Photo Day at Audubon

Bob and I went walking through the ponds and riparian areas at the S. Denver Audubon preserve and saw not just birds, but a glorious variety of minnows, dragonflies, butterflies, and flowers. The first picture of the thistles has been edited on Picasa.

Summer Delights

This is me - happy to be sitting in the shade of our new awning over the back patio! The patio faces west, which means blazing heat in the afternoons. Having the awning means it won't get too hot inside the house either, since it shades the slider. The horses are our neighbor's boarders. We feed them carrots every so often, and a couple of magnificent fellows they are! Powerful draft size, but so gentle and sweet.

Ancient Cottonwood

While Bob and I were hiking along the river in Glenwood Springs, I saw this tree and thought, Now I understand what people mean when they say a tree has a presence, or soul. It really spoke to me, and I think it needs to become a drawing at some point.

Discharge!

Here's a can't-miss, no-fail recipe for gorgeousness. Get some hand dyes in the batik section of the fabric store, with their lovely variations of color. No patterns - just dyes. Use a small sponge to apply discharge through a stencil - either commercial or a hand cut one made with freezer paper or contact paper. I get the type of discharge that you allow to dry and then use a steam iron on, but there are other options available. Check at Dharma Trading online for a selection of the different kinds. Whichever you try, they can turn out quite beautifully.

More Artmaking at the Porter Hospital

This is a lunch given in appreciation for all of us who are involved in the workshops with the cancer survivors groups at the area Centura hospitals. Christi Beckman and I will be there again at the Porter on Tuesday the 7th to make prayer flags with the monthly support group. The Healing Arts director for Centura, Jude Kellor, will hang a display of them in, appropriately enough, the Porter Cancer center.

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More Fun with Photo Editing

I'm using a new photo editing website called iPiccy here. It's got all my favorite basic functions as well as a "posterize" button, a grunge effect - on and on! This is guaranteed to steal my time and put me behind the computer for an afternoon.

Seattle Airport

There are always so many lovely forms of inspiration when I fly back home. These delightful pottery pieces were in the airport - I love the way art and music are a way of life in the Northwest. It has certainly shaped who I am.

Spring's Beauty

I tend to see the small details in the world around me - always have. This may have something to do with being nearsighted. Little shapes fascinate me, and feel like finding treasures. In the same vein, repeat patterns feel satisfying and rich in an orderly way.

The Presentation Went Great!

I was really happy with the powerpoint. Christi did most of that on her end, with me supplying photos and text by email to add on for my segment. We really emphasized not just our work, but the healing aspect of art. After all, these were cancer patients we spoke to. We tried to show how art is a creative and hopeful influence in our lives and a huge help to regain our health. Lots of pretty images can't hurt either, can they? The pictures are of me and Christi with the art pillows and the fabric journals we made and gave as gifts to the ladies. They each got to pick their own. The last part of the presentation was when we helped them get started with some Sharpies and water soluble pencils and crayons in their journals. Ideas were supplied to them, because we know the inhibiting effect of blank pages! I wish I had remembered to take photos of the group members in action, but as usual in the heat of the moment I forgot.