Fall

solo post - L, iphone

"l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
li
ness"
- e.e. cummings

Happy weekend

solo post - L, Nikon

What will you be doing this Halloween weekend? No more costumes for me to make here, no trick-or-treaters at my door to treat. I'll just be at home tomorrow night enjoying a traditional bowl of chili and watching a movie by the fire. Growing up my dad always made the first pot of chili of the season on Halloween night (usually cooked it over the fire) - a good hot bowl to feed us before we went out trick-or-treating into the night. Halloween was a good time back in those days. Whatever your weekend holds I hope it's fun, be safe and don't forget to set your clocks back. yeah for the extra hour of sleep.

The crow above was part of an installation for the Harvest Celebration at Aldridge Botanical Gardens. The tree was covered in crows that children had decorated in festive attire.

mail delivery

L - solo post, Nikon

My mail box is usually filled with nothing but junk mail, every once in a while there's a piece of important mail (got one the other day for my tag renewals) but this time of year it's more catalogs than anything. However, today I got two pieces of mail that I was very excited about. Show tickets and handmade cards from a special friend.
When T was home a few weeks ago we drove downtown and saw a huge tent set up where they usually have the Cirque du Soleil tent. However this one was white instead of yellow and blue so we weren't sure what it was for. Then we saw... Cavalia is coming to town. This tent we saw is the largest touring big top in North America. The show... a larger-than-life fairytale - blending dramatic visual effects, live music, dance and acrobatic with the bold presence of over 60 magnificent horse. I just had to get tickets. The only day that T would be able to go was on 11 -10, so I went online and it kept coming up that none were available. I thought I would have to give it up. but I decided to make a call. Turns out the entire place was bought in groups but a representative called me the next day and said she had some tickets - really good tickets. We will be seated eight rows back, middle right, just one row back from premium seats. I can't not wait! I put those tickets in a safe place. We'll just say it's an early birthday present to myself, and T gets to reap the benefits as well.
See those beautiful cards there on the left? I bet most of you can recognize who did this lovely work. Elk recently opened an etsy shop and I went shopping there as soon as she did. These cards were packaged so nicely and I have to say they are even more beautiful in person - you can tell they are truly made from the heart. I'm not sure if I will be able to part with them - might just frame them for myself instead of writing a letter on them. You should check out her shop for yourself when you get a chance.

evening light / night light

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

I took my Nikon with me to work today because I wanted to capture the leaves. But it's not only the colorful leaves that captivate me this time of year, it's the brilliant sky. I have a wonderful view of the sky all day long and one can catch me clicking my iphone for a shot throughout the day - I might see a bunny in the clouds or dramatic rays of light, but tonight, leaving before dark for a change, as I drove out of the parking lot I saw a spectrum of color in the sky. It seemed unusual because it had not been raining. It wasn't just a trick of the window pane, I was shooting through an open window. Starting next week it will always be dark when I leave to go home. The part about fall and winter that I'm not so fond of... but I do look forward to the extra hour of sleep, don't you? /i think october is the best month of all. fall begins to show itself with the leaves turning and the weather changing and halloween makes the perfect ending to the month! it brings the chance to be creative- costumes, house decorations, pumpkins! i've always had trouble dealing with the positive and negative space on pumpkins, haha. deciding which part i'm allowed to cut off and which i need to leave for support. i think this years pumpkin turned out really well and makes a nice addition to my wonderful porch [:

random / planned

L - iphone / T - Nikon

"Fiery colors begin their yearly conquest of the hills, propelled by the autumn winds. Fall is the artist." 
- Takayuki Ikkaku

This morning there was autumn magic on the lawn – the winds and rain carrying the russet, amber and tangerine-orange leaves down to blanket the ground in a mosaic of color – a work of art really. By this afternoon there will be a thick carpet of color atop the emerald grass and the soft pine straw beds. I will feel a strong desire to rake them up and jump in them – taking me back to childhood. But... I'm too old and besides, it's raining. I'll be satisfied to rustle my feet through them and kick them in the air. / this past weekend we had perfect weather - it got me in the mood for carving a pumpkin. i had the idea all in my head and even sketched it out before i started. i can't say it turned out exactly like i planned but it looks great all lit up. i'll show you that later. : )

warmth / frosty

solo post - L

I may have been without internet this past weekend but, you know what, it was ok because I had a much better way to spend my time. T gave me a surprise visit Friday night. She came back to get her winter coats – but who cares the reason. I had no idea she was coming home and was so excited to see her. So I built a fire – the weather was unseasonably cold for the south. I fixed her some soup and we caught up on favorite tv shows that I had Tivoed for her. Saturday we woke up to a chilly house, I built another fire and we baked Chocolate Banana Monkeybread for breakfast. Of course I knew she would want to go shopping, so we did that. We shopped all day and got hungry wondering what my dad would cook for dinner that night (my brother happened to be in town as well). She thought of her favorite dinners and then we both decided that we hoped it would be spaghetti. But we were too afraid to request it – it being so late in the day. Turns out he was cooking spaghetti! We ate dinner, T told stories that had us all laughing, we ate apple pie and then we went to see Bright Star in the theatre. (the movie was a little slower than we anticipated but we enjoyed it still – the cinematography was beautiful.) Sunday we got up and went to church and then she had to get back to school in time to submit two photographs into a juried show. What time was there to miss the internet?

past-time

solo post - L

Sorry for my absence here. I've been without internet at my home since the middle of last week (something to do with damage to the phone line). Here at work I can sneak in a little reading or commenting at lunch or after hours - like now, but at home I've been gently forced to step away from the computer. It's a refreshing change really. Being away from the computer screen brings me into the other room where I've been enjoying a warm fire and reading a good book. I could get used to this. But I would miss you all so I look forward to getting my internet back and catching up with you. Until then the change is welcome. Please don't cross me off your list just yet.

uplifting / daunting

L - Nikon / T - Nikon

When T sent me this photo late Sunday night I knew I had to put it together with my photo from my Sunday morning walk. Her's being a late night scary walk in the dark, with friends... mine being an cheerful walk in nature, alone. My walk had a one little obstacle, her walk was had several. I did not get lost, she did. / my best friend came into town this weekend from charleston and on her way back home to atlanta. it was great to have her back in town – i hadn't seen her since i moved into my house here. she's such a breath of fresh air in my life. however few and far between our interactions it's always nice to see her. since happenings in my little town were slow, we decided to make a twenty minute road trip with one of my other great friends to watkinsville, where washington farms and their famous corn maze are located. we got there around eleven and.. we did not make it out alone. by the time the field was closing at eleven, we were nowhere near the exit. none of us had ever been to a corn maze before and it was actually a lot of fun, however a little daunting! i would really like to go back and conquer it.. maybe when it's a little lighter outside!

bounty / illumine

solo post - L

I had 3 apples... I was going to paint them – then I saw the recipe for Apple Crostata... no more apples to paint. SO I went to the market and bought some more fruit and those wonderful sunflowers I shared yesterday. This morning I arranged the items I bought and now I have an abundance of photographs and good starts for at least 3 paintings. One of the compositions really excites me. But first I just had to get outside.
The temperature was perfect so I decided before painting that I should get some exercise. So off I went to Big Trees Forest for a nice hike in the woods. Well I can't go for a walk in the woods without my camera but for the sake of exercise I should have left it at home. I kept seeing things I just couldn't pass by. I was stopping every few yards to take a photo. So my hike turned into a leisurely stroll. You know when you slow down enough to "see" – there is all kinds of beauty around us. (To make me feel like I was actually getting some exercise I decided to walk the trail 2 times instead of just once). The walk did me good even if I didn't get my heart rate up.

Nature is man's teacher. She unfolds her treasures to his search, unseals his eye, illumes his mind, and purifies his heart; an influence breathes from all the sights and sounds of her existence. ~Alfred Billings Street

Once home, I set to work trying to decide which "set up" to start painting. My mom always said, "Begun is half done." Well I'm glad to say, I am more than half done now. Yeah. It's been a good weekend.

I talked to T – she hasn't totally abandoned the blog. She and some friends went to a corn maze this weekend and she said she took some photos. I can't wait to see them. First she said she had to do marine environment homework and start on her next design project. I'll wait - patiently. : )

sunny

solo post - L

I didn't get a whole lot accomplished today but I had a sunny day despite the gray outside. I went to the market to buy fruits and these sunny flowers to use for painting a tomorrow. And I did a little baking - inspired by Soul Aperture. Mine didn't turn out as pretty as Christina's, and probably not as delicious because I didn't make the crust from scratch, but it did taste rather good with my cup of coffee tonight regardless.
Now let's hope I keep my inspiration and actually start that painting tomorrow.

acorns / picnics

L - Nikon 50mm / T - Polaroid

“Faith sees a beautiful blossom in a bulb, a lovely garden in a seed, and a giant oak in an acorn.”
- William Arthur Ward

What a wonderful week of renewal and illumination I had while in North Carolina – to be surrounded by so many creative people – dining and dorming with them for 5 days straight – was refreshing and inspirational. I plan to tell you more about it on my autumnsun blog – soon I hope.
I saw, and felt, hints of autumn there in NC – the leaves just barely starting to change but autumn temperatures were definitely in the air. As I walked the soft earthy scented cypress pathway each day to my metalsmithing class the leaves on the ground became an inspiration to me. I gathered leaves and took them to class, drawing from their different shapes I made a bracelet of silver and copper. This tiny oak leaf, not yet changed, and a bright yellow acorn caught my eye on the last day – I picked them up and brought them home with me. / enjoying afternoons of picnics and polaroids. i'm loving it. school is going well too.

real world

I'm back to the real world of 'all work and no play'. I haven't had time to post or even read. Please don't think I have abandoned my friends. I can't wait to catch up with you all and tell you a little bit about "camp".