Sunday musings

I seem to have a pattern here...been posting a creative art photo on Sunday for the last couple of weeks...
I guess I should make this a regular feature...so here is today's posting...

Cold, rain and gray today...but I am hopeful that spring will come...

Spring is in the air!

the buds are pushing through the soil...the birds sing happily...the sun lingers a little longer...its almost spring...

A time to clean out the cobwebs and freshen up a bit...and the perfect chance to get a little inspiration at the Spring Market vintage show this coming Saturday...

I'll be a vendor at this event...with a curated selection of vintage sewing paraphernalia and some lovely ironstone dishes...along with original art and a new series of greeting cards...I hope you'll stop by and see me...

learning to find the light

One of the downfalls of living in the Pacific Northwest is that winter can be gray...and long...
which makes taking photographs challenging...both in finding the spot where there is light as well as finding the time of day that makes any such photography worthwhile...

So I've been embracing the shadows as well as the light...I've found that the best light comes through the north facing window in my kitchen...directly behind the sink...so the small area to the left of the sink...before you knock your head on the upper cabinets...is the best spot to take photos...

Trying to capture that nuance of dark, moody photographs...pretending that it was a conscious effort to avoid shooting in a bright, sun-lit atmosphere...

edited with kk texture plaster squared

I picked up these daffodils...just starting to burst open...

Less than a week later...they are bolting...

edited with kk texture plaster squared

Swapping out the backgrounds also helped to elicit different moods...so many possible tweaks and variations...

Other photo fun I've been having...recently learned that prints of John James Audubon's Birds of America paintings are available for free download...one of my favorite artists...his precision and execution are incredible...
find all the prints here www.audubon.org/birds-of-america

I just had to play...
original print

My composition - "Birds on the brain"
overlay of one of my photos of birds in trees with 2LilOwls texture...

Joining the group over at kim klassen's Texture Tuesday...why don't you stop by...

appreciating now...

the last number of days have been very gray and damp...
a steady rain that seems to say "slow down, don't go too fast"

a good plan for the new year...let's ease into it...acknowledge each day...
without wishing instead for the ones yet to come...

though difficult to discern from the photo...the silver baby cup is monogrammed with N.O.W.
I have no idea who this is...but the idea of making the present moment count is what captured my attention...

the diminished light gives a blurred edge to my photographs without any additional tweaking...
edited with just a simple layer of kk texture pinit11  (which you can download from kim's pinterest board here)

linking up with texture tuesday at kimklassen.com ...

a simple gift

yesterday was my birthday...
   a quiet affair but that's just fine...nothing big or fancy

I like the simple...
   this quote posted by a friend were the wisest words...
       inspired a little photo play

joining the group over at kim klassen's friday finds...my find are these wise words...

Good Tidings to you!

Wishing you peace and happiness this Christmas Day...

All in the details

early Sunday morning...a quiet stillness throughout the house...
a holiday that celebrates home, happiness and harmony...

a celebration that begins now...and an appreciation that remains with us into the new year...

Happy Thanksgiving

Generosity

When I started blogging, I knew that it would be beneficial for me in many ways...to keep an art journal of my thoughts and ideas...to sharpen my photography skills...to hone my writing technique.  What I didn't anticipate was the community and connectedness that would occur...

About two weeks ago, a package arrived at my doorstep...from one of my readers who was the happy recipient of my collage coaster giveaway...Christie had read my "stillness" post which featured my lovely antique teacup...she knew what she had to do...I quote from her note...

"When I saw the brown & white English teacup on your blog, I knew what I wanted to send to you - you see, my parents collected that pattern more than 50 years ago when we lived in England.  Each weekend they would go to the market in a nearby town...and they slowly collected lots of dishes in so many variations (toast racks, tureens, pitchers, etc).  I have been moving these dishes around with me all my adult life.  I decided it is time to share and pass some on - so here you are - a little creamer.  I'm afraid the sugar bowl met with a sad end..."

Tears filled my eyes...I could not believe the generosity of a soul whom I have only met online...it was not only a wonderful gift...but a wonderful note...I will cherish both...

The creamer is charming...and fits in beautifully with my small collection of treasured brown and white ironstone...

 

Linking up to Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday...another wonderful online soul who has given me so much inspiration over the last year...Each photo in this post was edited with kk texture minus 43...which added the right amount of warmness during these cold winter days...

 

 

No explanation

Sometimes there is no explanation...sometimes things just remain a mystery of life...

On Saturday, I was feeling the garage sale/junking itch...but I was holding strong...not scratching it...I have plenty of "raw materials" for art and project ideas...best to leave it alone...

So with a little extra time, I figured that I would tackle another area of the basement...you see, I'm only dealing with a small section at a time...if I tried to do it all, it would be too much...and then nothing would get done...

There was an unlabeled box in the pile...I opened it up and behold!  Yard Sale Treasures!  I have no memory of this haul...but it certainly had all the types of goodies I would pick up...

amber bottle, two english ironstone platters, a dictionary - a pronouncing dictionary to be exact (a dictionary that deals exclusively with the correct pronunciation of a word) and several vintage metal embroidery hoops...

another large dictionary with exquisite detailed drawings, an old metal frame embossed with delicate flowers,
a couple of vintage wood oval embroidery hoops...

All the joy and thrill of the hunt without leaving home...it satisfied that junking itch quite nicely...but now my curiosity was piqued...I can't recall this adventure at all...

and it just proves that you never know what you might find...even in your own house...