Shelter

I've been working on a mixed media piece, watercolor workshop preparations, reading (The Lady & the Unicorn). I'll be showing you some of these in days to come - but I need to take photographs and I'm saving that for another day when it is earlier. My creative juices tend to go overtime at night and that is not good for my sleep pattern. I know I have a lot of company out there.

But for tonight, I will share one of my favorite subjects. This is a version of a Blue Morph Butterfly that I altered with Photoshop Elements. I have worked this image several times and would like to do more with it.

The verse is from one of my favorite Psalms of the Bible and can be found in Psalm 91. I listened to a CD this week that I hadn't listened to for a while. My favorite track is "You Are My Refuge" by Shannon Wexelberg. I love songs like this that remind me of where my safe place is. It's easy for me to worry and let troubling thoughts take over. But God has promised to be a refuge. He is my hiding place.

Watercolor Painting Workshop - Valentine Cards

I will be teaching a watercolor technique workshop on Feb. 2nd at the Swinging Bridge Studio in Story City.

I love to take a sheet of watercolor paper and fill it with color and texture. It can be used as a background for collage/assemblage or torn up as focal pieces on a greeting card. The finished paper can also be scanned or photocopied. When scanned, further manipulation of the design is possible in a program like Photoshop Elements.

Here are just a couple examples of what can be done.

January Thaw: Is it too early for Spring Fever?

Here's my first posting of 2008 and I'm thinking about Spring! We've had a couple days of thawing temps and I'm longing for a stroll out in nature - no snow, no mud, no jacket. Warm sun on my BARE arms.

But it IS January, so a trip down memory lane will have to suffice for now.

I hiked with friends at Effigy Mounds National Monument in the Spring a couple years ago, which is when I took these shots.

Sketching

This summer I sketched a female face - more of a doodle - while hubby and I were on a 2 hour car trip. He glanced over and told me the eyes were too close together. Not being mean, just an accurate observation. I started erasing and he began to protest. But I assured him that I welcomed the critique. I wanted to improve. He helped me a lot that day.

Since then, I've been sketching faces when I can and studying how to draw & paint them from some books I picked up.

When this new study started, I remembered drawing females using a sewing pattern catalog for inspiration when I was a teen. I didn't think I was very good at it (or other drawing), so I left drawing behind and satisfied my artistic pursuits in other ways.

You don't really have to draw to be a painter. I did decorative painting based on other peoples' patterns. When I took up watercolor, I did most of my works based on tracings of my photographs. Eventually, I began to work from my own drawings. After taking some painting classes this year, I decided to work more on drawing. I never expected to be so drawn to drawing faces, but that's where I am now.

I sketched this from my imagination the other night while waiting for hubby to take care of some business at the office. It's not perfect, but I thought I would share it with my readers.

Away in a Manger

"Away In A Manger" was one of the first Christmas carols I learned as a young child. Little was I to know how significant it would become to me.

This story starts in August 2003. Dad had been declining steadily due to the ravages of Alzheimer's Disease. He still lived on the family farm with Mom and one of my brothers. Our family prayed to know when the time was right for him to live in the nursing home and that time had come. It was clear. Still, it broke my heart the day Mom and I took him to live at "The Manor".

That night, I never slept. I prayed, I read, I lay in the bed hoping for sleep. I was so worried that Dad would be frightened and think we had abandoned him. I wanted God to comfort Dad so he would not feel alone. Late in the night, I had run out of words to pray. As I lay there, the words of the 3rd verse of "Away in a Manger" came to my mind, so I prayed them for Dad:

"Be near me Lord Jesus, I ask Thee to stay,

Close by me forever and watch me I pray;

Bless all the dear children in Thy tender care,

And fit us for heaven to live with Thee there."

The night wore on until there was light in the eastern sky. I got out of bed and went outdoors where I photographed the new day.

A couple weeks later, we took Dad out for a picnic. After eating, I took him over to the playground equipment to be near his grandkids. Dad loved music and one of the blessings of his illness was he would break out in singing or humming very often. His favorite was "How Great Thou Art." I noticed he was humming as we went to the swings, but it wasn't his usual tune. Suddenly it dawned on me that he was humming "Away in a Manger". Oh, my! My heart rejoiced and was glad - my prayer had not only been heard, but God was confirming it to me for which I will always be grateful.

Dad went Home in late November 2006. I miss him so much, but I will always be grateful for all the blessings he brought into our lives.

(The art I posted is a scan of a linoleum block print I made a few years ago. I was inspired while hubby & I were touring a millenium-old church in Hildesheim, Germany with our dear friend, Jutta.)

Christmas Visitors

We made our annual trip to Eastern Iowa where we celebrated Christmas with some of my husband's family on the acreage where he grew up. The birds who come to the feeder are always entertaining, but we had a special treat this year. A group of wild turkeys came for Christmas dinner.

Several Mourning Doves were perched in a nearby tree.

These are some of the shots I took through the deck window since I didn't want to frighten the birds away. I wish I could have captured the beauty of the turkeys' plummage.

Christmas Blessings

Here's a little digital altered art I used for Christmas cards last year. I let the days get away this year and haven't even composed a Christmas letter.

This image started as a close-up of a Taro leaf. I played with Photoshop Elements to come up with this design which reminds me of a Christmas tree.

During this season it is good to contemplate what a wondrous gift God gave us sending Jesus to walk among us and give His life so that we can all share in His life forever.

Peace - Joy - Love