Sandhill Cranes and Egrets...

Had a nice day out at Cosumnes River Preserve yesterday looking for egrets and sandhill cranes... cold and grey day though, need to go another time later in the evening and on a nicer day. Sandhill cranes stay around until late February or early March before they fly north again so I will have a chance to see them again on a nicer evening...

During the day they forage for food. I learned that to see their beautiful feathery mating dances I need to come back at dawn or dusk. I am going for dusk. These above look like they are already in their mating pair. 

A large group of them in a field. They were not so happy about humans getting close. I only had my phone camera this time and although it takes pretty good photos, obviously I need a camera with a telephoto lens for these guys!

This egret on the other hand let me walk up pretty close to it before it flew away.

Another egret a little too far for a clear shot.

Then off it goes! They are so beautiful when they take flight!

WOYWW

It has been a while since I have participated in WOYWW (What's on Your Workdesk Wednesday) but now that I am in the thick of doing art again I thought I would contribute. It's a mess but I got really inspired last night and left everything to dry overnight without cleaning up!

The large journal is for the 2015 Documented Life Project and the smaller journal is my regular art journal. Now that I have started using that larger Dylusions journal for the DLP I am liking the bigger size. 

Both of these are backgrounds for the Jodi Ohl's Pod-tastic class I have signed up for. Eventually they will be covered up with strange looking doodled pods and smoothed out backgrounds. I will post those when I get them done. 

Linked to: WOYWW #293

D.R.I.P. Painting Weekend fun...

This last weekend I took a class from a local artist, Margaret Sarantis. We did her version of intuitive painting in a fun class called D.R.I.P. (Dreamy Realistic Imaginary Painting) and it was a great creative experience!

Margaret demonstrated her various techniques while also working on a painting of her own.

We started along the lines of Tracy Verdugo's class in making a grid on our canvas and filling it with personal symbols.

But then we branched out into Margaret's unique version of it and added color and more symbols and more color until our canvases had morphed into wonderful creations.

A few close ups of the interesting textures we came up with, scratching into paint, stencils, etc.

Here is our class art show at the end -- such great colors!

It was a wonderful weekend of laughter and painting and Starbuck's lemon cake and meeting new friends. My art friend Lisa Culjis also went (her painting is the dreamy flower one on the right hand side).  I love classes like this and plan to find more now that I have time!

Updating Linky Parties

I haven't been doing much art to link to the linky parties (see CURRENT LINKY PARTIES above) and when I decided to get back to that this weekend, I realized I needed to overhaul that page. Some of the links were no longer working and some had changed their URLs. And then there were a few new ones I have found recently and never added.

If any of my dear readers happen to know of any other sites that do arty linky parties (ok I know it is a lame name but that is what they are called!), please let me know, either below in the comments or email me.

In the meantime, time to do more fun stuff and get my inner artist (or some would say, child) on and go to town! Since one of my CDFs is VIBRANT, seems like it is time to use some COLOR! Now where is that gelli plate...?

Happy New Year!

Wishing everyone who happens by 

a very Healthy, Happy and Artful New Year!

Just putting these out to the ether for this New Year:

Word for the year: OPEN

Core Desired Feelings (CDFs): unencumbered, aligned, vibrant, connected, mindful.

*  *  *  *  *

I want to repost a poem that Michelle read in our New Year's yoga workshop last year that still speaks to me:

For a New Beginning

by John O’Donohue

In out of the way places of the heart

Where your thoughts never think to wander

This beginning has been quietly forming

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire

Feeling the emptiness grow inside you

Noticing how you willed yourself on

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the grey promises that sameness whispered

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is one with your life’s desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

Word for 2015...

Like so many people I chose a word for the year. This word is my focus for things I want to do or change in the year. This is my third year doing this and it is still a work in progress for me.

My first word was RELEASE, written about HERE.
Last year I chose BREATHE, noted HERE.

It has been interesting to me how one word has led to the next. And it is no different for my new word.

As many of you know, this has been a very difficult year for me in regards to loss... it started a year ago Thanksgiving with my 20 year old cat Pandora dying, then followed soon by my other very old cat Perseus passing away. Both my step-mother and my real mother also died this year, as did my dog Maggie. And I also retired from my teaching career, which although of course it is not a death, it is still a bit of a loss (identity) and has left me floundering a little for where my life is going. As a result I found myself closing down: both emotionally and physically. 

And I wanted to change this.

And suddenly I kept hearing the word OPEN...open in yoga, open in art, open in feelings...open yourself back to your life Rhonda!

Use it as a verb and an adjective...

Step out of it whatever you have been in this last year, move through it and continue on... open yourself to the possibilities!

So I introduce my word for 2015:

        OPEN

Garden after the storm...

This is my Merry Christmas... green after all the grey days!

Tons of oxalis growing in our yard after that last storm... too bad it isn't really good for anything but it looks nice and green. I poked nasturtium seeds everywhere around the yard too and they are starting to grow... little bursts of color later.

I like nasturtiums... when they flower it is a little shock of color amidst the rest of the green in the yard. It is nice to see my foxgloves reseeded and are also coming back for the new year.  I look forward to my garden in the new year -- plan on lots more flowers!!

New Farmer's Market

Short visit to the new Land Park Farmer's Market this morning... a new one put on by the people who do the Midtown one on Saturdays. 

Nice mix of arts/crafts, music, body care products,  as well as veggies, cheeses, health foods. The air also smelled great with an Indian food truck. 

Cold outside though so I didn't stay long this time but I am glad to know it is there so I can visit more.

AND, on a nicer day, if I wanted to not be lazy, it is only a mile from my house... so it is walkable (although there is a very steep uphill over the railroad tracks both ways).

Happy 12-13-14 Day!

It started in 2003 with 1-2-3 day and this ends the cycle as 12-13-14 day. Next one won't come again until 2103...

So Happy 12-13-14!

An arty weekend...

Well weekend of sorts -- it was really Sunday and Monday. I went down to visit my friend Leslie who has those 2 days as her weekend and we did lots of artsy craftsy projects.

We played with sari ribbons, covered bangles, and made bracelets...

We did some gelli printing...

We worked on art projects, she made a small book and I worked on postcards... nothing special to show on those yet.

And... she taught me to crochet... again! She had already attempted teaching me before but apparently it did not stick. I needed a repeat lesson and more practice. So we started again and this time I think I have it... at least I can continue on my own now...

Making a sweatshirt jacket...

And finally using some of the gorgeous Marcia Derse fabrics I bought a couple of years ago on an Oregon trip. Marcia Derse fabrics have such wonderful colors and designs. I thought maybe I would make a quilt with these fabrics so I was holding on to them in my stash, but then I decided I wanted to wear them. When a class came along at my local quilt store I decided to use them for that. The premise is you start with a larger than normal sized sweatshirt then piece fabrics to it to make up a jacket.

This will be the front. I am a little behind the others in the class (which just ended today after 3 sessions) so I have yet to actually finish it. I thought I would post the fabrics now then show the finished jacket when it finally happens.

I am not sure why sewing is so difficult for me. I take too much time when others are just zooming away. I guess the more I do it the faster and better I will get, but I have always been a little hesitant about what I do when sewing. Something else to work on in the coming time I have now that I am retired!

Enjoying the rain...

It rained a bit last week and this past weekend.

We really need the rain around here so I do not have a single complaint.

In fact it was rather refreshing to go out and do errands in the rain. It is only water after all!

My dad's birthday...

Today would have been my father's 89th birthday. He died when he was 54. I was 27 and there was so much more of my life I would have loved sharing with him as I got older. For some reason I especially miss you today daddy...

Fall is here...

My neighborhood is finally looking like it is Fall. Trees are changing colors, dropping leaves, and while we still wait for the days and nights to cool off more (I mean, come on Sacramento -- 70 degree days and 50 degree nights in November is not right!), at least we have some nice leaves. I look forward to going to the East coast one of these autumns and really seeing trees show their splendor!

And I went to the Garden Center today (Green Acres Nursery) to get some iris bulbs and bulb fertilizer. I had ordered tulips and ranunculus but forgot totally about irises. Our iris plants have stopped coming back up over the years and I miss those stately flowers.

Even though I am showing you all the pansy plants, I didn't get any. They just do not last long enough for me. I guess I am just amazed that we can garden all year around here (not that I have ever lived where one couldn't)... I just see gorgeous photos of people's snowbound homes online and realize I may not have the snow or even enough water in the state, but at least we can put out some pretty flowers  any time.

Sending out some Mail Art...

I realized the other day that I was lagging behind on returning some Mail Art post cards from several folks, so I made up a bunch of collage cards to send out. They are collaged from magazines, newspapers, old junk art papers, and a lot of doodles and stamping and miscellaneous coloring. A little different for me but I like them. I made two sets, similar to the couple I am showing here. Hope the thicker ones make it through the mail ok. I scanned these before I added some final stamping but I didn't want to scan them again.

A lovely day with alpacas and a natural dyeing workshop...

On Saturday I went to a Natural Dyes Workshop held at Renaissance Ridge Alpacas up in the foothills, about an hours drive from my house. Got a chance to see cute alpacas and then do a fun workshop with Anni Redding. I used to do a lot of natural dyeing (40 years ago) and wasn't sure if I would remember anything but I guess it is one of those things, once you have done it, you remember. Here are some photos from the day.

First the cuties...

And now some from the dyeing workshop:

What I liked at the end was having this nice color card to know not only what we did at the workshop but also how to get the colors I like again.

Waiting for the rain to pass...

The house painting is happening slowly, broken up by weekends and a rainy day here and there. But it is coming along nicely... blue with white trim.  In progress...

I haven't been doing much artsy stuff this week aside from watching a lot of art videos and reading blogs. Lots to catch up on and I have pretty much let myself have the week to just veg on other people's creativity.  I did sign up for Tracy Verdugo's Paint Mojo ecourse and have slowly been working on that. I love her intuitive style and thought I would splurge on the class. I am also thinking of taking Flora Bowley's online course as well to get a different look at intuitive painting. Both of them sort of early Christmas presents to myself.

And I signed up for the NaNoWriMo again this year to write 50,000 words in one month. A novel, or as they call it more likely a really awful first draft. But for me it is a month long writing project that sets me down to put words to paper on a daily basis. I did it in 2010 as well and it was pure drivel but it did get me thinking and writing which is what I wanted to do.

Many projects... open ended time... not in a hurry...

It is good to have an end to journey toward, but it is the journey that matters in the end.

--Ursula K. LeGuin

The magic is starting to happen...

After getting the back siding redone and the south side of the house patched and ready to go, the house is now being painted! Blue with white trim. Right now it is just the back and south sides. Then the north side and the front will get done in between is rain, jury duty call-in, and painter availability. Hopefully the whole house will be done before the end of the year. I am looking forward to it! It has been a little shabby around here (and not shabby chic!) and it is time for all that to change!

and here it is all blue, still waiting for the white trim...

Loving this color!

Making my own dried cranberries...

Still drying the next day...

Things I have learned:
1. Let them spend more time in the blanching water to fully pop open.
2. Dry them at a higher temp, maybe 145 degrees. I will try again in a few days and see what happens when I make the above changes.
3. They stick like crazy to the drier mesh. Maybe try spraying it first with coconut oil to see if that helps them not to stick so much.