Starting tomorrow

Starting tomorrow I'm going to keep up with another 30 day photo challenge. I like the discipline. My kids crafted the challenge and they take great pride in it. They also asked me to watch this cool video where Phineas and Ferb from the Disney Channel rock out with Slash. They think it's hilarious that I used to rock out to Guns and Roses. And don't get them started on the thought of me in spandex. Their eyes get as huge as saucers then they claim to be blind and deaf. http://kids.yahoo.com/movies/videos/video/26015422

Day 30: Another self portrait and some thoughts on Shakespeare

Today is the last day of this 30 day photo challenge and today’s challenge was another self-portrait. I took a picture of myself doing what I most love to do, creating. I’m working on a little book for the lovely Marie who is so scared about starting middle school. I like to write poems for her and enclose them in collaged journals. It seems like only yesterday that I created an alphabet book for her. My goodness, in September the lovely Marie will be 12!

I remember being twelve. I’ve given her permission to hate my guts because somehow I think it will hurt less if I say it’s okay. It’s going to happen anyway. We stopped by Hot Topic today to buy some t-shirts. Marty got a Shane Dawson t-shirt and I swear I teared up because I recalled so clearly his picking out Wiggles t-shirts. Murray was his favorite Wiggle. Those days are gone, gone, gone.

So, we went to The Bedrock City on Westheimer. There’s a reason I like to go on my artist dates alone. Marty wanted about $150 worth of comics and graphic novels but he had to settle for this one. Crysis?

 

The lovely Marie got a graphic novel of King Lear. She is a true Shakespeare aficionado. Every summer we go to Shakespeare in the park at Miller Outdoor Theater.

Sunday August 3^rd we’re going to see The Taming of the Shrew. I think she’ll like it a lot. I first discovered Marie liked Shakespeare right before she started kindergarten. Every summer I read a play by Shakespeare because I like to. No other reason. I was reading Julius Cesar and she asked me to read some of it to her. I used to read to the kids all the time. Anyway, I told her I didn’t think she would like it but she insisted, so I started reading. Next thing I know, she’s gasping. “Oh my God,” she shrieked. “They’re going to kill him!” Wow. Five years old and she got it. I remember being in high school and kids complaining they didn’t get it or that Shakespeare used too many clichés.

 (the wrestling scene from As You Like It)

 

So, the first Shakespeare play I took the kids to see was As You Like it. Marty and Marie ran around the hill acting like a four and a five year old will act . My husband and I enjoyed the show. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, the lovely Marie says to me, “So, is that Rosalind gay or what?” I guess you either get it or you don't. My husband shares our love for the bard but Marty only goes along to the plays for the sno-cones.  Right now Marie is reading King Lear and she keeps muttering that Reagan and Goneril are evil. Just evil. And Marty is asking if they're going to have cotton candy this year because he could really go for some cotton candy. I'll let you know. See you next time.

Black and White

Today’s challenge was black and white. My camera has a black and white setting. You can also choose a sepia tone. Cool.

I also took a picture of something that is black and white in color. I bought this clock at Family Dollar a few months back on clearance for just $2.oo I didn’t exactly need a clock, but man, it was cheap and cute.

I made pretzels today. Not as pretty as the ones at the mall, but definitely just as yummy. I’m trying to decide what to do for my artist date tomorrow. Where should I go? It’s so hot outside. I have to find somewhere inside with air conditioning. Maybe I’ll go to the comic book store. My son loves it there, but the point of artists dates is to have some alone time. Still, I want to see if I can find a Cowboys and Aliens graphic novel. I’m so excited about the upcoming movie.

See you next time.

Day 28: Flowers

“There are flowers everywhere for those who bother to look.” Matisse

This is my butterfly bush. It’s been too hot lately for any butterflies but I guess the plant is pretty drought tolerant because it’s doing okay.

I wish I were a better photographer because I saw flowers everywhere today. Did I take good pictures of flowers? Not really. Matisse is one of my favorite artists. I love, love, love this children’s book about him, A Bird or Two: A Story about Henri Matisse by Bijou Le Tord. This book made me aware of a church Matisse designed in a small town on the French Riviera.

One day I'll get to see it in person. It's on my to do list. What's on your to do list? Where do you long to visit? The 30 day photo challenge is winding down and I've been working on starting a new one because challenging myself to take a picture every day has been an amazing experience. It's too fun to just stop. Join me, I think you'll like it. See you next time...

 

From a distance

On my way to work I see one of Houston’s skylines and it never fails to stun me with its beauty. I think of the countless people who take raw steel and other materials and laboriously create a sky scraper. It’s truly miraculous to me.

So maybe I’m over dramatic. I just think that once you take something for granted you start to become jaded. Albert Einstein said there were two ways to look at the world. One as if miracles do not exist, and the other as if everything is a miracle. I belong to the second camp.

Don’t worry. I wasn’t driving and shooting photos. My husband drives me to work.

Until next time…

Close up

This is a close up of a handheld fan. I always loved the back of the National Geographic for kids where they had extreme close ups and you had to guess what you were looking at. I was always pretty good at it. I’m a very observant person. I wanted to be a homicide detective for the longest time like my idol Dede McCall from the TV show Hunter. I would take these practice tests for wannabe detectives where you look at a picture for thirty seconds, then have to list everything you saw. I was really good at those. At any rate, it’s helped to make me very aware of my surroundings when I’m not day dreaming. If I’m daydreaming my hair could be on fire and I’d probably wonder what the smell was.

This is a close up of a rose. Once I got started, I couldn’t stop.

Maybe this is could be an example of bokah. It’s a close up of a beaded bracelet cuff that I love.

Every morning I write what author Julia Cameron calls morning pages. Three handwritten pages about whatever is on my mind gets written up in this journal and the picture is a close up of the flower on the cover. I highly recommend The Artist’s Way and The Vein of Gold by Julia Cameron. Really, you can read anything she’s written and you will want to take whatever your art is seriously because you’ll realize it’s your soul needing to express itself. Until next time...

Something Pink!

This is Zahara and I love, love, love her super cute pink outfit. She was flattered when I asked to take her picture and she said it would be okay to use her image in my blog. Pink, specifically fuchsia, is my favorite color ever. I love it in every shade from pale baby pink to hot pink.

I hope you can see the texture of the hot pink roses in this picture. I took all my pictures at work today. Check out the adorable kitchen. I always wanted one when I was growing up but my mom was really into the ERA and women’s lib so she bought me Legos and Lincoln logs , erector sets, a microscope, etcetera and so on. So guess who grew up wanting to be Betty Crocker? Parenting is the hardest job on earth other than people who clean up after nuclear waste, probably.

We had a luau at work today. My lei had some pink flowers.

Yesterday I wore this necklace that I beaded myself with beads I bought at King Dollar. I like the way it turned out and I’m glad it didn’t cost much.

I promised the lovely Marie I would post her latest drawing. She’s really proud of it and I like it a lot too. She draws a lot lately. I’m glad because so many kids her age give up, saying they’re not an artist. I think my love of art has rubbed off on her. Technically, I don’t draw well but that’s never ever stopped me from making my art. I have a compulsion to create. It’s genetic, I suppose.

Until next time…

Day 24: An Aninal

When I was growing up my mom picked out my clothes and I never complained. I loved clothes. So at the age of 16 I still wore Battenberg lace collars and Gunne Sax dresses by Jessica McClintock. Sometimes I got teased and I guess by age 17 I’d worn one too many sailor dresses and I finally felt embarrassed. Promising myself to never dress my daughter in babyish clothes I figured I would let the lovely Marie wear whatever she felt was cool, except for belly shirts or glitter t-shirts that say things like Jail Bait. I bought this sweater for her when she was eight because I thought it was the prettiest thing I ever saw. When she outgrew it I couldn’t bear to put it in the donate bag. I love it so much. Well guess who just found out that the lovely Marie thought this was a dorky sweater and only wore it to make me happy? Geez…

This is a new painting at the furniture store where I work. It’s really very nice. I often think about the Chinese people working in the factories and what must go through their head during a work day. My dad used to tell my mom not to shop at dollar stores because shopping there means you're surrendering to China. I like when you find a random hand painted piece that’s a little off. Like one time I found a cross eyed baby Jesus at Christmas time. I bought him because I was afraid that everyone else would reject him. I had a point…

This clock is new at the store too. I think it’s really cool. It’s a reproduction, of course. Still, I like the idea of repurposing a cog. A couple of years ago I watched Modern Times with my kids and they learned the word cog and I found out that Charlie Chaplin is timeless. We all laughed like crazy. I still wonder about those factory workers, what they must think about American consumers. It would be interesting to find out. The thirty day photo challenge is winding to a close and I’ve been brainstorming with my kids for thirty more subjects. It dawned on me that I’ve never shared exactly what the subjects of the thirty day photo challenge are. So, here you go:

1.     Self portrait

2.    What you wore today

3.    Something green

4.    Clouds

5.    From a high angle

6.    From a low angle

7.    Fruit

8.     A bad habit

9.     Someone you love

10.  Childhood memory

11.  Something blue

12. Sunset

13. Yourself with 13 things

14. Eyes

15. Silhouette

16. Long Exposure

17. Technology

18.  Your shoes

19.  Something orange

20. Bokah

21. Faceless self portrait

22. Hands

23. Sun flare

24. Animal

25. Something pink

26. Close up

27. From a distance

28. Flowers

29. Black and white

30. Self portrait

(something else new at work that I like a lot)

Yesterday while photographing a sun flare I was reminded of being in kindergarten and how I misheard the teacher say that if you stare at the sun you’d go blonde. After I woke up in the nurses office and my mom picked me up I found out I would have my hearing checked. Hmmm. Blind, not blonde. Now I have a plastic eardrum and everyone says I have selective hearing. It serves me well, though. Until next time…

Day 23: sunflare

Inspired by this picture I set out to do my best.

And this is what I came up with. I love the shot through the trees. Today was my artist date. I had to make my weekly stop at my favorite resale shop. I always challenge myself to not spend more than $5. I take a $5 bill and two quarters to make sure I don't go  over my limit. If I find something like furniture, I pay with my debit card and make arrangements to pick it up later. At any rate, I challenge myself to find something interesting and not spend a lot. Today I did well.

I’ve been wanting a jewelry box with a ballerina and I found one. The best part was, it only cost $3! The lid says Sarah, but I’m going to decoupage the box to make it my own.

I even found the paper I will use, a Victorian style gift wrap for .25 cents.

And I found this too cute China Town print for a quarter, as well. I love Chinoserie so it will fit right in. Framing it will be the most expensive part.

I also bought two June magazines to use for cutting out pictures and they were a quarter each. Traditional Homes, gorgeous, and Southern Living, equally nice eye candy. All in all I spent just over $4 today. But I was venturing further out of my neighborhood for my artist date. I went to Wabash Antiques & Feed Store on Washington Avenue. Their motto is, "A little bit of country in the heart of the city."

You’ll find heirloom tomatoes, chickens, and tractor seat stools here. I just love it! Stop by and you just may get to meet a baby goat. The cool yard art is fun to look at too.

I am considering growing lollipop tomatoes like these from seed because they can withstand extreme heat and gosh darn it, they are sooo cute. Today was a happy day. Petting bunnies always puts me in a good mood. We all need a little bit of country in my opinion. Who woulda thought you could shop at an old fashioned feed store in Houston, Texas?

By the way, these are the fortune cookie pins I’ve been working on. It’s meditative, fun work. I started saving fortune cookie messages a few years back because I have a friend who keeps one in her wallet from the fortune cookie she ate on her first date with the man she eventually married. I love a romantic story. No romance behind my saved messages, only the memory of her sweet story. Speaking of stories, my mom is writing a novel! I'm so proud of her, she's wanted to write one for awhile and now that she's retired she has the time. 

I’m going to keep the message on this one in mind. “The smart thing to do is to prepare for the unexpected.” Good advice. Until next time…

Day 22: Hands

My daughter, whom I always refer to as the lovely Marie, agreed to pose for this picture. She’s so sweet. I also took a picture of a vintage sign my Aunt Jessie gave me as a housewarming gift.

This months’ issue of Romantic Homes has a lovely article about collecting door knockers that look like hands.

Isn’t it funny how once you start thinking about something you find countless examples of what you’re looking for? It's time for me to start thinking about a million bucks. Wait...I might wake up to a bunch of deer outside my door in the morning. I'll figure something out. Today was fun. I made a coconut cream pie because I didn't have but 1/2 cup of coconut and I didn't know what to do with it. Of course a pie calls for much more coconut, but I figured it would do...and it did. I'm not the perfectionist I used to be, and man, am I having fun? Yes! Life is good. Until next time...

day 21: a faceless self portrait

I feel naked when I'm not wearing jewelry. I wish I was classy and only wore real stuff but paste and glass is sparkly and it makes me smile. Remember the other day when I mentioned the necklace I picked up on clearance at Target? This is it. I've been having fun making fortune cookie pins the past few days. I'll unveil them soon. They are sparkly and fun, but I doubt I'll vere wear them. They are a little too beyond. Here is my favorite collage I ever made. The background is a Klimt poster I found by the dumpster one morning while walking my dogs.

The collage features a lot of fortune cookie messages because they're good for a giggle. This is my favorite part of the collage, it's like the angels are rolling their eyes at the Lichenstein print. Funny.

The girl is saying, "Why Brad Darling, this painting is a masterpiece! My, soon you'll have all of New York clamoring for your work!" Tomorrow's my day off. I'm trying to decide where I should go for my artist date. Maybe if I get really good at my art New York will be clamoring for my work. It could happen.
Until next time...