A Peacock, a Pig, and a Panda

Roger, my couch, and I have been spending far too much time together.  My back has really been hurting, so I end up laying around far too much.  Seriously, I realized yesterday that there was absolutely zero that I should be doing.  I had no commitments to anything.  There are plenty of things that I could have done, but I lost hours playing sudoku (got my highest score ever), reading magazines (actually just skimming them and tearing out the things I want to read for later), and napping.  My cats and I bonded.  But, we are already bonded and really don't need to spend this much time together.  So, last night as I sat up watching useless television, I resolved to get up and go do something today.  I decided to go to the zoo!  I have lived here for nearly two years and have always wanted to go down to the Virginia Zoological Park in Norfolk but haven't done it.  I was going to set my alarm and wake up super early and go work out and read the paper and then get there when they opened at 10.  But, in reality, I woke up at the regular cat feeding time when Brando, my big fat crazy boy came up up and reminded me that the sun was up and it's time to be awake.  I crawled to the bathroom (since my back doesn't work that well in the morning) and eventually managed to stand upright.  I'm happy to report that after coffee (two cups) I finally got up and out of the house and on the road to the zoo.

There was a gorgeous peacock traversing the "farm area" of the zoo.  He was being chased by three little boys whose parents had no control over them.  I have been facing the reality of a child-free future lately and thought it might be rough with all the families around at the zoo...alas, there were plenty of naughty, dirty, rude, uncontrolled kids, so I didn't have to feel too bad about being the weird single lady wandering around taking pictures of the animals by herself.  I was happy I wasn't pregnant and trying to pull a carriage full of kids covered in ice cream drippings...there were several of those around.

The crazy-looking pig was probably my favorite animal of the day.  It was just so funny with hairs sticking out everywhere and a huge snout.  It was around here that I saw a lady wearing big giant-heeled sandals trying to control a two-ish-year old.  Seriously, lady, we are walking around a zoo.  To quote one of the kids I heard today, "it smells like poop."  This is not the place to put on your cutest high-heeled espadrilles.  They were cute, but not good for chasing an ornery boy into the tiger trail.

This little nugget is actually a red panda.  So cute!  His (or her, I don't know) tail is as big as his body but it's hidden back in his little bamboo hut.  I watched him for a good 20 minutes as I stood there trying to stretch my hip/ass/back so I could walk some more.  I'm sure I really looked like a crazy woman at that point.  

I played with each of these a little bit with Photoshop Elements.  And, while I was digging around looking for some textures to layer in there, I started looking through my email and realized that I joined in with a year-long Kim Klassen "Beyond Layers" class and have done ZERO of the lessons.  Nice!  haaaaaaaaaaa  Just when I said I had nothing to do...I guess I could open up the flippin' computer and get some things done!  Oh, and I also signed up for a little monochromatic challenge with my friend, Sally Russick, and have gotten to the step of having every purple art supply that I own out on the kitchen counter.  It's kinda fun to shop in your own art room.  Of course I went to Michael's last night for some additional paint, but only because the coupon was set to expire.  I made it under the wire with 15 minutes to spare before they closed.  I should probably go open that paint, but, Roger the Couch has really got me feeling happy, so I may have to snuggle down for a bit.  On that note, happy end-of-the-weekend!

Hometown

I was home in Bedford, Pa, for Easter and loved every minute of it.  I can't believe I have to go back to my "real world" today.  Sharing a few pictures:

The Bridge's Edge

Classicly Empty

Industrial

Northside Landmark

Spring on Copper Mountain

Splashing Colors Instead of Studying

I was restricted to the apartment this weekend with the sole purpose of writing a five-page paper about international security for my continuing Air Force education.  Needless to say, I was less than enthused about the paper, so I found every avenue of escape from my responsibilities.  The most fun of these were my painting adventures. 

I haven't played with dyes and inks and water and paper since my big Art & Soul weekend, so I dug everything out and practiced some of the techniques I learned from Cathy Taylor.  The piece above is painted with India ink and then, when fully saturated, I put a big piece of wax paper into the moisture and then let it dry.  This is how it turned out:

Then, I did another piece with some swirled color and plastic wrap:

Here's an example of the plastic wrap treatment results:

I love the way it came out all wavy!  

I started playing more with the alcohol inks and Dye-na-Flow pigments to see what would happen with the blending and am tickled with how things just starting melting and blending and being awesome 

 I tried a variety of applications including dripping and splattering

 I got a big variety of effects that I couldn't have predicted

 This was "warm color" night from Friday.  I have cool colors to show off from Saturday night but will wait for another day for those!  I have to go finish that paper now.  :)

Artisan Jewelry Meets Air Force Charity Ball

On Saturday night Curt and I had the honor of attending the annual Air Force Charity Ball up in Springfield, Virginia.  It's a huge shindig where lots of Air Force big wigs, both past and present, raise funds for the Air Force Aid Society.  A huge part of the event is the silent auction.  A couple of years ago I made donation of jewelry and have been doing so ever since.  I love being able to bring my little crafty side into supporting Airmen.  It helps tamp down my inner cynic.

This year's event raised over $700K for the Society.  Amazing.  What's great is that 100% of that money will go directly to supporting Airmen and their families who need help.

Here's the set of baubles I created for the occasion...

I wanted to focus on the highest quality, most lovely lampwork beads so I picked some from my favorite artists:

The amazing necklace focal is from Donna Millard.

The bracelet focal is from Julianna Cannon.

And the earrings feature swirls from Libelula.

I didn't get to wear any cool jewelry that night since we were in uniform.  The only adornments are medals and badges.  Whoo hoooo.  But, I did get to see lots of lovely ladies in gowns which made me kinda thankful that I get to cover up with a cummerbund and jacket and don't have to worry about anything form-fitting or arm-showing. haaaaaaaaaa  Another reason to stay in the Air Force...I don't have to wear formal gowns! 

20 Years...Seriously?

Today, 23 March 2012, I mark the 20th anniversary of my first day at basic training.

I was 20 years old.   Now I'm 40.  What the hell?!  haaaaaaaaa

I wasn't really sure what I'd gotten myself into at the time, but the big bay full of beds and lockers and scary instructors yelling eventually gave way to a life of order.  

Well, there's some kind of order to it, I guess.  

In 20 years I've lived in Texas, Indiana, Ohio, Washington, Alabama, Italy, Qatar, DC, and Virginia.  

I've met some of the most amazing people and I've met some dumbass people.

I've been frustrated to the point of crying and been overjoyed and elated to tears.

I can't believe my entire adult life I've been wearing combat boots to work.  

Okay, sometimes I had to wear really ugly black shoes, but you know what I mean.  

I really never imagined this day would come to pass.   

It seems kind of like any other since I'm getting up, drinking coffee, and heading off to give my best to the blue and to my country in the little bit of email cubicle world I inhabit.  Sometimes I forget that I'm a part of something a little bit bigger than just me and the folks around me and our computers and our email and our bureaucracy.  

Now, I'm excited to see what's next.

And, no, I'm not talking about retirement.  At least not quite yet.  

I still like being in charge of stuff.  haaaaaaaaaaaaaa

These pics were taken in a photo booth at the little mini-mall on Lackland Air Force Base in 1992.  It was probably a Sunday afternoon on one of the few days we had some liberty.  

I'm sorry to report that I no longer have those glasses in my spectacle inventory.

Pretty Yarn is Awesome for Macro Sunday

Back before Christmas, my mom gave me a great book to read:  The Beach Street Knitting and Yarn Society, by Gil McNeil.  It was a fun, quick read and featured a neat little yarn shop.  The visual of pretty textures and colors and the overall comfort of a place like that made it some great fiction.  Lo' and behold, I stumbled on a store just like it in Williamsburg!  When I walked into Knitting Sisters I immediately realized that I was going to have a serious problem with yarn...it was all beautiful and I wanted a little bit of everything.  I had a slight problem, though:  I didn't know how to knit.  I've been a crocheter, before, but was scared of the whole two-needle concept.  So, I signed up for a class and ended up teaching myself to knit.  Now I can't stop.

I adore being able to sit on the couch and make what's essentially fabric out of a single thread.  Plus, the counting and counting and counting and repetitive actions keep my brain perfectly engaged so I really don't have to think about anything else going on around me.  It's a great little bit of escapism.  

This is a scarf project that I got from the shop because the yarn was in a sale bin and I couldn't resist the colors.  It's called "Synchronicity Seafoam Scarf" but I think of it more like a surfing phoenix.  haaaaaaaaaa 

I've got about 10 more inches to finish this off, so we'll see if I can do it this week.  In the meantime, I'm happy to share these close-up shots of the gorgeous yarn.  There's more to be seen as part of "I heart Macro" so here's the button....

Project 52: A Dragon in the Garage

I haven't been taking enough pictures lately.  But, that being said, I saw this on the ground in my parking garage and couldn't wait to get some shots of it.  Do you see the dragon?

Yes, I know it's "just a spill" of something sticky and crazy on the floor, but it has this perfectly long neck and the fierce spiked head.  The neck and tail actually went all the way down the steps but I couldn't get a good shot of the whole thing. 

I played around in PS Elements again and went to my new favorite tool, the gradient map, and applied some yellow, orange and purple.  I love the way it came out because it reminds me of all the cool paper I made last weekend at Art & Soul.  I have lots of things to share from that wildly creative weekend, but was sooooo tired after three full days of getting my hand-crafted groove on.  I barely made it through the week...there were naps every single day!  haaaaaaaaaa  But, the energy is coming back and I'll be sharing more.  

Cheers to artful crap spilled on the ground!!!