that I have a lot to learn. Like how to make a picture enlarge when you click on it. I have no idea why some will enlarge when you click on them and some won't. I can't find a setting for that anywhere.

Onward....to learn more things.

Good Enough To Eat

It's a sickness. It may be fabric, it may be buttons, it may be yarn, it may be Everything. Some things are just addictive. And sometimes there are things that are just so yummy, and feel so good to hold in your hands, you just can't stop. This was on the cutting table at the fabric store where I was getting some batik fabric cut. They had just gotten it in. The lady told me they didn't know where to put it yet, so it was just sitting there. It came in other colors (blacks, browns), but this one just shouted to me. It was not cheap, but my time is precious. I could sit and string a bunch of buttons and tiny rick rack onto a piece of tatted lace, or I could just say "I'll take a yard" and have more time to make things.

Somebody stop me!!

Our Lady of Good Intentions

A couple of years ago, I was almost obsessed with wanting to work with metal stuff. I had come across some clocks made with bread pans, spoons, sieves, all kinds of odd things. And I had taken a class with Linda and Opie O'Brien, and of course they make great use of old tins and springs and all kinds of found parts. So when I went to a Catholic thrift store, that was what was on my mind. This store is one of those places jammed packed with donated stuff, fairly well organized, but still a place where you squeeze through the aisles and dig to find the cool stuff. It's the kind of place where you would find a container full of old wooden rulers. Not plastic rulers, wooden rulers. The kind where someone a long time ago carved their name in it while sitting in class, with a pen knife that was probably allowed, didn't cause alarm, and did not warrant a terror alert and the shut down of the school and every business in a two-mile radius. But I digress. Nothing in this store is priced, but if you want it, when you check out one of the nuns will tell you how much it is and it's probably not very much. So I came home with a few items. And when I brought in the religious figure laying in the bread pan, with the ladle over his head, it just seemed like it should stay that way. I had intentions of drilling holes in the ladle and hanging some beads there, and adding more embellishments around the edge and in the background. But for now, this still sits exactly as it came home, with nothing permanently attached. I have always felt it gives me a little protection and comfort, this guardian of my home and art area.

Around that time, I also started collecting tins of all kinds, for deconstruction and future projects. But with some of them, I like them just as they are, and I could never cut them apart.

Divided

At the beginning of the year, I decided on this book to journal in. I had bought it from dj pettitt last summer. In the past, I would have just hoarded it and enjoyed it. But in an effort to Use and not Hoard, I decided this would make a perfect little journal. If this would not inspire a person to take a little time for art, nothing will! I totally (heart) dj's books. This one is about 6 x 6 inches.

One of the fun things is to try to come up with a new divider each time a new month rolls around. This is what I have so far.

I suppose I could make month dividers in advance, but I don't want to feel "confined" to a certain number of pages each month. I'd rather add the dividers as I go.

Happy Easter

Hope today is your cup of tea !

All The News That's Fit to Draw

So I go out and get my newspapers this morning. And the Louisville paper looks different. It looks like... like... like a 'zine or something...

And I see the story about the artist. He's a Turkish artist and he has recreated the front page of the paper by hand. That means the photos, the headlines, the text, everything. Wow.

The "real" page one is on page 3. But... wow. Art shows up when you least expect it.

The story behind it can be found at the paper's website here.

Attack of the UFOs

One reason I started a blog is because I thought it would inspire me to put my art projects out there to share with other people. Seems I am falling down on the job in that respect. I recently heard someone use the term UFO to refer to "Unfinished Objects". Well, I have plenty of those. My art time is limited, but I sure have plenty of things that need to be finished, if I would only make an appointment with myself to do it!

There is the green canvas book (covers are painted canvas boards, pages are painted canvas cloth). All I have to do is refresh my memory on how to do a coptic stitch, and sew it all together.

Then there is the little journal made of magazine pages. I had planned to put cool things in it, working off whatever showed up on the magazine page.

And the fused-fabric-cover, full-of-odds-and-ends, funky chunky, loosey goosey book I started over a year ago. It is fun to hold and look at, but I need to commit to the layout of the different pages and sew it all together.
Excuse me while I go check my appointment book.....

Never Mind

Never mind what I said about spring... Mother Nature thinks she is soooo funny......

I shouldn't be surprised. Now that I think about it, it always snows on the lilacs, every year for at least the last three years.

Scratch 'n Sniff

Can you smell it? That smell of newly-mowed lawns all over the neighborhood? Yesterday was that kind of day... sunny, warm, people working in their yards. The smell of grass was a treat for the senses, the first time this year. This is also the first nice day to pick up the last of the debris from the ice storm. Since February, the piles of limbs and tree parts have been growing larger and larger in people's yards. We have been promised that help is on the way to pick it up, but my area (very rural part of the county) is last on the list. My "helpers" showed up today with chain saws and other equipment to take care of the larger trees that fell over. They only had about 75% of the work completed when that long-awaited crew hired by the county stopped at my driveway and started scooping up the debris pile. If only they had been a couple of hours later... but I won't complain. Seeing the piles gone is another refreshing sight. I no longer feel imprisoned behind a wall of wood! The crew is actually from a Pennsylvania logging company. They have been in Kentucky since the middle of February, which tells you how much debris there is just in this area. So, onward it is. Grass is growing. Sprouts are sprouting. The goldfinches are turning from olive drab to bright yellow. Renewal and rebirth!

No Foolin'

Happy April Fools Day (for those so inclined to celebrate). I bought a couple of these candy bars the other day. How on earth have I lived in Kentucky for 17 years and never had a Blue Monday candy bar (from Ruth Hunt Candy, a Kentucky company)??? (It's hard to photograph with that shiny foil wrapper). Of course, I am partial to semisweet chocolate anyway. The website says the center is "pulled candy". I don't know how to describe the taste. And the ingredient list is no help. One ingredient listed is "glycerine". The web site says they "use no wax or paraffin" in their candy. Does that mean other candy Does have wax? Wonder how many other odd ingredients we ingest every single day...I should read the ingredients list more, I suppose. Oh, well, I'll enjoy this yummy treat, and look for the mint version the next time I'm out and about...