Random Stuff

Sometimes I get these ideas in my head to put together all this random stuff and take a picture. This one came to me while I was cleaning my kitchen yesterday (don't ask me why cleaning my kitchen led to THIS...I have no idea).

Lettuce Hope I Get Better At This!

I do pretty well when it comes to gardening but apparently I have a lot to learn about growing lettuce successfully. It appears that I have learned, quite thoroughly, how to kill it - next lesson! I got this great standing planter, the soil, compost and the plants for free when I went to a workshop in Long Beach a few weeks ago. I was very excited about growing my own salads.

The middle one in the top row might still make it, but it's touch and go right now. The one in the right corner looks to be doing quite well. Maybe because all the water seems to run to that end of the planter eventually. I probably should have tried to level it out a bit more when I notice that, but I didn't think of it.

I am taking this on as a challenge - I will grow edible lettuce - I WILL! I'll do some research and see what I'm doing wrong (or not doing at all) and probably buy some shade cloth. I heard the man tell someone else water daily and  full sun, but maybe he meant full Long Beach sun, not full ("furnace up to high" this week) San Fernando Valley sun.

I'll keep you posted - I know you want to know how this all turns out!

Open The Door

Opening the door and stepping out is dangerous!
Bilbo knew this. Frodo knew too.
Gandalf probably knew better than both of them!

What dangers lay "out there" beyond the door?
The danger of:
...having your reality questioned.
...being exposed to something new and unexpected.
...meeting someone new.
...and so much more!

What wonders lay "out there" beyond the door?
The wonder of:
...having your reality expanded.
...discovering something new and unexpected.
...meeting someone new who will change your life forever in ways you never expected! ...and...so...much....MORE!

Something new and unknown is out there for me. I found it the other day when I went out my door. It's actually something I had been looking for (for decades, although I didn't realize I had been looking that long until recently). A new opportunity, a new possibility, a way to combine several of my passions and paths into one, focused, amazingly cool thing.


I'm looking forward to this and I hope I make the best of this opportunity. I don't know where it will lead, but I sure know I'm going to enjoy the journey. Pictures to follow as I follow my bliss...

Taking Back My Power

You know those ugly green plants and flowers you walk past and think are weeds (if you think about them at all) - guess what? They're actually useful and healthy for you!

Learning about the world of herbs has done some interesting things for me. It has gotten me to think more about what I eat, what I put on my skin, how I relate to the world. It has enticed me to learn to recognize plants I see walking down the street or up in the hills (to "read" and understand them) and has given me a deeper connection to nature. I am learning how to use plants for more than just flavoring my food and making my home smell/look good.

I now drink a daily herb tea I blend myself instead of coffee. Because of the choice of herbs I use this tea is a tonic and helps strengthen and balance my immune system. I got this herb blend recipe from Master Herbalist, Julie James. She teaches herbal classes at a local shop. The thing I liked most about her the first time I took a class with her class was when she said that when we start making our own medicines we become more involved in our own health and take responsibility for our own well being because we know what we are putting into/on our bodies and why rather than just popping a pill to alleviate symptoms. That was when I knew I had found a good teacher - someone who is big on personal responsibility.

Rather than taking drugs that have names I can't pronounce and have no idea what is actually in them, I look for herb remedies and food choices that will restore balance to my system and therefore relieve symptons of discomfort that tell me my body is somehow out of balance. I'm also planning on making herbal lotions or oils for my dry skin rather than buying store products that have preservatives and other chemicals I don't need. I used to like citrus hand/dish soap (usually orange or yellow colored). When I switched to clear soaps my fingernails stopped having a yellow tinge after about a month. Why would I need color in hand/dish/laundry soap? It doesn't get me, my dishes or my clothes any cleaner.

I'm more aware of what is in the products I buy. I am buying less processed and more fresh food (organic when possible) - meats, fruits, vegetables. I am drinking more water and staying away from sodas and juices. Did you know that by drinking fruit juice you are getting 2 or 3 times MORE SUGAR that you would if you just ate the fruit? Also, by drinking fruit juice you are NOT getting the natural fiber in that fruit which slows down the absorption of the sugar into your system. That's why you get the sugar rush then crash from drinking juice. You're better off eating an orange or a peach than you are drinking a glass of juice.

I didn't know when I started this that I would change my life and my outlook in so many ways. Or, maybe subconsciously I did and I wanted to get back to my roots (pun intended) and relearn what my ancestors knew so long ago before big pharmacy and ad agencies.

Julie James, Master Herbalist http://www.meetup.com/Green-Wisdom-Herbal-Studies
http://thegreenmanstore.com Store in North Hollywood. Good source for herbs/oils/classes (and so much more).

Unexpected Kindness of Strangers

I attended the WomanSpirit gathering in Long Beach last weekend. I'm usually there representing my organization twice a year so I was making the rounds, visiting with people I only see at this event, checking out the vendors to see if there is anything I simply MUST take home with me. At one vendor's booth I was admiring her cute, quirky paintings, along with little teapot charm  necklaces. About an hour later when I was back at my booth, two women came by and I started chatting with them. I commented on the cute buttons they were wearing. The buttons were the same design on the paintings I was admiring at the other booth (I mentioned I hadn't seen the buttons for sale). About 15 minutes later these women came back to my booth and gave me a button - they had gone and bought one for me. 

They don't know me and they brought me something they knew I would like. It was a small thing, but I thought it was very nice of them.

If you like this cat you can see more of Kit's work at www.kitsglass.net

Playing With My Food

I was making roasted vegetables in the crock pot the other night for a potluck. As I was cutting up the the most beautiful, red perfect bell pepper I have seen in a long time I had to stop my knife and take photos of it. I spent about 20 minutes arranging veggies and taking photos. It's funny how the different areas of my life will overlap sometimes.

I like to cook. I'm a pretty good cook, having learned from my mom and her mother. I also have a passion for photography which, interestingly enough, fits in almost anywhere. I try to keep my camera with me all the time in case I am inspired by something I see. I haven't been posting on my blog for a while as I have been taking a ceramics class and that was filling a creative spot in my life. Now it's summertime and I'm in between classes, hopefully I'll be picking up my camera more often.

 And the crock pot roasted veggies were yummy!

Things That Work...Things That Don't

 

At what point in any given situation do you decide it's time to give up and start over because what you're doing isn't working? Sometimes these crossroads are important - a job, a relationship - sometimes they're not very important, like this pot. This was supposed to be a pitcher but the top got too thin and off balance while I was throwing it. But I am still reluctant to throw any of my pieces away (I'm sure I will get to that place at some point) so I try to "save" them somehow. This one I pinched in the top and decided to keep it for glaze testing. Out of the 27 pieces I made this semester there were at least 5 pieces that I had to push. On of them actually didn't make it - one of my bottles didn't even make it to bisque fire because the lip broke. I think it might have had help breaking though (it happens).

I have learned a lot about me in these two semesters of ceramics - I do much better making 3 dimensional things than other forms of art and I will go a REALLY long way to try to make something work before I finally have to say "enough is enough" and stop what I'm doing and go on to something else. Maybe too long sometimes. Maybe I put up with "things not working" too long when I should stop sooner and move on. Things work (or not work) the way they do for a reason and I guess continuing or stopping is always a balancing act .

Something New

I've made several bowls and pitchers this semester. The pitchers were the most challenging so far. Stephen Horn, a prominent ceramicist, did a workshop recently at school. He has some cool techniques. On of them is to apply crumbled slip to the outside of the piece - it gives a rough texture, sort of like gravel. I cut a channel in this pot and applied some "crumbled" colored (green) slip. This pitcher is in a raw clay state. It hasn't been fired yet. Yesterday I didn't throw at all. I did a lot of glazing and I added handles to pitchers I made last week. Hopefully, in another week I will have 3 finished bowls to show off and more fired bowls/pots to glaze.

What's the Buzz?

Sometimes all you can do is bury yourself in your work and forget about everything else.

They Grow Up Fast

Easter 1996. It seems like only yesterday...that these kids were playing in the trains at Travel Town and in a fountain on Glenoaks Boulevard. These are my nephews and my niece.

Michael, the one on the left has a family of his own now. Among his many other talents, he makes chain mail jewelry. Ana will be 17 years old next month and is a wonderful artist. Jeremy plays video games for a living and is my computer guru when things go kaput!. What interesting paths their lives have taken over the past 15 years.

My sister had all the kids (and pets). I had all the art supplies and cool stuff to play with (and the quiet refuge when kids and pets were too much). I always stayed close to my sister's kids in case they needed a safe place to go if things got too unpleasant at home (parents and teenagers often go through trying times - if you're a parent, or a teen, you know this). I always let them know my door was open to them and that I would take them in but I would also tell my sister where they were. None of them ever took me up on the offer. Guess their lives at home were more bearable than some.

Not having any kids of my own I have to admit I'm not the most "kid friendly" person, but I must have done something right by all of them as they were growing up because they still tell me "I love you Auntie" when we talk (and so do Michael's kids - my great nieces and nephew).

Watercolors

Sometimes when I'm out shooting I end up with something unexpected but interesting. This image is all in-camera - no Photoshopping or editing.

This is one of many pictures from the World of Color show at California Adventure. The diffused color at the top is light on a mist curtain. I look forward to going back again to shoot this because water is fun and tricky and you never quite know what you're going to get unless you know the timing of the show very well and can plan for specific shots.

My Favorite Things

I love candles, fire, the ocean, seashells and shiny sparkly things (and my camera).

Beautiful Fire

I LOVE FIRE! Fire is living, breathing, changing, awesomeness!

Today we had two Firefighters from the LA County Disaster Preparedness Division at one of our facilities demonstrating the appropriate use of fire extinguishers for our employees. I, of course, was there to document the event for...whatever. But I really would rather have been just walking around shooting the flames. It was very windy this morning and the flame was wild and blowing and beautiful. They used a tray of water with a gas diffuser (I'm guessing propane) inside so they could control the flame (of course - they're firemen - that's what they do).

The few times I've been fortunate enough to go camping, my favorite time of day is when we light the evening fire. I can sit and watch the flames dancing all night. I have a very healthy respect for fire and I would love to take a Fire Technology class. Maybe I can reinvent myself and become a pyrotechnician.

Wire Wrapping

I get lots of stones and shells, from various places. When my friends go on vacation I ask them to bring me back an interesting stone or sea shell (I don't need expensive souvenirs and I feel like I'm traveling vicariously). I didn't want to just keep them in a bowl - some of them are very pretty. So, I learned how to do wire wrapping. Now I can wear them as jewelry or hang them on my rear view mirror (or any other place I want). They don't just sit in a bowl in my home.

It's fun. Each piece is different, each has it's own personality so no two are alike. It has been quite useful for making gifts for friends also. They usually enjoy something that is made by hand and has some thought behind it, not something that is plucked out of a dozen lookalikes on a shelf in a store.

Ginger

"We're all a little mad here"

                                     - Lewis Carroll

Bowl of Rocks, a Fork and a Bracelet

I haven't got a clue. Choose your own metaphor. This idea came to me while I was driving home tonight so I thought I'd see what it looked like.

Will They Ever Learn?

A shooting took place in Arizona last Sunday. Some people lost their lives and the ones who remain will be forever changed.


I thought I had a lot to say about it, but what DO you say about something like that? I honor the ones who sacrificed themselves to save those they care about. I feel sorrow for the lives lost and irreparably damaged. I'm disgusted by all the talking heads (on both sides) who are finger pointing and rushing around trying to ban things. We already have plenty of "gun control" laws - it hasn't stopped the killing. And banning "hate speech" - are you kidding? Let 'em talk - at least that way we know who and where the crazy, hateful people are!

As far as the shooter goes, he should just be put in a cell somewhere and forgotten - completely. But, unfortunately his name will go down in history books somewhere along with all the other crazies who shoot public people.

It seems to me that more and more the solution to problems kids have is to remove/banish the problem - suspend the bully, segregate boys and girls so there's no harassment, ban unacceptable words or speech. Maybe we should start teaching kids at an early age how to deal with "crap" (stress, anger, bullying, depression, isolation, etc.) in more acceptable ways rather than bottling it up or acting out. Teach them effective coping skills to deal with the crap in life instead of trying to shield them from it. Maybe that would go further toward reducing both hate speech and shootings like this.

(and yes, I did shoot that photo)

A Dragon is Born

I believe in dragons (and fairies, elves, hobbits, magic swords and all kinds of other things).
I believe there is magic in the things I create - that I don't actually create them, I just help them into being (or being visible in this world). Or it's the process of creation that is the magic.

When I was working in my ceramics class my mind would go somewhere else for 3 hours and my hands would make these things and when I finished my mind would come back and I would look at them and think "wow, I did this???" and the voice in my head would smile and say "yes, I did this"!!!

Over the years I have learned how to do many things - sewing and knitting (mom taught me that when I was a kid- thanks mom), crochet, painting, wood carving, lampworking (some people call it glass blowing, but that's a misnomer), stained glass work, furniture refinishing, paper making, ceramics, polymer clay "stuff", photography, pine needle basket weaving, wheat weaving and probably a whole list of other things I've forgotten I once learned how to do.

I'm curious about how things are made and so like to learn for myself. I would much prefer making a cup or teapot to buying one; making a piece of furniture; making jewelry - well, you get the idea. Making something is to KNOW something about it, to bring it into being, not just buying something that a machine made. It has a history, a spirit, a belonging.

Some of what I make isn't very good, and that's OK because sometimes it's the learning of the thing, not the finished product that is important. But some of them, a special few, are quite spectacular and I look at them and think "I did that?" Artists rarely think that their own work is good enough. I give a lot of it away. I hope that the people to whom I give them like hand made things (some people don't and that's OK) but I think most of them do. I can usually tell who understands that hand made things are "more than" and who would prefer something new and shiny and store bought.

I'm happiest when I'm making something - baking, sewing, making "stuff". I learned a long time ago to let the thing be what it wants to be rather than what I want it to be. Take that dragon, for instance. What ended up being the egg started out being the neck of a dragon. That's all there was going to be was a neck and a head. Obviously IT had other ideas. But I'm just as happy with how it finished up.

Now, if I could just be that accepting of other aspects of my life I would be SO much happier.

Cool Photo

First, let me say that this is not my photo. I happened across this photo on Google Images while I was looking for something at work for an ad the other day (I can't remember what I was looking for now). This is a wonderful photo taken by Michele Clement according to this website  http://www.coolpicturegallery.net/2008/12/most-beautiful-black-and-white.ht= (hope the link works).


I wish I had a home studio or a place where I can set up shots like this (I have a really small, crowded apartment). Michele Clement has a great eye! This is very inspiring.

What I Learned From Clay

This was my final piece in my ceramics class this past semester (just checked my grades tonight, I got an A in the class - woo hoooo!). I think it turned out pretty good. I had some trouble with it - It was supposed to be 6 sided and ended up 5 sided, the base cracked off in the kiln but it was an afterthought in the design anyway so the piece is fine without it. I didn't have the time I wanted in finishing it, but I some of that was a good thing because if I had done what I had originally planned to do with this it wouldn't have the rustic, used, old look that it finished up with.

The cups on the other hand...

 

Were most definitely not my best work. I had to rush to get these done. That was pretty much all my fault. I had to skip class one night to renew my CPR certificate (which I don't regret at all) and I missed another class because I simply forgot I was supposed to go to school on a Saturday. Hand building cups was more difficult than the other things I made. But, as with anything else I'm sure it will get better with practice. The first cup I made (first two pictures in the 2nd row) I thought was too thin and so I abandoned it - I didn't finish it off with a handle. It turned out to be one of the better ones and not too thin at all. The "attitude" cup (1st two pictures on top row) got that way because of the texture I put on the cup and the shape of it. It looked like overalls to me so I thought the handles would be little arms with the "hands on hip" stance. It turned out cute.

Along with the ceramics class this past semester I took the last of my Illustration classes. I really struggled in that class, whereas in the ceramics class the time just flew by and I came out with some really great work. I think I've always know this about myself but doing the two classes at the same time and having such different amounts of success just reinforced the fact that I work much better in 3 dimensions than in 2 and I work better making things with my hands than I do trying to draw things. I know I learn how to do something my faster, easier and with better retention when someone shows me than I do reading instructions from a book.

Another lesson I learned this semester was why I was having such a difficult time with my classes. I started going back to school (at night) about 2 years ago to get an AA in Graphic Design. I already have a BA in Art but thought maybe I should have a piece of paper saying I'm a Graphic Designer too, even though I've been working as a Graphic Designer for 8 years now.

So going through these Illustration and Design classes have been a big struggle for me 1) because I wasn't learning the things I need to learn (technical things like package layout, color separations, adding specs to artwork for the printer, etc.) and 2) I realized I was doing it just to get the paper at the end of it all. The ceramics class I took was something I wanted to take because I like doing ceramics, although I've only worked on the wheel before and haven't done hand building so this was something new. 

This coming semester I'm taking a web class because I need to brush up on my web skills. Most companies these days want designers who can do it all - print, web and mobile devices. And I'm going to continue with the ceramics class.

So, what I learned so far is that I have a difficult time drawing stuff and that I'm much better at making stuff. I also learned that going through the classes and turning in the assignments just to get through the semester isn't very satisfying, nor does it bring me much useful knowledge.

If I had known all this stuff about how I learn and how I'm motivated in Jr. High and High School, things would have been SO different! Hopefully I can use this new found (or rediscovered) information to make my remaining time at school more productive and more satisfying.

Bubbles

I love taking photos of bubbles. If you look at them you can see colors sliding and swirling on the surface. They are so fragile and short lived - much like a rainbow. I think for most people bubbles are very happy, uplifting things. If you check out my very first blog entry on July 8, 2009 you can see the very first photo I took with a 35mm (film) camera (back in the mid 80s, I think). It was a soap bubble too - a very big one and one of the best photos I've ever taken.

Spiral Stairway

This is a spiral stairway inside the Hollywood Tower of Terror at California Adventure. We had some time to kill while waiting to get on the ride so I took a few photos.