Hello - again

Hello again blogger buddies.  We had a wedding to put on for one of our daughters.  Oh my.  Great fun!  Lots of planning!  Lots of creating!  Did I say lots of planning?

During the wedding-planning stage-of-life I took a sabbatical from blogging.  My path back in is taking Kim Klassen's Round Trip class.  So glad the class started immediately after the wedding.

After filling up the MacBook Pro's disk twice now with "too many pictures" I knew I had a real problem with storing files and I wanted to learn Lightroom.  The first two days of class have been all about LR basics of file storage.  No wonder I was confused about what to do.  Thank goodness Kim can lay out a path.  Taking a class from Kim is like having a friend sitting next to me here at the kitchen counter coaching me along my own path.

I'll be checking in with my blogger buddies from previous classes over the next few days.

It feels good to be back.

Oh - and two weeks before the wedding, my camera quit working.  stopped.  the end.  very big ugh.  Purchasing an new camera was not in the budget.  HAD to buy a new camera.  After going back and forth over what to do, finally purchased a Sony NEX 5 for the wedding and to send it on the honeymoon with the newly weds.  I'll send my Sony a55 off to the camera hospital in Texas this month.

Another "Oh" - my iPhone never made it back from the reception.  So right now I am phoneless and cameraless.  Very strange to travel without my two best friends hanging out at my side.

#takeamoment

Finding the time. Being conscious of time. I'm realistic about having it all. It's a selective process.

I have a time value awareness to my schedule. Wake early before the house, except for the dogs. They always seem to wake, I ignore them in the morning. Exercise with the TV (no travel time). Make tea and gather my art pack. Find a quiet spot... Outside is wonderful now!

Still. Something. Missing.

Paging through a fab little quiet book from my simple collection, a voila moment. The missing words. From Mary Oliver. It's always a poet or one simple phrase, isn't it?

"Every day I walk out into the world to be dazzled, then to be reflective.". Mary Oliver. (so glad she shares her brilliance with us)

I'm missing that reflective part. Where to find THAT time? Sheesh.

While watering my drought stricken flowers I pondered and pondered. Then pondered again. Another dazzling moment... I don't have to have pencil and a notebook to be reflective. Reflective can be done with thoughts alone! Duh. Duh. Duh

Or in twitter speak, which I love, #takeamoment

Busy and Avoiding

Many things going on - moved a daughter back to college.  Four of us, all women, tallest 5'2" and a Budget rental truck .  It was interesting - to say the least.  And Kansas is hot and those cicada's are noisy and BIG.  The drive back was long.  And for the most part - flat, hot, empty and lots of dead cornstalks in the fields.  Tough on the farmers and their families.

Back to work and all that entails.  Catch up.  On the Gerbil wheel.  Love my work, but it is busy.

Still have to take some time for the BTS class - the last week of class.  I want to do the photo tricks!

And - sigh - have taken on the "project manager" side of another daughter's wedding.  We had hoped, she and the fiance would pick up this job.  Not happening.  Some folks are just not project managers for a big project.  I had to come to grips with this.  Calmly come to grips with it.  I am being calm.  Really. Have been creating long (really long) lists of everything that needs to be done.  Next up - assigning responsiblity and deadlines for my lists.  Monday nights are gonna be "wedding nights."

Onward!  This is gonna be exciting!  October 2012 wedding.  oh my gosh!

Class samples. ASCP

Annie Sloan chalk paint (ASCP) class last night. My experimenting color choices: Barcelona Orange, Old Ochre. Decision time today: what to paint? Using what colors? And which technique? Decisions, decisions.

Oh, and I need to catch up with BTS or pay for the extension.

Too many ideas. Not enough weekends!

3 techniques below, all with wax applied. Clouded Stipple, two-color exposed, one-color rustic.

Annie Sloan Chalk Paint

I'm taking a class tonight featuring - Annie Sloan Chalk Paint.  Not from Annie, but from a nearby store that sells her paint.  So, so, SO excited.  I've painted a couple of things already, but now I'll get to learn some tricks of the paint and wax - expanding my knowledge of creative ways to use this incredible paint.  "Why incredible," you ask? No sanding or stripping involved - just get painting!  My kinda painting...

Here's Annie's blog.

And there are lots of pinterest photos, too - search on Annie Sloan.

Contour drawing

Internet speed here is v e r y s l o w. not able to watch videos for class so I will catch up once I return.

Still life contour drawing follows. Each day a few more of the abc's of drawing. Tomorrow sketching at the Rio Grande early in the morning. Sketch model in the afternoon. So excited!

I'm going list...

I leave tomorrow.  For a creative art week.  At the Mabel Dodge Luhan House.  Sas Colby is our guide, instructor, creative mentor.  Here's the workshop description.  The week is much more than the description.

I've attended many times before (so lucky, I know).  Being able to drive and just toss everything I need into the back of the car and not worry about packing and shipping is a blessing.

Plus, Sas encourages us to explore what we want to explore: creative instruction, a boundary pusher.  This year - I'm ready for the ledge again.  This year's ledge: Paint.  Not the itty bitty stuff I have been playing with.  Not the gentle, cute stuff.  (oh wait, there may be a rabbit.) This time - paint, on a canvas (I bought one big-ish canvas) and have several smaller ones.

My list for Studio in the Sky 2012:
1. paint.
2. large.
3. acrylics.
4. feel the color.
5. #takeamoment to #enjoythemoment
(hash tag speak for Take A Moment to Enjoy The Moment)
6. Read list - at least daily - on iPhone.

Thanks for the list idea Kim and Xanthe (BTS Guides).

From sketch to sketch

Moving to more free and spontaneous. Driven to this because of lack of time. And a touch of diminished patience waiting for perfect to arrive. Maybe actively seeking more fun and less stress enters in there, too.

Note: posting with my iPhone for the first time. Not sure of the order of pictures and words. More discovery than perfect. Perfect is so highly overrated. Hey, I'm liking that.

Pressing Publish. A small "gulp" among friends.

Oh Voice, Voice - where are you?

hmmmm - assignment: finding your voice.  List ten things.  Reduce it to 3 or 4.

1. happy
2. sarcastic
3. funny thinking of combining into sarcastically funny
4. in touch with me
5. photo - of what?  is it about the photo?
6. The adventure
7. Rolling with life
8. How much is too much?
9. What to share?
10. POSITIVE (hearing my friend Lucie)
11. I don't want to be naked, but I do want to share.

Then I read Everyday Glimpses post on this assignment and decided I needed a second list about Bringing the Brave Out.

1. Baby Steps
2. or a giant leap (we all know "the net will appear")
3. It is about the adventurous journey.
4. "The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." - Carl Jung (in an email today from The Happiness Project (link below)
5. Be Renee (from The Happiness Project)

P.S.  I reserve the right to change, scrap and re-create at any time.

Photo: I think it is from the Chicago Art Museum.  The words are mine.  Starting to keep my eyes peeled for this light strand.

Practically Ingenious

In front of the

Behind The Scenes (BTS) class.

Practically ingenious instagram moment :-)

Hi Kim!  Hi Xanthe!

Being honest

Week 2 continues - BTS Class


The Over-ruler (that would be the left brain) says "photograph the wide open spaces, the older, the flowers."  That is what people "like."


I grew up in the wide open spaces of fields and trees that Kim photographs.  That is my internal home-spot.  I haven't lived in that space in a very long time.  And, I'm ok with that.  I live in suburbia.  Modern day.  All is new, or just recently aged.  Cookie cutter.  I'm good with the convenience.  Our house and yard (not so cookie cutter) - love the space.


But - my photos - well, always searching for how to block out the power lines, street signs, houses, asphalt.  Or, I need to drive to the city and capture the older, the breaking, the rusted. Trying to make my photos not live where I live.  How silly is that?  I mean, really.


this morning - the Challenger - who seems to speak and wake me at 4:14 AM - said, "Get out of bed and photograph YOUR landscape.  Go.  Now.  You'll loose the light.... "


So, I hauled myself out of bed, threw on some dark colored clothes (somehow it seems wrong to take photographs at 5:00 AM wearing a pink shirt), grabbed the camera, and drove to the top of a 3 story parking garage where I catch the train and did some photo exploration.  


Being honest with my photos and myself.  A beginning.

The About Me Update

Ok. I updated my About Me profile, the beta version.  Pretty much "winged it."  I usually labor over such things, dotting the i's and crossing the t's.  Memories of the teacher's red pen on writing assignments haunt my pushing the "publish" button.

Also trying to bend the BTS class content from "how to have more readers for your blog and maybe make some money" to be more low-key.  "Among friends" meeting after work approach, not about the possible-customer sort of thing.

Enjoying having the information from Kim and Xanthe.  Just making sure I apply it to my current, small goals.  Keep it simple.  Find some additional friends.  Expand my learning.

The crow & dog moments

on the way to photograph two horses

to sketch later,

I happened upon two morning moments at the pond:

crow with bug 

(didn't realize it was a bug until I downloaded the photo)

eww, but very interesting.

two swimmers, one runner

wasn't expecting the dog,

but there you have it.

BTS Focus.

modified my header a bit.  

added mission statement.

will probably change the whole thing.

learning is like that.

The Why

The BTS "Why I take online photography creative classes" - because it is the match.com for creatives. My "real life" friends (RLF), while they get and support me, are not the type who sigh when they see a beautiful photo or frantically dig in their purses for their phones to snap a quick pic or will only buy a purse if the Sony a55 fits comfortably inside .  I love them all, and couldn't live without them, but I play-play-play online.

My "Oh, I get it" story:  Three years ago, I decided, rather than try to bake cookies, nuts, bread, etc. for our holiday exchange I would take a photo, photoshop it up for the holidays and frame it for my friends.  After Christmas, I received wonderful thank you notes for the lovely frames.

This cracked me up, gosh did I laugh! They all were so sweet and a bit mortified when I later told them that the gift was the photo already in the frame.  In a way, it was kinda nice because they thought my little photo was the one that was in all the picture frames at Target.  It was really sweet, seeing the world through their eyes.  It still makes me smile.

The mission

Mission statement:

(drumroll please)

.^.^.^.^.

a world simply viewed

yep, that's it. 

 Like many things,

it came to me on an early morning walk,

a few steps after snapping this guy, 

courting the sunflowers,

at the break of day.

another ta-da moment

wishing I had on my pink sparkly tutu....

The Timeline

My Parallel Lives

Responsible & Creative

Gotta have both.

Trying to find balance - daily.

There have been lots of classes - Drawing with the Right Side of the Brain, a wonderful "camp" for Creatives in Taos, quilting, online classes (many, many).

And meeting wonderful peeps along the way. Oh - and learning.  Love learning.

Timeline note:  There is supposed to be lines going up on the orange side, and a separate line going up the green side.  No time to "fix it up."

The Start

A new blog.  A fresh start.  A blank page...


Why a new blog?


Because I am stale.  My daily life is crazy busy with TheToDoList.  I want a moment for myself. And, to find some peeps.


So, I'm taking my laptop, camera and me on a new adventure.  Reclaiming self.  Like buying a new pair of shoes or reading a new book or taking a walk at dawn - just freshing up the air around myself a bit.


Step 1: Taking a class: Behind the Scenes.  Why?  Because I stink at motivating myself.  I need a posse for ideas and conversation in how to grow and see things in the changing light.  


Looking forward to the Behind the Scenes posse approach...