I am Strong

Now I know this may be a strange title but I have taken it from Zinnia's monthly prompt on our art journals.  It can mean and be many many things.  When I first saw this prompt I thought of "The Little Engine that could", a children's book about a little train engine that could make it up a hill, don't ask me why but that is the first thing that popped into my head.  Then of course Mighty Mouse, a tiny little mouse that could save the world.  I do hope some of you remember these little characters,  at least one or two of you possibly.

When I was photographing high school seniors, a lot of them by the way, hubs figured at least 6,000 of them and remember I had no photography assistants, just me.  Fora couple of years I did have someone helping me but then I figured yes I can shoot more but then when the summer was over it was me by myself again so went back to just me.  Towards the end Hubs helped me with some computer work and got just pretty good at it.  He won't admit it but he was.  Thanks Mr. Graves.

   The seniors would tease me and say I taught them a new language~ one in particular was tootsie.  I would tell them to put their little tootsie on a stool or a little speaker I had called "THE BOX",   they would look at me and say what ?  Their foot !  I would talk about different subjects to keep them at ease and half the time they didn't know what in the world I was talking about, kind of a different time zone-my world and theirs.    Our daughter Debra, when was was a 2nd grade teacher would tell the same story.   She would talk to her students about a past president or something that happened in history and she knew by the looks on their faces they didn't have a clue what she was talking about.   So this is why I hope some of you know who Mighty Mouse or the Train Engine is.  

Mean while back at the ranch, our prompt was suppose to be an animal of what we would be if given a choice to be a someone strong.  Well, that is what I got out of it.  So thinking of that I thought of a wolf,  I was going to think horse but wolf came out and so I ran with it.  My gut feeling I suppose.  I went on the Internet and found this about the wolf,  oh I could have found ugly things about them and Little Red Riding Hood's wolf but this is what I went with.

 Many Native American people called the wolf the Pathfinder or Teacher. They admired the wolf's intelligence, courage, and strength. They also saw in the wolf a loyal pack member who help with the family as a whole when necessary. The tales handed down from generation to generation are mainly stories of wolf the keen hunter, wolf the devoted family member, wolf the proud defender of his territory, wolf the intelligent teacher, and wolf the true survivor. These were characteristics deserving great respect and emulation. To carry wolf power, among many tribes, was to be greatly honored and admired. In turn, the wolf was celebrated in ceremony and legend, as well as in dance and song.

So paint was applied and molding paste slapped on here and there to give texture.  I found some pictures of wolves and used, believe it or not there is a moon on here.   I kept embellishing it and lo and be hold who popped out on the side ?  You go it- a horse.  So I thought if he wants to be on there so be it.  so I added a few paint lines to help him out there.  His little leg and all were there already.  I thought to be interesting how he appeared.

Here you go the duo page.  the wolf in the moon I got off of the Internet someone had drawn, I couldn't find a name who did it, but if you know please let me know. 

Close up of the horse, I don't think I could have planned it any better.


Now I am thinking of having a give away, I am getting close to 10,000 views. I know in the scheme of things that may not be a lot but to me that is giant.   So as soon as I figure out how to do and what to make it be I will let you know.  If you have a suggestion I will gladly look at it. 

Thanks for much for stopping in and seeing what is going on in my world. xoxo

Skunks and Art

I realize that skunks and art may not go together but at our house they went hand in hand this week.   Funny how things or events tie together in odd ways isn't it?

First of the week went well, finished us some yard work before it starts getting to hot. We still have some to do but almost finished.   Taco Tuesday at Rosa's is always an event for us.  Cheap and good Mexican food.  If those words go together-cheap and good.  Wednesday got the fur babies groomed and found another hot spot on Libby.  Bless her heart I think she is going to live in that cone forever. Then Katie bar the door, we let the dogs in that night to visit before bed time  and smelled something, we had smelled a skunk and let them in.  They didn't smell at all, well in a few minutes it was awful, not quite like skunk but like an oil-diesel smell.  So out they both went and we aired the house with both doors opened, fabreze was sprayed and with  Vick's vapor rub under my nose we went to bed.  We could not tend to the babies the next day we went to see an great cousin off to God.  The next morning we got some peroxide and baking soda and gave the babies baths.  We ran to Pet's Smart and got a bottle of  Skunk removers shampoo.   Eldon's cousin said try the baking soda trick and we had gone on line and saw that remedy was suppose to work and it did work very well.  So now the girls smell just like dogs now not skunks.  Of course Libby is still sporting a fashionable cone around her neck. 

Also while trying to do yard work and get semi caught up and the other events in our week I was trying to do a surprise paper bag journal for our gran daughter.   Just finished it this morning and thought I needed to share something fun besides skunks.   Now skunks are pretty and fluffy, in fact Eldon said his dad said they use to remove the glands that produce the perfume and they made really good pets.   BUT   they do get into the chicken houses and eat the eggs and kill the chickens so I guess it is how you look at them.

The front and back of the journal and the colors go with her house.   Still can't believe a paper sack can be transformed into something artsy. 

The inspire and a couple of other tags ~~ I was inspired by some I found on the Internet.  This one is an envelope you put surprise notes in.

 
I tried to put lots of sayings and encouragement into this little book. 

This one sports a photo I took of her when she was a high school senior, we had a good time doing these with her.  The bottom photo is the opened part of Miss Frogie waving at you. 

One more set of pages, the clock part is an envelope also.   I put some tags to pullout on the sides and inside the envelopes.   Lots of things to touch and look at.  She loved my book and thought she might like one of her own. 

There you go and thanks for stopping in and seeing what is going on in my world today.  xoxo

Art or Dust Catchers?

I think dust catchers is a funny word we use.  I know of Dream Catchers that we have hanging in our bedroom and they catch your bad dreams but dust catcher?   The Dream Catcher we purchased in Arizona off of a Navajo lady.  She was a second grade teacher but in the summer she made the Dream Catchers and sold them out of the trunk of her car.  We so enjoyed the visit with her. 

I got this off of the Internet so some of y'all would know what in the world I am talking about. I know at times I do wander around the halls of the Internet world. 

 Dream catchers are one of the most fascinating traditions of Native Americans. The traditional dream catcher was intended to protect the sleeping individual from negative dreams, while letting positive dreams through. The positive dreams would slip through the hole in the center of the dream catcher, and glide down the feathers to the sleeping person below. The negative dreams would get caught up in the web, and expire when the first rays of the sun struck them.


 In West Texas we do have the dust and I guess that really means for something to just sit there and do nothing but catch dust.  Sometimes in our lives we need these little treasures to remember where we have been or just a little trinket that caught our eye.  

On our impromptu trips Hubby and I take we are usually not a trinket buyer.  I take photos which sit in my computer, not collecting dust by the way, but just there and one day I will get a wild hair and do something with them or not.  Here awhile back we did go to Santa Fe and between there and Albuquerque there is a road called the Turquoise Trail.  It is several mining towns of sorts and some businesses have set up shop there.  We went into some of them and on the whole was the same ole same ole things but there was one shop and they really had some pretty treasures.  So we forced ourselves to purchase a couple of them.  I proudly made a collection of some "ART" and put it on the wall.   Now in my book when a 20 year old young lady , our beautiful granddaughter,  says I really like that wall I consider that a home run in wall doings.   I do have a few more things I am fixin to add to it, just heartfelt treasures.  

Here is the wall, I am just getting around to really put my"touch" on this home.  Who knows what I will finish it up with, this wall that is.   I don't like the light switch but it is either stumble around in the dark or have the light switch.   I just had one large painting on here for a while but thought it is time to junk it up. 

Close up of the wind lady.  The artist used found wood and just created what spoke to her.  This, for some reason spoke to us because like I said we are not treasure buyers.   This one that we bought on the Turquoise Trail.

This is a close up of a Painted Paper Painting I did, certainly do like that method. I know that there is nothing original in the world, it has all been done before.  Way before any of us were born but the paper painting is fun. 

A close up of part of the painting on the wall, I did this in about maybe 1974ish in pastels. Love those pastels but certainly are dirty hand makers.   

This was part of a photograph that I took and then put on the computer and painted it on the computer, stroke by stroke in pastels and then printed it up and then painted on top with acrylic.  It was fun to do. 

This is a close up of the crop circle art piece.  We are so interested in those.  I think somewhere on the blog I told about the crop circles we had while farming.  I think.  The artist made these after going to England, my strong roots are there-well besides Texas.   She made handmade paper and then these are what evolved. 

One more of the crop circles.  I just thought y'all might like to see the close ups of the art on the wall.

 

Hummmm one day I will tell you about the crop circles we had,  or have I already?  I will actually have to go look and see. 

Off for now and thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today. xoxo

Now and Then

Here I am typing on a keyboard on my "real" computer.  LOL that is what I call my desktop computer and my laptop is my play computer.  Now the ease of typing on here and listening to the clicking noise is probably something we take for granted.  At least I do.  I still have a little portable typewriter my Hubby's mom got me years ago.  During my professional photography days I used it as a prop and some had never seen a typewriter that looks like that.  We have had electric ones, long since gone to typewriter heaven..Not sure that they do  go to heaven but typewriters have to go somewhere, it is probably a junkyard or some place like that where they are just rusting away.

Now talking about rusting away, you knew I was going somewhere with this story didn't you?  We found in an old grainery where Hubby's parents had this typewriter.  It is not in the best of shape and when you see it you will agree.  We rescued it from certain death and put in our garage.   After two moves I was exploring in our current garage and found the typewriter.  This is not a dainty little thing and weights I bet 30 pounds.  It is a heavy little sucker.   Now Hubby's mother use to carry it to school and probably college.  He says he remembers her saying she brought it every day to school. 

Don't  you just love that you can click on the pictures now and they all come up at once on the screen.  It might have always done that little feature but you know who just discovered it.  Christopher Columbus I am not.  : )

Here it proudly sits sporting one of my favorite sayings from Dr. Seuss.  I did the letter on the computer but just put it in the typewriter, wish it did work but that is ok also.   I have not cleaned it up a lot, you just never know how much to do that little job.  I know it is not the prettiest  flower on the shelf but has lots of memories.    I did have a note in it at Christmas to Santa Clause and mentioned the reindeer and their safe trip also.  I know our Grands are a lot older now but they certainly got a kick out of it.  To me that was a hit then. 

   
Almost all of the tags on the keys are there and can you imagine carrying this back and forth everyday?   That lady had to have some strong muscles. 

On this side the little tab says back spacer.  I mean you  had to have  wanted to really go back a space to tackle this job.  Now we just in one quick swoop use our little finger and the job is done !!!!

I did find this image on the Internet about the typewriters.  It is funny though-Visible?-how could you not see it?   The one we have in our home would be considered a junker or just for parts but to us it is a treasure.  I guess the saying about one man's junk is another man's treasure is certainly true here. 

Off for now and so many thanks for stopping into my world and seeing what is going  on today.  xoxox

April's Green Paper

It is that time for Mary Green's April challenge.  She provides us with three images and we get to play to our hearts content.   I do have to admit I did part digi on this one and part for reals good hand messy stuff.   I combined the children, the flowers and the written letter together on the computer.  I then printed it up and glued and used my new pan pastels and just got in there and played.  By the time I was finshedcreating this page my fingers were good and dirty.   That is when I know I have accomplished something fun. 

I also colored the flowers with pan pastels and glued some pearlie beads for the centers and of course glitter/bling and wings for my little people.

Mary's link to her blog is on my side bar, hope you will join us next month.   She has one every month.

Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today. xoxo

Rubber Bands

Now a rubber band seem like such an innocent little invention.  The rubber band has a multitude of tasks and jobs and depends into whose hands it lands in.  Don't you agree?

Several years ago when our grandchildren were young, very young we would take them to the farm to drive.  They would drive round and round basically in a circle, a very large circle but still a circle.  We farmed square sections on the farm but the circle systems made the circles.  They watered the cotton and peanuts  or whatever crop we had planted but usually cotton and peanuts and the systems went round and round and thus forming the giant circles.  If you are ever up in an airplane and look down and see green circles on the landscape I can safely say they are circle systems working tirelessly watering the crop.     Now when the princess drove she would put the rubber bands on the shift leaver and said that is where they are suppose to go and to this day that is where rubber bands go, they wiggle and jiggle and proudly have a place of honor.  

Now once we got some new furniture and the cushions were held on, while they delivered it, with some 4 foot rubber bands.  Now those were some awesome size rubber bands.  I had a couple of High School senior young men at the studio that day that I was photographing  and I gave them the rubber bands.   Oh what a treat they thought they had, now I don't know what they did with them at school but heard later they got taken away from them and the young men got into trouble.   See what I mean?  It just depends on who has the rubber bands and what they do with them.  Of course putting a piece of wadded up paper in a rubber band and making the paper fly across a classroom wouldn't ever get anyone in trouble, only if the teacher saw it I suppose. Not that I would ever do anything like that. 

But you can also use the lowly rubber band to make art.   Yes and it preforms so well and you don't get into trouble using it that way.  No teacher to have you write 500 times I will not shoot paper wads in class.  It just makes marks and designs.

I have glued these rubber bands down with E 6000 glue on some foam core in different configerations, no rhyme or reason and as you can tell I have used it for several different projects.   It has held up quite well.   Traci Bautista is the one who shared this with us in an online class with Strathmore. 

Here is some of the design it made.  I used some watercolor paper and has several layers of paint and then the rubber band stamp and then the squares are made with carpet cushion.  The kind you put under the carpet rug so it won't slip and slid around.  She didn't mention this but I bet she would have shared this with us also.  I just discovered this in the basesment and thought   A PRIZE !!!! 

There you go, who would have thought a mere rubber band would have gotten to be a headline in my world ?   Thanks for stopping by and seeing what is going on in my world today.  xoxox

Oh, Happy April.     April showers bring May flowers.  Or so they saying goes anyway.   xo