clancysclassics

Sara & Fawna~happy birthday girls mar 7 & mar 8

2010-03-07T07:18:00.000-08:00

Today is the girl on left's birthday~ Fawna Moon, her sister on the right is Sara Rose, my daughter and half sister to Fawna. She turns 40 tomorrow~ HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARA & FAWNA!
Fawna recent new mom is a loving and proud mother and wonderful wife. I watched her grow from small to tall and feel very close to her and her family.
Sara the first in a long legacy of Willis children is turning 40 tomorrow. I celebrate with her although she is in Mexico and I in Sedona. As all mothers we never forget the day our children were born and where we were and how wonderful that first moment felt to hold our babies in our arms. We feed, clothe, play, teach and love them as best we can.
I am so very proud of Sara. She has been my best friend her whole life and although we are not near we have never been too far apart. I admire her tenacity, positive outlook despite all types of adversity, her sense of beauty au naturale and her biggest and most beloved accomplishment, having and raising the 4 most beautiful children on the planet. Although she is a self made celebrity in Cabo San Lucas, she is also very well known in Oregon from her delicious and marvelous cooking/chefing adventures.
I am so happy she is moving back to Eugene with her 3 small children so I will be able to see her and them more often. I have plans to cook and hang out with my oldest granddaughter Ellen, who is a freshman at the University there, to teach Tristan my art tricks, to gain wisdom and read stories from Ava who is 6, to cuddle Miranda and read her stories and just adore her with her 3 inch long eyelashes above her sweet face and take walks into the park with all.
I remember bringing SAra home to my small house in Avondale, PA. She was wrapped in a knitted wool blue blanket. It was a gift from a woman that was a friend of her grandmother's who was from ENgland. It was the tiniest stitch and the sweetest little blanket. that blanket stayed with her until she was 5 and it was left at a bus station. I am reminiscing. All I want to do is be able to go get a coffee with SAra and sit and talk about her next plans for her business. The kids will be in a sand box playing happily and we can just be, neither of us needing to go anywhere or talk to anyone on the cell phone.. that is my wish for her and for myself. You see mothers remain selfish, even if it is their child's 40th. I wish happiness and love to surround you Sara. And Fawn holds her love dearly and deserves her sweet IRis..
Both you girls are still as wonderful as you were in that photo.

PEnny Portrait Girl w Big Bow

2010-02-22T07:37:00.001-08:00

Back to Gouache again. I am determined to figure out how best to use this medium. Its a challenge for sure as no other paint dries so quickly. I love the poster paint look it gives and rich opaque texture. I also realize I must attack or at least complete my taxes, there is no more running away from them. The aid from my accountant arrived on Saturday and I am still starring at the manila envelope on my desk unopened, knowing once opened I must work on them and really, who wants to work on their taxes, let alone pay them. I did make less this year so will owe less and with the move to Eugene will need more but it will all work out, it usually does. I will get Rita into college and a dorm safely and securely and then try not to worry about drunken parties and walking alone at night. All those things we don't want to think about but have to let go of the protection thing eventually.
A film called
An American Opera
America suffered its worst domestic animal crisis in history when tens of thousands of animals were left to perish in neighborhoods all across the gulf.

Follow the heartfelt story, magically crafted by Director Tom McPhee, of the pets, vets, owners, officials, rescuers and adopters of animals as they work through the chaos to do what is right only to discover not everyone is working toward the same goal!

The lost pets of Hurricane Katrina
The poster above is for a film that was made by Tom McPhee about the pets lost in hurricane Katrina.
I started to watch an independent film last night on the PBS channel which I love, it was called"Mine" a film about how people during hurrican KAtrina dealt with the loss of their pets. Apparently the hotels and motels put up signs saying"no pets" and the sky dome where the biggest shelter of all was didn't allow pets so people left big bowls of dog food and left their dogs and cats behind. I saw about 2 minutes of dogs perched on the top of homes that were floating and another of an older black man talking about the pet left behind, I yelled outloud and Rita thought something happened to me. The grief overwhelmed me and I changed the channel as fast as possible. I cannot forget the look on one large poodle's face looking through the screen door of a floating house with water up to his knees. His face was so hopeful, like "I know you will come get me" . It don't think we realize how hard it must have been for those people, first to lose their homes and then pets. I know many lives were also lost and I don't want to make light of that but this film was all about the pets and for me it was more than I could bear. I am sure there were good moments but I couldn't make it past the sad ones to see them.
This Site has a page of lost Katrina PEts. If you go there you will see many of the ones that were on the movie, including BAndit who belonged to the old african american man I spoke of. I cannot believe how many pets these people lost. GO and see it is stagering.

Grace Thorp Gemberling Dances at the Beach

2010-02-11T10:57:00.001-08:00

LAtely I have been slacking off on my job. I came across a photo album that was filled with images that had to be drooled over and for me enhanced. This one just begged to be colored and kept. Her name was Grace and she was born in a town on the Main Line of Philadelphia called Bala Cynwyd. She grew up in a large tudor home with her sister Josephine and her parents. Her father was in the steel business and built bridges. Both parents were originally from Germany. She and sister Jo grew up and both married architects from Philadelphia who were both quite famous. A friend who is such a good sleuth at getting hidden info on historical people and homes sent invaluable information on these two sisters and for that I am so grateful. Some of the paintings that Grace did are easy to find if you google her name. She received her training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Hugh Breckenridge where she was twice awarded the coveted Cresson Traveling Scholarship. Keast was also the recipient of the Mary Smith Prize for best painting by a Philadelphia woman artist, and the Fellowship Prize for her still life, Gourds. she maintained a studio and taught painting. She was a painter of landscape, still life and figurative subjects. Her style was distinct, leaning slightly towards modernist while remaining realistic, evoking a mysterious and eerie quality within her work. Keast exhibited at the Salons of America, the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors, the Society of Independent Artists and the Corcoran Gallery Biennials. Born in Philadelphia in 1903, died in 1997. I hope to display more images from the album. Luckily many were duplicated so that I may keep a few for my own collection. Enjoy!

Hawaiian Dragon's Tongue Orchid

2010-02-02T08:10:00.001-08:00

I felt the need for the tropics today and this orchid from Hilo on the Big Island of Hawaii does not disappoint! While on a vacation there I was lucky enough to stop for an afternoon to see the number one item on my todo list for my vacation and it was to tour the botanical garden in Hilo. This place goes right down to the ocean and is filled to overflowing with hundreds of species of orchids and succulents. The moisture and warmth made it a perfect spot to have this wonderful garden and I can almost remember how it felt to walk through there. Honestly for a photographer it was like a kid in a candy store.. or better! This lovely and somewhat uncomfortable flower is the most outstanding one in the garden in my eye. IT so has the surreal otherworldly look and almost defies beauty in its own spectacular way. Sadly I didn't shoot this at a high resolution so to blow it up would be impossible past a 5X7 but still I was happy to have the image. I worked it in photshop with a special overlay and voila... almost like a 1960s B movie setting for a film noir. Don't ask how I made that correlation it just seems to go.
Click the link here to see it in my store.

Feed the Birds~Jan 25

2010-01-25T08:14:00.001-08:00

click here to see this in my store- scanned from an 8.5"X11" original antique paper cut~ I called it "Feed the birds" as that is my favorite thing to do. Saw a beautiful red cardinal the other day. That was a real treat!

Did I mention that I have not been very good about blogging. I think it was so much rushing around during the holidays and then the new year and the pressure comes on us.. you know all the stuff. Lose weight, exercise(give me a break its about 30 degrees outside), get rid of all the extra junk in your house, make a resolution or two.
Well yesterday I decided to cash in my wonderful gift of a massage and lo and behold what came up was that I had two things to accomplish in the immediate future. One was to slow down(duh), and the other was to take more time for myself. I could see this coming but didn't want to face it.
Time goes by so quickly we must and I repeat must take time to stop and smell the roses, not just admire them but actually get our nose in there and inhale! I am guilty of trying to accomplish too many things and because of that my body was crying out.. stop and relax for Pete's sake.
SO I did, a luxurious steam bath and an hour which went by too fast. I realize how hard it is for us to all take care of ourselves. Mom's are the guiltiest because we put our kids at the top, and that is fine. However we are not capable of giving more than we have unless we recharge and rejuvenate!
Please take that time. Its all you really have. Make the best of it and enjoy!

Manatee~a new blue beauty!

2010-01-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

this is the latest watercolor my daughter Rita has made. She did it in one hour in her art class yesterday. In person it is almost life like. I cannot help but brag because although I have 2 degrees in art I don't believe I am anywhere near as visually accurate or intuitive about painting as she is at 17. I only hope she never loses her desire to paint. I worry as she played violin so beautifully for 8 years then quit playing although picked it up a few times in the past 5 years. I guess whatever brings joy to your heart is what you must do in life. This is a good lesson for parents in general when they are pushing things on their children they wish they had done or wish they would do. It really is up to the kids to find their joy. I think Rita's is unusual and regular animals. I love this manatee in all his flubber!
enjoy your saturday!!

F is for Fossa~Animalgam's ALphabet

2010-01-02T07:39:00.003-08:00

My daughter Rita is creating an amazing alphabet of unusual animals. This is one of her latest and I think nicest images. A fossa. Every detail is shown in this pen and watercolor illustration and I wanted to showcase it because I really believe it deserves it. She had to take a semester off from art to concentrate on her AP Bio and other classes but starting this next week she will do a class with her wonderful Art teacher for her last semester in high school. A perfect way to end the 4 years by doing something you love to do. I am hoping she will continue with the alphabet until it is finished as each one is more amazing than the next one. Please visit her shop (one of two)on Etsy and see her other animal and biological drawings. Have a wonderful day!
here is the link.
her description of this wonderful animal is:
This is a Fossa, the largest mammal predator on the island of Madagascar, even though they're not really that big (very large house cat sized). And although they look like they are of the cat family, they are actually very closely related to mongooses. That's an example of convergent evolution! Google it, its very cool!

2010-01-02T07:39:00.001-08:00

Chinese New Year 2010 MEtal Tiger~painted tintype

2009-12-28T11:18:00.001-08:00

click the image to see it larger in my Etsy store
I was so excited that last night I sold 2 original painted photos. One was a tintype of a little Queenie girl and the other was a painted cdv. What is truly amazing about this if anything was the evening before while watching the Suns basketball game I was painting the above tinype and wondering after a year of not having done anything like this, why was I taking the time when I was exhausted and should have been lying in bed. I believe now that putting forth the energy created the customer to come to my store. I am not sure this is possible but really the unverse does work in mysterious ways.
I just put up a treasury here
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=102475
and decided to call it "Metal Tiger" as this is what the Chinese New Year will be. I looked up my astrological birthday reading and lo and behold, I was born in the year of the Metal Tiger, 1950. The horoscope says it is going to be a very good year for me and could even mean"too much of a good thing". Is that possible?

Snow in the Desert 12-23-09

2009-12-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

Yeah!! we have snow here in Sedona. It started last night about 9pm and continued to give the dry earth a white blanket by morning! This is hopefully here for a few hours but here comes the sun. This is predictable as it is here almost every day of the year. But we did get our snow for however long it may last and I am going to get dressed and go out and frolic in it before it melts!!
I have christmas swedish bread rising and the tree is all lit!

I am wishing each and every one of you a very Merry christmas and happy hannukah or kwanza and a unversal happy new year!!
lets remember mother earth for 2010. She needs us!

Beautiful Lillies and Fresias

2009-12-17T09:38:00.001-08:00

This is a photograph that I took of a beautiful bouquet that my oldest daughter sent to me on my birthday. My surprise to hear the doorbell with a florist guy delivering this huge bouquet in a 1940s flat vase. Just beautiful! I was really overwhelmed for my birthday this year on the 14th. I heard from almost every family member and friend and received so many wonderful well wishes and great gifts. My youngest gave me the gift of a beautiful basketball game where she sacrificed her body at one point taking a charge and stopping the opposing team from scoring. I almost charged the stands as I was so worried she broke her back. Does she think she is Steve Nash?
The Red Rock Scorpions won by one point with Rita making at least 15 points and having many assists, guarding like a maniac and just all around great playing.
I really enjoyed the day and night and it was topped off at Hiros for some sushi. I won't forget that day for a long time, maybe never!
So Christmas is around the corner and I am feeling pretty calm compared to last year. This year I made each member of my family a wax painting and enjoyed doing it. I also gave a substantial amount to the Heifer foundation in the name of each person. That was a gift to me as I have wanted to do that for years instead of buying things and mailing them that will be forgotten in no time. This was a gift to a family of a goat, a flock of chickens and part of a heifer cow.
Everyone seemed thrilled by the gift and I think I will do that again next year as well.
So as the day draws nigh I hope each and everyone of you will have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas or Hannuka!

Gratitude and Giving

2009-11-26T07:57:00.001-08:00

I am adding a new photo but leaving the charity info up for another few days.
Happy Tuesday. Dec 1st!!!

In this beginning of the season of giving and sharing , I hope we can all remember to be grateful for our lives and what we have and to remember that there are so many who go without. I have three charities I want to share and am providing links to them so if you feel so inclined you might give just a little to each one or even one and expand your heart chakra and make a family feel that there are people out there who care about them. First is the American Cancer Foundation and the team epe in hopes to find a cure for cancer which affects so many of us, our family our friends and a dear friend Laura Slocum who has ovarian cancer. Please click on her face on the right and you will go to where you can donate to the cause.

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Second is the Heifer Foundation, get involved, give hope in the form of a cow, sheep, goat, chickens, ducks, a beehive for as little as $20 teach your children that we are all in this together on planet earth and what better way than to send a family in need an animal that will help them to help themselves. My mother has always given my daughter a flock of chickens on her birthday instead of a toy or gift, this has been good, because it has given her a sense of belonging to the world that she has made a difference by having a family have something to help them survive instead of another video game or pair of jeans she doesn't need.
Her is a link to their site, please check it out and show your kids, no matter what age. My teen who is 17 is donating all her profits in her Colourshoppevintage store on Etsy to getting a CBC or as she calls it, a Cow before Christmas for the Heifer group. So far she has saved $100 and I am matching every penny she saves for it. If interested you can donate directly to her or to the foundation and specify you want it to go towards a cow and let us know and we will add to it. "The idea behind Heifer ... is similar to the notion that it's better to teach a man to fish so he can feed himself than to give him a fish that will feed him just once. One animal could eventually benefit an entire community."
Here is the link HEIFER international~pass on the gift
Another wonderful cause is

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Collateral Repair Project~ a group of women in Amman Jordan who have been helping the refugees of the Iraq war who came to Jordan when the bombing started years ago without work visas because they feared for their lives and their children, and considering how many died in Iraq this was probably something any of us would have done to protect our kids. I read about this woman who started the program and how she is trying to keep young girls from dancing in strip clubs because that was the only labor that was possible due to the fact that Jordan refused to give work visas to the parents, many middle class and also many professionals such as nurses and teachers, unable to work. SO these women joined forces to help the refugees there and its snowballed into them making and selling their crafts and the kids are now going to school after being unable to for years. If you read their stories and see their faces, you will not believe how much they appreciate the care. Its called Collateral Repair Project. In some way our country has created their situations because we bombed Iraq and many thousands were displaced due to that and none of us truly can imagine what the families have gone through, innocent kids and families caught up in the war. If interested please check their site. I recently gave a gift of $25 to my sister as a birthday gift and I know she knew it was a wonderful idea and was grateful.
here is the link Collateral Repair Project
I am grateful to be here in America and not a day goes by I don't imagine how hard it would be anywhere else.
Have a wonderful thanksgiving weekend with family and friends. Remember to give in this season of shopping and spending.

November is such a Wonderful Month~shop online

2009-11-17T16:29:00.000-08:00

Bluemoon Rose's Shop on Etsy~Bridget Clancy
click her name to go to the shop to see this wonderful hat!

Sharon Clancy wonderful Jewelry
click here to go to her store

Krysta Alves store Poppylove
click here to go to her store

Rita Clancy's Colourshoppevintage store

My neice Amy Clancy's Swirly Hats Perfect for Christmas Gifts
click above to go to her store

I think we should all shop on Etsy and am going to promote my sisters, daughter and niece who all have shops on Etsy and, these are all items that would please anyone in your family. Click the link above the items to go to their stores.

I am getting excited as I am heading to Eugene Oregon to see my daughter and her children and my sister and nieces and their children for Thanksgiving. Its the first time I have ever traveled at This holiday and although I don't look forward to the long trip taking almost 11 hours and 3 stops I will be happy to be there and see everyone and I might as well get used to the rain as I am moving away from the sun and back to BLuegene after being gone for more than 20 years. I spend every summer there except the last one and now to move back will be so nice and be near all the kids and the university and the saturday market and museums and 2 hrs from Portland.. I will soak up as much sun here in Arizona as is possible before I go and come back and visit here often.
Enjoy Thanksgiving and remember to be grateful for what we have.

Blanche Ollie and her Christmas Doll

2009-11-12T10:42:00.001-08:00

This is a retouched photo I did for Etsy. The little girl's name was Blanche Ollie. Her mother was the school teacher I listed a few days ago named Blanche Mae Mcquillan. She had one daughter, Blanche Ollie, named after her uncle Olander Young. She was a lovely child in every way and just by looking at the photos they took of her growing up getting married and having one child of her own she was well rounded, could shoot a rifle and also cook and became a teacher like her mom. ITs funny, her mom was an only daughter/child and so was she and her own child a single girl who also had one daughter a girl. How unusual is that. Just one girl for 4 generations. I love this photo of her because she really shows through her eyes how much she loves her doll. The original was 1by 1 inch. click the link to see it bigger in my store. I love the fur coat on her doll, so cute!

veterans day~ bow your head!

2009-11-11T10:36:00.001-08:00

I think we should all bow our heads for a moment and be grateful for all the men and women who gave their lives for wars. I don't know how they did it. Life seems like such a fragile and short stint as it is and for them to go into a job knowing they might die, well...its almost unimaginable! So I bow my head in respect. I hate war and despise those who sit in Washington not getting their hands dirty while they send men and women to do the dirty work. But really they are not in the equation today. Its about those fallen who gave up living to die for others.
Lets hear it for them. Lets work to not lose any more!

Monday morning still dark out~nov 9th

2009-11-09T05:42:00.001-08:00

This photo was made from foliage from my front yard area, well in front of my condo, which is my front yard. I am going out today to take more photos as I don't want the last days of fall and the beautiful colors that are out there to disappear before I get some memories. This is my last fall in Sedona and I am trying to relish every minute of it. It was still warm enough yesterday with a warm breeze blowing that we left the doors open all day. I took a very long walk with Blue and soaked in every ounce of sunshine I could get before coming home and working the rest of the day.
We hardly ever eat red meat but last night I was longing for a steak and so I cooked a nice NY, a small one and split it w Rita. Yellow finn roasted potatoes, broccoli and a pumkin cookie homemade from the health food store to split. I ate small portions of everything and felt great afterwards.
I keep thinking about how fortunate we all are here in America. We have had our trials and hurricanes and political divisions but really for the size of our country we are doing really well. I think we forget alot of the time that we have it so good. This month for me will be about being grateful and so far I think I am. I have a wonderful family, children, parents and friends. I wouldn't trade any of that for another life. I think because I read Ram Dass' book in the 70s"Be Here Now" I always keep a mantra in the back of my mind, he said everything that happens in life,"It's all just grist for the mill". I guess I love that as it incorporates grain and that is really what life is about, bread and surviving and loving your life. So my little mantra for you is to be grateful. It frees up so much of the fear we can always slip back into. Have a wonderful day and an awesome week!

Blanche Mae McQuillan School TEacher Colorado 1909

2009-11-02T14:45:00.001-08:00

I really must share the story of a young woman from Salida Colorado. Her name was Blanche Mae McQuillan. she was born in Nebraska to a Railroad father and stay home farm mother. She went to Salida with her family by age 5 and never left. She traveled but never moved from Salida. She married a young man named Roy Young who was also from Nebraska moved to Salida. She was an only child, they had one child, but her husband was one of 12. She went to teacher's college in Colorado and then immediately took a job alone at a young age of about 19 or 20 working on a farm not far from her home in Salida on the Watters ranch. She had a log cabin school house and taught over 20 children, many who belonged to the Watters family and the hired hands' children. Every child was dressed to the tee despite living on a ranch. Clean and spic and span and she worked there a year living on the ranch. This photo of her could be when she first arrived. Some how there was always a camera around or people taking photos so that lucky for me I have 3 full albums of her family, well, it really is mostly of his extended family. Her sister in law Pearl Huston was the youngest of the 12 children of the Young family and she was also a school teacher out in Gunnison county. Women went to college and then into the wilds back then. This image is that of a strong woman who spent many years in her golden years, putting together a genealogy which is hand typed, that I aquired when I bought her albums. I am not sure what to do with it. The details go back to civil war era.
This is Blanche. She aged gracefully. Her husband worked for Texaco for awhile in Salida that is from a photo they included. If interested in following her story I will be listing the images of Blanche and her photo album family for the next few weeks on my eBay store which you can get to from clicking on the girls on the right who are swinging.
History is an amazing thing-let us not forget, those who came before us and how they paved our way.

That roadside stand in Sedona~Monday

2009-10-26T13:15:00.001-07:00

This is a life size sign that was probably atop a pole at a gas station many years ago and now adorns the fence with many others at a roadside tourist stop outside downtown Sedona heading towards Village of Oak Creek. So many wonderful things to look at, I had so much fun with Rita looking and eventually spending too much money on gifty this and that little items that I couldn't do without like a scorpion in glass (even though Rita begged me not to support it, I knew my grandson would love it), several varieties of spicy and sweet popcorn packaged for my grandaughter's dorm room late night snack. A string of chili peppers for an aunt's upcoming birthday. There was so much to see, it was like a trip to Mexico without the airfare. Well not really but there were so many things to see outside and in the large all wooden store. Here are a few photos from there. Several are in my Etsy store as prints if you decide you cannot live without one of them.

Please Vote! ~MyCinderella White Pumpkin

2009-10-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled that someone voted my white Cinderella pumpkin in the Etsy vote your favorite autumnal item. This is my first ever nomination for anything on Etsy and I am pretty close to the top of favorites which makes me so happy!! Why do I care you ask. I don't know but it is fun to be in the contest and know that folks like my work. If you have not yet voted, you can click the link here and vote once until I believe Sunday is deadline. IF you do give me your vote..thanks ahead of time! here is the link

BLue Witch~Saturday

2009-10-17T07:19:00.001-07:00

Here it is Saturday again. I know when I started this blog I had vowed to myself that every day was a blog day...who was I kidding? I really had to get up early today. Another cross country meet for Rita and this time in Phoenix. Its supposed to be triple digits today. that is true. Christmas on the FP of Etsy and hot hot Arizona. SO that is fine, I heard it snowed in Vermont. Well that does make sense and I won't complain as I walked the dog to the bank and back yesterday and it was 83, shorts and felt like 90. He is allowed into the bank but immediately tries to withdraw money and only gets a cookie.

Sedona is such a laid back town, until scandal hits. This past week a tragedy of huge proportions when a sweat lodge in the area killed 2 people and sent over 20 to the hospital. Apparently there were toxic fumes and the temps were 122. Sadly the woman who died was a friend of my daughter's in Mexico, a 39 yr old woman with so much living left to do. I have never done a sweat lodge but believe me living in Sedona I have been asked to many times. I guess the best advice is to only use items from nature when doing it.

I have posted a beautiful young 1920s blue witch photo which(haha) I listed in my Etsy store yesterday. It was such a wonderful find and I tucked it away and forgot I had the original until it showed up in a box of special saved photos yesterday. I love her dress and how she is holding up her home made pumpkin. Come take a look and maybe get a card to send to someone you know loves Halloween. Now that the month is half over I don't feel bad getting into the spirit of it. I did notice some Christmas and Hanukkah front pages recently on Etsy. Here comes the holidays.

Enjoy your wonderful warm or cold or wet Saturday....go romp in a pumpkin field or visit a cider house.

Time is all we need~Time HAs Come TOday Chambers Brothers

2009-10-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a photo from 1930s or earlier of a window display of table top clocks. I remember my grandma Clancy had one of these in the dining room. It would chime on the hour and you could hear the ticking. I have never been able to stand a ticking clock, let alone a chiming one. It is just the constant reminder of every second and minute and hour that passes by. I think clocks are really a burden of sorts, unless of course you want to get somewhere for an appt. then the necessity becomes obvious.
I always think of the song
Time has Come Today by The Chambers Brothers

Hear the song here

Birch Tree Canopy~Monday holiday!

2009-10-12T07:51:00.001-07:00

This may not look like the right size photo and its not. I am experimenting with photoshop here and loved the sparkling sun in the birch trees so much yesterday that it almost seemed like an ethereal experience to be in them twinkling in the early morning fall sun with the crisp blue sky above them to keep them humble. There is something about birch that stems from my childhood days. I cannot say what it is but that it is mystical. I give you the master of birch trees..here is the link to my store for a larger viewing.

introducing Mr Robert Frost:

Birches by Robert Frost

When I see birches bend to left and right
Across the lines of straighter darker trees,
I like to think some boy’s been swinging them.
But swinging doesn’t bend them down to stay
As ice-storms do. Often you must have seen them
Loaded with ice a sunny winter morning
After a rain. They click upon themselves
As the breeze rises, and turn many-colored
As the stir cracks and crazes their enamel.
Soon the sun’s warmth makes them shed crystal shells
Shattering and avalanching on the snow-crust–
Such heaps of broken glass to sweep away
You’d think the inner dome of heaven had fallen.
They are dragged to the withered bracken by the load,
And they seem not to break; though once they are bowed
So low for long, they never right themselves:
You may see their trunks arching in the woods
Years afterwards, trailing their leaves on the ground
Like girls on hands and knees that throw their hair
Before them over their heads to dry in the sun.
But I was going to say when Truth broke in
With all her matter-of-fact about the ice-storm
I should prefer to have some boy bend them
As he went out and in to fetch the cows–
Some boy too far from town to learn baseball,
Whose only play was what he found himself,
Summer or winter, and could play alone.
One by one he subdued his father’s trees
By riding them down over and over again
Until he took the stiffness out of them,
And not one but hung limp, not one was left
For him to conquer. He learned all there was
To learn about not launching out too soon
And so not carrying the tree away
Clear to the ground. He always kept his poise
To the top branches, climbing carefully
With the same pains you use to fill a cup
Up to the brim, and even above the brim.
Then he flung outward, feet first, with a swish,
Kicking his way down through the air to the ground.
So was I once myself a swinger of birches.
And so I dream of going back to be.
It’s when I’m weary of considerations,
And life is too much like a pathless wood
Where your face burns and tickles with the cobwebs
Broken across it, and one eye is weeping
From a twig’s having lashed across it open.
I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.
I’d like to go by climbing a birch tree,
And climb black branches up a snow-white trunk
Toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more,
But dipped its top and set me down again.
That would be good both going and coming back.
One could do worse than be a swinger of birches.

Keeping it Simple~Obama wins nobel peace prize~white pumpkin

2009-10-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Friday is here and this week the time flew by. Obama has a new prize and its quite Nobel if I do say so! I do believe that the world is a safer and better place with him as president. I know not everyone believes this but I do a little comparison using the euro method and that is since he took office almost 30% of people around the world believe we have a safer world since he took office and I think that is due to the fact we had to compare him to the previous one.
I give him the white pumpkin award. I love this white pumpkin. I got in Safeway a few weeks ago and photographed it until I was happy and have it listed in my etsy store, if you like to see it larger its a click away...

I watched a show last night that had a guy on the show who lived without leaving a carbon footprint for an entire year. He lived in NY and up a large building and he and his wife walked the stairs instead of using the elevator

Colin Beavan

Colin Beavan spent a year making no environmental impact in the hope of finding a way to live that's better for the planet. link to clip is here.
I think that is living simple..

Tuesday~ Indian Summer~Clarkdale

2009-10-06T10:07:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots from a small town called Clarkdale, Arizona. The town has homes made of different colored brick such as this lounge is made of. Most homes are 2 bedroom, with ceramic sunshine of some sort on the front porch. A quiet desert breeze was blowing through the town last Saturday, the sun was shining brightly and like a ghost town it had the feel that people were all sleeping. Only a few old folks sat in front of the grocery store and one man with greasy hair stood outside this lounge wearing a sleeveless leather vest w no shirt under it, smoking. I chose not to take his photo.
We were in Clarkdale for a track meet w Sedona school. Rita came in 21st in her division which was pretty amazing considering there were almost 100 girls. She ran straight up a steep rocky hillside and down again. Clarkdale school was where the meet was and the town about 1/2 mile down the road.
I think if you were a writer you might like it here. It was quiet and warm and the view was of a mine still in operation that took white rock from the hillside. I think I spent 5 minutes driving around and stopped once for these few photos and drove away. On the way out of town I stopped at a very bleak flea market and talked to the two women in the photo. I actually put up with the chain smoking because they were the only living things out of doors that day. I didn't take a photo but there was a beautiful park and gazebo across the street from the flea market and not one child or adult in it and it was a beautiful day about 80 degrees with a breeze. That baffled me. Were they all indoors watching football or playing video games. I could not understand this at all. Anyway I won't be back to that town again as it was Rita's last year running that race. I will include a photo of her girls team too.

Candy Wax Lips Kiss 1940s LAdies~SAturday

2009-10-03T08:02:00.001-07:00

This image was found a few days ago in a photo album. It had my name written all over it!
The women all in their B-V hats decided to each wear a pair of wax candy lips. I love love this one and made it into a card on Etsy. Come see!
Staurday and in just a few minutes will walk the dog then drive to CLarkdale.. yes same town made famous by the Monkees. Rita has a grueling uphill track meet that I will support her to run. Grabbed a treasuy this early a.m. after missing 2 yesterday. Work will do that to you!
HAppy that the aunties and mom and dad made it back to Michigan and Port Angeles safe and sound and back to their routines and families.
I am about to go enjoy some of this wonderful cool desert air. I took some photos to post and will do that today or tomorrow of the early morning desert. Click the photo to go to my store to see the card and have a wonderful SAturday!

Carlos and the Aunties and Mom

2009-09-30T12:49:00.001-07:00

As promised here is the photo of my aunties and mom amd Carlos from Switzerland. He was just standing there and helped them down off that ledge behind them. In doing so he garnered the love of all 4 of these women for eternity as they did not stop talking about how cute he was and what a gentleman until we were back to the car. It was about 95 outside so they might have had a little heat stroke too. I thought it was the perfect ending to our wonderful lunch and outing to the beautiful red rocks of Sedona.

here is the video... you can hear their further comments about Carlos. Little did he know what an impression he made. Enjoy your Wednesday!

Wonderful Weekend w Aunties from Michigan~A Michigan Glass Negative

2009-09-28T12:34:00.000-07:00

this is a photo that was made from one from a series of glass negatives from Michigan. Click on this link to go to the auction on eBay if you are interested.

I had a wonderful weekend, my mom and three aunts from Michigan were visiting. It was so nice to see all of them and for the aunts and my mother a chance to reconnect after so long not seeing each other. I think sisters are so important and I for one am so happy to have them. I try to let them know now and again by a phone call or birthday card and gift and also just a thoughtful email now and again. I realize I wouldn't be the same person without all my sisters. I have 5 living and one that has passed on. It makes the ones still here even more special.

I loved having the aunties yesterday in my tiny condo and making a huge and delicious lunch for everyone, and Rita helped by cleaning up all the dishes afterwords. Today they left for their drive to Las Vegas for the first time visit before they fly back home. I hope they win big. This will probably be the last time flying for all 3 of them as they have families and pets and grand kids they left back there and this truly was a once in a lifetime trip for at least 2 of them. My youngest aunt Patty who is only 3 years older than me still has a lot of travel left in her. Who knows, it could be the start of a new life for all three of them. I know they talked about it for months before the trip and will probably talk about the gorgeous Spanish guy Carlos they met yesterday when I took them down to the local Red Rock Crossing to get some wonderful snaps of the red rocks on the river. There was a slight drop of a few feet to the beach and he helped each one down, one by one, with them fawning all over him until we got a posed photo with them and him. I promise to post that one soon. He had moved from Portugal to Switzerland and was on a visit to Sedona.

T-REX ~PAris Blues ~FRIDAY! hooray!

2009-09-25T14:39:00.001-07:00

Here is someone who probably would need a really good dentist to look over all his wonderful pointed teeth. He was or still is a roadside attraction in California somewhere. Tried to find it an even w google it was nowhere. I have always been amazed at roadside folk art and even bought a book once to go looking for the more unusual. I love anything that is real looking but fake. I remember once as a photo student at the University of Oregon we went to Portland and I loved the restaurants with the fake food in the window. It was made of plastic but looked so real. It would never go bad. Of course I saw Jurassic Park a few times and was afraid every time. That is one of the better scary movies to see. I saw a wonderful film the other night with Paul Newman, Joanne woodward, Sydney Poitier, and Dinah Carroll called PAris Blues. REnt it... its jazz at the underground cafe in Paris in 1961, black adn white.. doesn't get better. The story was good and there was a guest appearance and horn ensemble with Louis Armstrong. I really enjoyed it.
Joanne Woodward steals the film. I think they have always been one of my favortie Hollywood couples. I met their daughter once in APtos at our little small store there. They had a second home there for awhile and she was a local who I believe took over her parents' food business. They gave so much to charity and were such a cute couple! Here is a beautiful photo of them.
Poitier and Carroll also sizzle!
click here is a link to a promo for the film on youtube

California Mission San Juan Bautista~Tuesday

2009-09-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is my most recent addition to my Etsy store. I took this in the late 1990s on one of many trips taken there for an afternoon away from Santa Cruz. It took about an hour to get there and it was always such a peaceful and relaxing place to go. Quiet and like stepping back in time. Often there were small festivals held there where they would do demonstrations of how to weave baskets or carve a wooden toy. I was always fascinated with this place because it was where Alfred Hitchcock filmed Vertigo. Being a huge fan of his I was thrilled to see where he set his final scene of that movie. There was a small cemetery behind the church where the original Fr were buried. From the looks of their website which I include as a link here you can see that in 10 years they have cleaned the place up quite a bit since I took this photo. Here is an excerpt from their website"

The Old Mission San Juan Bautista...

...began with a group of leather-jacketed soldiers and a few Native Americans watching a tonsured Franciscan priest raise his eyes and hands toward the sky...

"In the name of our blessed Father, and the saint whose feast we commemorate today, St. John the Baptist..."

The day was June 24, 1797, a Saturday, and the priest was Fr. Fermin de Lasuen, Presidente of the California Missions successor to Blessed Junipero Serra. This mission was one of four established by Fr. Lasuen in the summer of 1797 and the fifteenth of the twenty-one missions in Alta, California.

Construction began almost immediately under the care of Fathers Jose Manuel de Martiarena and Pedro Martinez. By Christmas, because of the friendly and
cooperative indigenous people, not only was there an adobe church built but also a grainary, barracks, a monastery, and some adobe houses...
If you are ever in that area of California, drive off the road about a mile when you see the sign and visit this mission. Its really quite a nice one.

Blue Sky Nothing but Blue Sky

2009-09-20T15:48:00.001-07:00

Really there is nothing but blue sky..above my house. this is one cloud, one of millions that float by here every day. What is so special about that you say.. well nothing. I don't need a reason to have a cloud be special. I just love that they are there and keeping the sky busy with all of their whiteness. This is Sedona on Sunday. You really need to see an Arizona sky to understand that the desert skies are really something special. Look up once in awhile. If you live in a crowded city or a town or country, check out those clouds. I think we need to have a cloud day now and then where we all look up and thank goodness for real clouds and not artificial ones that are often produced by other things that I won't get into right now because it might bring me down...off my cloud.

Red Roses in a Blue Vase~Farewell to Otis

2009-09-15T17:07:00.001-07:00

Here it is Tuesday already, actually its dinner time so the day is almost done. I was in such a home maker mood today. I know why, the change in the weather. It was so gorgeous today with temps in 80s and a slight breeze. That is fall here. Last night my neighbor Susan and her friend Eleanor were out walking Susan's new little long hair dachshund puppy named Remington(Remy for short). Her other dog Otis(who was my dog Blue's best friend), died last week at the age of 3 yrs because he was hoarding money. He kept eating change he would find and although they were able to save him once before this time the coins were too much and the poor dog died. I tried to tell her from day one to give the dog tap water because at least there are natural minerals in that but she wanted him to have the best and gave him bottled water only, so he craved minerals and that is what happened to Otis. Now Remy is only 3 months old but soft as can be and a red head like Susan. She told me not to bring Blue out to meet him as Remy had been"attacked" and bitten already by a dog and he was"afraid" to meet any dogs. So poor Blue whined at the door hearing Eleanor and Susan's voice and not knowing why he was kept inside.

The stars were like I had never seen before. I mean we get gorgeous desert nights but this is one that I could have stayed outside all night and just walked aimlessly for the delight of the temperature and the zillions of stars in the sky. Nothing could bring me down. I hugged Sandy and gave my condolences but that brought out a bucket of crying which no verbal juggling could have held back those tears. I truly felt for her. This woman has had her share of sorrow moving to this town by really throwing a dart on the map. That is how many folks end up in Sedona, they come to get away, to heal or hide or find a vortex.

I think little Remy is cute enough he will heal her sadness in no time. I went back in and hugged Blue. Rita mentioned how little the dog was, anyone could miss it if it not looking. A dog like Blue is just too hard to miss. I know I would miss him if he were gone. I am giving a silent prayer to Otis..he had boundless energy and a taste for cheap coins. May he rest in doggie heaven.

The painted photo above was done over a photo of old roses from my garden in California.. I took the photo, printed it and painted over it. I never tire of that option, to cover a photo with paint. It seems to have a timeless appeal to me. If interested to see it bigger click the link.

BAby Iris Welcome!~Blindsight MOvie!

2009-09-11T10:37:00.001-07:00

While watching one of the best movies ever made called BLindsight, I finished my watercolor for FAwna's baby who was born 2 weeks ago, Iris. Again this is gouache and its getting easier to work with after a month of practice. Please see that movie~ about a blind young woman from Sweden who alone goes to Tibet to open the first blind school for children. She succeeds on horseback going door to door getting a group of children, most of whom the parents are happy to let go as they feel it a burden for the family. She writes a man who lives in Colorado who is blind to come visit and tell the kids his story of climbing Mt Everest, instead he comes with an entire team of climbers and a film crew and they climb the mountain. I defy a dry eye at the end of this one when the little boy sings through the credits....please see this film!!

Labor Day-Indian Summer- School girls painting

2009-09-07T08:23:00.000-07:00

Here it is Monday and a holiday. I awake to a sunny blue sky day and a dog who I love. My daughter harder to wake up than the dog, has to go to cross country practice at 8:30. The weather couldn't be better for a run or anything on this bright and beautiful Labor Day. I myself will be laboring. I am warned and pleaded with to take a day off. I find that every day is a work day, and that although I am not a physical laborer,(I have done plenty of that in my lifetime), I am pleased with the job I have created for myself. I have met the most amazing people, loving, creative with a passion for history and art and also have been fulfilled by earning a living working for myself and not being bossed around. I never was happy with that, and being the oldest of 11, it was always hard to take orders from anyone.
So, hopefully today, as we honor labor, we will remember all those who work for us, the men and women in the fields of central California, bringing us our vegetables and fruits, those in China who really sew all our clothing, make our toys and walk to work and back. Let's not forget the construction men and women who work out of doors to construct our buildings, homes and roads. What about those who work the hospitals and universities, schools, we owe them so much. I also do not want to forget anyone and I am sure I have, but I want to pay tribute to the mothers and fathers who work every day to keep their children fed and clothed and sheltered, who care and clean for their families. I honor the workers of the world.

I have finished another gouache painting-this time of two older teen schoolgirls. This from another gem photo that I found and just loved. Enjoy your holiday day and the week to come. Fall is on its way and then winter. The last days of Indian summer are upon us.

The Swimmers~Ode to the Wind by Percy Shelley

2009-09-04T09:56:00.001-07:00

This couple seeming to have slightly more fun than the last one I painted. They are swimming under a waterfall created by a small dam in Texas somewhere. that is all I know of the photo I used to paint it from. Again it has been painted with gouache and was a big challenge as my mediums have always been acrylic and watercolor. This paint is rich in opacity but difficult in layering. Nevertheless a challenge is always good for an artist. This one was no exception as I spent 2 nights on it and now am happy with the results.

I have had a week filled with both excitement and work, lots of it. I am selling the vintage photos on Etsy almost daily and to get to my Ebay customers is difficult sometimes as so much is ending without sales but really I love both venues so will continue to work on them both.

I realized that its important to meet strangers. I have met a few this week, one on the internet which I am happy to say has become a friend somewhat as we have so much in common that I like being able to converse about our past, our children and our families. Another was a woman with two children I met this morning when her tea cup chihuahua got loose and chased after Blue barking and I thought he might go to the street so walked back to meet her. After talking to the owner a nice woman named Alicia and her two daughters I found out the dog's name was Mayan and he thought he was a pitbull although can fit in your hand. Her oldest daughter is obsessed with the Titanic and is 9 years old. She loves history and cannot understand why people are not more fascinated by it. I think I like this kid already. So the bad news is that after a year of living there they are moving across town and I will not see them again. Now I wish I had met them sooner. Oh well. I guess I am mentioning this as its always a good thing to meet a neighbor or stranger you see alot of. You never know who they are and they could be a friend all along and then they will move and you will never know that they could be so. My advice, don't wait, say hello to people as you walk or pass them.
I also would like to recommend a poet, someone that I discovered never too late and his name is Percy Shelley. His wife wrote Frankenstein and he was probably the most famous of all the English poets and I am going to leave you with the only poem I have read of his so far. Its really worth the read. The last stanza or section seemed to resonate with me so much. Enjoy it. And enjoy the coming weekend!

Percy Bysshe Shelley. 1792–1822
Ode to the West Wind

O WILD West Wind, thou breath of Autumn's being

Thou from whose unseen presence the leaves dead

Are driven like ghosts from an enchanter fleeing,

Yellow, and black, and pale, and hectic red,

Who chariotest to their dark wintry bed

The wingèd seeds, where they lie cold and low,

Each like a corpse within its grave, until

Thine azure sister of the Spring shall blow

Her clarion o'er the dreaming earth, and fill

(Driving sweet buds like flocks to feed in air)

With living hues and odours plain and hill;

Wild Spirit, which art moving everywhere;

Destroyer and preserver; hear, O hear!

II

Thou on whose stream, 'mid the steep sky's commotion,
15
Loose clouds like earth's decaying leaves are shed,

Shook from the tangled boughs of heaven and ocean,

Angels of rain and lightning! there are spread

On the blue surface of thine airy surge,

Like the bright hair uplifted from the head
20

Of some fierce Mænad, even from the dim verge

Of the horizon to the zenith's height,

The locks of the approaching storm. Thou dirge

Of the dying year, to which this closing night

Will be the dome of a vast sepulchre,
25
Vaulted with all thy congregated might

Of vapours, from whose solid atmosphere

Black rain, and fire, and hail, will burst: O hear!

III

Thou who didst waken from his summer dreams

The blue Mediterranean, where he lay,
30
Lull'd by the coil of his crystàlline streams,

Beside a pumice isle in Baiæ's bay,

And saw in sleep old palaces and towers

Quivering within the wave's intenser day,

All overgrown with azure moss, and flowers
35
So sweet, the sense faints picturing them! Thou

For whose path the Atlantic's level powers

Cleave themselves into chasms, while far below

The sea-blooms and the oozy woods which wear

The sapless foliage of the ocean, know
40

Thy voice, and suddenly grow gray with fear,

And tremble and despoil themselves: O hear!

IV

If I were a dead leaf thou mightest bear;

If I were a swift cloud to fly with thee;

A wave to pant beneath thy power, and share
45

The impulse of thy strength, only less free

Than thou, O uncontrollable! if even

I were as in my boyhood, and could be

The comrade of thy wanderings over heaven,

As then, when to outstrip thy skiey speed
50
Scarce seem'd a vision—I would ne'er have striven

As thus with thee in prayer in my sore need.

O! lift me as a wave, a leaf, a cloud!

I fall upon the thorns of life! I bleed!

A heavy weight of hours has chain'd and bow'd
55
One too like thee—tameless, and swift, and proud.

V

Make me thy lyre, even as the forest is:

What if my leaves are falling like its own?

The tumult of thy mighty harmonies

Will take from both a deep autumnal tone,
60
Sweet though in sadness. Be thou, Spirit fierce,

My spirit! Be thou me, impetuous one!

Drive my dead thoughts over the universe,

Like wither'd leaves, to quicken a new birth;

And, by the incantation of this verse,
65

Scatter, as from an unextinguish'd hearth

Ashes and sparks, my words among mankind!

Be through my lips to unawaken'd earth

The trumpet of a prophecy! O Wind,

If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?

SAturday August 30th~waiting for treasury to open

2009-08-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

I decided to write a little bit while I wait for the treasury to open. I have been trying to do more creative things for myself instead of just working all the time. tonight I made the best dinner and wanted to share the recipe, I should have taken a photo but that will not happen as dinner is over.
I made slow cooked pork roast, small one in orange juice and cilantro and about 6 large tomatillos cut up. Cook for 4-5 hours and after 3 hours on low-medium heat break up the meat and do it again until it is completely torn apart. Keep the lid on the whole time until the last 1/2 hour.
Par cook an ear of white corn off the cob and add it to the following:
1/2 jalapeno chili raw minced
1/4 chopped red onion
1/2tomato chopped
lime juice from 1/2 of fresh lime
avocado perfect cut into cubes...too soft is not good
stir around and this is the salsa

Tortillas or corn tortillas warmed with some melted cheese and pinto or black beans. add the meat in chunks with some of the green sauce , throw the salsa over the top and if you are bold add a dash of sour cream and some shredded cabbage or lettuce. This is the best meal!
Here is the image above made into a gouache painting last night. (revamped original in previous post).I posted it on facebook as well.
I already have an idea for another I will attempt tonight. Now I really want to do some serious writing but when the time? If only a good Dictaphone were available for the MACs.

A Young Couple BAck in Time~ Friday already!

2009-08-28T17:37:00.001-07:00

I admit I have neglected my dear ole blog. But then again so much is going on. I am working on both etsy and ebay full force. The dog is always begging for me to throw the ball and the phone is ringing alot with friends, family and today I had to do some photo washing in the sink, the photos are almost always stuck to the album with paste or glue and I don't like to sell them with scrapbook on back unless I have to. I just took a delicious tuna casserole out of the oven that I made with greek yogurt and breadcrumbs and parmesan on the top. I think I forgot the peas. Oh there will be no forgiveness for that one! But maybe the sweet yellow beets with vinegar and feta will help to heal that mistake.
I was going to put up a photo of Ted Kennedy but figured everyone had seen so many already.
I watched a special last night on the Kennedy family and really I was crying before it was over. I especially felt bad for Rose and Ethel Kennedy, the mother and wife of Bobby. Did you know Ethel was pregnant with their ninth child when Bobby was gunned down. Did you know also how hard it was on TEd with all the responsibility of the brother's wives and children under him. I feel that with the last Kennedy man dead of that generation that we have lost a good man and a good politician. I think he always stood up for those he believed in. Yes he made mistakes but heh what politician has not made some bad ones.
And considering the situation Ted was in, I think he pulled through very well.
So the end to a family that will often in history on into the future define a whole generation.
I recommend the film it was called"the ninth child" maybe because Ted was the 9th. Only his 81 yr old sister suvives. A farewell flag will fly for Ted Kennedy.

Hazel from Dallas The Fruit Shed ~Sunday!

2009-08-23T08:57:00.000-07:00

Introducing Hazel Smith from Dallas. I finished this last night while watching a superb historical movie called The Lost Prince about a royal child w epilepsy who was innocent and brilliant but forced to live apart from his family and created a beautiful garden and learned to play the trumpet. Please rent this. IT is excellent film although my copy from Netflix was damaged so try to get it from a video store if possible or even view online for free. The scenery, costumes and acting really were the best.
Hazel is this woman's true name and I did the painting from a gem miniature photo. I am fascinated by those gems and have found incredible sources from them for paintings. the detail is always good and they were usually printed from strips of glass plate negatives. I know this because I have a huge collection of them that I have not even so much as printed one as yet. Oh were does the time go. I really wish I had an assistant as I could so use one. Couldn't we all?
I guess that is a good thing to have so much to do and not enough time. The worse case would be so much time and nothing to do. Being my mother's daughter I do not forsee that day.
I want to congratulate my father as he won 2nd prize at the Port Angeles County Fair this weekend for a wonderful painting he did of an antique shed with wooden work table covered w vegetables and ball jars with light coming in the window. I do believe it should have won a first place but what do the judges know of truly fine art at the local fair.

Sorry, I entered enough of them to know this. It is a wonderful time of year with the county fairs going on and the expensive greasy food. Still its something of a tradition in America and hopefully it will always be. Enjoy your Sunday! Don't forget to take the trash and recycling out tonight(that is a message to myself)

Friday already~New Watercolor/gouache

2009-08-21T08:45:00.000-07:00

This is a gouache/watercolor of two young women who have stopped on the side of a creek somewhere to pick herbs or wildflowers. One holds her apron or skirt for the other to put the flowers in. This is a gauche painting from a photo that really spoke to me. The tenderness of the act. The simplicity of the two walking along and maybe one man who was their friend snapped the photo. This was not a clear image but rather a dark one and I had little detail to work with. I am not unhappy with the results as it really does look like the image. I love the process of translating photos to a softer medium such as watercolor or gouache. The later is rather unforgiving and so I am a novice with the medium and hope to find its true nature soon.
I hope the weekend ahead will bring a wonderful sense of a new beginning as it is the new moon and I have put up a new treasury with that title on Etsy Treasury West.
For all you mom's who are readying your kids to start back to school soon, take them somewhere fun this weekend to celebrate the end of their summer.. and the beginning of your time without them, either sadly, or with a mixed sense.
I met one mother through Ebay who is sending her boy to kindergarten this next week for the first time. Her story was so poignant about how he was her only, late in life baby and how hard it will be to be away from him. I wrote and told her that it really doesn't get better because even though my daughter is 17 she is now driving and doing things that make me worry and miss her still. Sounds funny but its true. Everything in life has its moments of separation and for that mom as she said"there are not enough Kleenex's in the world to help on his first day away from me." I love that LOVE and just had to share it!
have a good one!!

Penny w Horn Rim glasses~ Monday

2009-08-17T07:29:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am a seller of vintage photos on EBay. Hundreds upon hundreds of photos pass by my eyes and through my hands. I pick the ones I believe will have interest to my long and loyal customers and then list them with whatever information I have to go with them. This young girl was found in an album of high school chums with 30 or so "gem miniatures" on one page. I have named her Penny. She was a black and white photo and now I tinted it slightly to give it some charm. There is something so wonderful about this image. I cannot say what it is but I am certain she was a gal with lots of style and charm. I share it with you.

I have decided, along with my hand painted photos and vintage glass negative prints on Etsy, to start selling vintage photos in my store as well. If ever an interest comes along to need or want to collect a few, I am offering as many as I can each day.

So here comes Monday and for us in Sedona Arizona the skies are filled with smoke. Last night on the news they announced there are 9 fires right now. Just letting the dog out I could not breathe and he came in sneezing. He has bad allergies like myself. Funny how I got a dog like that. But thinking of Rita in cross country this afternoon running in 100 degree heat with fires burning is pretty bad. I am sure her coach will have the sense not to run them and to work out in the weight room instead.

My grandaughter is in Barcelona and this morning started day one of an intensive Spanish course. She was raised in Mexico in private schools and her high school years in Oregon so she is more than fluent in Spanish. I am so proud and thrilled for her. I hope she enjoys the next 3 weeks she will be there. Thank goodness for facebook.

I also wanted to say that I heard yesterday the fires in Bonny Doon, Santa Cruz, Calif are out of control so bad. The smoke in the area is also just horrible so if you can avoid that area do so. My sister who lives there, picked the perfect time to take a vacation to San Diego and I hope she and her family enjoy it there and that there are no fires.

Enjoy Monday and have a great fresh start to the week.

End of Summer Storm~Finally

2009-08-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

After a long day of work, and heat, I decided to take an evening walk with the dog around the block. The sky gathering grey clouds from the north, winds were blowing the willow tree leaves around me in gusts. No one was out because although it was the first time in the day that the heat wasn't oppresive, the night was slowly creeping up and with it the bats and other creatures that keep many of us desert dwellers indoors. But feeling like I would burst if I didn't get some exercise I walked Blue around the block a few times and then when we returned I sat in the driveway on the curb and just watched as this beautiful cloud rolled in. There was lightening shooting out from it and lots of thunder. I got a few nice images and believe it or not this is untouched in photoshop. Minutes later the sky turned dark and blue purple and then we had our short lived rain. I am so longing to have cooler weather and today got up to grey skies and 67 degrees. I walked with a light sprinkle for almost an hour and relished every cool minute of it. I happened upon several people I knew both who were so glad it had cooled. One old woman said to me"I don't even care if it rains, no umbrella, what do I care" I agreed and went on my way.
Funny how much you can appreciate what someone else takes for granted or even loathes, the rain and grey skies. It could be the opposite for my mom and sister who live in the very far northwest where warm and sunny are something they experience about 2 weeks of the year.
Although there was a heat wave for a week this summer up there.
I for one will not complain when the fall is truly here. I so look forward to it.
School has started and the seasons are changing..I hope!

Koi Pond

2009-08-10T17:33:00.001-07:00

here is a digitally altered image of Koi that I photographed in Hawaii and now have listed in my shop on Etsy. I had so much fun with this photo and am pretty happy with the results. I wanted to make the fish jump off the page with the color so I worked and reworked the tones.
Well it has finally come, tomorrow is the first day of school for Rita, a senior and I am very proud of her. She really has accomplished alot in her 4 years in academics and sports and honestly I could not have imagined it any other way for her.
Now last night she started her essay for the colleges and it will be a small task to accomplish the next phase of the year and that is finishing up all that needs to be done to graduate and move on to college.
Our weather has really cooled down alot, mornings are now in the high 70s and very nice for walking the dog. I am going further now that the heat has let up a bit although it still gets 99 in afternoons here but I will not complain as there is rain in many areas.
I guess summer is starting to wind down everywhere and that brings on Indian summer which the colors in the Koi pond remind me of. I miss terribly the leaves changing and look forward some day to returning to a place to see nature's painterly schemes in the fall.
I am reading a wonderful book that is called Shantaram by Gregory Roberts, a huge novel based on his life as an escaped convict who fleas New Zealand and ends up in Bombay. I am only 2 chapters in but every word is wonderful and I recommend it highly!

Back to School 1924 style

2009-08-04T13:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to try a little something different today. After looking at Rita's blog which she has spent a great deal of time creating animalgamalia, I decided to try a different approach to the layout. Not sure I will like it but will see how it looks when I am done with it. The boy who is all dapper in his wool suit and bow tie above with his school books in hand was a young man named Bobby Freeman from Pasadena, CA, 1924. He was the oldest of 5 children and also the only one to cause his mother any worry. He was driving their car at 14 and eventually sent off to a Toronto boarding school which was taught in the British fashion. I love this photo of him because from what I have learned of Bobby he was a bit of a rebel and also a very charasmatic young man. He traveled on a ship at a young age with his father to Alaska to a religious camp to minister to the native people there. His father was a minister of the largest church in Pasadena at the time. ALl the children were schooled in Montessori style schools to teach the children independence and it paid off for all of their children I am sure.

For myself growing up, August in Michigan meant a month left to have freedom and fun and not worry about school until after labor day. For my own daughter now she is reading her AP biology book in preparation of what will be a class that will require 3 hours of reading for only one class and as an incoming senior she will be having alot on her plate. There is the senior project, applications to colleges, letters of recommendation to the colleges, cross country running for which she has already started to train by running 4 miles a day, student council and her 4 other classes. This seems like alot to do but then preparing for college is not like any other preparation that a young teen will face for that is the big leap, one which will set their course. I want to start a mother's group for those who have seniors. Let us compare notes to see how we do, how our children manage and what little and big things we all face. I have mixed feelings but really they are all filled with hope. I hope our economy picks up. I hope that our country can get back on its feet. I hope they find a cure for cancer. I hope the sky will stay blue and the stars continue to shine down on us all. Fall approaches and although its 100 degrees in the desert I am really one who looks forward to cooler weather and hope it comes soon~

DEMOCRACY!

2009-08-02T16:14:00.001-07:00

I found this today while looking through one of my photo albums and made it into a greeting card. The year is 1920 and even back then teachers, you can see her in the middle with a star on her hat and standing above the girls in back, were encouraging children to be a participant in their country's holidays and politics. This is so cute.. I had to make it into a card. There are more letters than needed to spell this and some of the letters go the wrong way, making it even sweeter!
If you click on the link in the title you will be taken to my etsy store where it is listed. I added it as another Etsyprojectembrace so that people who buy it will be donating a portion to the Cancer Society in Laura Slocum's name.

Sunday is a wonderful day to do what you want.
Rita and I took an outing to the local Walgreens and Goodwill. Neither were exciting but then again there isn't much to do in 100 degree heat!

tax collector~painted pottery

2009-07-31T06:40:00.000-07:00

I have been slow on the uptake this summer, not wanting to blog much. I think with the intense heat we have there is a good excuse. I found this in an album and will be listing it on my ebay site but loved it so much I decided to post it here. Although it is not tax time for everyone, for some of us that pay quarterly, such as myself, it is tax time 4 times a year and one cherry on the icing in April. I loved this image so much and decided to do a gradient background. This was fun, selecting it with the magnetic tool and then running a high pass on the image. These young women were "out on a lark", as they used to say, running around town with their new Kodak, and taking photos wherever they please. This is a good one!
So today is the last day of July!phew! and I thought the summer would last forever, didn't you?
I for one had an enjoyable June and July and look forward to one more warm month. I just wish I didn't have to go to the dentist today!
I spent a couple days at a little barn/store and painted pottery this summer, for fun and for gifts. I highly recommend doing so with someone you love or by yourself. It was relaxing and rewarding as when the bowls I painted were fired it was so great to pick them up, wrap them and see the faces of those who received something"made by hand". I will return to our little local painting pottery place. Look for one in your neighborhood. You won't be sorry.

James Bond~ Ian Fleming~MI5 BBC Series

2009-07-27T14:39:00.001-07:00

Ian Fleming
Last night after a long day all I could think of was watching a film. I had rented a few and all seemed to serious or stupid and I went through my list of films I had taped on the dvr and Casino Royale was there. I watched it for what seemed like 3 hours. It was so well done, the music, the direction, the costumes. I have always had a fascination with James Bond and British spy movies. I cannot say why as I am not a fan of violence in film but really there is something I absolutely love about the James Bond films. I guess its the traveling to foreign lands, the beautiful scenery, the intrigue and adventure and the incredible stunts. Casino Royale didn't disappoint in that department.
I got online and read a bit about Ian Fleming and this is what I found about the author of these spy novels, Ian Lancaster Fleming was an English author and journalist. Fleming is best remembered for creating the character of James Bond and chronicling his adventures in twelve novels and nine short stories. Additionally, Fleming wrote the children’s story Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and two non-fiction books.

link to youtube casino Royale from 1967

link to Youtube From Russia with Love

I cannot seem to get enough British spy adventure. I have watched nearly all the BBC series MI5 which has been showing this summer on PBS. If you have not seen it I highly recommend it as the acting and suspense are superb, the characters are very well defined and the plots are fascinating.

I guess summer is the time for frivolous viewing and for that I cannot say enough about any of the choices above although a big screen helps with James Bond.
Enjoy and if you come across any good spy movies, drop me a line and let me know.

check out this article on the BBC website about MI5 agents.

And here is the Wikipedia article on the show I spoke of above, in Canada it was called Spooks, seen in almost every country this series has been nominated for Best Drama Series BAFTA award and many others. If you want the lowdown on the show you can get it here.

Rita's Blog revisited~come take a look!

2009-07-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

Please take a dogsled over and check out my daughter Rita's new blog start up. She was just waiting for the right time to revisit it and I am so glad she did.
Click here to go visit Amalgamalia-her blog and click the illustration above to go to her Animalgam store to see her newest illustrations. I am so happy she has taken time out of her cross country running and listing in her vintage store to go back to her best true love, ART! I am a very proud mom of both my girls and soon I will be posting about my other daughter and her adventures with her latest big new business she has launched. For now its a secret but its going to be big!

Seattle Trip~ Mom's 80th Birthday

2009-07-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

Well we made it back in one piece after much traveling~our trip from Flagstaff to Seattle had us landing and taking off 8 times to get there! But on arrival sister Jenny so kind to pick us up and drop us at the hotel which I must say was an A+ experience! The Marriott on the water with spectacular views and incredible service! Then traveling over the bridge with Sharon to the party the following day and met by Jenny coming up from her kitchen on level one of her and Jeff's beautiful home in West Seattle. Lots of children and teens and adults to make the family gathering to celebrate Mom's 80th birthday just as pleasant as it could be. My sister and her family were fabulous to have it at their home and Jenny's food did not disappoint. The following day we met up again at her home for more visiting and again she supplied us lunch! There were outings to the antique and thrift stores and shopping around Seattle. Lots of walking..and did I say walking? to work up an appetite for the wonderful seafood that we had at every place we ate. Lots of photos taken and here are a few. I had the best time as I am sure Rita did as well and we were very happy to come home and pick up Blue at the kennel where the lady almost refused her tip saying he was such a wonderful guest with his smiling that the ladies fell in love with him.
Seattle in summer.. I cannot think of another place that would have been nicer. If you have never been there make the trip. Lots of tourists and locals and really a clean and beautiful city.
Several points to see~ the original Starbucks which we visited each morning~La Paloma restaurant in Pioneer square, middle eastern food rustic restaurant run by 2 Thai gals..photos to follow at a later date~ Cutters for their seafood salmon chowder~on and on. I can tell we will go back to see more of the woods but the city proved wonderful. We were lucky enough to be at the grand opening of Seattle's Literail and the mural was across from the tracks as we stood with all the excited folks who would be the first to ride the literail from one side of the city to the other, what a great experience. It was 3 decades in the making and probably millions and millions of dollars. The artwork at every stop was beyond incredible! We tried but never made it to the museum's Andrew Wyeth exhibit. Next time. As we climbed the steps at the pioneer station to catch the lite rail back the waves of cheers from the stadium roared through our bodies like an electrical charge sending chills all over my body. Throngs of fans of the Seattle soccer team, the Sounders were there to cheer on their team against Chelsea. The stadium made me nervous just to look at the seats going hundreds of feet into the air. So there was much good cheer with family and wonderful sites to take in on our trip to Seattle. Five days was not enough.
Here it is Friday again and a week ago we were in transit to Seattle. Time flies so enjoy it while its available. Take a trip to Seattle, you will not regret it!

French Girl w Magazine

2009-07-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

***UPDATE***
My computer hard drive was recovered and all files still intact. I truly love those guys at MAc Clinic. They saved me from losing all that work for 5 years. I am so happy that I can be back on Etsy and also to have those photographs back! hooray... I went out and got a lottery ticket for tonite and its a quick pick and the first two numbers were 7 15, does that mean anything as that is today's date? I will let you know tomorrow.

This is from a photograph from a glass negative that my friend in France sent me a few weeks ago. I just loved the composition of the girl sitting on a table reading her magazine with the window light coming in. Of course the challenge was in the color as this was a black and white and I had to invent the color. I am old hat there as I have been adding color over black and white photographs for years and this proved to be a challenge but not one I couldn't overcome. So here she is.

Cherry Scones~Day after the Crash

2009-07-12T21:17:00.001-07:00

Yes these are the same scones I made today. Why because I had to do something creative and fun to appease myself as yesterday was such a difficult day to get through. MY trusty hard drive stopped working, refused to show up at all and after hours at the MAc Clinic the verdict didn't look good. All of my 5 years worth of work was lost melted into oblivion and no way to recover it unless I fork over $1500 which it could even be more. This was me being stupid as all the scanned glass negatives and hand tinting had not been backed up onto anything and I was forced to shut down my etsy store.

Yes its a sad day indeed. I have to carry on and keep calm, you know the old saying.
I still have hope that the info can be recovered. Honestly the amount of hours of work on that hard drive is not even estimateable if that is a word.

So yes those scones were great but really they didn't make it that much easier to handle.
I do look forward to vacation for 5 days on Fri to visit my mom and dad in Seattle with all the girls and children. Sara won't be there which is sad but there will be plenty of kids to love and lots of good ole Clancy chatter!

So keep all your fingers and toes crossed that I will get my hard drive info back. Sadly I came home to an order of 2 photos when I came back from the MAc Clinic. I had to cry, the images are on that drive alone.

Oh well things could be worse. I still have my G5 and it works somewhat slower but that is fine.
Have a great Monday!

Flamingos~ETSYEMBRACE!

2009-07-10T09:14:00.000-07:00

Oh what a life. SLeeping on one foot. Fragile and beautiful these lovely and unusual birds of the tropics are at peace as long as there is room for small foot to stay put. Why they don't fall over, probably the math of the angle of their foot balanced under their feathers. Whatever the reason we love to look at them and they don't seem that bothered by humans.
Another photo from Hawaii. I guess I am in the mood to be near the beach. I just dropped the car off for its yearly, tune up and new tires and walked the dog in 95 degree heat looking for any and all shade while we walk. Yes, I am thinking of the ocean and how blue and cool it looks to anyone who is hot. I have finished my LOST addiction by watching the final episodes from last season and now will have to wait with everyone else to see what happens to those who dare to go back to the island.

I lived in Oahu in 1980 and worked in the downtown area on a cruise ship and also at a photo store and costume store on hotel street. Three jobs, one year. My oldest Sara went to school at the Kaimuki elementary school around the corner. We had geckos on the wall and no TV so we listened to old tv shows on tape from the library and every fri nite drove to the University in Manoa to see a classic film in the air conditioned theater for $2. Saturdays we went to Pattis Kitchen in the Mauna L0a mall for a cafeteria style all you could eat chinese food. Yummy food. Then most days after work we went to the beach and sat by the water.
Life was good but a bit boring and I longed to be nearer my family. I will always remember the time spent there and also my vacation to big Island 6 years ago. I have my wonderful memories and also some pretty cool photos!
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Enjoy Friday and the weekend. Shop Etsyprojectembrace to help support donations to cancer foundation in Laura Slocum's name. She is an amazing woman and a great artist and ferociously brave person with ovarian cancer. She has taught me alot about what is truly important in life and we have never met. But really it doesn't matter. I still care alot about her and hope and pray she will recover soon!
Look for the tag Etsyprojectembrace on items on Etsy and you will be taken to listings that are donating to cancer foundation!

Behind the Door~Polynesian artistry~Wimbeldon ends

2009-07-07T07:20:00.001-07:00

Once again I keep coming back to my Hawaiin images. I think because its so hot in Sedona that I feel often I am living in a foreign country that is hot all the time. Of course minus the moisture which is required to make you sweat such as in Malasia or Thailand.
This is a beautiful carved door from probably the late 1600s and not sure where but knowing only that it is Asian in design. As it is morning and our birds are singing I imagine that these roosters greeted the new day in this far away country and time that this was created by some loving hands of an artisan probably for a wealthy family who really wanted to make a first impression.
The doorway at the front of a home is often the first thing one sees before entering the home and it may have been auspicious to have roosters adorn that which would open up to a wonderful palace or wealthy estate.
The red and blue flowers are faded but still the amazing work of the carver has come through and loving all things old this has acquired a certain charm of its own by way of age. As we all know things get better w age, wine, women and architecture!
I am readying myself to brave the early morning walk and got up early to catch an Etsy treasury only to miss it by 7 minutes.. oh well.
Last night I watched with Rita, the men's Wimbledon final. I have to say although Federer won, it was a match won by Andy Roddick. The longest 5th set in the history of Wimbledon, Andy was on serve through 15 games. Unheard of. It was a wearing down of Andy as Federer was going for a record to beat Pete Sampras' title of having won 7 grand slam titles. Now Federer can have his baby w his wife in a few months and also claim title as the greatest tennis player ever to have lived.
I am always for the underdog and believe that Andy Roddick's time will come.
I also enjoyed French open when Robin Soederling the swede beat Nadal but didn't win the title.
I guess the Swiss just have good coaches. The best part of the whole 4.5 hours of the match was listening to John MacEnroe narrate. He is the best and to me still the best tennis player ever to watch and compete although his nemesis Bjorn Borg attended along w Pete Sampras and Ron Laver who now is a very old man. Time flies even in the world of tennis. Now the us open is coming and I will love that as well.
Summer is good for lots of things, but I have to say... good tennis is definitely one of my favorite things! I played all through college and until I slipped a disc in my neck I was a good player.
Well, must face the sunshine.. oh how terrible, it could be worse. Sunshine is not so bad. In fact its good.. keeps us cheerful I think!
have a great day! and play some tennis, its fun!

Indonesian Flying Horse

2009-07-05T07:49:00.001-07:00

This image was taken in Hawaii at the Hilton hotel where there is one of the finest collections of polynesian art anywhere. This horse is life sized and carved of several pieces of wood. I encourage anyone going to the big island to reserve at least several hours to enjoy all the wonderful sights inside this hotel. The Hiltons really put some time and money into this collection and I promise you will not be sorry. I almost want to say its worth the trip but there are other things on that island as well and this collection is one not to be missed. They have also a modern gallery there which displays current artwork for sale from around the world.
A little piece of art paradise..
Happy the fourth is over, and now we can go into the remainder of summer and our predicted 98 degrees for 2 weeks forward will keep me indoors and walking blue early. ok so must go do that as my thermometer reads 89 now.

adele shaw ~dancing to her own beat

2009-07-03T15:06:00.000-07:00

This is a photo of a young woman named Adele Shaw. She is doing a rather primal spring dance with a lute in hand. This is one of 2 images taken of her in the 1920 at the edge of Chapin Lake in Michigan. Why she dressed up and did this dance and had her photo taken we will never know. All we know is that she did it and did it her bare feet dancing to her own beat. I love the idea of "marching to your own beat" I think I have always done so and often with many consequences that were dreadful but yet still I continued. I rarely would want or be able to"follow the crowd" and did as I pleased. I honestly have never been one for public dancing or even much for dancing although as a young child I remember my mother taking me to the ballet downtown and how much of an impression it made on me. Forever I would aspire to lofty ideals and felt that I was in a secret club that had seen a special thing that was reserved for only the wealthiest or most educated of people. This carried forward after attending catholic schools where, although I bucked the system and was always being opositional to rules, I retained the best that the education could offer which included the luxury of studying art history in the 9th grade, something I would take again in college and because I had that earlier education it came back readily as if it had been stored in a closet in my brain.
So here I would say give kids plenty of experiences to things outside their neighborhood, like downtown ballet and symphonies and book readings and movies that are a little avant garde in nature. You may be gifting them an opportunity to have an impression that could change their life.

Ethel Smith~The double crosser~watercolor

2009-06-30T12:41:00.001-07:00

This is a watercolor of a photograph that I came across awhile ago and it was an average small wallet sized photo but the back had in man's bad handwriting,"Ethel Smith, double crosser". You could tell he kept it the rest of his life, probably in the back of his wallet. Maybe even his first true love that broke his heart. I am not sure I did Ethel justice as she was a beautiful yet simple woman about 25 and with a look that many men might not be able to resist. A country gal that probably stood out from the crowd at bbq's and almost demanded the rest of the women be jealous of her. I found it touching too that this man kept the photo despite what she had done to his heart, because at one time she might have loved him and for that, he was glad.
I love the little stories one finds in old photos. They are there whether real or unreal, somehow I seem to hear the voices and imagine the stories they would tell if they could talk.
I would like to do more portraits and may list them.

PAletas~ and the Front page! Etsy!!

2009-06-29T16:15:00.000-07:00

I was out walking the dog. I didn't really have the motivation, it was 9 am and already about 90 degrees outside. I immediately saw Elsie. She is 85 and walks Otis a long hair chihuahua that jumps in the air up and down when he sees my big black lab, Blue. We chatted about the heat and went our separate ways.
I walked through the park and surprised to see one couple and their baby and child under the covered swings playing with the kids. We walked on and for 30 minutes more braved the broiling sun looking for any chance of shade but alas it had gone.
With only a few more blocks to go I got a call on my cell from Rita, "guess who's on the Front PAge.. mom you are!" that was a good call, it gave me the strength to talk to her for a few more minutes and head home. It was a nice front page too and I was happy for the half our of fame I could give for those folks including Rita who has been working very hard building treasuries and trying to get her store looking better.
Well the end of the month has finally come and soon we head into July, the next wonderful summer month where we should get some monsoon rains.
Lastly I want to add my latest new addiction for the summer...
PAletas from the local mexican store that carries everything you might want or need but mostly every flavor of unique popsicle. Paletas - Mexican ice pops - include such flavors as mango con chile, cantaloupe, corn, chamoy, strawberry and rice. The handmade ice pops are based on flavors traditionally found in Mexico and can be water- or cream-based.
find a Mexican store in your area and try the many wonderful flavors.. honestly I am hooked! A refreshing way to savor the sweet and hot frozen treats of summer.
I borrowed this image from another site as it was the perfect image. Photographer Carlos Chavez from LA Times.

An outing worth noting!

2009-06-26T07:09:00.001-07:00

Yesterday with camera in hand off I went to leave the car at the repair shop and walk from there to get my hair cut. Along the way many wonderful colors spoke to me. Flowers are really in bloom now in the desert as this is the coolest summer for many many years and it keeps flowers who would otherwise be dead from the heat, blooming!
I found so many wonderful daisies and other unknowns and kept snapping away. My 10 minute walk turned into 25 after stopping every few feet.
I have so many I want to share but for now there are a few up in my Etsy store if you click here you will be taken to the store and the photo above to click on and see it a bit larger. Most of all I love this image as it reminds me that nature in its infinite complexity has designed that which no human could ever imagine an almost kaleidoscope of color and intricate woven infinite detail which even if we looked for hours- would never even have a true glimpse of it, in its smallest minutia. I am humbled by nature and in particular those wonderful flowers who always are able to fill my heart with joy!

show and tell~my first prize of summer oh gladiola!

2009-06-25T06:44:00.001-07:00

Summer is half over. So far so good. I get letters and read about gardening and long for my hands in the soil. I planted gladiola bulbs in May and now they have finally bloomed in my back yard clay pots. They have to be watered every day but then so does my tomato plants so the hose goes no matter what.
I chose a bright orange yellow as the color is brilliant and bold and reminds me of what summer is and should be, filled with color and life! I photographed this flower on a piece of Italian lace and also in front of my back yard storage room's blue door and I think this works nicely as the opposite color brings out the best.
Today I have an early start. After sitting through 6 hours of John Adams in the past 2 days for Rita's history credit I have a new appreciation for our country's earliest forefathers and what they went through to give this country independence and freedom from Europe.
I recommend the HBO series as the acting is marvelous and the characters and make up were really spot on. I had to put my MI5 series on hold for this but was glad to do so.
I should be reading a book but after working 12 hours a day it often seems impossible without falling asleep.
I am going to take the car in for a tune up and oil change to my friendly neighborhood car dealer who has kept my old volvo running like a top all these years. Then cross the street and while car is fixed get my hair done. I love my hairdresser Chanel. She is the prettiest and sweetest person I have met in this town and I told my sister Sharon about her and now we both go regularly to her. She is 25 and from a family who has never eaten meat and drank her grandma's goat milk and fresh chicken eggs growing up in Cottonwood, down the road past the desert for 20 miles. She has a beauty baby named Coco. Sharon and I both think she has everything to be a movie star. I will eventually take her photo before I leave Sedona as I want to remember her.

Rita is chipping away at her homework for the summer and soon we will be going to Seattle to the family reunion. After watching that John Adams special I feel that as Americans we move so far from our roots,our homes. IT makes us a nation of wanderers, looking for some pie in the sky when it was our home all along we were looking for. I almost wish I had been born back east in some small new england town. But then I still would have had to roam west as it was in my blood and somehow at 14 I knew I would never live in Michigan once I left. I just felt the WEst call me. Maybe that is how these migrations take place. Something calls us.

the News Boys en Francé-death of the newspaper

2009-06-23T15:12:00.000-07:00

this image from one of my very favorite glass negatives, news boys in France holding up what looks like a political paper from maybe the 1920s. I did a treasury today about the death of the newspaper. I have a degree in journalism and my first job out of my graduate studies was at The Good Times newspaper in Santa Cruz, actually that was my second job. First was working for the Menlo Advisor. That was such a nightmare job, I was hired as manager over people who had been there 5 years or more and I was supposed to squeeze more work out of them for the lousy $5-7 an hour they were getting. I cut the tip of my finger one sat and had to be driven to the hospital by a co worker who only said"don't get blood in my car". I was fired after I had a meeting with the owners asking them for a 25¢ raise for one gal and to have a non smoking lunch room. They thought I was an upstart and I was but everyone loved me after my one summer there. The good times had lots of nice people working there and I met one of my best friends ever, Robin, who like myself, worked in the art dept and who was from the midwest and her father a life long artist.

There was no lack of nice people and also rotten power-hungry people as well. There was a 7.0 earthquake one day and trapped inside it for a time we all left and never entered the building again. The building was demolished.
After a short time at the new building I quit. Newspaper business is not the most fun and usually it is about the bottom line or how much you can save. Rupert Murdock bought us out and then I left.
I still think of those boys shouting "read all about it" whenever there was big news like war or stock market crash or titanic or baseball news.. those little boys who were big voices on the street corners, hawking the paper to all the business folks and everyday folks who like to be in the know.
My mom still reads her little Port Angeles newspaper each day and does the crossword puzzle. What is going to happen to our country without the newspaper. I don't know really but it won't be the same.
Link to the Newspaper treasury I did.

Monday

2009-06-22T14:12:00.000-07:00

Peonies on Day Three

I have been tagged .......

I've been tagged by my friend Kim, otherwise known as slinkymalinkicat. Thank you Kim!

I've been Tagged

What is your current obsession?

vintage photography

What is your weirdest obsession?

kale dip...don't laugh its so good

What are you wearing today?

blue linen top, jean shorts..heh its 88 degrees!

What's for dinner?

Salmon-greens-rice

What is your favourite book?

Charlottes WEb

What's the last thing you bought?

kombucha drink

What are you listening to right now?

Cinemix radio online Cinemix

What is your favourite ice-cream flavour?

Banana

What do you think of the person who tagged you?

Sweet -creative-kind!

If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

South of France or Santa Cruz California mountains

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour where would you go?

outside PAris .

Which language do you want to learn?

SPanish

Who do you want to meet right now?
my grandchildren-Ellen, Ava, Tristan and Miranda

What is your favourite colour?

I have two ..... soft green and sky blue

What is your favourite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?

linen skirt-cashmere sweater

What is your favourite magazine?

Smithsonian... but no time to read it.

If you had a £100 now, what would you spend it on?

a massage

Favourite artist/s?

MY daughter Rita

Do you admire anyone's style?

I admire my oldest daughter, never complains about anything except people who are mean to children or women.

Describe your personal style?

artistic- keenly observant-earth bound-nature lover but do not like bugs

What are you going to do after this?

work more on Ebay-my real job

What are your favourite movies?

easy -Star TRek-anything British such as Catherine Cookson- MI5 series from BBC

What is your favourite fruit?

BLueberries

What inspires you?

Nature-&photography

What music do you like this week?

Classical from Films

What is your dream job?

Consultant- MArketing

What is stopping you?

happy in the home for now

If you could change something in the world to make it a better place what would that be?

get rid of air pollution

Something about yourself that makes no sense?
oops I consider myself very sensible but also too friendly

Happy Fathers Day DAd!!!~you mean alot to me!

2009-06-21T08:11:00.000-07:00

Happy FAther's day Dad! this is a photo collage of my father when he was six years old and before going to be in a school play as Tom Thumb. This is the story I heard and hope its correct. He is standing with his hands in his pockets, something I remember very clearly as a posture my dad kept the rest of his life. My brothers adopted the same pose and Kevin, who now lives in NZ not only looked like my dad his mannerisms such as hands in the pocket were much like my fathers.
This year just to be different Sharon, Bridget and I sent dad a gift certificate to the local nursery to pick something he wanted for his ever expanding garden. My mom likes to tend the flowers and vegetables and dad prefers building a fence for a dog they are getting in October and also loves putting in pear trees and other foliage so the nursery seemed a logical place to gift give.
His other loves are golfing and painting and has painted hundreds of florals, friend's and relative's dog portraits and also fabulous scenics.
His Tuesday and Saturday golf outings in any weather cannot be denied him. And at 84 years old(85 in Nov.)he is such a great example of what a person who has a full life can be! He is the repair/builder at the ST. Vincent's store that both my parents devote volunteer hours to several days of the week and his latest bit project was building a shelter for the donations in the back of the store. He has helped my family w many building projects, Jenny the youngest sister and Mike the oldest brother both have had many an addition and tiling and remodel from dad in recent years even though he had major surgery recently removing a blood clot from his neck, he was up and back to work shortly after recovering.
I think if there could be one word to sum up my dad it would be "superman". There is nothing he cannot accomplish and his famous words when we 11 children were growing up were"I don't want to hear the words,"I can't", I want to hear"I'll try". And that was it!
I myself have tried to follow my dad in so far repairing a dishwasher and vaccum cleaner just since moving to Sedona. Almost anything can be done if you put your mind to it.
Dad never refused us a trip to the skating when we grew up in Michigan, swimming at lakes in summer and camping at Camp Dearborn every summer, despite the amt of prep to bring a large family on such an adventure. Of course my mother as his right hand woman was his rock.
She was there always preparing his favorite foods for dinners and keeping him on track.
About his painting which he found as a hobby later in life my sister said he told her"If I had known I loved painting so much I wouldn't have done anything else". We all have paintings of my dad's in our homes, I have about 10 of them and love them all from a large portrait of Rita w horses to a beautiful giant painting of tulips I sent as a photo and he duplicated just beautifully!
Thanks dad, for everything, for being the best dad any father could be and most of all for showing all of us that your can do anything you set your mind to. We love you.. and I love you! Happy Fathers day!
here are some additional photos of dad

dad and his father

mom and dad 35 and 30 yrs old, both so cute~

Ruth Wall Summer 1915

2009-06-17T19:05:00.001-07:00

Little Ruth Wall, standing outside of the garden beside her palatial home. She grips a wonderful toy sheep that was pulled by a string and had little metal wheels to move along. But for some reason Ruth must have truly loved this toy for more than a pull toy she has it so tenderly held in her arms. I was scanning images to list tomorrow and this one from a wonderful album from a family named Kahn, an architect who designed homes in Los Angeles in the teens and twenties had this little gal stuck into the album. Her name and date written into the photo's border as all of Mr Kahn's images were so meticulously labeled as a person such as an architect might do.
This one is especially nice and often I have a difficult time listing some items that I think I should keep for my own collection. But then I wouldn't be in business. I do love these long ago dreamy images of children, out of doors, with one toy or playing in the dirt with animals. It seems that it was a moment frozen in time where a child could be a child and have a special soft toy to hold until any age they decided to let it go.
This is so nice I had to share little Ruth Wall with the world.

A Blue SKy Desert Day in Sedona

2009-06-16T21:24:00.000-07:00

Here are a few shots while driving around down by red rock crossing in sedona last weekend. Could you ask for a nicer day? the temp was around 79 and that is perfect here with a slight breeze. I made a sandwhich and some fruit and got a drink at the park and we drove to the river and had a picnic with our dog Blue who was entertained by fetching sticks.. well almost, he's a lab but not really used to fetching sticks in the rushing river.

The first shot was at the river and the other two were taken out exploring another spot that Rita had gone to with friends before about 3 miles down the road in the last photo here was a swimming hole with a huge rope swing into the river but alas.. too many people and that is no fun for me. The state park was perfect. We got a spot on the beachy rocks with our quilt and stayed for an hour enjoying the day. I was happy I made us get out of the house and do that. It costs $8 to get in but was worth every penny~

Pink Lincoln ~Desert Hotel~ Trip to Flagstaff Arizona

2009-06-15T08:04:00.001-07:00

This past SAturday my daughter had to go to take the ACT college entrance exam at NAU(Northern Arizona University), again, and that gave me a good reason to go visit my sister Sheila and to go shopping. After coffee at the new and wonderful New Frontiers bakery/coffee/grocery store there Sheila offered to take me to "old town" Flagg., as the locals call it. There are many old buildings that have been left to wonderfully age without touching them. We walked for 45 minutes and I just snapped away. This Sierra Vista sign was completely washed out in the center and almost invisible and Sheila said,"you could color that in". Well, when I hear something like that I am truly challenged and at the same time inspired to bring back some life to something old, my favorite thing to do.
I have quite a few wall, sign and window photos I will share over the next week.
Basketball ended last night(ok, now what??)with yes... again.. Lakers winning the title. I was so so wanting Orlando to win but they lacked the will after the terrible loss last week.
I guess its on to the US Open soon and that is always fun.
The cactus flowers are in bloom now so today I will take my camera on my walk and snap a few to post. We have had the most unusual and welcomed month of perfect 70s weather here in the desert, usually its in the high 90s every day but lately we have had just a perfect summer.
I finished a watercolor I started which had been something I was staring at every day and soon will scan and post.
Have a wonderful week!

Chameleon~Scientific Illustration

2009-06-12T09:02:00.000-07:00

I have always been fascinated by scientific illustration. Early in the 70s when I was studying botany at a community college I loved finding old illustrations that were done in the 19th century by those with a steady hand and a patient confidence in their work.

One of the best known for his scientific illustrations was Ernst Haeckel who was more than just an illustrator of beautiful creatures in our natural world. As with many scientists he had opinions which were outspoken and brilliantly recieved by many. Click on his name to read a little about him and if interested there are some amazing links to his work which can be downloaded and printed to enjoy!

I have mentioned before that my youngest daughter is keenly interested in scientific illustration and has decided to do her senior project at school on this subject. She has drawn many science like illustrations and you can see them here at her ETsy store if interested.

I found this page on a wonderful website and wanted to share it with you. If you have never seen a chameleon go to a pet store where they sell them and watch their eyes. They can follow you in a 180 degree rotation without moving an inch of their body. I am not sure any other creature is able to do that.

I have started to notice that a relative of the chameleon has started to show up everywhere here in the desert, the lizard. They are often seen rustling into bushes or seen sunning themselves in the heat out on rocks. They are the true sun worshippers, the only animal I know that prefers sun and as hot as it can get.

I will continue to bring you more of my finds on scientific illustration as it never ceases to bring me joy that there are and were people with the patience to sit and draw all the creatures of the earth for the wonder of all humans to see. We owe them much as many of our glorius creatures are now extinct or will be so its even more important to know and love and preserve our natural wonders, the animal and plant kingdom.

Colourshoppevintage~Introducing a New Etsy Shop!

2009-06-10T07:53:00.001-07:00

I am truly proud and thrilled to announce officially my daughter Rita's shop~Colourshoppevintage on Etsy! She has worked so hard these past two weeks on creating it that I felt it deserved an extra plug. If any of you are making treasuries and think any of her items will work, please consider her store. Of course I have been helping with the photography and although she fought this one being only grey with the shirt in color, she agreed and its in a great treasury right now that I did, great for the fact all the wonderful Etsy artists and Rita are included. I hope she will do well so click on the title or here to visit her store or even here to see it in the treasury. Vintage clothing to a 17 year old means anything from the 80s and 90s and that is the era that seems to appeal to them. For me those years had strange clothes but then again that is what a new generation means, they shun the present and the way back and go for the recent past. I hope you can visit both the shoppe and the treasury before it ends.
Drop her a line and let her know what you think of the shoppe or if there is anything you would like to see in there. She loves convos!
Enjoy this beautiful summer day.

Little Ellen Graduates High School-my oldest grandaughter

2009-06-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

This is little Ellen. She is the teenager in the middle and the oldest of my grandchildren. She is very tall and very beautiful and a top drawer big sister. These are her two little sisters Miranda on left and AVa on right. This is to me one of my most priceless of photos. I love them all so much and to see Ellen reading for them just warms my heart.
Little Ellen was born on WAshington's birthday and has been a girl with so much personality and like a magnet she attracts people to her. She is smart and witty and like George, a born leader. She was named after my younger sister who was only one year older than my older daughter and a good friend to Ellen's mother(Sara). Thus we have always known her as little Ellen as my sister is big Ellen or as the neices and nephews call her bigellen all in one word.
Little Ellen towers over big Ellen so at family gatherings its always fun to see this.
Ellen graduates from high school this week and I am so so proud of her and all her wonderful accomplishments. She is an amazing cook, dancer and great big sister to these two girls and a brother Tristan(not in picture). I loved Ellen from the minute she was born and will always have a very big spot there for her. She is attending my alma mater, university of Oregon in the fall.
Congratulations Ellen! You did it!! and we are all soooo proud of you!!

Tennis ~ History of Tennis ~French Open

2009-06-06T20:58:00.000-07:00

Ah ...it is that time of year when we all long to hit the courts and smash a few balls back and forth, back and forth. This photo appeared in an album from Portland, Oregon 1917. I was archivally dismantling it and I decided to list this photo of a very elegantly dressed young lady about to play tennis in her fur trimmed jacket.

I wanted to pay tribute to one of my very favorite sports..tennis. I took tennis all through my 3 years in community college and then when I transfered to University of Oregon I played for fun with anyone who would play. I loved watching Nadal get beat by the Swede the other night and then Serena lost. This has been the biggest upset year so far. I have taped all the semi finals and am waiting until Rita returns from her weekend playing a summer tournament for girls basketball, in Phoenix, to watch them as she is as hooked as I am. Basketball finals and tennis at its best on clay in France. I love how when the crowd gets unruly the chair says"merci" in a sweet voice.. he is thanking the crowd for quieting down. I think in the US we say "quiet please". Here is a little history about the sport.

The history of tennis dates back several thousand years. The game was first created by European monks to be played for entertainment purposes during religious ceremonies. To begin with, the ball was hit with the hand. Soon the leather glove came into existence. This was soon replaced with an adaptive handle for effective hitting and serving of the ball.

"The French Open was first held at the Stade de France in 1891; at first, it was a closed competition in which only men, and only French residents at that, could compete. It was only later, much later that the tournament took its modern name of Tournoi de Roland-Garros after the stadium it moved to in the 1920’s, and eventually it became open to women and international competitors."

Peony oh peony!~my tribute and informational post

2009-06-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

The Peony
I had to do some shopping yesterday and when I walked in the door the very first thing I saw were the peonies.. 3 wrapped up fresh off the delivery truck. A young florist there named Emily is a friend and we often talk about flowers. These might be my favorite flowers for beauty so I decided to pay a tribute to them by featuring a photo session I did yesterday in the back yard, and over the next few days talking about the different aspects of peonies in our lives. Check back tomorrow as I will feature another image and talk more about what I am learning about this not only wonderful but beautiful floral. I am so in love with my 3 stems that every time I go into the kitchen, where they are in a crystal vase my mom gave me for my wedding, many many years ago and I still keep in its box when I am not using it, the 3 stems sit. The blooms so beautiful I cannot help but stop and look at them. This is truly a love affair I was not prepared for when I bought them. I want to share all the different images I took yesterday and start with the inside view of the workings of the flower itself. Enjoy the paragraph below and enjoy Friday as it only comes once a week. And for your own happiness, stop by a florist and tell yourself..yes! I deserve to have a bouquet of beautiful flowers on my table... the amount of joy they bring cannot be disputed! enjoy!!

Peonies in Medicine
Arguably the first use of peonies by people was for their medicinal value. There is evidence that peonies were used extensively in both the Far East and Europe as long as two thousand years ago. Many parts of the plant are purported to have medicinal properties. Roots, bark, seeds and flowers were all believed to be of some medicinal use.

In texts describing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) three peony preparations are well known. The first is Mu Dan Pi, which is made from the bark of tree peonies, and is said to cool the blood as well as have antibacterial properties. Chi Shao Yao is made from the root of the herbaceous peony P. lactiflora and is also said to cool the blood and relieve pain. Bai Shao Yao is made from the same roots but with the bark removed and is said to nourish the blood.

Where as peonies have been used continually in medicine in the eastern world, the same can not be said of the western world. Peonies were used during medieval times. However their popularity subsequently declined and until recently little was heard of the medicinal properties of peonies.

During the middle ages in Europe only two peonies were widely used P. officinalis and P. mascula (know respectively as the female and male peony). Their uses included everything from childbirth to the warding off of evil spirits. Peonies were said to be recommended to cure gall stones, control epileptic seizures, soothe teething pain and cure jaundice.

Peony seeds have been swallowed whole to prevent bad dreams or used in a poultice to relieve stomach aches. Flower petals have been dried and used to make a tea that was reputed to soothe a cough. They were considered a panacea. In the middle ages there where not many ailments that peonies were not thought to soothe!

Alan Aldridge~psychedlic art from 70s

2009-06-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

I have a fascination with art & design blogs and while meandering through a few this morning I found and site with a piece on a wonderful man who was very much a part of the 70s art revolution. His art although fabulous and wonderful cannot be separated from this little audio piece that is given by Alan at the Dezeen exposition in October. He was the illustrator for Beatles albums and his story of meeting the Beatles and how he was first made into a designer at his young age by a man traveling door to door with a stereoscope with slides of alice in wonderland. He knocked at the door and said to his mother"6 pence.. for the boy mum..for the boy" if this peeks your interest, go listen to the short audio piece, you owe it to yourself. there is also a wonderful story about meeting the band "CREAM" whom we all knew and loved.
Here is the link, I am certainly glad I found it. Little treasures like these make blog diving one of my favorite things to do. LINK HERE

Joan and Harry~Mom and Dad 29456 Guy Street

2009-05-30T06:17:00.001-07:00

Here is my mom and dad, Joan and Harry in front of our home at 29456 Guy street Southfield Michigan, 1965. I was 14 when this was taken and may have even taken the photo but it was most likely a friend of theirs. They are clearly dressed for church, mom in her veiled hat and dad in his brown jacket. It might be Sept or October before the first snows.
This home was my third home after Berkeley and the Farm. My father was not happy with the level of education in the country and wanted us to have more kids to play with so we moved to Southfield Estates and bought the "model" home that everyone had already looked through. This home served them well, as all the kids could walk to St. Bede's Catholic school which was a mere 2 blocks away and a safe walk at that. The neighborhood was a very large, almost mile of a circle, with all new homes that except for the color of the shutters, looked the same. There were a few one level ranch styles and you knew that those people had either one or no children.
This front yard was only a tiny portion of our play area, as the whole neighborhood blended to play from one lawn to the next. There were kids, kids, and more kids. And then there were forts. We had made the forts from the wood that was"left over" from the new homes in the subdivision.
There were fights with fists, wood and most of all, dirtballs. There was even a term that was used,"dirt ball fights". The girls would play in the house with the barbies and dress up their dolls and talk. The boys and a few of the girls would be out of doors until the parents screamed our names to come in for dinner. This was life in a subdivision. Gone were the days of wandering through nature. Now we were living in a jungle of a different type, a blacktop jungle filled with people with lots of kids who wanted a "better life" for their families. We were only 3 blocks from 12 mi and Southfield, 2 major intersecting streets, and as this subdivision was only 20-30 miles from downtown Detroit there were still plenty of cars that would drag on those streets at night. I didn't know about this until my one older friend Patty Spears had me sneak out at night by climbing out on the roof and walking to the corner and watching them drag up and down the road in their suped up 65 chevys and vettes. These guys were much too old for me but at 14 and 15 I can still remember the thrill of sneaking out at night to watch drag racing. I never really got in trouble as my parents didn't find out for awhile. I think she was the first person I knew that smoked, Salem menthol, and she introduced me to smoking which for me only lasted until I was 18 and then I quit forever, lucky to have only smoked for 3 years, it could have been the death of me.
We had loads of interesting neighbors who had all kinds of unusual jobs but the most interesting family were the Wolbers. The oldest boy was my age Paul, and his father was a nuclear physicist and recently I contacted him and he was quite gracious and wrote back several times.
We had nuns and they were strict, but that is for another post.
Have a wonderful Saturday. And remember your roots!

BAthing Costume-2009-1834

2009-05-26T17:26:00.000-07:00

Ok now that Memorial Day is officially over does that mean summer is here? If so might I reccomend that you dig out last years suit and see if it still fits? If not you might try a fashion worn to the beach in 1834. It looks more like chinese pants and a coat. These women really kept warm in summer and just imagine trying to swim in that outfit.

The next image above that is of two women at the beach in 1900. At least they dropped the pants for tights.

Next a fashion ad from Jantzen, who really put swimsuits on the map. I love that style.

But then comes modern day Victoria secret which has women who are pencil thin and look angry instead of happy to be at the beach.

I guess you might say women really have come a long way. In what direction I am not sure. Has fashion evolved in a positive way?
What a difference a century or two can make!

PICNIC~or how we spent holidays w a BIG family!

2009-05-25T06:52:00.000-07:00

Happy Memorial Day! I realize that it is the day to support all veterans and honor those fallen soldiers. And I do! But for me all I remember on that day as a child and teen growing up in a large family of 11 children were the never ending picnics. Our Clancy family being so large that to get even this many into a photo was a miracle. I am in neither and was off somewhere. However you can see the large can of Van de Camps beans, lemonade cooler, large pan of frosted chocolate cake(this is where everyone looks like they are behaving because my dad would tease us as to who would get the cake first.
My parents never spared us the fun of being a normal and real family. We went on picnics and played outdoors with relatives and friends and always found something to do.
I drove to Flagstaff yesterday with Rita for an outing, but why I picked a holiday to go there I will never know. There is a place in the middle of the trip called Slide Rock which has a rushing river that people love to swim at and the traffic was an hour wait on the way back inching our way back to Sedona. Nothing to do but wait. We even dialed in the AM radio to see if we could find a weird show to listen to . Nothing on the waves yesterday.
Back to picnic. I want to add here a little history. You can read it if you like or not but its always nice at a party or gathering to be able to spout off a little "fact fun" to keep people aware and amaze onlookers. So here it is and have a wonderful holiday. Stay out of traffic if possible.

"The first usage of the word is traced to the 1692 edition of Origines de la Langue Française de Ménage—which mentions 'pique-nique' as being of recent origin; it marks the first appearance of the word in print. The term was used to describe a group of people dining in a restaurant who brought their own wine. For long a picnic retained the connotation of a meal to which everyone contributed something. Whether picnic is actually based on the verb piquer which means 'pick' or 'peck' with the rhyming nique meaning "thing of little importance" is doubted; the Oxford English Dictionary says it is of unknown provenance.

The word picnic first appeared in English texts in 1748 (OED), and may have entered the English language from this French word or from the German Picknick, which may simply be a parallel borrowing from French pique-nique. The practice of an elegant meal eaten out-of-doors, rather than a harvester worker's dinner in the harvest field, was connected with respite from hunting from the Middle Ages; the excuse for the pleasurable outing of 1723 in Lemoyne's painting (illustration, left) is still offered in the context of a hunt."

Hummingbird TRapped

2009-05-23T14:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday a hummingbird flew into the rafters of my back porch. He was trapped there for hours. The sun was beating down on him through the plastic roof and I could see he was going to expire. My heart was breaking for this creature. He kept flying up and if he only knew he was inches away from freedom if he would only fly down. I tried to coax him with the broom but soon realized it might injure him and then got some duct tape and taped a plastic dish on it and put some sugar water in hoping it would help rejuvenate him. It fell off. Finally he was about to die, his beak open and panting he kept flying up and hitting the roof. I sprayed him gently with the mist on the hose and I think he actually drank some of the water. He was still there an hour later and I started to cry and was pretty upset. I just didn't want any creature dying in my yard if I could help it. Finally I shut the curtains and went back to work. I went outside a short time later and he was on the other side of the beam just sitting there. He flew away. I was so relieved. I am sure he lived. Any creature with such determination to live and the will to go on despite his adversities, must live! If humans could only learn from the smallest creatures on earth. Life no matter how small or short, is worth the effort!

hanging orchid~hawaiian tropical beauty

2009-05-20T13:31:00.001-07:00

This is another beautiufl hanging orchid from Hilo. This time I am attempting to give it a wonderful vintage feel to the color and feel it really works. If you saw the original image you wouldn't believe the transformation. I made it looks simple but really it is multiple layers and different hues and tones.
I hope this will inspire you to walk today and look around you for something beautiful.
I need to go do that right now after being on the computer since 6am!
Please click the title or image to go to my etsy store to see this larger.
enjoy the day!

Lincoln Todd~ A photo album of historic significance!

2009-05-19T06:55:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of 2 adult or teen children from probably 1880s, Australia.
I came across a photo album on ebay this morning that really got my interest in that it is a very early album from 1860s-1880s and filled to overflowing with images from a wealthy family who was from Australia and traveled Europe and settled in America. The person putting the album together was obsessed with the Lincoln tragedy as anyone now days might be obsessed with any interesting or historic event in modern times in politics.
The album is filled with photos of Lincoln , Booth and appears to have a huge amt of images for a man named Colton who apparently made the reservation at the theater for Lincoln the day he was killed. I am leaving a link here if you are interested. If you love historic photos or politics go check this out, scroll to the end as there are really some great images. This should probably be in a museum and hopefully it will be some day.
Enjoy!
LINK

Roses on the Vine Pastel Painted Photo on Watercolor paper

2009-05-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is my latest edition to my store. It is from a black and white photograph that I took in my friend Tamara's yard in California many years ago. She was the finest gardener I have ever met. She raised chickens with her two daughters so they could be in 4H club and her roses and other flowers covered 3 of her 9 acres in the hills outside of Santa Cruz. Every year Tamara had a party on her birthday and had lots of wonderful food and drink and everyone brought children and lots of instruments and bluegrass could be heard until sundown and then the electric guitars came out and played until 2 am. They lived up against a hillside and more than once she lost a chicken to a hawk but kept them inside a wire cage as much as she could. The roses were so special and every year she gave me cuttings and plants. Her hands were worn thin from gardening but she was one of the finest rose growers ever. My roses were lucky to get a few blooms.
I printed this on a large piece of paper18X24 and colored over it with pastels. The result is really so painterly and nice, I have always loved it. Also the peachy colored roses are some of my favorite and as roses are now in full bloom her in Arizona I must enjoy them as they are all gone by June or July due to the heat.
If you click on this it will go to my store and you can blow it up to see the details..
There is even a movie my parents made of me at my grandfather's home in Detroit smelling the roses. I loved his garden, he too had a green thumb. His roses were so beautiful! So lets hear it for Roses... I proclaim May as rose month!
hooray!
Here is also a link to my treasury.
Hello Sunshine Treasury click to go see it and leave me a comment if you like!

Take My Hand Vintage Children at Beach

2009-05-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

click the title to see it full size in my Etsy Store
I know its too early for some of you to start thinking about the beach but in California and some of the west its really never too early. This image is again from my favorite long ago family the Freeman's from S. California. I decided through some prompting from one of my sisters to list this as a card. I think it needs very little explanation. These are two older girls holding the hand of thier baby brother at the beach. The year is 1924. I decided this would be a wonderful card for a sibling to send either a brother to sister or sister to brother. It could also be a card for anyone who has been guided by a person. It really is nice for anyone. I did some magic on it and published it on Etsy as a card today. Things have picked up on Etsy for me and also on Ebay. I believe that things are going to get better for everyone as the warmer months approach. As for us here in Sedona this is warm. Today is supposed to be in the 100s in Phoenix and that means 90s here.
Rita is going to Phoenix for the championship track meet finals soon and people are graduating at ASU this weekend with Obama giving the send off speech. I hope everyone brings their little portable fans and spray bottles.
I walked Blue at 6:30 am and usually I see no one but today I came across my neighbor who is Japanese and my age and married to a very tall non Japanese guy(she is 5ft) and she was walking her Bison Frise and someone's schnauzer. The Bison walks alone and so adorable but the schnauzer was w back legs sprawled and refusing to move looking like a donkey with attitude. She said,"SOmeone once said they could see skid marks behind him" I laughed as this dog knew he would be back in the house and was so determined to walk forever outside.
After that I walked around the corner and there she was again, we had gone seperate ways but managed to bump into each other again and she was stopped and staring at the tile roof of one of the condo units. There was a giant crow on the roof squaking loudly like he was talking, really it looked like he was trying to say something. I smiled at her again and said, "Aparently this bird has something to crow about". She laughed and we both wished each other a nice day and went our ways.
Another interesting thing was this weekend I went on Mother's Day with Rita for a quick look see at our only clothing store Beals and there was another one of Rita's friends with her mother shopping and we stopped to chat and she had an accent like Australia but I asked if she was and she said,"South Africa". I asked how she ended up in Sedona and she said"Love". I always wonder what brings people here. I could make a book of the answers.
Then to mexican restaurant a few feet from Beals for lunch and there was another friend of Rita's w her mother. Why I mention any of this is that some times I complain about "small town" boohoo this and that, but really one of the wonderful things about it is you see people you know all the time. A big city you might see someone you know once in a lifetime there or less. Here in Sedona there is something almost comforting about going places and seeing those you know. I can't explain it but its a fact.
So here we are on Tuesday and wishing all of you a wonderful week!

Happy Mothers Day Mom and all Mothers- give to a mother's Charity today..please

2009-05-10T06:51:00.000-07:00

This is a photo that sister Sharon took at her home. It is 4 generations. My mom and myself with Rita as a baby and my older daughter Sara with her daughter Ellen. To put things in perspective my wonderful mom turns 80 this July and Ellen graduates in a few weeks from high school. Sara now has 4 lovely children. And I am the proud mother of 2 girls SAra and Rita both whom I love dearly!
My mom who would need a novel to talk about is one of 6 children 4 girls and 2 boys and my aunties are wonderful mothers, all of them. My mom is and was everything a wonderful mother could be, she took care of us in every way, gave good examples and wonderful phrases to live by that her mom taught her like "you can catch more flies with sugar than vinegar", I still use that stuff today and my mom was the queen and still is of words she does crosswords and reads every day! She can cook like there was no tomorrow, pie, rhubarb jam, lasagne, anything and still looks beautiful as she moves like a machine walking all day. She has also been the worlds best knitter, sewer having sewn all 7 girls clothing of and on and still knits for grandkids and I have 3 of her beautiful crocheted rugs in the kitchen. Mom you are a walking wonderwoman... the latest and greatest of the superheros!!!

What a wonderful day! The mourning doves are outside cooing to the already broiling desert sun rising about the mountains. There is nothing but quiet at this time of nearly 7 am.
Yesterday was the track regionals and Rita outdid herself w a Personal Best in the long jump coming in second and in triple jump a tie for 3rd, 300 meter hurdles she took 2nd place in 95 degree heat running what most consider the hardest race of the day due to the heat and as I arrived I got to see her run the 100 meter hurdles and win first place. The girls won the meet and the boys took second. The parents sat in the shade for awhile under a tarp but it was still very hot. Then we went for a piece of pizza and at 10pm Rita met the girls from the team to go see Star TRek.
But today is Sunday and that day belongs to my mom and all the mothers around the world. Proud we are to be and claim our day! But really as my mom would say,"every day is mother's day" for even though we are living in modern times, mothers still are unpaid for their job and not only unpaid but often penalized for working outside the home. I know that in Norway a mother gets 6 mnths leave and the father gets 6 weeks to help the new mom. I hope I am alive to see the day when the govt in AMerica does at least that much for the new mom. As it is most working moms are forced back to work only a week after the birth and if they don't are canned. I also want to give a big hug to all the mothers of soldiers who have their children somewhere other than home today. Another sad tribute is to all the mothers who have lost children this day is probably bittersweet. I have a friend who lives in my neighborhood named Marie. She is a very smart Irish woman who worked as a surgical nurse at all the best hospitals back east. But when she went to deliver her son, the doctor said he had some fluid in his lungs and gave him a drug that his system could not take and he died. She never was asked if she wanted the baby to have the drug because as a nurse she knew the risks, he made the choice without asking and she never stopped talking about it. It has haunted her whole life and that is a mother that truly has the hardest road to hoe as they would say. I will always have a spot for Marie, she never had another child.. I also know that my mom and her sister lost children at different times and my grandmother so my love and thoughts are with them. Now to every mother who has raised a child with disabilities, there is no stronger mother on earth, this is a task that I believe most men could not stand up to the challenges. I could go on and on for I have known many mom's with children who are autistic, hyperactive, mentally handicapped, physically handicapped. All these and more take a person who is strong of character with patience and love. Last but not least are the women who have been through and are victims of war, this would include Africa and the Middle East at present. Mothers who cannot feed their children such as in Africa and have to watch them fade away, mothers in Afghanistan and Iraq who's children are refugees, mothers in the GAza strip who's children need medical care but cannot get it. These are the mothers who need our help. I would like to ask each of you who read this to donate what you can to a charity that specifically helps a mother today. Think how much good that will do one other mother. If we could all encourage one person to give what they could to a charity that directly helps a mother that is what mother's day could mean to another person in another town or village.
This site is pretty good and has lots of options for giving both in US and abroad and is solely doing a mother's day event.. do what you can and please please pass this along!
LINK for GIVING

Uncle JAck Grandpa clancy Harry CLancy my dad

2009-05-08T06:01:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of my uncle JAck Clancy on left, grandpa Paddy Clancy in middle and father Harry Clancy on the right, in front of my dad's first car. This is probably 1938 because my dad looks 17. The street was Whithorn, in Detroit, and I remember it well from the many visits made there as a child and even summers, sitting on the nice covered porch. A year later my father enlisted in Navy and then at 21 married my mom. This to me is a classic!

Alien Orchid-Hawaii Spawned

2009-05-06T19:31:00.001-07:00

Its WEdnesday night and I finally can find some time to write a little note and attach it to this wonderful flowering plant that I believe is a type of orchid. I have no documentation and was taking hundreds of photos while walking the path of this lush and very moist tropical reserve outside of Hilo, HAwaii. This was one of the more interesting species and really looks almost alien in color and nature but so complex in its structure and design. I am sent back into the past when I walked this path and couldn't move more than a foot at a time before I had to take another photo. This is definitely one of my favorites.

Words Where they come from & Where they GO into the Brain~illustration by Rita CLancy

2009-05-05T06:25:00.000-07:00

This close up and illustration are both from the front and back cover of my daughter's watercolor and ink drawing for her high school's front and back cover of the yearly literary magazine. Rita was chosen from the school to do it as she is wonderful with detail and precsision and knows how to draw well. I am bragging but really she puts me to shame with her artwork lately as I was never that careful and usually messed any illustration up. This did cause her lots of neck tension working alot of the time on Sunday(at least 8 hours on the detailing ot the right half) and during school the previous week so she has a stiff neck, but it was worth the effort and I think it turned out well.
YOu can see more of her work on her website on etys HERE.
She has already begun working on her senior project which will be publishing a book of her illustrations on "Unusual Animals A-Z" which she has a few on the store site already.
I am a proud mom today as she has stuck with the task and finished it wonderfully!
Right on Rita!!

SPIRIT BOARDS AND STORY BOARDS-Papua New guinea

2009-05-03T07:55:00.001-07:00

I have looked for years for my little hard drive which stored over 200 photos from my trip to the big Island of Hawaii. I found it while cleaning my hall closet. It had been there for years untouched. I spent all day on Friday downloading the huge tiff files to my hard drive and renaming all of them.
I want to say that before I was interested in ARt and Science I was sure I wanted to be an anthropologist. I loved and was fascinated by anything that had to do with Island cultures. I read Kontiki when I was 13 and EAster Island and couldn't get enough of the shows on tv about foreign lands especially Island cultures, not because I wanted to live there but because I knew they knew something that we western folks didn't and that was a spirit world. I liked that idea as the church and kneeling and praying and large statues and long sermons were to me at an early age very boring and had no connection whatsoever to my life but rather the unknown.
The cultures that paid homage to spirit world or animal spirits made more sense as they were albeit not proven something more tangible and many of the totems they made were like American Indian cultures, paying tribute to lost loved ones or leaders that had passed on.
When I went to Hawaii I was stunned and thrilled by the incredible and extensive collection of Island artifacts. One of those that continued to thrill me was the Gope or spirit boards from Papua New Guinea. They were made from old canoes that broke or wore out and the men using everything and not wasting any part of nature(think about that every time we throw a plastic bottle in the garbage instead of recycling!) used these old canoes and made them into spirit boards to be used in the initiation ceremonies for young boys moving into manhood.
Here is an excellent site but there may be other that are better.
Spirit Board Site
here is a little synopsis of the board
"SPIRIT BOARDS AND STORY BOARDS
In the Gulf Province, Gope boards are believed to possess the spirits of powerful warriors, or to act as guardians of the village. Before hunting or war expeditions, the spirits were called upon to advise and protect the men.

Gope Boards are wooden ritual objects made in the Papuan Gulf of New Guinea. They represent spirits which can protect clans from sickness, evil spirits, and death.

Small un-named gope boards are often given to uninitiated boys, and a full size board is made by the uncle of a boy for his initiation ceremony. Also, warriors are awarded gope boards for each act of bravery they perform in battle (often made out of the enemies canoe). These gope boards vary in size, but can be up to six feet long and have a consistent elliptical shape. They are carved in relief and then painted with lime(white) and red ochre and other native paints. Most gope boards have a similar style and depict the face of an ancestral spirit.

Gope boards are also used in raids on other clans and headhunting missions. They are consulted as to which enemy to attack, and the spirits contained in the boards are thought to go ahead of the warriors to sap the enemies of their strength

Before Western contact, carvers used stone axes to cut the trees, sharp edges of mussel shells to smooth the boards and a shark's tooth to incise the lines. Some groups are reported to have used nails washed up from shipwrecks. Paint brushes were made from coconut fiber."
I will be posting other incredible finds from that trip over the next few weeks.
Enjoy Sunday!

Sarah Painted CDV Mixed Media-PAinted on The Watching Table

2009-04-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning...Well I am at it again. I cannot seem to stop myself from painting over these little carte de viste photographs. I usually end up doing them while watching my favorite British film, the latest was The man who cried, a Catherine Cookson story. That woman was amazing and her films recreated with only the finest of the British actors. That one is a must see.
Again the cdv's speak to me and say paint me paint me so I succomb and with my wonderful Ott light given as a gift I sit at a table that is only big enough to get your knees under, about 3 feet off the floor. This was purchased at an estate sale many moons ago for an art table when Rita was only a baby. I remember her dad saying"what do we need that table for?" and I told him Rita would sit and paint at it. It was a swedish made table that although the legs are thin you can stand on it due to the incredible workmanship. To me there is nothing nicer than a scandanavian made piece of furniture. They have always had a simple yet durable approach and I am here to say this little table which Rita called"my watching table" , when she was three because she stood on top of it and watched whatever I was doing, will never leave my life. I cannot tell you how many things have been painted on it. I hope to refinish it at some point and keep it in a safe place to pass on to her when she gets older.
SO if you are at a tag sale and see a little table, don't pass it up. This one was only $15. Refinished it should be more valuable, but at present it is worth something only to me.

Cry Baby -Me

2009-04-28T07:18:00.001-07:00

I have always been known to have an upbeat disposition. I wake up each day and greet the new dawn.. yes dawn, with a hopeful feeling. I think it keeps me alive actually. There are plenty of things to worry and be concerned about, flu, war, economy, health, retirement on and on...But really its not all within our power to change all that overnight. So I prefer to be a bit optimistic while being realistic. Does that make sense?

I do know from what my mom has told me that as a small child I was very inquisitive and was turning knobs and exploring early on and walked at 9 mnths. I was to be the earliest of all the walkers in our family, lucky for mom. I do remember going to kindergarten and feeling a terrible sense of missing home and mom..that is until I discovered the fake store and the fake food and playhouse. Then with some encouragement from my kindergarten teacher I was fine. I did suck my thumb until first grade, something that the doctors tried over and over to cure and finally that was accomplished. I also had a lisp so my early years were not too traumatic but rather little obstacles that had to be overcome. I think the speech therapist was patient as I don't feel there was trauma around keeping the teeth together when I said my,"S's".
However this photo of me which only surfaced recently is one of the few if not only photos of me crying. That is because it was taken by my uncle. His two little girls Patsy and Peggy who were my age and one year older were sitting nicely beside me and I am sure he picked me up and plopped me down and quickly took the photo. I love it! Almost all photos we see are so posed and perfect and the children smiling and in their best attire. Here I was in my perfect dress and crying my eyes out because I was abruptly separated from mom. I am happy my cousin Ann decided to send this to me last week and so I share a little cry baby Marianne with you!
Keep smiling!

BAck to our century plant in the desert

2009-04-26T08:38:00.001-07:00

A few days ago Rita had another track meet. It was a windy but wonderful day in the stands and all the children and coaches and volunteers didn't disappoint at all. I saw nothing but relaxed and happy faces among the participants and even in the stands the sparse turnout of parents were ones that were so easy to talk to and be around. They support their kids and want the best for them as we all do of our children. After the meet was over and sun was setting into the hills beyond Cottonwood, the last bits of light were still out and shining on this wonderful plant whom I had photographed a few weeks before. Now her showy blooms were open and abundant and I took a few snaps to be able to keep. I toned the image as I wanted to add a bit of cool to the plant and some warmer heat to the blue sky.
I love the idea that all those spikes protected the regal bloom which was reaching toward the sky some 3 feet, at least, above my head. Nature has her citadels and soldiers and this plant had the deadly sharp spikes all around her. I am still in awe of nature and hope to be forever. The day that she stops amazing me I will stop living for if we do not stop and look at what we are given on this planet and see it for what it is than we are not truly living.
I have added a gadget for the Heifer foundation on the right and I encourage all you folks and bloggers to unite for the fight against hunger this Wednesday. Do what you can to help. Together we are a power. Separate we can still do some things but there is nothing like a group to make a change. Join me in adding this gadget by clicking the link and signing up on their site, it takes only a few minutes.
Have a wonderful Sunday!

Marchesa Casati by Man Ray

2009-04-24T13:35:00.001-07:00

This image one of many by famed photographer/dadist and innovator Man Ray.
Man Ray, born Emmanuel Radnitzky (August 27, 1890 – November 18, 1976), was an American artist who spent most of his career in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and Surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Best known in the art world for his avant-garde photography, Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait photographer. He is noted for his photograms, which he renamed rayographs after himself.

About the photo..

In the decadent 1920’s it was the notoriously naughty Marchesa Luisa Casati (1881-1957), daughter of a wealthy cotton manufacturer, who reigned as the disreputable diva of her day. Everywhere she went, she set trends, inspired genius and astounded even the most jaded members of the international aristocracy.

Renowned as the most scandalous woman of her generation, the Marchesa was Europe’s most cosseted celebrity, and its most eccentric. For the first three decades of the twentieth century she traveled to Venice, Rome, Capri and Paris collecting palaces and a menagerie of exotic animals, all the while declaring:

“I want to be a living work of art.”
I am inspired by both artist and subject here for their breakaway spirit and creative genius. I won't tell you Marchesa's sad tale except she was seen digging through a trash heap at the end of her life looking for a feather to put in her hair....concerned about her looks until the end.. a true fashion queen!

Encaustic Crayon Art by Christian Faur

2009-04-23T07:20:00.000-07:00

Artist statement:

For this body of work I have assembled more than one hundred thousand hand cast crayons of varying colors and shades to produce a body of work that, to the best of my knowledge, is unlike anything done before in art. These individual “pixels” of wax are precisely stacked into specific locations inside of wooden frames to produce a new art form that uniquely balances the qualities of both photography and sculpture. Further, I have developed a mapping system that translates the English alphabet into twenty six discrete colors and I use these crayon “fonts” to add words and language to each of the pieces in the show.

The product is a series of photorealistic landscapes and figurative images that are formed at the surface of the thousands of tightly packed crayon tips. The imagery that makes up this new body tends to focus on isolated elements represented as children, barns, water towers, etc. withinin determinate landscapes, which are intended to reference the individual crayon whose solitary existence, like that of the individual element, is rendered obsolete in the amalgamate. The direct representation of language in each piece further imbues the works with meaning and brings an aspect of color into each composition reminiscent of DNA coding. The alphabetic key at the lower left of each panel allows the viewer to interpret the individual words written throughout the various panels."

his site here

I was more than intrigued by this tremendous artist and felt a kindred soul in that he loved encaustics, bees, and photos... those 3 things were such a part of my soul that he had to be an artist that I wanted to explore more. I went to this site which I have linked in the title and above and hope you will be intrigued as I was to expore more of this wonderful man's work!

I felt compelled to write to him and tell him my background and gave him a link to my blog and asked if I could feature him and he said yes which I thought was kind of him. So go visit this site and see how he has taken everything just a step beyond many other artists which I admire the most!

He also has a wonderful shredded paper series.. oh what the heck check it all out!

I love love his quote from Frank Lloyd Wright,"--Each material has its own message-- Frank Lloyd Wright (1928)".

Garden Girl Silhouette Wall ARt -Or how I stopped thinking and started doing

2009-04-21T13:54:00.001-07:00

Here is Clara. She longs to be outside in her garden. The thoughts of gardening fill her head.
I have loved silhouettes even as a child. My grandmother had one on glass in her home and I often would stare at it and wonder how it was made. It was a bubble glass with the silhouette on it and beneath it on another level was this wonderful multi colored foil that was seen around the area that wasn't black. I think you know what I am talking about.

Then as I became more and more interested in vintage photography I would come across silhouettes now and again and have to have them. So I have a few in my collection.
They are very very popular once again and making them artistic and different are also popular.. Well.. I have been thinking about making a mixed media piece for awhile and today I just decided to stop thinking and "do it" as Nike would say. the rest is history...haha!
I spent the last 3 hours working on this image and then made a wall hanging also using it both are now listed on Etsy. The link is in the title.
Message for the day, stop thinking and start doing! There is no better time than the present.

St. Mary Magdalene-Suffering after Crucifixion-Painted Mixed Media by Rita Clancy

2009-04-20T11:41:00.001-07:00

I wasn't sure how to react when I first saw this mixed media piece that Rita did. I told her she would have lots of people thinking she was taking a person from the bible and making it look bad and people might get all upset about it and I was concerned for her posting it.

Then she said,"Mom are you familiar with this painting? That woman was making a face that looked like a bear in a trap and in terrible pain." I told her the story of how she was close friends with Jesus and her heart was broken when he was crucified. Oh that is probably why she looked like she was in horrible pain."

Then I realized that its so important for us to not be judgemental with art. Its easy to do, to be opinionated and say this and that, but really when it gets right down to it, what do we really know behind the art that might connect to the artists feelings or impressions of things to be able to truly "know" why they did what they did or painted this or that.

I believe that art is, as many would say," life" and vice versa. That is where the fun can begin, what did the artist say about life or his life in the artwork, not how it looked or if the design or color was off.

In think in Rita's case the anguish in Mary Magdalene's face frightened her and she painted over it to symbolize a pain that felt like an animal in a trap. Pretty cool. So I share with you.

First Communion Native American Girls New Mexico Glass Negative

2009-04-18T06:05:00.001-07:00

These two girls are native Americans. They are wearing traditional silver pounded bracelets. I believe they were forced by some white folks to make their communion. this happened alot I have found that even in New Zealand people with all good intentions took "heathen" children from their parents and fostered them through religion. These girls don't look to thrilled but they are beautiful. I would rather have seen them in their native clothing. The parents would never have allowed this unless they had died or were talked into something as Indians that I have known are very proud and do not believe in the traditional religions. Not back then anyway. The image is still a gorgeous piece of history and I am thrilled to have found it.

On another note, I am on day 2 of a garage sale, this is proving to be alot of work. I hope to get rid of lots of the garage this way and make some cash but really put Blue through the ringer being on a leash next to me all day and now at 6 am must prepare to do it again.

TOnite is the school prom for my daughter, she was so excited she did a dry run and dressed up in everything including the heels and pranced around the house for an hour in them trying on jewelry and make up but not much of that as she is really pretty without it. I will try to get photos tonite.
Have a wonderful Saturday and enjoy spring.. its here!

Cat lady~Surreal Surrender a tintype w a Twist!

2009-04-15T13:55:00.000-07:00

Meow! this is a tinted tintype that I made for a lady in Germany who asked if I had a compliment to another collaged cat and lady tintype in my etsy store. I think this one might be a little bit too surreal but then again maybe not. I only know that we all have a little meow in us and this woman seems to have alot. The tintype was tinted very carefully and I am thrilled with how it turned out. There is a link to the store if you want to see it larger.
I got a wonderful note from Julie and she suggested a link to an Earth Day page that I am going to include here. Lets all get on the bandwagon and do whatever we can to stop the earth from getting warmer and especially be aware of the rain forests and the forests in Africa..didn't know there were any? Well I just heard a wonderful lecture from a woman on Democracy Now's news that you might really really enjoy.. I will go get the link for you so there will be no excuse not to listen to it.. please do. its so so important! CLICK HERE if you have to scroll the video forward until you get to Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai,she has so much to say and its so relevant to the world and to our earth!

last night a Century plant blossomed

2009-04-14T10:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I sat for 3 hours with a sparse amount of other mothers and a few dads at the REd Rock track meet. I still feel a wonderful sense of pride to watch Rita run and hurdle and jump and do her track thing. The two mom's I sat next to were very Christian and one is a dear friend for years. We have never had anything but great talks about our kids and religion has never come up. The other mother with a quick tongue from the start seemed very affable and we agreed about breastfeeding over other things such as the woman in bleechers below us giving her sick infant a pepsi bottle to drink and then play with the cap in his little 2 yr old mouth. I was shocked that anyone would give a baby a small chokable item. this mom spent most her time on the cell phone and pacifying the toddler with cheesewhiz chips and pepsi so this mom and I could agree that was probably not good for this little boy and he was terribly sick, coughing and crying the entire time. The subject of movies was brought up by one of her pre teen daughters and she started to talk about how bad the language was and I agreed movies are not what they used to be. I asked if she had seen the series"Planet Earth" as I liked to reccommend that to anyone who wants to see something the entire family could watch. Her first question was,"Do they mention millions and millions of years?" and I looked at her like"what?" and then she said,"ya know, what was the"slant".. then I said,"slant?" and she said "yeah there is always a slant". I said,"Its about the earth, different ecosystems and nature, animals,". She looked at me with a weird smirk. I got a pit in my stomach as I realized that this woman with her deep felt Christian beliefs was actually going to censor her kids from seeing Planet Earth. This was crushing to me as I never figured that religion of any kind would judge what moviemakers document as endangered species and a planet so beautiful and fragile and our home as being something that her kids couldn't watch because someone might say the earth is a certain age. This really put my mind in a spin for the rest of the track meet. I just couldn't believe that this woman who we shared so much in common could be so dogmatic about science and earth and the animals. I didn't say another word to her just sat there watching the kids on the field.
AFterwards I waited at the car and spent time cleaning it out while Rita helped the other kids take a victory lap around the track. That warmed my heart to see all of them, healthy, running after working themselves to death running for hours before. I really admire these kids, the athletes, they don't have to do what they do but they know its fun and keeps them healthy.
I also admire the parents who come and sit for hours on end supporting their kids and mine, the coaches, the volunteers. All of them make this important for the kids and those same children will grow and inherit the earth as we once did. An earth that supports us but needs care and love and nurturing like the children. We must keep our eyes and hearts open, regardless of our religious beliefs.
Just before I was going to leave w Rita I spied a century plant, struggling to grow between the sidewalk of the school parking lot and I snapped a photo of it, which I am sharing here. By summer's beginning this plant will have a spike about 5 ft taller than its already 6ft tall flower and little white flowerettes attached. There is an entire world within that flower. When I zoomed into the center of it I saw bugs and flies and realized that was an entire world, one we must also care for. CAre for our world, its the only one we have! Earth day is upon us... go get that series and watch it..Planet EArth!

Fairies Dance -a Tinted Vintage photo

2009-04-11T17:29:00.001-07:00

click title or photo to go see a larger version in my etsy store.
I recently purchased this image and was so thrilled to do so. I knew when I saw it in such terrible condition that I might repair it and tint it and make a prettiness of its fragile and falling apart state. This was so much fun. It took hours but I think it turned out lovely. The girl with the dark hair in front's name is Ruby Wheeler. Perfect fairy name..Ruby! I almost named Rita that, I love that name.. it could be a fairy name, or Pearl. ANy gem will do.. and now a fairy poem for you!

A Fairy Song

by William Shakespeare

Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire!
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the Fairy Queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green;
The cowslips tall her pensioners be;
In their gold coats spots you see;
Those be rubies, fairy favours;
In those freckles live their savours;
I must go seek some dewdrops here,
And hang a pearl in every cowslip's ear.

Ruth Benedict Poet Antropologist-One thing leads to Another..or..how I came to find out about her

2009-04-10T07:58:00.001-07:00

I think the theme running through my head, and its at full speed this morning... but first I must tell you that.. I have my set routines, coffee, email, etsy, ebay..maybe a little news if I allow myself the time before I make a quick breakfast for Rita and get her going, feed the dog, etc. These routines that are sometimes but not often broken by an unforseen thing, a u-turn so to speak. Today I was thinking about the blog and as its Friday I wanted to do or say something special so I sat a moment and the first thing that popped into my head was to slowly publish parts of the story from this diary/photo album which I bought that is about the Freeman family of Pasadena. I have had this sitting next to me for 6 years like a piece of chocolate cake you look at for its beauty and keep because of the smell or future melt in your mouth taste that you want to preserve. that is how I feel about this album, as if it is one of my most precious items, one that I cannot sell or give or do anything with but publish some day.
Well, I am interested in history..of course, so I read the first page of the 10lb book to myself and thought, "why haven't you researched her side of the family", that is Marmee as they called her, the mother of the 5 Freeman children. The book starts off with the 2 oldest girls Beatrice and Peggy going east to see aunt Ruth and Grandma at the "Shattuck", farm in Norwich. I typed this into google and wondered why I hadn't before done this. Why, it wasn't the right time I guess, if you believe in such things.. well I think I do. What I found was a treasure chest of information about Margery's family and her wonderful sister Ruth. I read a good deal about her and now find that I want to know more.

I love science and art as a path and know I would have loved a career that could cross over to both. Ruth was a published poet and an amazing writer and anthropologist and later a friend and possible lover of Margaret Mead. This info I have found online as you can but here is the photo of the book cover. I am now going to dig deeper but Ruth and Margery's father and great grandfather were both incredible people. I won't write it all here but if interested, here are 2 wonderful links to read more..click link here.
or a short concise page click here.
So, one thing does lead to another. A path you set out on can be the same path you walked before or if the adventurous spirit should strike you.. veer off to the path not yet chosen. You never know what you may find. Life can be a mystery if you allow yourself options to discover new things.
Historical photography is one such option, you never know what story might lie behind that piece of paper. I would love to know more and now I do... tell yourself that.. with anything. Just asking the universe for that will start your quest for anything. Now go discover.
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A wonderful Photographer named Julie and fellow blogger has a GREAT post with another wonderful poet's work about Trees.. she has graciously included one of my tinted glass negative photos of trees and I think its worth the trip to her blog to read the poem and see the beautiful chosen photos.
here is her link.

A Newsie Girl from Australia Glass Negative

2009-04-09T06:35:00.000-07:00

This is one of a group of images I bought from Australia years ago. She is poking her head through a newspaper. This was a fashion trend for photography for probably a few years and I always thought it might be a cool thing to collect. The images are rarely found but this one is a glass negative and with such great details you can read the news.
SPeaking of news it seems more and more that the newspaper is on the way out as is everything that means sitting away from the computer and relaxing with a cup of tea or coffee and just perusing to see what is going on in the world and in the town. I am certain that the school of journalism where I got my degree has been revamped to accomodate the internet publishing world. It cannot be a good thing. As far as I am concerned there should always be a newspaper.. Now anything to do with a newspaper will be highly collectable so keep an eye out for this type of photo, its usually small.

Hibiscus Painted Photo on Canvas-My Trip to Hilo-The Many properties of Hibiscus

2009-04-07T06:30:00.001-07:00

click this link to go see this blown up larger in my Etsy store
This was an original black and white photo that I printed out onto canvas and painted over with acrylics. I did this and one other very large painted photo of tulips on this large canvas that went through my printer. I still have a huge box of this canvas and have sworn yet another project to go back to and complete and that is my series of painted flowers on canvas. This is an image I took while living in Hawaii many years ago, actually Kaimuki which is next to Kahalla and only a bike ride of a mile to downtown Honolulu. I semi enjoyed living in this city, the nights were warm, sunsets wonderful and the food..incredible. I did have a daughter in 4th grade and itwas tough because even though she was social there was very little of the after school visiting for kids allowed. Sara was the only non asian child at her school so the kids loved her and she was like a toy to them, but the parents were not keen on allowing kids to play after school. She did have 3 good friends and they were chinese, hawaiian and a mixed hawaiian white girl named Holly. The other kids couldn't play, the parents were afraid of us. It was a good experience living there a year and I came to love the lore of the island and other things but would never move back.

My dearest friend lives in Hilo, now that is an island of a different nature. She is a teacher, her daughter attends the Catholic school(the public one was so horrible she had to take her out)and she is an organic gardener and photographer there and has many wonderful friends. She belongs to a goat milk coop and manages to get more than enough wonderful culture there and enjoys the life. I will go visit her there someday. I made a trip to Hilo about 6 years ago and stayed at the Mauna Lea. NOw if any of you ever go to Hawaii you have to go there. I still remember that oldest of all hotels and voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world. The soft and lulling hawaiin singing and music every night echoing into your room at dinner time. The teak floors and giant koi pond that runs the entire length of the hotel. It is in my estimate, paradise on earth for a tourist. IT is family oriented but also quiet at night. I took over 300 photos there on that island and my favorite spot was the orchid gardens in Hilo that you would miss if you are not careful as there are no markers on the road to tell you. It is a 5 acre path that winds to the sea and is overfilled with every orchid in the world. Your camera will be worn out when you leave. Another wonderful not to be missed spot is the museum that runs throughout the halls of the Hilton there which has artifacts from every polynesian island around the world and some of the best hand crafted things from almost pre historic age. Go see it!!
So this hibiscus is my memory along with all the other photos that are stored somwhwere on cd's of a trip that will never be forgotten. The best thing about Hawaii is that because the Island is so small you can circumnavigate in one day and see alot in a week. YOu should plan on having lots of time to just float in the warm waters doing nothing other than to absorb the sun and the sea and the call of Aloha!
Here are a few facts about the wonderful and multi faceted flower of hibiscus.
Many species are grown for their showy flowers or used as landscape shrubs. Hibiscus is also a primary ingredient in many herbal teas.

One species of Hibiscus, known as Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus), is extensively used in paper making. Another, roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa) is used as a vegetable and to make herbal teas and jams (especially in the Caribbean).

In Mexico, the drink is known as agua de Jamaica and is quite popular for its color, tanginess and mild flavor; once sugar is added, it tastes somewhat like cranberry juice. Dieters or persons with kidney problems often take it without adding sugar for its beneficial properties and as a natural diuretic. It is made by boiling the dehydrated flowers in water; once it is boiled, it is allowed to cool and drunk with ice.[1]

In Egypt and Sudan, roselle petals are used to make a tea named after the plant karkade.

Hibiscus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Chionodes hibiscella, Hypercompe hambletoni, the Nutmeg moth, and the Turnip Moth.

The Hibiscus is used as an offering to Goddess Kali and Lord Ganesha in Hindu worship. The Gumamela or Hibiscus rosa sinensis linn flower has antifungal, emmenagogue, emollient and refrigerant effect.[240]

The bark of the hibiscus contains strong fibers. They can be obtained by letting the stripped bark sit in the sea in order to let the organic material rot away. In Polynesia these fibers (fau, pūrau) are used for making grass skirts. They have also been known to be used to make wigs.

Hibiscus, especially white hibiscus, is considered to have medicinal properties in the Indian traditional system of medicine, Ayurveda. Roots make various concoctions believed to cure various ailments.

The natives of southern India use the Red hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis) for hair care purposes. The red flower and leaves, extracts of which can be applied on hair to tackle hair-fall and dandruff on the scalp. It is used to make hair-protective oils. A simple application involves soaking the leaves and flowers in water and using a wet grinder to make a thick paste, and used as a natural shampoo. its petals are used to cure fever while its roots are used to cure cough.

In the Philippines, the gumamela (local name for hibiscus) is used by children as part of a bubble-making pastime. The flowers and leaves are crushed until the sticky juices come out. Hollow papaya stalks are then dipped into this and used as straws for blowing bubbles.

Dried hibiscus is edible, and is often a delicacy in Mexico.

The hibiscus flower is traditionally worn by Hawaiian women. A single flower is tucked behind the ear. Which ear is used indicates the wearer's availability for marriage.

Pink Roses Painted Photo -For the people of ITaly

2009-04-06T11:41:00.001-07:00

This is but a little section of a painted photo I did. The title will take you to the whole artpiece in my shop. This represents a little section of a greater whole. I did this for a tribute or a memorial to the little area of ITaly hit by the terrible earthquake. My heart goes out to everyone in the country but especially to those who are most affected by the loss of life and home.
Having lived through a bad earthquake in California where people died, you really never get over the loss of life and the destruction but almost immediately after the grief you rebuild again. I can imagine the outpouring all over Europe today and the world for these people. I extend my heartfelt feelings for them all..

French Window Shopping-Collage

2009-04-04T19:19:00.001-07:00

This is a photo of course from a small town in France..isn't everything a small town in France. Actually a friend took the photo and I collaged in the women from an old advertisement. There were bottles of wine in the window originally.
I love the tone of the paint and the brick along the sidewalk. I need to go to France... fast! I would probably spend all my time taking photos.. and trying out the cheese and wine.
I might want to brush up on my French as its been years since I spoke any.
Note the movie stars in top row, Harrison Ford is in there and Jackie O and a few others. I didn't put those in the top.. they were already there!
Its Saturday evening and all things quiet after that big wind storm yesterday.. waiting to hear back how Rita did at the track meet.
I am really into Catherine Cookson films(based on her books). My sisters, Aunts, mom and I are watching them all in sync. I saw a really great one last night called, "The Wingless Bird" oh.. run, don't walk, and rent it... let me know if you liked it.. I know you will. I have seen almost all her films.. so good, excellent writer really!
Enjoy your Sunday as it is the last day of the week.

Queen of FLowers-Royal Queen-IS Anybody out there?

2009-04-03T07:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a painted tintype I call "Queen of Flowers". I made this awhile back and will be listing it as a card on Etsy today.

So much talk about the queen last night. Michelle Obama put her arm around the queen..heaven forbid.. or should I say, protocol forbid. I found this pretty "touching" because Michelle is the new "queen" of Washington and the English Queen, well lets say she needs someone to give her a hug. Could be the first time in ages anyone has actually touched her body for the fear of being not acceptable in British "protocol". I love how something so simple as Michelle Obama changing her clothes on Air force One gives the news people fodder for talk for hours. I swear there must be something else they can be newsie about. Who cares.. I mean who really cares what Michelle is wearing, certainly not your average American woman who buys her clothes at Target or Macy's. The only folks who would know designers names are the people who shop for clothes that work at businesses such as bank executives who have so much money they don't know what to do with it and they don't watch the TV gossip news they are busy in the Cayman Islands lying on a cot in the sun.

I have really wanted the news people to wise up just a hair. Why do they try to deflect us from the real news such as the unemployment rate rising, the Chinese getting their act together to be the world leader in battery cars, the hideous crimes against women in the border towns of Mexico, the fact that all the sports programs were cut in the California schools making those kids who are already hyperactive from the sugary cereals even worse off than before so that when they come home all bundled with energy and loaded with homework they can spin out of control on their mom's who are trying to put together a nutritious meal from the vitamin depleted vegetables and the hormone induced meat that she picked up on her way home from working her 2ND job just to pay for the family's skyrocketing health insurance.

Is anybody out there? Helllloooo.. taking sports away from the schools. This is going to be a disaster for so many children and parents. I know because without sports in the schools how will kids stay healthy? WE have to pay $100 per sport here in Arizona which is alot of money but when you thinking about the value in terms of health and mental health.. really is there an option?

Lilacs in bloom taking the teacher some flowers from the yard

2009-04-02T08:08:00.001-07:00

Here I am w all the things I need, sack lunch, jump rope and a giant bouquet of lilacs wrapped in wax paper for the teacher. This is under the tree in the front yard of my home on the farm. That blog entry below about my first home was just too drab an entry.. I tinted this one up and tried to take the devil grin off my face from having my photo taken straight into the sun with it blinding me from the glare. I know my mom made this wonderful dress.. wish I still had it now!