Yesterdays' adventure

NPS Photo
View of mountains from the Pinnacle Overlook

Carved by wind and water, Cumberland Gap forms a major break in the Appalachian Mountain chain.
That's where I was yesterday! Sweetie, doggy and I had a nice little hike in the woods in this area. It was quite beautiful, and I'm looking forward to going back soon to explore some more. There are places to camp, caves to explore, hiking trails, and feel history. It was very refreshing for body and spirit.

Fabulous!

This is a very nice piece of puppetry/mime/performance art! And you don't have to understand french.Nicely done, enjoy!http://www.dailymotion.com/visited/search/jerome%20murat/video/xf9oo_jerome-murat

Etayne-slug

This is a slug drawn by my arty-friend VK soaplash in Oregon, after I remarked how sluggish I've been feeling.

Merry Christmas!

My dog is a couch potatoe.

Lost in space

Resistance is futile.
You will be assimilated.

I'm the pretty Borg on the right!

Can you tell I've been enjoying the "Voyager" marathon on the Sci-Fi channel?

These pictures were taken in Las Vegas, at the Hilton's "Borg Invasion" experience. Which was fabulous, by the way, and my reason for going to Vegas in the first place. It was well done, and they had various Star Trek characters wander around the exhibit. Donna told me to go over to the Borg and get my picture taken, my first reaction was: "Are you crazy??? It's a Borg!!!"
The Borg "complied" with picture taking and asked if it was "sufficient." What fun. I don't know if the show is still running, if it is, I highly recommend it, if you like Star Trek. A word of caution: Drinks at Quark's bar are stellar priced.

What I miss

Warm days. Bright sun.
The trees are bare, the evergreens shed their needles. I rake them into a circle around the tree trunks. Neighborhood dogs come and make little nests there, and they lay in the sun and warm themselves.
Winter time. The light is not right here. It looks like spring. My inner universe clock is confused. Where is the grey rain and the cold damp? The crystal rain drops dripping from wet black branches?



Downtown Seattle view from Elliot Bay

...two more prettys!

or pur-tties, as they say here in the South...

I have a job interview this morning. Wish me luck.

A birthday present ...

..for my best friend Sarah, aka Cyd.
I started this little ornament of the Goddess Nathor while still living in Seattle, in the fall of last year. Then it was packed up for the move to Tennessee, and not here in time for Cyd's birthday. Lost for many many weeks amongst many many boxes, it finally resurfaced, and I finished it in time for this years' birthday. Good thing she's my best friend and very forgiving.
I'm slowly recovering from my muses' absence, and creating again.
I find there is other ways of creating, not just in the type of art that I do. Yesterday we spent a blissful day at Sweeties Mom's house, making Christmas goodies. She shared her recipes for Zucchini bread, Pumpkin bread, and my favorite, Peanutbuttercup Cookies. She whipped out eight loaves of bread and 4 dozen cookies in a half a day! That Lady is a true artist in the kitchen, Southern Style, of course.

Sometimes the flow of creativity slows down. I haven't created much lately, but I think that is passing. It's becoming winter, in spite of the 70 degree weather. Yesterday we spend time at Sweeties' Mom's yard, helping her get her Winter Wonder Land up. Even the reindeer were sweating.
My job has come to an end, I still think that I need to get up tomorrow morning, and go to work, but I don't!
Of course I need to find some other job, but I am taking a few days off. We have been working on getting the house cleaned up, and that feels really good.
Thank you all for visiting, bear with me. I'll have something fun to look at soon.

I have been doodeling with the paint program on the computer just for fun, oh joy! A new way of doing art! If you see just a grey rectangle, try clicking on it, it may open to the real picture.

Create your own snow flake!

http://snowflakes.lookandfeel.com/

A little bit of splendor

What I see out of my living room window....

Altered Art Boots

This wonderful sculptural piece was created by my canine friend, Fiona. Note the artful use of open spaces, and uneven surface texture. Randomly placed bite marks create interest and excitement, and the separated pieces convey a longing to belong to the main structure.
Fiona excels in her chosen art of chewed objects, and the art world eagerly awaits her next piece.

Nature Deco pages

Two water color doodles for a Nature Deco. The small journal originated in Milan, Italy, and goes on to New Zealand from here.

Belated Boo!

I know it's after Halloween, but here is Fiona in her witch outfit. It took three treaters to get her to sit even remotely still for a picture. Little does she know she is in training for a set of reindeer antlers for Christmas. And I swore not to put my dog in clothes, ever.

fall collage

Fall is my favorite season. I love the brilliant colors of the turning leaves, I can never get enough of the flaming trees. It is especially beautiful here in the South, I fill my pockets with fallen leaves, and use them in my art work. This collage goes to Justtra in North Carolina.
We have two pine trees in our yard, and they shed and shed! I rake and rake, and they just keep shedding! I would just let them be, because I like the copper red blanket they create, but it's a tidy neighbourhood, and that's alright too. I pile them around the tree trunks, and lately a little doggy has made his bed in there every night. Burrows down in them, and stays warm. We are trying to get close to him, but he doesn't trust us yet. So I keep piling the pine needles up for a nice burrow for him.

summer art doll

This is Gypsie Rose, by SacredArtist, one of the dolls I received from the summer art doll swap.
I totally adore her!

autumn

I love the fall season. Nature wears her splendor -- flaming reds, bright yellows and oranges, copper and brown brilliancy. My eyes drink it all in, every year it seems more spectacular. It is my first fall here in Tennessee. I love the warm sun, with the crisp cool breeze, the cold night air, and the rolling sea of fog banks over the fields in the morning.
And yet, I miss soggy grey Seattle....

This leaf goes to VK soaplash in Oregon for her collaberative art zine "Optical Nerve".

Collage

I made this for a swap over at nervousness.org. It's going to ithica in Arizona.

Journal pages drawn to music

This one is "Soar".
..and this one is "Hush"

The music was Secret Cardens' "Dreamcatcher".

lunch time doodle

Inside the actors' studio

I've always liked this questionnaire -- so here are my musings on the questions:
01. What is your favorite word?
Forest
02. What is your least favorite word?
gun
03. What turns you on creatively, spiritually, or emotionally?
Nature's neverending beauty, and getting to be out in it.
04. What turns you off?
unkindness
05. What is your favorite curse word?
shit
06. What sound or noise do you love?
rain drumming on tree leaves
07. What sound or noise do you hate?
cars crashing
08. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
being a professional artist
09. What profession would you not like to do?
butcher
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
"You did good -- now you can go play over there!" :::points to fully equipped art studio with never ending art supplies:::

Another handmade post card

" Floating Goddess" -- collaged hand made papers, gel pen drawing. Also for a post card swap over at nervousness.org. This one goes to moo in Australia!

handmade post card

"intuitive magic" for a post card swap over at nervousness.org -- this one goes to emenelgy in MA!

Merry met, merry part, merry meet again

I visited my best friend Sarah aka "Cyd", in Detroit this past weekend.
We had breakfast at my favorite greasy spoon:

BIG BOY!


We had Eggs Benedict, potatoe pancakes, bacon and coffee. I can hear my arteries groaning... salt and grease... Yum! (Once in a while.)

On Sunday, we went to the Renaissance Festival:


Here is the knightly Cyd....


...and wenchly me, sporting a feather circlet, which was all the rage.


Cyd tries on some leather armor.

More Sunday creations

Here's a quick carving I did for an ATC (artist trading card) swap, and the finished ATC.
The challenge was to incorporate only the following elements:

shades of brown/and or blue
a face
rhine stones
rubber stamp
a triangle
fabric

I like the way the carving came out -- simple, but expressive. It's a neat medium -- I can make anything custom that I need, or think of. And I find that the stamps look better than bought ones.

I feel the best of me when I sit at my art table and create. Glue and pencils and scissors and water color, crayons and stamps and sponges and brushes; so many colors and images and patterns. Before I know it, 2 or 3 hours have gone by. The dog sleeps in my arm chair, the cat is curled up on her pillow, I listen to the radio and I truly feel peaceful.
Todays' creation is a page for a deco ( a small handmade book that gets sent around to different artists to decorate a page) in the style of "zettiology".
More on that here, if you are interested: www.teeshamoore.com

And yet another bug!

Todays' mystery bug:
This was also caught at work. Some kind of giant fly. It's about one and a quarter inch long.
I'm glad next week is ocean week in my class room.
::smile:::

Addition: This seems to be a type of annual cicada, also known as DogDay Harvest Fly.

Good things about living in the South, part 4

Old Barns
I pass this on my way to work every day. It looks like a mouthful of loose teeth to me. I love that old structure -- and it seems to be in use, still.

Bug update!

My sweetie, who is ever so web savvy, found out for me what my bug is:
Meet the female Dobson Fly.
Here is a picture of a male (on the left) and a female, and a hellgrammite, which is what they start out as.
Good bug info here: http://whatsthatbug.com/
Strange world.
Ok, enough bugs. At least for today.

Good things about living in the South, part 3

GIANT Bugs!!

I caught this creature at work -- it is bug week! It was about two inches long and I have never seen anything like it. Anyone know what it is? It had wings like a dragon fly, a body like a caterpillar, and pinchers like a beetle. No, it wasn't a cockroach!
( We did let it go after keeping it in the bug catcher in the science area for a day. It seemed relieved.)
Honestly, the bugs I see down here are really something. I marvel at the delicacy of their wings and their colors, and yet they give me a bit of the creepy crawlies. Especially now that I sparked the children's interest in insects, and they constantly hand me crawly critters, ""Maestra, Maestra! mira!" (Teacher, Teacher, look!) Like a good teacher, I accept the bugs in my hand and we look at them together. They are part of our world too. The creepy crawly part.
:::chuckle:::

Addition: My co-worker Terry says that locally they are known as "Grampas" and make good bait for bass fishing. And yes, they do pinch.

Leaf stamp carving

I finished this leaf design today. It's carved in linoleum, printed with black ink. I think I need to get some other kind of ink, though, I had trouble getting a half way decent print. Overall, I like the way it turned out. Well, I like all things TREE ...

...and just one more picture

...because she is sooo adorable!

How messy is YOUR art space??

Mine could certainly use a little organizing....

black and white deco page

Collage doodle with black and white textured paper for a deco.
The muse took a nap today.

Good things about living in the South, part 2

The new hair cut


Fiona admires her Mommy


....and critiques the style


I think changing your hair cutter is worse than changing your doctor. I'm still trying to find a good stylist here. Today I tried someone new. I liked her, and its a good cut, except she blow dried all my curls out! I had to go home and put lots of hair goop in my hair to feel like myself again. I commented on living in the bible belt, and how different that was from the Northwest.
Her comment:" Honey, it's not the belt!! It's the buckle with all the rhinestone and blinking lights that's the problem!" I have to say that was rather refreshing to hear.
Her co-worker in the next chair over proceeded to tell me and her client all about her surgery ad nauseum, and when she needed both hands to style, she stuck the bottle of hair spray between her legs, where it protruded -- well, you all get the picture.
I LIKED them! Now there was a sense of humor I could relate to. Think I'll go back, but with a picture of what I really want to look like!