Butterflies and un-retouched photography

See, here's the thing: when does "photography" end and "computer skill" begin? There are so many programs to "enhance" photos nowadays, how do we know when a photo is just that; a photo and not someone's idealized image from a photograph? By that I mean, when does the art of photography turn into skill at an editing program such as Photoshop? If you are putting a photo out "there" to be enjoyed as a photograph, shouldn't it be just that? I have been playing with my camera (not an expensive Nikon by any means) to take the best photos I can, not relying on cropping or any other manipulation. I know that I am probably going to irk some people who love their Photoshop and I am not saying that there isn't a use for manipulation software, but if I enter a photo contest then it should be judged on the photo and the photographer's skill at using the camera and not on their skill on the computer. Here's my unsolicited advice: if your picture is out of focus take another one, and another one until it's in focus. That's camera work. Why bother having an ultra-expensive camera if you can just make it look "great" on the computer? My husband actually found a site (or program?) where it's possible to make a photograph from images. That's taking manipulation of photos to a whole other level!

Anyway, off my soapbox................ that being said, here are a couple of photos (un-retouched) that I snapped of an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail:

And Spicebush Swallowtail:

Thanks to my big sister for identifying them for me! We used to help her catch butterflies when we were much younger so she could mount them for her collection so I knew she could tell me what kind they were!

More basket fun!

Yesterday afternoon I spent several hours at Mary Ann's house working on a basket. Our original plan was to weave a basket and then go pick blueberries. Since it rained most of the day and it was rather soggy out we nixed the berry picking, but still made baskets. Before I show the one I made yesterday (my third basket so far) I thought I would show my very first basket. It is a "napkin" basket, but I have placed it in the loft bathroom to hold bath supplies.

For my basket yesterday I wanted to add some dimension to the weaving similar to some baskets I saw at a farm museum last Saturday. I adapted this pattern; the original was monotone, I added the curls in a contrasting brown so you could actually see them! It's not perfect, but I love doing the twining for the bottom. This is also my first attempt at a round base. I am SO loving making baskets........

For all you in AZ: notice the nice, tall, GREEN trees in the background. It's amazing what grows in a rainy clime!

Our next basket project will be to make mini baskets with the bazillion leftovers Mary Ann has at her house. Stay tuned.............

Online Class

April sent me over to Amy's blog, she's conducting an online class FREE all week. I need to re-do my Etsy store now that I have high speed internet and this looks like the jump start I need! Come and join in! The button is over there on the right......................

Baskets and such

I'm managing to survive in the 80º temps here in VA. Soooo glad not to be in AZ anymore! A couple of weeks ago Mary Ann taught four of us to make baskets and we enjoyed it so much that we returned this morning to make a second one. This particular type of basket has a wooden base and handle so it looked funny before we began:

But after a couple hours of Mary Ann's tutelage this is what I made:

We all brought food and had a delicious lunch (I made homemade ice cream -- from my auction find, the ice cream maker -- homemade brownies, homemade caramel sauce, and homemade [duh] whipped cream for dessert). Afterward Mary Ann showed me her hydrangea bush which had pink blossoms mixed in with the blue (the color is based on the acidity of the soil so how could half of one bunch be a different color?), she offered me some so I brought them home and arranged them in a very expensive vase!

Before I came back home Cherie invited me over to look at the wooden bread board her husband Dennis is making for me. It is two different hard woods and absolutely gorgeous! It still has to finish curing before it can come home with me. Cherie and I wandered into her wooded area and gathered some dead grapevines to play with:

After soaking them, manipulating, and just generally messing around with them I managed to create 2 wreaths. We originally were going to try baskets, but they just weren't supple enough for anything that "organized." So I just played around and made this:

I left the smaller one for Cherie to finish working on and fill out. It was kind of messy, but I just sat in Cherie's yard while her dog, Sally watched. It was a "hard" day at work, but worth it!

The Best Compliment!

So, truly the best compliment I can receive from my articles in Sew Somerset is that I have inspired someone to create! Shelley O: Wowzers! Shelley read my article and has created a fantabulous Needle Book in her own style. My favorite part is the ribbon rose on her cover. I am coveting this rose! Please skip on over and admire her work of art.

Schmutz Ahoy!

Thanks to April for my last post! We now have DSL (a LOT sooner than expected out here in the woods!) so I can upload pics and post now. I have been busy and finished 2 Schmutz books from schmutz I collected on my trip to NY. The Nutri-Grain/Starbucks book was made last Spring during a day-long workshop at work and is primarily from items I found in the meeting and at the restaurant at which we ate lunch. It even includes a mini book from a Nerds box.

For the Piroulines book, I left the cookies at my sister's. I don't like Hazelnut flavoring, but HAD to have the box to make this book:

I think this Good & Fruity box was collected from Sara and Laura last summer when I visited:

All of these books are made from what I call "Schmutz," which is a nice way of saying "the crap that most people throw out that I obssessively save." The thrill is finding a new way of using something most people toss without looking at!
Now, on to rusting fabric and transforming an old trunk/suitcase/valise we purchased for a dollar at the local auction house! Oh, goody: another way to find Schmutz (and I have a permanent bidding number, shocker! LOL)! To be continued after tonight's auction..............

I know, I know…….it’s been forever since I have posted. We are situated in VA now and still on dial-up – so far in the woods that we cannot get any high speed internet at all at this point. So….. I am going to write my blogs and have April post them for me from AZ. It’s great here! I have met some friends already; gone shopping with them, partied (not what you’d think: just pot luck and music) with them, and today crafted! MaryAnn weaves baskets and she showed us how. It was fun, fun, fun. It’s amazing how many crafty/arty/musically talented people have moved into this area. Maybe the creative type needs the solitude of the mountains?

I am tickled to announce that I have two feature articles in the Summer 2010 issue of Sew Somerset (my all-time favorite magazine!) and a small piece in the Gallery. The needle case (see earlier posts) is actually the very first article in the issue, the Jabberwocky book is another feature article, and my brown nature book (I think I posted this one?) is in the gallery. One of the pages in the nature book shows the colt we passed quite frequently last summer. He is now a year old and quite handsome! The Twilight Zone part of this story is that we ended up purchasing a used 4X4 truck from his owners a week ago…. Cathy was thrilled to know that L’il Feller was famous in a magazine before he is even registered! I took more pics and actually got to pet him this time (along with their tiny kitten).

Being published and being in the cooler, more relaxed environment here in the mountains has given me the impetus I need to get off my butt and send more pieces in for possible publication and also to seek out an artists’ venue locally to teach in. Once I organized my “store” of supplies I could finally start creating again. Now that we are living in one place rather than a house, apartment, and storage garage I can find my stuff again, yeah!

Here are a couple of the many pictures we took while April was visiting:

This last picture is L'il Feller...the one that is in the gallery in Sew Somerset. You can see he's quite a bit bigger!!