Little Scraps of Magic

Pulling Out the Moleskine

The moleskine, and all its brethern, have spent some time in the closet lately. Ideas danced regularly through my head, but there they stayed. A regular old chorus line tapped their toes impatiently, waiting for the ideas to exit my brain and make their way onto paper.  Inertia and I had been joined at the hip.

But, as my good friend and wonderful coach, Lesley Riley, keeps saying...just get started. Show up. Do something. Get the brain in gear!

So, in between all the "I Have To" items, I did just that. I simply got started. I picked up things, touched them, tossed them back. And, finally, things began to feel right, and began to whisper, "Use ME!"

I've been playing with odds and ends, and I'll share those a bit later, but tonight I dug out the moleskine, and I grinned as I flipped through the pages, remembering why I make this thing called "ART."

I did this page last spring/summer. It's one of the few I didn't date. And,now, I want to do more.

I want to make one glorious mess.

And, I think I might make several copies of this page and post them everywhere, just to remind myself what it's all about.

Eat. Smile. Repeat.

Cincinnati loves to eat, and, oh, the goodies to be found here! We spent Thanksgiving weekend with our oldest, Corey, and his lovely bride, Christina. Yesterday morning, we all got up early to visit this awesome spot, right before Phil and I hit the road. WOW!!! Even though we visited on one of the last days of November, we found plenty to do, buy, and most of all, eat.

The indoor portion remains open all year, and you can find everything from knowledgable butchers whom believer firmly in customer service, to bakery items, to plants and so much more.

Nicknamed "Porkopolis," the market held a fine collection of pigs.

Color, textures, aromas...I wanted it all! But, we had ourselves a mission to be accomplished, and that was to visit the colonel.

I am blessed with men who love to cook, and who do it extremely well. Needless to say, my husband and eldest son find paradise here! Spices, sugars, herbs, rubs and more can be located here, and you buy by the ounce.

This photo barely begins to cover the extent of the Colonel's goodies. Cases stretch in both directions from this focal point, and cares run below as well. We didn't know where to begin.

Along with an outstanding knowledge of spices and such, this guy possesses a wonderful sense of humor.

After leaving the colonel, I picked up a few choice pieces of chocolate here...yummy!

Much, much more to be found here, but I'll leave you with this little piece of advice found in a window shop:

P.S. I had sushi for the first time ever, and I promply fell in love with yet one more type of food! Thanks to my lovely daugher in law, Christina, for a wonderful afternoon together.

There Be Buttons!

I spent several hours here today, wandering about with my camera. I love this place; there are so many nooks and crannies, gorgeous arches, light, and color - a virtual feast for the eyes. Very simply put, sheer delight!

Besides trying to capture the magic, I tried to capture some of the "know how" of my camera. For far too long, I've relied on simple point and shoot, never delving into much beyond the obvious.

And, oh, boy, there be buttons. Buttons, dials, up and down arrow keys. Screens to flip through. Lots of potential for a headache!

Armed with my "Field Guide," I played with just a few of the settings: vivid, sharp, intense, cool, warm, and so on. And each in itself had variations on the theme. Remember those goals I mentioned yesterday? This is one of them - to master more of the tech part of my camera. Right now, it masters me. I'm changing that ever so slowly.

Lots of shots to see the effects. Many of the shots will end in the trashcan, but let me tell you - I am beyond amazed how different the same white statue can look.

My biggest issue was trying to switch among the various ways to shoot "monochromatic." I could not get past black and white. At that point frustration kicked in so I went outside to clear my head.

I read my "Field Guides" again.

And again.

And, throw in a few more "agains."

I had plunked myself outside on the steps, and when I finally began to get matters under control, there was not much to shoot. I had to sit so that I could read the manual and push the buttons.

So, I did what anyone would do. I shot my shoes!

The shoes are the most gorgeous shades of brown. I suppose I should have thrown in a standard shot, but I didn't. Hindsight, as always, is great. Here, I'm in a black/white monochrome mode.

Here's "sepia."

And, finally, "the blues." These shots have no value other than to prove to myself and maybe you that I finally figured it out. Not sure that this will be true tomorrow, but I have plenty of hours ahead of me as I travel to Cincinnati to figure it out again.

Small steps, baby, small steps.

Shifting Sands

Life seems to equal change right now; small changes, big changes, and changes in between, leaving it hard to find my footing at times.

I'm generating a lot of those changes, and they're good ones. Ones that will push me out of my comfort zone a bit, or maybe more than a bit. Good changes, really really good ones, but time consuming. Lots of things to think about and mull over in between the saying goodbyes to parts of my life that are over. In some cases, it's just time to move on.

Nothing huge, mind you, just lots of little things equalling to something bigger than each piece. Pretty cool.

I'm setting some goals for myself, and I'm making myself a promise...not to self sabotage myself anymore. I chatted with a good friend/life coach this weekend, and also with my sister.

For a very long time I've given into fear, all the what ifs. What if no one likes my art? What if no one buys it? What if they figure me out for the imposter I feel that I am? What if? I've let some amazing chances go by, and I've barely squeaked in for others.

All of us possess this wonderful gift called life. Gorgeous wild life! I can sit here in my own little safety zone, steady on my feet, but not really alive in so many senses. Safe but boring. Or I can take a chance, well, several chances. And, guess what? If no one buys the art or the photos, or no one "gets" what I do, well, life is not going to end now, is it?

I figure it's all kind of like these waves...rocky and wild, but what a punch they pack! They churn up the sand and I have to keep shifting my stance just to stay balanced. At times they knock me flat on my butt. Picture me getting up laughing, okay?

What a pensive post, but this is where my mind's at, and all in all I think it's a fantastic place to be. Some of it's plain scarey, much like these waves can be, but I've been comfortable way too long.

I'm going to reach out and grab the brass ring, and the ride's going to wonderful.

On Your Mark...

...Get ready...

 

...Get set...

 

...Go!

I've been editing photos, lots and lots of photos.

Because, despite my good intentions, I've let them go unattended except for a few here and there.

Way too few.

And I want to use them for Christmas gifts.

And time's running out.

Along with parent teacher conferences and trying to catch up on various school paperwork, I feel as if I'm on a treadmill.

And, someone's put that baby on high speed and I can't even try to get off because if I do, I'm gonna do a face plant!

At any rate, I came across this guy last night.

Back in October, Phil and I spent some time in Chincoteague, VA. We just caught a glimpse of him as we drove by, parked the car quickly, and I went running across the road, camera in hand.

Caught him just in time, snapping (oh, bad pun) away without really even focusing, holding my breath and hoping.

Not too bad, huh?

And, really, these turtles have been rather sneaky. I've seen two of them hot foot it across the road, and let me tell you, these babies CAN MOVE!!!!

I'm thinking the hare got hoodwinked. That turtle was definitely down playing his natural talents.

Lots of fun playing with the photos and doing some quick edits, but I'm not even halfway there. Wish me luck!

P.S. Isn't that tail ugly?

The Grands

The grands are over tonight while their parents are out and about.

Life is full.

Life is good!

I Can See Clearly Now

I can see clearly now...(are you humming along with me?)

Well, sort of. Mostly. Better than before at any rate!

I have two new pairs of glasses. These are the progressives, complete with prisms as age is doing a number on me! The eyes went a bit nuts at first, trying to adjust.

Once I get these under control the reading glasses are next. I'm afraid two new pairs at once are going to be just too much!

Got kind of a retro look going, don't I?

Have to admit that I like it.

Shadow Shot Sunday

Eating a wonderful crab cake over salad, when I looked out the window and realzied that the shadows....

...made a perfect robot!

Playing along with Shadow Shot Sunday for the first time today...go take a peek!

Opposing Lines

Over at "The Kat Eye Studio's" Exploring with a Camera the topic is "contrasting lines." After reading what Kat had to say, I didn't even have to think about which file to dig into first! Last spring, I attended a photo class with LK Ludwig. She sent us out on a photo shoot, and it didn't take me long to get lost in the Hampton Colisseum's architecture! As soon as I looked up, the lines had me!

Lines and reflections, oh, my! A wonderful little reflecting pool lay under one staircase...gorgeous!

Riding up the escalator, the outside canopy mirrored inside and when I reached the top -

I felt as if I'd stepped into Alice's Wonderland. Inside and outside merged into one fanatastical place. I felt a bit leery, almost as if had I taken one mis-step, I'd tumble down into the rabbit hole.

Once I made my way out onto the upper balcony, I happily spun in circles, not really knowing where to start first. Can you say "LINES?" I love the curve of the canopy and how it frames the building across the way, or if I leaned a bit over the balcony, I could catch

a section of the convention colisseum itself. And, if I spun 180 degrees...

Wow! I'm actually looking into the building. The canopy you see is behind me. If you look carefully at the bottom center you can see a sort of pinkish spot, which is my sweatshirt. Two worlds merging again.

Heading back down on the escalator even more magic, and when I reaced the bottom,

I either sat down or knelt down to getter another perspective. I wanted more of the lines leading towards the end of the hall.

These shots are the tip of the iceberg; I took a ton more. The folder is bulging! Wonder what else I can find in my files?

Josie

She's lovely, isn't she?

I'm not sure where Josie began her life, but she came into dad's life shortly after mom died. Dad chose her from a local shelter, and as he puts it, "She saved my life many a time."

Josie knew just where dad would fall asleep on the couch, and as night fell, she'd curl herself up just so, perfectly positioned for dad to curl himself up as usual. (Dad could not go back to the bed that he and mom had shared.) She'd purr in sheer delight as Dad talked to her and stroked her. His children were still a part of his life, but Josie was his mainstay.

As we began to close up dad's home, we debated what to do with Josie. We all had cats, and introducing one adult cat to another is no easy feat. A neighbor fed her for us and even offered to take her. In the end, we felt that it would confuse Josie when she could not find dad. And in the end, we knew that we owed Josie; she had freely given dad years of delight.

So my sister took her home to meet Zeus. At this moment, they generally reluctantly tolerate each other. Josie spents weeks in the basement while Zeus claimed the upper floor. Eventually, she calmed down and began to venture upstairs. Warfare erupts on a frequent basis, but she's starting to hold her own. We see more and more of her.

In his mind, dad is still home. Wheelchair bound, he still reaches down to pet her and often tells her what a wonderful girl she is.

Dad's absoltutely right!