Blue Still Life

A few weeks back, I was thinking of how I could build my photography skills over the winter, since the cold makes it difficult for me to be outside for any length of time, although it isn't bitter cold, just enough to bother all of the symptoms I have. I thought about doing still lifes, but not the traditional kind with fruit, bowls and berries. Something different, something fresh, something.... hmmmmm.

I read a few things about shooting still life and realized that, according to the "experts",  trying to do a still life would be laughable, I had none of the equipment they said was required. Well! That was NOT going to stop me - I would rig something up and give it a try!

Our house faces due west, exactly, on a compass, so on the north side the light is dimmer, and on the south side, it is very bright. But I found that the cotton sheers in the windows cut the brightness just enough. I placed a small table at the end of the old iron bed and went upstairs to my studio to gather some objects together. But I needed a black backdrop. I had some black foam core board, which didn't thrill me, and then I grabbed my painter's apron. Perfect!

Back on the second floor, I tied the apron to the end of the iron bed and then started setting up the objects I had. I knew I wanted it casual, not stiff, looking like I was beginning a project. I had grabbed a couple of paint bottles in contrasting colors, and a small old French wooden child's pail with a duck on it in the same colors to bring the eye around, and then an antique English pitcher made in the late 1700's. I stuffed the pitcher with paint brushes, mostly very used paint brushes. Then a few oil pastel sticks were sprinkled about on the paper at the base and a tiny metal French gendarme was inserted in the arrangement for a touch of fun. It needed a bit of backlighting so I dug out one of those metal clip lamps people use to clamp to their car hoods if they were doing some work on the engine. It was clamped to the bed post, and tilted such a way that the light was indirect and had a gauzy piece of cloth draped over it. Then I set my camera up on the tripod and had fun shooting in different f-stops and ISOs. I moved things around, but I always like the first arrangement best.

After choosing the one I wanted from the camera upload to the computer, I put it through minimal post processing and then added it to my website. I was so tickled with it, I immediately ordered a 18 x 24 print of it on canvas and it is now hanging on one of our bedroom walls. I plan to do more still lifes soon! I have these ideas........

In The Studio

One of the things I love about having a studio of my own, even if very small, is that along with my art supplies and mediums, I can add whimsey where I want. In my former life, before becoming ill, I was an antiques dealer and there are many things still in my possession which I like to use in our home. So, once the studio was painted and the main pieces put in, I immediately knew of a few things waiting in a closet which would fit in perfectly!

This is Babbette, whose name changes on a whim, depending on my mood. She was Emilie', then Antoinette, and a think a few other names over the past couple of years. She is an old French mannequin bust, and for some reason, her neck is hinged to fold backward. I still haven't figured out why they made her that way! She is bald, but wearing a bride's wreath of glass beaded flowers and leaves, and a antique lace chemise top with lovely lace and buttons. Her look has been updated with a pair of rhinestone glasses from the 50's. She shares the vintage teal stool with a pitcher from the early 1800's. Other crocks hold brushes and artist paraphernalia. On her left is a very old Chinese paper fan with hand painted designs. Since she has no arms, she has no need for a fan, but I liked the way the colors compliment each other. Oh, I almost forgot to mention the tiny French gendarme at the bottom of the bust! He's metal and I think he must have been part of an old set of toys. He looks as if he is directing traffic.

She sits on the corner of my main work table, and even though you can't see it, her eyes are thoughtful. Sometimes I take off the old bead bridal wreath and put on a black Amish bonnet, giving her a somber and earnest look. She seems happy no matter what she is dressed in and I am happy for her company, for she never complains if the music is loud, or if the studio is a mess. Perfect!

La Grande Soeur

For some reason, Blogger dumped my post and I'm trying again. The post was erased but the comment I had received was still there. ??? Go figure.

Today I worked on a journal page using some of the vintage papers my husband had given me as a birthday gift a few weeks ago. After laying it out and then gluing down the papers, I realized that my original plan was not going to work, and since the vintage image was already glued down, I had to immediately think of another approach. Many artists have a saying about "happy accidents" and that's what this was for me. Having those kinds of accidents or mistakes really gives you good experience and deepens the learning process.

La Grande Soeur

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In the first go-round, I had layered vintage French dictionary pages, and the vintage image and applied paint. The image was too far up on the paper (what was I thinking?) to work well, and so I began to look at what else I could use and yet not lose my focus point. I tore yellow tissue paper into strips, layering them on with soft gel medium. I added paper flowers, and punched some smaller flowers out of the left over papers. I added more paint, some texture with pieces of grouting tape, layered some more, added a moth transfer and then made liberal use of my oil pastels. I am pleased with this journey, and now I tell myself of course I meant to put the image that high! The name translates into "The Big Sister" and you can see it at the bottom of the page. Happy accidents - gotta love them as an artist!

Lately people have been telling me that I should sell some of my work, but I don't know. I put so much attention and work into them that they become a bit like my children.

But, I'm still thinking about it!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Birthday Gifts

If you were looking for the Tuesday Story series yesterday, I apologize, I just couldn't do it. This morning I went to my twice a month acupuncture appointment, with a 1/2 hour massage afterward, and it seems to have freed me up a little bit and taken the pressure off. Usually I will feel better for about a week and a half and then start going downhill days before my next appointment. With acupuncture, it seems to help temporarily, and although I may still be in a flare, it doesn't seem quite so bad.

Anyway, I thought I'd share a great gift I received for my birthday, which was a little over 2 weeks ago. My sweet husband went to Etsy, and purchased vintage papers and images for my art work. He didn't realize it at the time, but he ordered it from a seller in Holland, and was a little perturbed when it didn't show up in time for my birthday. Once it arrived, we figured out why it hadn't - it had to come further than John realized. He looked at the package and murmured "Well, I wondered why the shipping seemed high, now I know!"

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The seller had everything wrapped in bundles with pink satin ribbon, and enclosed in an old wallpaper remnant tied with an old piece of lace.

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There were old playing cards, small old photos and vintage images.

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Even old hand colored postcards and school flashcards!

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Old French dictionary pages, a turn of the century French magazine, and several other large images, some in color and some in black and white.

I look forward to using all of these in my art and told my husband that this was one of the best gifts ever!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Art Gift and A Story: For Good

Saturday morning I received a surprise Easter package from my friend Fran. She lives at the other end of the state and is a special friend to me in several ways. In her package there was a fancy hummingbird feeder (picture after I fill it up) and a precious piece of art that she had painted just for me.

Something For Ewe

And she thoughtfully included a small stand for it. It now graces our bedroom and every time I look at it I feel encouraged. Isn't it just grand?

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For Good

49th in the Tuesday Story Series

As a youngster, when we visited my grandparents or great-aunts and uncles, I remember often being shown various pieces of linen and other embroidered items, tucked away in a drawer. My great-aunts would receive gifts of these items during their life time and every now and then, would take them out to show or talk about who gave them each treasure. When I would ask why they were tucked into a drawer and not used, the answer would be along the lines of "Oh, but I'm saving them for good!", meaning they were being saved for some special reason in the future. More often than not, sadly, that future would be when their house was being cleaned out after they had died, and the items were passed on to another generation, or given to a charity shop.

In the years before and during the time I owned an antique business, I treasured finding these almost pristine pieces of handwork. Pillowcases, towels, bedding, lingerie, tablecloths, napkins - done on fine linen or cotton. As I began to specialize in antique French smalls (small items, usually not furniture), I found some of the most exquisite examples of all - embroidered French linen bedsheets.

These sheets were made of a heavy stiff linen, sometimes unbleached, and frequently had very fancy initials worked in padded white thread, and other incredible hand stitching such as open thread hem work and other decorative designs. The reason the sheets were so stiff was because they were never used! Linen becomes softer with each wash.

Soon I began to keep much of what I found and used them. After all, our house was not a museum and these items were meant to be used! Our pillowcases are all vintage or antique, we use vintage kitchen towels and I even use the French linen sheets as an extra top sheet on our bed; they are just the perfect weight for cooler temperatures at night when the A/C is running. And they have become softer with use and feel luxurious!

It makes me sad that people put away things which they could have used in their own lives. After all, isn't your family special enough for daily beauty? What's the point in having something so unique if it isn't used? So, I say - use them! If you have old linens which have been passed on to you, don't just stuff them away for the perfect time - the perfect time is now! There are many sources on the Internet for turning small embroidered treasures such as doilies or table runners into one of a kind fashion statements and other uses, such as chair seat covers. And here's a great blog about how to wash and take care of them: vintage linens.

The ones found in the antique stores are usually high quality, one of a kind, and not very expensive. If you want something like the French linen sheets, you can find sellers for them by doing a Google search, although they will be more expensive than local vintage items.

Don't put away something "for good", use it for now!

Come see my latest postcards I've received on Postcards Buffet!

Tag Tuesday - Ten Minutes Tag; and a story: COME IN DICK TRACY

Today's tag challenge was to create one in just 10 minutes.

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For details on how I made this, or to join in on the challenge, please go to 

Blog Challenge Garden.

Come In, Dick Tracy

(26th in the Tuesday Story Series)

Growing up, I enjoyed reading Dick Tracy in the comics section of the Sunday paper. Chester Gould, Dick Tracy's creator, started out modeling the strip and the stories on the 1930's Chicago crime scene. The bad guys always had outlandish names (Flattop Jones, Odds Zonn) and the good guys always won. And the most fascinating item in his crime fighting repertoire was the "two way wrist radio".

For a child in the 1950's it was fun to think of being able to talk to someone by simply wearing a "phone". As the strip progressed, the wrist radio became a "2-way wrist TV". Wow, that was even better! If Flash Gordon (a 1950's TV show) could travel through space in a rocket with smoke exhaust coming out of the back, anything could happen!

Then in the 1980's came cell phones. Actually, the first commonly used phones were bag phones in a car - complete with a cord on the receiver. They couldn't be carried out of the car and you were limited in where you could call. Then of course, the technology started zooming and now we can do everything on a phone that we can do on a computer. And thirty years ago, (which isn't that long, people) it was all just a dream.

It's hilarious now to watch a movie from the 80's or 90's, or even after the year 2000 and see the differences in the phones. You can almost date a movie by the equipment the stars pull out of their vest pocket or purse. Some of them look so large and heavy, it's amazing they didn't rip out the guy's pocket!

In the 1950's, people usually had a black telephone which was installed in the central part of the house. There was even furniture which was made to hold the phone and also allow you to sit, so you could have a long conversation in comfort.

In high school, the cool girls were ones who had a phone installed in their bedrooms. Princess phones were considered the "in thing" to have. My parents thought that was ridiculous and so I was not a "cool girl".

I was thinking about this today when I "traded up " my cell phone.  Back when I used to own an antiques business, my cell phone went everywhere I did. Now because of my illness, I hardly use my cell phone and when I took it in, my friends at the Verizon store started laughing when they saw it. And it was only 4 or 5 years old! My husband has a Droid for his business and I have to admit it's fun to use the GPS but for me to have something that expensive would be ridiculous (thank you, Mom & Dad) so I was happy with a basic phone with large enough keys for me to see. I splurged on a red cover for it though.

Dick Tracy would be proud!

Tag Tuesday - Postcard, and a Story: Tale of Two Bridges, part 1

Anything to do with a postcard, that's the theme at Kard Krazy today.

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I copied the back of an old French postcard and made it into a tag, extra postage stamps were added and I rubber stamped flowers on the tag. Embellishments include striped tape, velvet flower and 3 tiny keys; distress inks were also used.

TALE OF TWO BRIDGES (Part One)

with apologies to Charles Dickens

(9th in a series of Tuesday Stories)

As I have mentioned before, we lived in Charleston SC before moving up to the mountains. Charleston is a very historic city and has a lot to offer anyone who visits it, from history to nature and enjoying the beaches. However, two of its landmarks are no longer there, but they are etched into the memories of many people - the bridges which crossed the Cooper River.

The first bridge, named the Grace Memorial bridge for a former city mayor, was quite a feat for its time. When it was built, it connected Charleston with Mt. Pleasant and Hwy. 17, which was a major North/South highway long before interstates were built. The Grace bridge was completed and opened in 1929.

As you can see from this old postcard from my collection, it was a very big deal and when it was opened, Charlestonians celebrated for three days! Each lane was only ten feet wide and it was two way traffic. Of course, the cars were much smaller back then!

Opening Day

It remained the only bridge over the Cooper River until construction was started on another bridge in the early 1960's. By this time, traffic was very heavy across the bridge and cars and trucks were much larger than the bridge was built to handle. I remember when my father used to take us for Sunday drives, he often maneuvered the trip to include the bridge, much to my mother's dismay and the children's excitement! It was breathtaking in several ways- both the view and the adrenalin rush of having cars and big tractor trailers come toward you with no room for mistakes. When I had driver's ed in high school, we were required to drive over the bridge before we could pass our driving test. 

Sometimes drivers approaching the bridge from the Mt. Pleasant side would simply stop when the bridge loomed into view, and be afraid to proceed. The county police began offering a service to drivers who would cross the bridge - one officer would drive their car over, and the other officer would follow in the patrol car! In 1946, a freighter hit the bridge, taking out a span and several people lost their lives when their cars plunged into the river far below.

When the Pearman bridge opened, authorities made the Grace a one way bridge coming toward Charleston. A lot of folks would still be nervous driving over it and would drive squarely down the middle. I remember being behind some of those poor people (usually with an out of state tag) and I would get so irritated because not only could I not go around them, they were driving much slower than I wanted to go. When my daughter got her license, she began to drive over the bridge and handled it very well. 

I loved that old bridge, it was great fun to go over in a motorcycle, and I was fearless driving my Excursion over it. I think having driven it when it was two way traffic made driving it as a one way bridge seem a piece of cake. It was like a roller coaster - a steep incline, then almost down to the ground in the middle and back up another incline to finish the trip. When a car broke down on the bridge, there was no place to pull over (except at the middle section of the bridge) so traffic would be backed up for hours. When Charleston started holding its Bridge Run in 1978, they would use the Grace Bridge (also known as the Old Cooper River Bridge by this time) until the bridge became too fragile to withstand the constant pounding of hundreds of pairs of feet. I never ran the bridge, but I did walk in the Walkers group and it was a glorious view to be at the top of a span and see the land and water. 

(Next week, the conclusion of the story)

If you want an idea of how narrow the lanes were on the Grace, this video is a good way to find out.