Roses by the Sea TReasury w Original Poem by Rita Clancy

Here is Rita's treasury from last night. I am more interested in the poem than the treasury. It always amazes me that young people can come up with such amazing things. I want to encourage poetry with children because it is clearly a way to express themselves that sometimes they don't even know what is inside them.

I taught a poetry workshop in the school for 5 years. Quite simple ideas in fact. Each week was different. We did an illustration based on an idea and wrote a poem to go with it. After 7 weeks the children had 7 illustrated poems and we made cloth covered cardboard, punched holes in them and bound them with bias tape.

This was such a successful workshop they adopted it into many versions and teach it in the schools to this day. I was always amazed at what these small children reflected on and spoke to in the poetry. Poetry isn't just something that is old fashioned.. it never goes out of style.

Write a small poem today and send it to me and I will publish it next Monday. Lets see what we can come up with. Let me know if you want your name attached or not.. its up to you. I will find a nice illustration or photo to go with it..
Have a wonderful Saturday!!!-

Click the image of treasury to see it larger so you can read the poem.. and please...
click the title to go to Rita's treasury and leave a comment... click the images too... she would love it if you did.

A Pretty Day by e.e. cummings-

The Tintype Family
or we are family
-Stevie Wonder Gets Gershwin Award!

a pretty a day
by E. E. Cummings

a pretty a day
(and every fades)
is here and away
(but born are maids
to flower an hour
in all,all)

o yes to flower
until so blithe
a doer a wooer
some limber and lithe
some very fine mower
a tall;tall

some jerry so very
(and nellie and fan)
some handsomest harry
(and sally and nan
they tremble and cower
so pale:pale)

for betty was born
to never say nay
but lucy could learn
and lily could pray
and fewer were shyer
than doll. doll

I am always looking for an interesting poem and this one seems very short and sweet.
We come in with talents and looks and develop other surreal and real traits. This altered tintype doesn't seem to fit but yet if you think about it the poem really is about all the various aspects of humanity. It is of course simplistic but yet so true.

I cannot find the original image of this photo that I worked so long on but it is somewhere in the depths of my home on a disc or a print.

I must learn to be content with what I have. I again went looking for a small hard drive that has on it all the images from a trip to hawaii and in particular a wonderful excursion to an orchid estate. Hopefully I will find it and be able to share it with you.
For now this will do. HAve a great Friday and remember that although our families come in many different forms, it is about knowing where you come from and who you are that will dictate your future. Get in touch with your roots.

Did anyone see President Obama giving Stevie Wonder the Gershwin award last night? It was , of course, only on PBS and as most Americans have never heard of that channel I fear not many even knew about it.
Pres and Michelle were in happiest of moods and even the old people in the small audience inside one of the grand rooms at the white house were moving side to side as he played 2 of his best tunes.
He was born the same year as I was, in Detroit, and as he grew so did I. When I was 16 I went door to door for MS for Jerry LEwis and collected the most money in my district, and got a free ticket to see him and about 10 other giants of Motown downtown Detroit. One of the highlights of my life. I even took photos before I was stepped on by a 7 ft tall man pressing to get as close as possible to the man without sight but filled with vision for music and love.

I love Stevie Wonder and I doubt there is anyone who doesn't. It was one of the sweetest things to see him with Pres. Obama and Michelle and many of the band members were so nice and singing so beautifully. I guess I am getting old if I like his music better than rap but there it is... I am getting as old as Stevie and heh- he looked pretty good to me!
Enjoy your weekend.... call someone in your family! Tell them "you are the sunshine of my life!".

Little Helen a Fashionable Child on a South Dakota Farm

Here is Helen. She is dressed in a poodle fur trimmed hat and coat. she carries a little purse and has the nicest short two toned button up boots. She is ready to travel from her home in Illinois where she was born to go and live in South dakota on a farm. This is her farewell photo to her original home before she moves to the rural dakota area. She will trade in her finery for a pair of bib overalls and bare feet and have a dog and a doll and the whole world before her on the farm.
This is a true story of a little girl with last name of Mentz. Her mother braved the trip and with her sister moved to the middle of nowhere from Peoria.
What an adventure that must have been for a little girl in the early part of this century. What a tried and true trooper her mother must have been.
There is something really special in this little girl's eyes and I can't help but notice it.

The Gardener Girl Oil PAstel

Here is another in that series I did with the French oil pastels. Again as spring approaches and I view my 4 ft square patio I have visions of my garden that I once had in Santa Cruz. I can still see the wild tea rose in bloom this time of year and the calla lilies opening up. The tulips would be in full bloom by now and probably on their way out. SPring and planting calls us all at some point and I am happy I have those wonderful memories. I am going to be sure and get a home with a little rich plot to grow a small flower garden. I would love to see anyone's garden art this spring.. we should have a show on etsy where we do garden treasuries! COngrats to Sheila on her front page last night at @midnight and hers was a very beautiful green theme!
Enjoy your day weather you are in snow or sunshine and remember to give someone something very positive today... it will reward you in many ways!

Albert Kahn Philanthropist for Photography

If you don't have an interest in autochromes..there is something wrong with you!
These autochrome slides were funded by the Parisian financier ALbert KAhn in the early part of this century. HE hired photographers to traverse the globe and to document IReland, Norway, France and Asia and more... go see that now there is a wonderful book out that contains many of his wonderful collection. Please please click the title and go read and see these images. There are about 10 and well worth it. Honestly there is no better quality or color.. you will be hooked as I am.

little Helen and her DOll - a member of The Mentz Family of South Dakota 1925

I was fortunate to have a woman write to me out of the blue and ask if I wanted to look at a photo album and see if I wanted to buy it. She said she had met me a year ago, maybe in Oregon on my travels there. I said yes, she mailed it to me. What a lucky break. It was of a family named Mentz from South Dakota. Here is little Helen the youngest of the group with her doll on the farm. You cannot see but behind them is an endless landscape of land. This was probably difficult for her mom as she left her home and moved here from Indiana. Her sister eventually moved there as you can see and married one of her husband's brothers. Probably met him on a visit to her sister. They are newleyweds with no children yet and still romantic as he has her hand pulled back behind her to hold his. Helen's dad is the oldest of his clan and he holds a shotgun in hand. His father stands apart from the group on the left. The somewhat mysterious younger brother barely peeks through from the back and I feel he is probably a little off mentally. The youngest boy with hands in his bib overalls appears to be about 17. What a life for these women and the men. What hardships they might have encountered out there in the Dakotas in the early part of the century. I think we often forget how this country was settled and found because we often don't "look" back but are always focused on the future...what will we have for dinner, where are we going next vacation, how will I possibly retire? When times get tough think of those who came before us, they were mostly people who never had an ounce of fat on their bodies and now we spend a good deal of time trying to figure out how to get rid of it where as back then they were happy if there was a meal on the table.
I have to think back because honestly if it wasn't for these brave men and women where would we be now. They went to uncharted territory because it was there and because everyone had a sense of adventure. America has lost that and adventure now means going to Disneyland... don't get me wrong, its a great place but don't forget about your past. It is a wonderful reminder of how you got here and why you can enjoy so many things that our relatives and ancestors did way back when.

I hope to write a short story about my grandparents at some point who came over on the boat from Ireland. I am thinking about it lately.

I also hate to tell you our temperatures are in the high 70s and they say it will continue for a week then go down 65 degrees. This is nice but scary as it portends global warming and anything warmer in Arizona and we will cook our meals on the sidewalk this summer...
but for now.. get ready to enjoy spring. I am going out with my camera today and get some photos to show all of you to prove our weather!

HDR High Dynamic Range Photography and.........Marianne Clancy's oil Painted and Watercolor photography site from the 1990s

Every once in awhile you stumble upon something that is really exciting!
I have always loved polaroid transfers and did an entire series on the manipulated polaroid transfers. I have a box of them somewhere. I found this artist online and his images are incredible. They fall between art and photography which is where I always feel I am existing anyway in my work and at one time felt really alone with that.. but no matter now days lots and lots of folks are doing alternative process and artistic manipulation of photos.
This one is the one I am most interested in as it really leaves the viewer asking"how in heck did he do that"
I am so excited I want to try it out and plan to do it today... you will see my results tomorrow.
I hope he doesn't mind I copied a section of text from his site and you can read below his description. The Pier
by Lawrence Wittemore
HDR (High Dynamic Range)
The style of photography I do is refered to as HDR or High Dynamic Range photography.HDR is a process that involves taking multiple photographs (without moving the camera) at different exposures and then using software (i.e photoshop, photomatix, FDRtools...) to merge the different exposure together to form one image that has a larger than normal range of contrast. Standard computer monitors cannot display the rage of contrast that an HDR image has so

Strangely enough I found him with a google search for"painted photography" which is what I called my work for about 10 years including my website which I don't maintain anymore but here is his link Painted Photography
his other work is pretty amazing as well.

************************************************************
Here is a link to my old painted photo site
if you dare. This is really old, maybe 15 yrs old
The work still remains my first and original black and white photos that I shot, developed the negs and printed in the darkroom onto fine art black and white photo paper then painted over with oils.
Here is a sample of one I sold about 4 different versions of in late 90s. Fresias and Calla Lillies.
click here to see the old and first ever website I had way back when
Marianne Clancy's Oil Painted and Watercolored Photography

Wild West Cowgirl Oil Pastel

This is a piece that belongs to a series I did with oil pastels. As soon as I discovered French pastels a few years ago I had a hard time trying to figure out how to make them work to my advantage. I spent many an hour rubbing the pastels and breathing on them to warm them up a little so that I could smear them around. They are very rich and very thick and very irridescent. This is a larger piece for me 12"X18" and falls into a series of people who have unusual lives. Cowgirl couldn't do much but shows in the late 1800s early 1900s. If she wanted to make money she should also be a sharp shooter. I was and still am impressed with those folks that traveled around to make a living such as circus people. They tend to have very short lived relationships and a fear of settling down.. I have read the story of many a circus folk and I never tire of the interesting places and people they met along the way.
Its funny how I did this in California and here I am in Arizona, living next door to a man that dresses in full cowboy regalia and drives tourists around in a jeep all day. Honestly I have never seen him in regular clothes so for me he is a cowboy whether he is or not.

Mother and her 3 Girls and Teddy Bear & Richard AVedon link

This is an image I cleaned and am listing in my store which came from a glass negative. I love the details and the depth in this one as the photographer took it in a small alley between whitewashed buildings somewhere back east. The mother is almost kneeling and her middle daughter squating like mom and rests arm on a knee and the other behind her neck..so relaxed and direct connection to the camera. The older daughter stands behind the mom and is also very attentive. I really love almost every detail in this one. They are spotlessly dressed and manicured and to put them in the dirt between the houses was a clever and wonderful idea.

I think this image is about looking, see the different aspects of the whole. That is what photography can be about ..looking, seeing and then seeing something different the next time.
I was at my daughter's parent teacher meeting and had a chance to talk to the photo teacher their who is from Australia. I told her what I was up to and also that I was shamelessly"addicted" to photography and every aspect of it. She said"that is perfect" what did I expect from a photography teacher. I think once you decide that you have that addiction there is nothing to do but give into your desires and wants. It is calorie free but if like me it is not $ free but the wonderful news is that the value of negatives and paper photos just continues to climb.

Click the title to go to my store where this is listed and click the enlarge icon to see larger image.

Richard Avedon
Speaking of wonderful photographers-

I am going to include here a link to one of my all time favorite photographers and that is Richard Avedon. Many know him from his work with Vogue but he also photographed Political and famous people. Check out this link to see some of his other beauties!
Here is a link tothe Microgallery when you move your cursor over the mini photo at bottom info about the person in the photo will show up in yellow, be sure and read who these photos are of.. important to the image!
enjoy!!

Walking Past First Blossoms of Spring

I told you the sky in Sedona was really blue.. now do you believe me?
I have walked past these little beauties that hang over a wall while walking Blue to the post office each day. They are the first true signs of spring, even if our weather is still cold, these blossoms refuse to believe it and protest by saying "look at me, look and see, spring is here!"
I see this and say, I wish I had my camera but then its sorta heavy to carry on my half mi round trip walk each day so yesterday after it rained I decided to carry it along and was rewarded for doing so. I only could spend a moment shooting as Blue was tugging the leash letting me know he wanted to keep moving. Honestly this is one of the few trees in this area that actually get any blossoms so how could I pass this up?

I was so overwhelmed with this idea of spring coming soon that when I came home, I abandoned all my regular work and responsibility,(including taxes)and made a small haiku poem and the a transfer and sewed a wall hanging to commemorate the day. I will put it up on etsy today to sell. It is a pretty little fabric art with beautiful fabric, this photo toned done alot and then a haiku or short saying about the photo. I also have it hanging from one of the branches of the tree in the image(pruning never hurt any tree), and it really has significance to the piece!

I have moved over my cloth folk dolls to the original store as I am going to consolidate and have only one store. I was worried folks might think me too"all over the map" and that is why I created the second store. But.. now I think it would be wiser not to have 2 so look for the photopaint to merge almost completely in the next few weeks.

I have been watching Planet Earth with Rita lately and the more I watch the more I love. Here are the links to our treasuries we built last night and I dedicated mine to the planet. Rita has dedicated hers to spring. Her treasury
and My treasury please stop by hers and if you like, mine, and leave us a comment to let us know what you think.
What else is on everyone's mind..oh yeah, the economy. I won't go that route today. I want to put in a plug for POE today also. They have one of the most incredible blogs and great writers who make wonderful choices... I really am impressed by some of or most of the photographers on etsy.. they are great and I believe deserve their own division at Etsy.

Hello its Tuesday...not Monday! or oh..my aching back..not really!

Ok this is pretty simple... I woke up and was sure it was Monday. Have you ever done that where you lose a day and wonder where it went.

I am thrilled to announce that my daughter Rita has started her first blog. This is a milestone as with all her projects she dove head in. There are still a few kinks for her to work out as she has no experience with this but found that people were asking her to do a blog as she had several followers of her artwork from Etsy and now she is having a great time putting up artists and showing her work. It think it will fall into place as she goes. Please do stop by and see her blog with a link at the top right corner, its called Amalgamalia.. I think I spelled that right.. if you can pronounce it that is the first step. I was inspired by her love of letters and things in a series. This is a passion she has had ever since the first attempt to line up pillows and then canned goods when she was four. Her math skills are off the charts and she has always loved to collect things. Now she is doing series, animals and also her latest a protozoan alphabet. See her blog here, amalgamalia.

The photo above is one I found last night and decided to put some text behind it. It is a letter from 1827. I just thought it would make a nice border and I loved the image. So hope this week is a good one for all and hopefully the predicted storms will be soon past.. that includes the emotional ones for anyone who is in a storm area or place of mind.

Check out the balls of light that were front page on Yahoo. What the heck? Any answers to that mystery.. send them over my way, and until then, have a wonderful day!

Winter has many gifts to give like this Sunset in Sedona

this is untouched shot into the sky on a cold winter evening, just before the last light in Sedona. We are treated to wonderful sunsets as well as evenings in this westernwonderland. I would love to see some sunset photos and you can send them to my clancysclassics@yahoo.com address and I will pick a few to post. Be sure to identify the location and make it recent with the date. Maybe make a poem or write a line about how it made you feel. I am a cloud and sunset person so you will see more of these posts... get used to it.

my favorite poet sings the praises of sunsets!

Emily Dickenson

The Sunset stopped on Cottages
Where Sunset hence must be
For treason not of His, but Life's,
Gone Westerly, Today—

The Sunset stopped on Cottages
Where Morning just begun—
What difference, after all, Thou mak'st
Thou supercilious Sun?

Alice in her wonderful Dress 1864

this photo was in such terrible condition but like always I have this never say die attitude when it comes to an old photo. I spent hours cleaning up her skin of age spots and tinted the image just slightly the way I wanted it. She is going to be one of my cloth dolls very soon. I can never get over the clothing from the 1860s for children. Just love it!

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!!

Happy Birthday Abraham Lincoln!-ok I had to tint this one... I think it looks better than the old black and white although nothing wrong with that either!

Today is a great day to be proud to be an American as we can celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. A car named after him a penny.. how cheap of America? Shouldn't he have his face on the $100 instead of Ben Franklin? Oh well.. it is fitting on the penny because although that is the smallest denomination of coin in America, it has probably been in everyone's hand at one time and he was the man of the little people and the champion of the end to slavery.
I am guessing all the biographies will fly off the shelf at Barnes and Noble today.
I am making a doll of him and this is what is going on the back of the doll.. so fitting and so prophetic from him, his last entry into his diary.. amazing clairvoyance! Happy Birthday Abe!!!

"Dear diary:

When I woke up today I felt happy about winning the war. I also had this feeling like something bad might happen. I didn't have this feeling yesterday or the day before that. I'm just happy the war is over, I just feel reliefed from all this stress and depression. Although I have to admit the South was tough to beat. We had some tough battles like Bull Run those were one the toughest battles out of them all.
I feel like a new man. The Union is celebrating today, putting up the Stripes and Stars at Fort Sumter. I feel bad I will not be there. Today I am going to a play with my wife. I,m going to wear my suit and she is going to wear this beautiful dress. It starts at 10:30, I guess I have to go and get ready for my night."

This is not for display~Do my pants fit?

I have always loved writing on photos and artwork. That is probably why I love comics ,(I used to when I was little), and have a passion for folk art and hobo art and outsider art. There is something so immediate and final about writing on photos and art. You must listen to the writer when making your opinion about the image or art. You can connect in a real vs a surreal way to the author of the words. They might be kidding but they still wrote it and felt it at the time. This photo is one of those rare ones that has been written on by the person in the image. Julie.. she even signs her name as though she is authoring the image and I also love her pulling on the hound's ear as anyone who owns a dog that is part hound or full hound knows how velvety soft the ears are and how you cannot help but pull on them gently... as I do with Blue all the time!
Enjoy your day.. and if you ever come across anything like this let me know as I love old things or art with writing on them and would love to see them and maybe share them here on the blog.

Snow Day! in Sedona!!

Well Feb 10 and our first big snow of the winter. No school for the first time in almost 5 years here. A winter wonderland and Rita is out with Blue going for a walk in it. No driving anywhere as there are no snowplows in our area. HAve fun and enjoy the winter wonderland! wherever you are!

A Rose in Winter is Still a Rose

Hello and Bonjour!
Yes a rose in winter is still a rose. Nothing changes but the elements that surround her. She still passionately wants to keep her bloom and fight off the aging crystals that cling to her stem. The tenacity of this rose is really what strikes me first and then the incredible beauty of it whether in the bright sun or the frozen snow. This image was taken by my friend Jean Claude who probably has the best eye for photos that I have ever seen. Maybe overlooked by many who pass by, he manages to capture the beauty before the petals have fallen and the flower goes dormant.
Another Monday is here again and after weeks of almost 70 degrees each day, walking to the post office in a shirt and short pants, here comes the freezing rain and snow! Yes snow is covering the hillside below our little airport here in Sedona. The sky is grey and the temperature is very cold. Blue didn't move this morning until just moments ago sleeping in longer and longer each day. He is getting a little white around his chin and this April will turn 7 years old. I guess in dog years that is pretty old. He still has alot of spunk and will give a smile for no reason to me, truly man's best friend!
Oh yeah.. tonite is the full moon and a lunar eclipse. Wow! hope we can see it if the rain stops.

Bobby and Fulton Freeman have Rats for Pets 1924

This photo is from an album that I purchased about 5 years ago on ebay. I thought I was going to do what I do with all the albums and that is take it apart, do some research and sell the photos one by one. The book is more than photos. Although it cost me nearly $500 for the photo album, sadly there were 3 others which at the time I didn't feel I could afford. I think I probably got the best one of the 4 but that is wishful thinking. I fell in love with this family through an ongoing, detailed account of what this group of 5 children and their parents did day to day, the rats and their cage building. Paper routes, dogs, cats, short wave radios, knitting for the girls. the boys which there were 3 besides these two was little DAvid who was 4 in this album, and two older girls Beatrice and PEggy. The children were all raised in the Montessori schools in Pasadena and Fulton ended up working as an envoy to some country. I found out little else and always wondered how they managed to pry these wonderful albums from the hands of the family. There is at least a novel of written words that the mother put in and all penned in the fashion as if it is coming from the children.. I will never part with this and someday hope to make a book or movie from it.. I love all the photos and sadly I sold 2 before I realized I wish I hadn't.. so you will see images from time to time and I still have a few up in my etsy store. Enjoy your Saturday, its looking like rain here.

Lipstick Woman a tribute to Diane Arbus and my first photo teacher

Ok so this isn't my average photo posting.. I never said I was predictable. I also really love a photographer named Diane Arbus and remembering back to my first day of college photography class my teacher who's name is John Baugess from Oregon didn't even say hello to the students. the room was dark when we went in and sat at our desks. There was a quiet whispering amongst the students and when they stopped the slide projector came on and we were treated to a show of Diane Arbus' photos getting about 3 minutes on each one.. I and the other students were fascinated by her incredible ability to get these unusual people to pose for the most unbelievable photos on the planet. Photos of people who really existed but were for the most part hidden away from the public eye for many reasons. She photographed misfits of society, tatooed women, midgets, freaks from the circus and also unusual couples from New York that lived in hotel rooms. Her images are still able to move me to this day. Google her name and see her photos. Whenever I come across an image that reminds me of her I cannot help but remember that first eye opening day of photography class and her startling and thought provoking images.. I still wish I had the courage to do what she has done. Classic portraiture with unusal but very real human beings.

Little Seated BOy Painted Tintype

This is a version of my seated boy painted tintype. I so long to go back to painting over these tins but so many things seem to keep popping up in the way. It is so often the case in art and life.. that balance of what to do with your time. I know other artists struggle with this and I am not the least of them. I often go to bed trying to imagine a life where sleep isn't madatory for refreshing one's self.. It think it would be grand to be able to have all those extra hours in the evening to do what you want, but alas.. we are not those creatures and for me I am asleep by midnight on a late night and 11 on a regular one. I am so happy to be able to share all the different pieces that I have done in the past..right here on my blog.. I get to decide which to show and what to say.. it is like having your own newspaper to write and edit. I have a degree in Journalism and Art and this blog thing seems to fit just perfect... if only but only there were more time in the day to write more.. but gee, that old mr clock keeps on ticking(I hate ticking clocks don't you?) and the show must go on, the getting dressed and showering and cooking and cleaning and washing clothes and walking the dog and driving and on and on.. I am not complaining about any of these chores, no...rather I am lamenting the time spent on them. And so again I come to the thought that oh if there were more time. I bet there is a poem about that. So, for now I will just enjoy every minute I have on this mother earth, the good, the bad and the inbetween. And hope that all of you will as well. How much better can it be when you awake to a warm sunshine on a February day. I am not sure but right now there are no complaints about our Arizona weather. I will enjoy that leisurely walk today and soak up every minute of it!

Dreamy Monday

Here it is Monday again. Like a holiday we are happy to see it come and go, I for one am glad that the superbowl is over. I have never seen a football game on tv or in person and although I am a very serious sports fan for tennis(did you see Nadal win Federer last night in the Australia Open?.. some of the best tennis I have ever seen in my life), and also basketball(only if it the Suns here in Phoenix!), I have never been interested in wrestling, boxing or football. They seem to be "heathen", sports and ones that people get hurt in so that leaves me out. ALso I just cannot stand the slow pace of football. I guess that is part of the love of it...anyway.. glad its over.
The image I listed above is from a series I did with a woman named Valerie in early 80s. I met her in an art history class and decided with her natural platinum hair she would make a good model to work with doing portraits. I always opted for natural light outdoors or in windows as I hated using or carting around lights. So we set this one up under a tree in her yard and she laid on her black coat and I sprinkled pom pom petals all over her. I printed this large and colored in each petal by hand.. This is one of my all time favorite images and was taken with a wonderful Nikon camera and remains in my home still. I did sell about 10 copies of this and did each one printed in darkroom and tinted by hand. that is what is missing now in photography.. everything is done in computer and somehow the charm of the thick mat paper and the smell of the scent of those rotten eggs from the sepia tones are no longer present unless you still work in your own darkroom.. I would say if you have the chance, buy a few actual printed photos for your collection, they will be valuable. I know this is true as I sell photos on ebay for a living and because they are no longer being printed one by one in darkroom the value of those that have will continue to go up. Click on the title to go to my store and then use the magnifier to enlarge this image as it really is so nice.
Enjoy Monday.. February has just begun and with that both black history month and valentines day approaching. Tell someone you love them today.. see what happens!