It's June?!

How did it get to be June so soon?  It was just April last time I checked.  What have I been up to?  Let's see....  I was at First Thursday at Art Central in April and managed to sell a few paintings.  Then I was in Minnesota visiting my sister and her family and managed to squeeze in a class for 12 youngsters on abstract painting (that was very fun but very exhausting too!).  Sat through two tornado warnings.  Came back home to find a weird sound in my vehicle's steering wheel - got that fixed.  Then an eye appointment to confirm whether or not the bleed by my optic nerve was worse or healed - (healed!  If you said it in your head like a TV Evangelist, you get two points.)  Had my lawn power raked and some landscaping done - then fought over the cost to haul the debris away (so much fun).  Taught some kids how to make a Mother's Day card.  Went to Nanaimo to look for a place to buy that we can subsequently rent out... looking at a long term solution to our many vacations there.  Got outbid on two places (and got quite pouty about the whole thing).  But stayed at a great place right on the ocean.  Came back to a bevy of appointments and clients and meetings and lunches and drinks with friends.  Got the garden up to snuff and planted my annuals (love love love portulaca).  And finally, just had a Saturday filled with Garage Sale-ing and got 10 easles, 1 brass platter, two sidewalk blocks, and two mid century modern chairs.... all for $3.  I know.  I'm amazing.

And along with all of that I've also managed to paint paint paint and take some photos.  And then add a photo to a painting commission I did.  The client wanted an Alberta storm, so I did that.  But before I put the rest to her painting. I took a good image of it.  And when I wandering around my photos from the summer of 2010, I found this one of the cattle run.  So I added the two together in PhotoShop.  Gotta love PhotoShop.

slipping away

I can feel the passage of time just slipping away.  Only 1 more week in London.  I wish I had more time, but then again I wish I had my husband with me. I think I would be having more fun with him here - mainly because things are so much better when I share them with him.  And I miss my dog.  I keep petting every dog I see and the small one (K) asked me yesterday "why do you pet every single dog you see?"  Well.  Because I miss my dog. 

I'd like to say I went somewhere wonderful today and did something wonderful as well, but in truth I had a headache and I spent most of the day doing laundry and making banana bread and feeling sorry for my damn headaches.  But then it went away, I picked up the small one from school, the bigger one came home, we all had dinner, and we all had showers, and we all ended the day on a good note - with a sleeping song featured in the Jungle Book and done oh so well by Holly Cole.

"trust in me, just in me, close your eyes, and trust in me.  you could sleep, safe and sound, knowing I am around.  slip into silent slumber, sail on a silver mist.  slowly but surely your senses will cease to resist.  trust in me, just in me, close your eyes.  and trust in me." 

slipping away

sea of glass

I haven't really planned this London trip very well - the day to day activities at least.  So I typed into google 'things to do in London' and up popped and exhibit of Dale Chihuly' at the Halcyon Gallery.  Holy Moly!  So off I went to check it out.  I wrote down the directions to get there and headed out.  Off the tube at Bond Street and up at street level I realized I'd gone the wrong way (there were two exit choices) but at some point I see New Bond Street, which is the one I wanted - yay me!  I kept wandering down and found the gallery, which thankfully let me take photos (no flash). 

Each piece is multiple thousands of dollars, and to date I had only seen 2 of his works up close: Minnesota's Children's Museum and Calgary's Salt Lik restaurant.  I only took one glass blowing class (oh, maybe you didn't know - Dale Chihuly is the best glass artist in the world - see more here)... okay so I've only taken one glass blowing glass and I wasn't very good at it but it did open my eyes to the beauty of glass, not just for the look but the form as well.  I am usually left wondering "how did he do that?" when I see anything of his.  I still don't know.  The sculptures are incredibly massive, and delicate, and intricate.  Shipping them must be a total nightmare.  (yes, I always end up thinking of the practical side of things).

One of the installations was like a sea of glass, and make me think of 'Ship of Fools' by Robert Plant, so why don't you play that song while you check out the photos of the exhibit.

Enjoy!

why I do what I do

I went out this morning in -18degrees celsius weather... at 8:30 ... in the morning.  On a Sunday.  And why oh why did I do this?  A friend/client wanted photos of her family and that was the time that worked, with snow in the background.  And so up I got and out I went... to the wrong location.  Phone friend.  Rush to proper location.  Pop out into the cold again.  Place them just so on a small hill.  Click off a few dozen photos.  Change position a bit.  Take a few more photos.  Realize the 3 year old is going to freeze shortly and decide we're done being outside.  Really done.

So then I come home and check out the few photos we did get.  Hmmm.... She let me know which one she liked the most.  I picked the one I liked the most, and then one showcasing her boy.  Fiddle around in Photoshop Elements, pulling from textures and frames and wordart I've amassed over the past 5 years, and apply a lot from what I've learned from a few classes regarding digital scrapbooking. 

And then, with trepidation (because I used so many layers and techniques and slightly grungy textures and I wasn't sure if she was into that) I emailed the samples off to my client.

And this email response, this is why I do what I do (which, like voodoo, I do so well - sorry, old song reference.)
______________________
Hi Michelle,


So I actually got tears in my eyes when I saw these, I really love them!  I love the snow flakes and the border! I really did get emotional when I saw the picture of just my little K. and the let it snow, so beautiful! Can’t wait to see the finished product!


Thank you!! Sooo much!!!!!!


J.& K.& K.


And then a little later....
__________________
I'm still smiling!!!
J.



So if I ever wonder why I'm doing what I'm doing, remind me about this please.  Thanks.
M

gratitude

Kim Klassen's Textures - word & thursday

photo - U2's Bono, Edmonton June 1, 2011

Gratitude - not only am I grateful for music, I'm grateful Bono didn't permanently injure himself with the back injury that cancelled last year's show.  And I'm grateful my husband didn't ask how much I paid for the tickets.  And I'm grateful he decided to check out what the special line up was... it was for entrance to the inner ring at the concert.  So yes, I had to stand for 6 hours on concret, and yes, I got a lot of beer spilled on me, and yes, I really had to pee and couldn't actually leave my 'spot' for fear of it being taken......but I was there.  I sang & danced with the teenagers in front of me.  I was beside the man who caught one of those white roses for his wife.  I got this shot of Bono, with a little point & shoot. 

And yes, we were that close.  It. Was. Awesome.

Geronimo

I love cows.  I love their lowing, their plodding, their slow way of moving, their great bulk.  So this challenge from Kim Klassen was just fabulous since she supplied the image!  I've never taken a great picture of a cow - they're generally not in the city, and if I'm in the country I'm usually just passing through.  But maybe next time, I'll stop and take a few shots, just to see if I can get them to look at me.  (And please cows, no pooping while I'm taking the picture.)

I used Kim's texture 'ladder' and then took a painting of mine (well, the first run at it) and layered it over the entire thing, with a strong blue hue adjustment.  And then I need a quote, of course!  The rebel cow - no enclosures will hold her back from her dreams!

love - texture tuesdays

I used Kim Klassen's 'Fall In' texture with an overlay, which warmed up the photo and added some grunge to the edges. 

I love this photo because.... that's my nephew and I just showed up at his Spanish immersion school to read a story to his class and he hung off me the entire time I read the book ("Bashful Bob and Doleful Dorinda" by Margaret Atwood - yes she has some children's books!).  He's such a sweetheart and is all about getting hugs (no kisses, Auntie Shell, you have girl germs) and holding hands and giving me a whole bunch of love.  Which, of course, I return in spades.  And I'm so excited because I get to go and visit the whole family next week!  Maybe I can get a picture like this of my niece and I too!

soar confidently

Okay okay, so I've been away from the blog for quite some time.  I've popped in to share an image I took last year, and I think it applies to Kim Klassen's request for us to provide an image on the theme "do" and use her Autumn texture.  Here are a friend and her daughter, caught in extremely low light, hence all the shakiness and blur.  However, it illustrates beautifully how KA chases after M to capture photos on this lovely All Hallow's Eve, and even more so, what she wishes for her daughter, as the quote illustrates.  If you can't tell from the blur, M is a butterfly, and she's carrying her little trick or treat bag.

something borrowed

So nice to have a camera again!!!!!  My sister has loaned me her old Canon until I can gather up enough cash to get the 60D.  That will be a while.

Caught my sister's kids in action on Easter Sunday (What, you don't associate water guns and Easter?  What's wrong with you?)

My visit down to MN was a little less than fabulous - my sister got thrush and I got a hell of a cold.  So not much got accomplished.  Although we did watch a bit of the Royal Wedding, and I managed to get to Blick Art Supply.  I could drop a lot of cash there if I lived in the area.  Alas, I'm back in the Land of Snow.  Although it seems to be warming up enough to actually rain, which would be great if just a great big downpour happened to clean everything up.

On the art side of things, next week is the last class in Level 1 Abstract Acrylics with Samantha daSilva, which will be kinda sad, but I've signed up for 4 days of her class in Red Deer in July - should be great!
I have a lot to learn, and have a great time trying all the techniques out.  This one is (I think) 24 x 36.  The tough part is naming them after I'm done.

Does life imitate art?

Last summer, I had the priviledge of cat/house-sitting in California and I fell in love. With a horse.  My husband doesn't like this horse, and my Mum humoured me with my facination.  But every chance I got, I took an apple to that horse and took his picture.

Then one day, while touring Calistoga, I found a painting and I've always wondered if it was the same horse the artist tried to capture.  What do you think?

And later that summer, my Mum took this photo of my Dad's dogs.  Below is a paiting from another artist in Calistoga.  I am so amused by these two photos and two paintings, I just had to share!

Surfin' the Net, finding textural gold!

Kim Klassen Cafe

So I’ve stumbled upon a fellow Canadian, and a prairie girl to boot, who does amazing things with Textures in Photoshop. I must admit, I have not been at the computer forever, due to all the crap that 2010 has been, and my focus is totally off – I’m running every way but loose. However, all that being said, I think I will concentrate on Kim Klassen and her Cafe in the coming months. These Textures and what they can do for the average photo are just too cool to not play with!

Thought you should know about them too. 

So I played around with a photo I took of Ji-Sun at her wedding to my brother-in-law, Harrison. 

Who could get a more perfect model?  She's just stunning.

Then I took out the 'unwanted' elements in the background.

Then I added two of Kim's Textures, and played with the levels and saturation.

 Then I added a subtle border to the edge. 

Love it!

consolidating

In my studio, and in my business, I have a lot.  I find I get attracted to new techniques and new tools, and after I acquire them I forget about the old tools & techniques... so I go back to those and forget about the new... I think you see where this is going.

Time to consolidate.  I have the ability to do anything, I just don't have the time to do everything.  Which is a hard lesson to learn.  But with too much diversity comes too little production, what with all my resources spread so thin.  Now I just have to decide what goes and what stays.  No.  That won't be easy at all.  (sigh)

and so it is

Here we are at the end of an Indian Summer, waiting for the Globe Thistle to shed the last of the tasty bits the bees like to get at.  I must admit I'm feeling a little prickly myself.  We had an awesome Garage Sale on the 18th of September, and that night I came down with 'something' which turned into a cold, which became bronchitis.  I'm still coughing and sound like an old lounge singer who smokes a pack a day... and I'm half expecting pneumonia to be next on the list.  So far my antibiotics aren't kicking this bronchitis thing to the curb.  I've had to cancel a number of plans as well.  Just me and my dog napping on the couch leafing through magazines and ripping out pages to keep.  At some point, I expect I will start to not feel like a pile of poo, but I haven't gotten there yet.  So there you have it.  I'm as prickly as a Fall Globe Thistle, but still super cool.  :)

time ticking away

Best Shot Monday's theme this week is about time moving quickly.  And in those small moments where we see it slipping past, what holds our attention.

Most of what has held my attention this past week has been planning my brother-in-law's wedding and the logistics involved with planning in Vancouver while I'm here in Calgary, as well as the fun of trying to get other family members to 'buy-in' to my ideas.  My ego is pushing my ideas, because, of course, I figure they are better ideas than anyone else's.  Hmmmm....

And then I had the opportunity to spend time taking care of Molly (above) who is, sadly, on the downward slope of life.  She's thin, has a lot of lumps that may be cancer, wheezes all the time, has hips that don't work and cloudy eyes.  And look at her!  She's just as happy as a clam to be out for a short walk.  She doesn't much care about anything except that I try to keep up with her, and give her food to eat, water to drink, and a few bellyrubs for good measure.  No ego.  No positioning for accolades.  No hurt feelings if someone doesn't agree with her outlook on life. 

So even though she's in pain and sauntering towards the exit door, she still has lessons to teach.  Even if the student is a little slow and pig-headed.

Oh, and when I die, if I get to come back, I want to come back as a well-loved dog.  Like Molly.  With lots of bellyrubs, please.

gratitude

I'm not usually grateful enough for all the wonderful things in my life.  I generally get overshadowed by the non-wonderful things and end up brooding to the point I forget about the wonderful things.

However, this past July I stayed at my sister's friend's place in Glen Ellen for 16 days.  This is her view up Sonoma Mountain, with the fog just lifting off in the morning, the bees buzzing on her masses of lavender, and the olives ripening away on her trees. 

I am grateful I have been able to carve out a life that led me to this place.  I am grateful I have a husband who supports all my weird artful follies and sees value in them.  I am grateful I have a Mum who came along and made it much more fun than being alone.  And I'm grateful for my sister who told me about the house-sitting option.  Oh and to the owners, for letting us stay in this wonderful place.  I really really hope it's a yearly thing.  I could totally get used to that.  :)

away

I'm away on yet another holiday.  Mum and I drove down to Glen Ellen California from Calgary Alberta.  It was a long drive (took 3.5 days) and we've not really stopped driving since.  There have been too many things to see and check out!  And then, of course, there was the "let's drive up Highway 1" issue that lead to "let's head back from here" problem, that meant 3 extra hours on the road. hmmmm... Perhaps that wasn't the best way to spend a day.

Regardless, away on holidays and yet still working, so is it really a holiday, or just work in another location?  It would be great if my 'work' could be always just wandering around checking out new things and reporting back (not exactly like Star Trek, but then again, I've always liked the beaming aspect of their travel).

It's been an interesting year so far - trip to Vancouver Island in April, appendix out in May, then another surgery for a myomaectomy days before our driving trip in July.  And when I get back my sister will be popping up for a visit... and then it's fall.  Very busy.  I really feel as if time is slipping by and I'm not using it wisely.  Best laid plans of mice and men and all that. 

But I am taking some great photos along the way!  Well, at least I think so.

best shot Tuesday??

Okay so I was travelling yesterday!  That is my excuse for not publishing a photo on Monday.

What have I seen through my lens this week?  Well, a lot.  Mainly ... rose gardens.  And my Mum.  We're travelling down to Glen Ellen from Calgary.  That is quite a trek!  Along the way, we stopped at some gardens (well, not in Redding - it was too hot to get out of the car!)

I love the lens flare on this - an automatic vignette!

best shot monday

impossibly delightful??  This is a tough assignment.  Well, for me it is.  I'm not much in the mood for delightful.  I keep having health issue after health issue with no resolution to any of it.  "Uncertain medical significance" has been the term-of-choice from my GP.  Currently awaiting a myomectomy at 6:15am Tuesday morning.  I know some have it worse and handle it better, so I should suck it up or something.  But I'm not that resiliant.  So, let's see....  impossibly delightful....

Let's go with my niece last summer with the bubble maker toy.  I wish I had had a bigger telephoto to catch her pretty little face better, but she's in full jump/run mode, complete with her hair still falling down from her latest jump.  I find her impossibly delightful.

best shot monday

That's Mum & Ginger (@ 5 months) after Ginger got schooled (read: bit) by Sophie for being too annoying.  Ginger even had her paw wrapped around Mum's leg.  Very sweet.  And so was Mum & Dad for coming down that weekend and helping get the studio practially done!  With my appendix coming out, I wasn't exactly able to help much but they are workhorses and got it done, pretty much without me, but with Scott's help.  Now all I have to do is load all my stuff back in.  I'd like some garden gnomes in the middle of the night to come and do that for me too!

best shot monday

I spent the weekend up in Red Deer with Mum & Dad.  For some reason their lilacs have not yet fully bloomed whereas mine are already done.  Are our weather systems that different?  It's back to the grind today, with the studio in a bit of a mess, a project half painted, and a canvas of the proper depth yet to be found.  Cell phone is ringing, laundry is washing, and the grocery list is growing.  There are so many things to do on Monday when I take off for the weekend!  I guess I had better get to it!