day of work / day of play

Because I was home at 9am this morning I was able to enjoy this beautiful morning sun in my office. I took a vacation day - not to play, but to work. I worked over 12 hours today on my art for the festival and I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with it. I still have a long way to go in order to be prepared but with a full weekend ahead I should make some major headway. /no school today. i didn't have the money to put together a good costume so my roommate and i just went as cowboy and indian. original right?

notes / memories

click on image to read better

Ok so I'm the one coming up short tonight, so I took this photo. This is what I see right beside my computer. As you can tell, I love accents of red - my favorite little red pen, a big red heart, tiny red berries, bold red books (just because they look good on the shelf) - and there's more red all around the room. The quote that is sitting there is something I wrote on a post over 10 years ago and it's been around ever since. "Do not wish to be anything but what you are, and try to be that perfectly." - St. Frances de Sales. That's a good motto don't you think? / "she carries a lot of suitcases but all of them are empty because she's expecting to completely fill them with life by the end of this trip & then she'll come home & sort everything out & do it all again"- story people
mom surprised me by ordering this for me from a vintage etsy shop. my friends were with me when i got it and we all took guesses as to what was inside the big bubble wrapped package. we were right. i'm going to fill mine with college memories. (and there will be some epic photo shoots to come using this bright orange suitcase.)

towards the sun / to the moon

"I don't think there's anything on this planet that more trumpets life than the sunflower. For me that's because of the reason behind its name. Not because it looks like the sun but because it follows the sun. During the course of the day, the head tracks the journey of the sun across the sky. A satellite dish for sunshine. Wherever light is, no matter how weak, these flowers will find it. And that's such an admirable thing. And such a lesson in life." - Chris's (Helen Mirren) comment in the movie, Calendar Girls / Sorry for not sending a new photo tonight but I thought this one would be appropriate. Remember this great jack-o-lantern Zach and I carved - Fly Me To The Moon. We did such an awesome job.

artwork / housework

I got another package today. I love getting mail. I think that's why I order so much from etsy - well that and I love so many of the handmade items you can find on etsy. I discovered mixed-media artist, Pam Carriker the other day and was so drawn to her work, I bought two of her prints. One titled "grow" and the other " empty nest" - how appropriate, right? I think they'll make a perfect pair hung together in my bedroom don't you? / see we keep our beds made. we're entering a "best decorated room" contest. i'll send better pictures later.

hold on / gear up

I caught Kodi cuddled in Taylor's coat as if she was holding on to it, saying don't leave again. It seems Taylor packed almost as much to take back with her as she did when she moved out. She'll be needing that winter wear soon. / brr it's cold this morning. i got a great new scarf this weekend - glad i did. walking to classes i think i'll need a warmer coat - hint: like the one we saw at UO.

flickers of fall

click image to see the detail on my cool new cowboy boots : )

I haven't contributed to Tracey Clark's Best Shot Monday before, but this one seemed appropriate.
I am anticipating the fall color so much this year - I guess because of all the blog post with beautiful autumn trees. I keep thinking, is it later than usual for us to have the changing colors? But it's not - I looked up photos from last year and it wasn't until mid November that we were in full color here in Atlanta. Today I saw that glimmer of what is to come - and it's grand / Taylor had a busy day today making the journey back to Athens and then catching up on homework. I gave her a break from posting.

my daughter

Sorry I've gotten a little off track with this blog. But I couldn't help this comparison thing again.
Today Taylor and I had so much fun shopping together. Her favorite store is Urban Outfitters and she was so happy to be in a retail store again - all she's been in for the last 2 months are fancy boutiques or thrift stores. After shopping, we had a nice lunch and then went down to the river to do a little photoshoot in the manner of UO catalog. I didn't do a very good job, however I did get a few nice photos to keep. When we got home I was in the laundry room and noticed my favorite of all time photos of Taylor as a child (just 4yrs old) sitting there on the shelf. She was such a little tomboy back then and loved our frequent walks at the river where she would get muddy like little children do playing at the waters edge. That photo was so similar to one I took of her today I just couldn't help the side by side comparison. No longer the tomboy, today she was worried about the beggar lice that attached to her tights.
Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend.

past / present

her old room at home / new room at home
I was at a loss for anything to post tonight.
Taylor is home for the weekend and it feels so nice. She keeps walking around saying "this is so weird. Ah, a shower with water pressure and I don't have to wear shower shoes; a refrigerator to open with snacks in it, comfy couch and a fire in the fireplace, my pets to pet. So I think she means that it's weird in a good way.
One thing that IS really weird for her is the fact that I re-did her room. I debated whether or not to do it but I kinda had this urge after I had refreshed the bathroom. She had taken many of the key elements in her room with her to college so her room looked like it was missing "her" - gone was the bright pink painted floor lamp skeleton that she bought at a garage sale and used for a hat and purse rack; gone was the pink lamp and bright pillows and there sat a bold purple comforter (purple became her favorite color when she was 16) that just wasn't fitting in with the rest of the house without her to sleep on it. SO I did a little refresh to it as well. She likes it but said it was very strange walking in to her room, after 2 months, and it being so different.
When I look back at this old photo of her room (a 14yr olds room) it makes me kinda sad but things change. She now has the things she loves in her dorm room and loves her space there - that is her home for now and she is just visiting me. weird.

hearth / home

I built my first fire of the season. Oh, how I love everything about it, the smell, the glow and sparkle, the crackle, the warmth - it mesmerizes me. Problem is I can't leave it's warmth. Does that happen to you?
I think the first thing Taylor will think when she walks in the house tomorrow is, "oh I miss that smell - this is home" / maybe this weekend we can do another crazy photo shoot like we did last year - remember collecting all those leaves and making this rug to go under my crazy blue chair? you didn't throw away my chair did you?

surroundings / around me

soul aperture was given an assignment in her photography class to capture her surroundings so I thought I would do the same - photograph those special corners in my home - I have many of them. I tend to collect silly little things, or at least things that may seem silly to others. This little corner... / today we had to draw a non-human living thing. i chose an old knotted tree.

rainbow mirror / mirror image

While waiting in traffic, I was putting a CD in the player and noticed my bright, colorful reflection. “If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal.” - Norman Vincent Peale / i'm so glad that i'm liking the outcome of this project, it was truly daunting at first. our teacher told me the assignment was "meant to be confusing" and that i wasn't supposed to "know what to do." the first part of the piece is the one with the red figures. since he is a film nut, we were supposed to block out a scene with construction paper that showed three figures. since i thought this was the final stage, i made mine more elaborate than many of the other people and loved it when i turned it in. the next part is a mirror image of the first with inverted colors (which i used photoshop to discover). it has been really hard to mix the colors because they were so neon, but i'm doing the best i can! i have a little further to go, but i'm excited about the finished product [:

sewing / drawing

Here it still sits. I've got to get started on this project of mine. And it looks like I need to clean those windows. / i forgot to send this on friday. it rained on friday so our teacher brought in her dog for us to draw. it was the first time i had really experienced drawing a live model and i really like how it came out (even though it's near finished yet). she was so cute, she stayed in the same position the whole time. i know evee couldn't do that! haha now that you know it's a dog i'm sure you can tell what kind.

circle of delights / circle of lights

All these little things delight me - the tiny little acorns with their cute little hats, the subtle color changes in a leaf, the intricate formation in a flower... But what started out as a fun project is slowing causing me to become discouraged. I am so frustrated because I can't find the clear, bright, colorful leaves here (the leaves just have not turned yet), and we have no flowers blooming either - I'm struggling to find the nature that I want for my scannography project and I'm afraid that I won't have the time to get things ready for the ICE festival in just a few weeks. / this week i found out that homecoming in college is not as big of a deal as it is in high school. but my school put on a bunch of free events for students that i finally realized have the potential to be fun. a carnival went up before our eyes on friday afternoon despite the terrible weather and cold and we decided to brave the elements and give it a try later that night. the lights of the rides looked beautiful in the foggy air (wish i'd had my good camera with me - this is a phone pic)) and we rode everything at least once. it was my roommates first time on a ferris wheel and i was happy to share that moment with her.

like a flower

"look, it's like a flower"

I helped my mother today with a photoshoot of a 4 yr old girl she is going to paint. (If Taylor had been here she would have been the one helping - she's the photographer. ) It was such a joy to be around a young child again - her sweet innocence was so delightful. We chose different locations all around the yard and photographed her for over an hour. In every part of the yard she found a flower she wanted to give to her mom. She was quite the little model -so beautiful and poised. I think between the two of us (mom & I) we took well over 200 photos. I am sure we got the perfect pose, expression and lighting for mom to work with and she will paint a beautiful portrait. / no photo from Taylor today, sorry

down low / up high

I saw these tiny little mushrooms poking through the ground yesterday and planned to use the image in my post today. Then when Taylor sent me hers I was like "oh. hmm.". I've been looking at the pair for a while and was thinking, oh well sometimes you luck out and sometimes not. I couldn't see any connection in the two, except the colors, which I actually thought was pretty cool. But I now see there is contrast - I shot down low and she shot up high. And there is similarity - a little mushroom is crowded, being held down by the leaf, and in her closet, it's so crowded the shoes are held in place by the top shelf.
Oh well, it's Friday and I have nothing much to say except, have a wonderful weekend everyone / dorm living is kinda crowded

blue skies / bee life

I'm feeling blue today - Autumn sky blue, that is. And that's a good thing. Not a bad iphone shot either. I was walking to my car, picked up this leaf, sat down in my car and shot this photo. I love the colors.
/ thanks oma, for sending me this book. i'm really enjoying it. there are so many beautiful quotes. 

"it was the in-between time, before day leaves and night comes, a time i've never been partial to because of the sadness that lingers in the space between going and coming."  - Secret Life of Bees

we got in

I'm excited but somewhat anxious - Taylor and I were accepted in to the I.C.E festival and will be sharing a booth. Taylor's the one who has the experience in festival shows, but this year I decided to join her. We better get busy - the show is in one month. I'm anxious for this show because I just opened an etsy site and have had little, to no, response to it. Will my work sell? All I can do is try - and I'm excited about that. / i'm worried that i won't have time to prepare for this

before work / after class

Some days it's just hard to go to work when there are so many fun things you'd rather do at home. My creative juices were really flowing this weekend and it was so invigorating to me. I came up with more ideas for my etsy site and potential craft show in November and I didn't want to stop. So when Monday came around it sort of broke my momentum. Now it's Tuesday and I'm trying to get it back. Don't you just hate it when that happens? / afternoon break. it was supposed to be picnic day, but that fell through so i enjoyed a break at the local coffee shop and got some english reading done.

empty

We both came up empty-handed tonight. I am busy with a freelance project and she is busy with mid-terms.
Taylor took this photo last October in the tiny town of Hoschton, GA.

"In the right light, at the right time, everything is extraordinary." - Aaron Rose

piles of orange / piles of purple

Looks like we both had chores - crazy again - the similaritiesAs I was sweeping the deck of all those poplar leaves, I thought of the poem Taylor wrote about that poplar tree when we built this house. She was 10 yrs old and the builders wanted to cut down this huge poplar tree, she was so upset about it that we didn't cut it down.

She won't like me posting the poem but I'm going to anyway.

The Old Poplar Tree & Jesus

The Old Poplar Tree standing so beautiful and bold

The wind whips through its leaves

It stands out among all the rest

It surely is the best

When I see it standing so tall and bold

It makes me want to hold it in my heart

When I see it standing so majestically

It makes me want to be like it too

And when the other trees complain about

being whipped around by the wind

The Old Poplar Tree stands tall and bold

but never boasts

It also shelters many things

To me the Old Poplar Tree reminds me of Jesus

Jesus stands out among the rest

He really is the best

When I think of Him so bold and true

It makes me want to be like Him too, so I do

When I see Him so majestically

It makes me want hold him in my heart, so I do

And when some other people complain

Jesus stands tall but never boasts

Jesus shelters many things

ME & YOU

written 4/22/2000

/ it's pretty ridiculous how much of my laundry load is dominated by purple. well, for that matter my closet as well.

golden / glowing

I am itching to go on a "photo adventure" with Taylor so badly I can hardly stand it. Adventures just aren't the same alone. We had the best times on these treks of ours, looking for the perfect locations for whatever idea she had in her head at the time. Last year the river park is where we found the tall grasses and brush she was looking for. Well today, she would have loved the fields of goldenrod. So I stopped and took a few iphone pics and picked some to bring home - to place on the table and also to scan in for my nature project I have going on.
By the way, I don't know what to call my etsy art work. It's not photography, and scans just sound wrong. Is it mixed media - nature and textures mixed together in photoshop? Any ideas? / mom, sorry for pulling from last year again. this is the same weekend as the one you pulled from yesterday. we had the best campfires out back, remember? i'm so ready for campfire weather.

little mug / big trees

This evening I enjoyed a cup of Earl Grey tea in this little mug that makes me feel happy every time I use it - it was the very first mug I made on a wheel and glazed. / Taylor didn't send a photo again ( oh so busy i guess). But I always have plenty to choose from. Taylor took this photo exactly one year ago when my brother and his family visited from Maryland. We took a family hike at a place called Big Trees Forest Preserve, just few miles from home. It feels like a secret haven there. It's a 30-acre tree, plant and wildlife sanctuary right in the midst of a highly developed area. There are several, nicely managed, mulch trails, big rock boulders, 2 creeks, tree bridges, a variety of flowering plants and trees including white oak trees that are 100 to 200 yrs old. It's a wonderful escape so close to home.

best friend / best friends

"Love Thursday" post prompted by Shutter Sisters. I decided I would post photos of friends on our blog tonight and as I was searching for my photo, I got an email from the very friend I was thinking of. And she had some bad news. Instead of being in Jamaica celebrating her son's wedding, she was taking him in for emergency surgery. He's going to be fine though. We have been friends for about 14 years. She's moved around quite a bit but is finally back in Atlanta. I'm so glad to have her close again. Our favorite thing to do together is spend a couple hours in a bookstore browsing the craft books, drinking coffee and talking about our children. This is one friend who needed a hug today. / best friends for 3 years. a brunette, a redhead and a blonde. 3 distinct personalities mix and make one great friendship. i can't wait until we're all together again. i guess thanksgiving is not that far away.

rainfall / weekly picnic

We finally got a much needed rain here today - it's been a month since we last saw rain. I'm sure the earth was delighted for a drink at last. / rained today in athens. the photo is a polaroid from yesterday. we have another name for tuesdays now - picnic day. we felt solitude, despite the incessant student traffic, out on our picnic blanket with plundered dining hall food and reading material. i can't wait for autumn to arrive full force.

jacket needed / mosaic of color

I love this time of year when there is a chill in the house in the morning but by afternoon the sun has warmed the bed. / i feel like a kid and want to jump in a pile of leaves
"Winter is an etching, spring a watercolor, summer an oil painting and autumn a mosaic of them all." ~Stanley Horowitz

work late / working later

The advantage of working a little late is that the view gets incredibly beautiful as the sun goes down. This is my view (of course with an iphone the capture is not grand). Our office is 18 stories up and all windows – if you walked the entire office you would get a view 180 degree view of downtown Atlanta, Stone Mountain, Kennesaw Mountain and all in between. / more photo editing tonight after i finish my drawing

etsy shop / balance

I worked hard today getting my etsy shop set up. It was fun but I've been sitting at my computer too long and now I need to get up and do some exercise. / i didn't take this image today - it's one i took when i was working on my alice in wonderland project, but i thought it sort of represented my weekend - trying to balance different groups of friends, school work, drawing, photography gig, photo editing, laundry, etc.
"Work and play are words used to describe the same thing under differing conditions." —Mark Twain

Kodi / a dog

Kodi is Taylor's Russian Blue that we adopted for her 18th birthday. I know Taylor misses her greatly, so I wanted to post a photo of what Kodi's been up to -playful as usual. / Since Taylor was too busy today to send a photo I pulled something from her photos from 1 year ago exactly. She was on a photo adventure with her senior photography class - they explored Cabbage Town and took a lot of great photos. I picked this funny one of a dog - he looks like he wants to chases after Kodi. I'm thinking that Taylor is missing photography classes.

pondering / mix of color

"The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof." - Barbara Kingsolver
I'm re-reading her book, 'Prodigal Summer'. It's a beautifully written book full of insight and information about the wonders of nature, mixed with some interesting human nature as well.
I like this quote by the author. It's something I've been thinking about lately - time I go after those dreams of mine. / working with color today - oil pastels. it's not my favorite - it's messy - i don't feel like i'm good at it. looking forward to the weekend - i have my first athens band to photograph tomorrow.

just a day / day for a picnic

This was an uneventful day for me, busy at work. I felt somewhat out of whack and not sure why. Do you ever have days like that? / thursday is my short day of classes, the breeze was cool and the sun was shining - perfect day for a picnic - so we grabbed the blankets, music, the polaroids and some food and headed for the open grass.

This is Taylor / this is my mom

I want to thank all of you who have visited us so far and the kind comments you have made. It is appreciated more than you know. I feel like I have met many sincere and warmhearted women through this internet world of blogging. It's fun and addicting so I'll keep at it. However, some things were brought to my attention...
My good friend, Trevor, shared with me some observations he made about our blog today. I have known him for over 10 years and as someone who knows me well he felt there were some things missing from our blog - it's possible that others might not feel the warm, tight relationship my daughter and I have because I have been a little impersonal in the way I write. But the main thing he noticed was that it is difficult to discern the different voices - where I leave off and she, Taylor, begins talking. I was so thankful to him for pointing these things out to me. I was too close to it to see.
So I hope this will clear things up a bit if people were confused. I'm, Leslye, the primary blogger. My photo "postings" are on the left and Taylor, my daughter's photos are on the right. Also my voice is first and her's is second (now in purple). I'm sure our blog will change over the course of the year, but for now this will be the way it will be laid out.

So that you can know us better.
This is my daughter, Taylor. She can always make you laugh. She has a creative mind and an incredible "eye" for photography, loves music and going to concerts (she's become known for her band photography). She likes cool weather... likes to wear scarves and hoodies ... likes chai soy lattes and hanging out with friends. She is open-minded, independent and full of potential. Taylor is my joy.
this is my mom, leslye. mom doesn't like having her picture taken (i secretly took this one). mom is accepting and understanding. mom is the one behind the camera when i am in front of it and is the one that sparks the majority of my inspiration. she needs to paint more. mom loves red and black (fitting since i go to uga now, haha). mom listens to my advice and never ceases to give me some of her own. she has never made me feel unloved or separated. she has never held me back. mom has watched me grow and has been the fertilizer for me. without her i wouldn't be anything like the person i am today. i love her.