Preparing...

The FULL moon is tonight...and I really want to capture a good image, as I am learning how to actually operate the camera...and this is an exercise for me to try to accomplish.
So I practiced last night.
I have research today...cause I am not doing what i have in my mind I want...

But they are fair... this one i do like the cloud coming across it...

This one I cropped to see if the haze increased...it does...

Truly I would like a great unhazed image possibly with moon craters happening...
and maybe I just need to wait for the October moon when it is the closest to the earth.

So this was my practice last night
working in the dark...

If inclined check out the stagecoach page
www.facebook.com/stagecoachgallery

and view some of the new pieces coming in this week...

Since I found out this morning that today is Friday and not yesterday...let me wish you a happy 3 day weekend.

:D
//

Riding Out...There he is...

As we were riding out and about last night after supper, I spot him...

This is taken through the window of the truck...soooo we creep up...

If you notice he has turned..he knows we are coming in...and he is watching us...

I am totally in the wrong direction of the sun...so these pictures are washing out...he is getting ready to lift off..

and he lifts up...

and there he goes...

OFF into the yonder...

While I am having this desire to photograph the Egrets...in take off...this was not what I was actually aiming to get..(no pun intended)
so you will see this effort again.

have a great day today!

The Foggy Road

I made this picture look old in photo shop, trying to get practice in here and there.

Y'all know by now I LOVE fog...this is a road I walk up some mornings and the trees were all hazed in a blanket of fog.

A favorite look for me is aged images..so I practiced with giving the piece an aged quality.

I pretty much alter everything..nothing is sacred.

This is the afternoon I am cutting off the computer..well stepping away from it anyway..and headed to the table in the work room to work on the dragonfly lamp.
I am making some little dragonflies today..sculpting them of solder and metal.
They will become affixed to the shade.  Giving it a nice 3D effect.

Lets get that done!

Then I will post the process for you.

Have a great afternoon..

Pondering the Morning

Sitting with my coffee mug in hand I gaze east, across the road, looking into one of my favorite views and plan the day.

I have the feast cooking, as Craig prefers the big feast around 9 or 10 am in the day, today it is a roast with carrots and potatoes.

Then I am headed to the gallery. 

I speak a lot of the gallery and I know y'all would like to see it. 
So, I am going to charge the video cam up and upload a small clip.
Not today, perhaps tomorrow.

Today, I need to finish researching the glass I want to use in creating a reproduction of Tiffany's (the true Tiffany) Lampshade-Magnolias.

The woman doesn't want a floor lamp or a hanging fixture, but a tall table stand lamp.
So this pattern needs to be trimmed down a tad to accommodate.

I should work on the dragonfly lampshade shade to finish and show you the mechanics involved there..

I intend to create a brochure of the store..

I need to dust...

and

I SHOULD fire up the exercise dvd...

All this I ponder over coffee...

Have a terrific day!

Sunrise walk...Egrets!

Sun is beginning to rise...we have'ta take Bugsy up to the vet for her momma surgery...this takes 5 minutes when I get back...

the sun is rising higher..so I grab a few of the others and we strike out for our walk.

Now this doesn't look steep from here but, this is the very top of Killer Hill...

How is this looking for ya now...we are ALMOST to the bottom...if i go further on you won't see the top of the building for reference.

Baby, Snorty and Forrest frolic about and find all kinds of smells and a stinky thing...

 

The bridge we aren't going to cross over today

I hear a squawk and there they are the Egret Pair!!!

One flies on but he is turning around!

This is hill minor a bit easier for me to get up when my knees are not co-operating like this morning...

Time to call them back and head up the hill...

Today is supposed to be in the 100's but the walk was a nice cool in the 70's point...today I am not at the store, I am closed Mondays..for the most part sometimes I do end up there.
Today tho I am helping Craig with some of the vehicle maintenance stuff.

Ya'll have a fantastic day! and thanks for coming along with us on our walk.

Activity on the Hill this Morning!

I spotted 2 different owls...the distance is great about 1/4 mile. Sitting on a pole across the road..it was a bit foggy this morning too.

this one was on our property almost in direct line of the one on the pole.

Later the deer were spooked and running hard!  Here is why!!!

A pack of coyotes...here are 2 of the pack...

Another one off from those 2...and..

this was another of the herd I could see...there were a few in the trees too but I couldn't get a good view of them

All in all about 7 of them!

the distance for these pictures were about 1/4 miles out...I think the camera did well for clarity!

Enjoy your day!

then later I photo shopped one

cropped in close but sorta pixally so I added a few layers to hide that fact...i like how it turned out..:D

///

Photo to Panorama to Print

I photographed the old schoolhouse across the road from out place, and created a panorama view of the images.

Hmm kinda plain I am thinking.  So into Photo shop I go..(i need the practice anyway).
I added one layer and tweaked it, then added a second layer and tweaked it in vivid light and then made that a tad brighter...i ended up with this.

I have gone to Fine Art America and ordered it printed on metal, and with their silk paper to see how their print job turns out.

I prefer the enhanced image...which one would you prefer to buy ?

have a great day y'all
///

WATER...water...

Water is important, we ALL know this to be true.  the animals need water too...we make sure they have tanks and dug outs or at the very least go fill a tank to give them this precious commodity.

Insects need water too.

Bees NEED water to convert their honey.

We leave the tanks on at a trickle even once the cattle leave the pasture to provide ALL the critters some fresh water.

If we have a mosquito problem we make sure it is running adequately to not have stagnant draws so mosquitoes can breed.

The bees will bombard the tank and spill the water over...
it is the craziest process to watch.

Do you make sure there is a water source for the wild creatures?

Enjoy your day! (a rarity...nothing was mispelled!)

Stained Glass Class week 2

Student Hannah, arrived for week 2 of class.  Her homework from last week, to have cut the glass for the pattern.  Her pattern is dolphins, which will come to life as the process rolls on.

This week we set up the grinder out of the box so I could show her how everything went together, where the station guard went and how the eye guard attached...sorry forgot to get a picture.
We packed it all back up and put it out in the car.

Then moved over to my grinder, where I showed her how to clean it and then we put it back together filled it...and she was shown how to grind the edges to fit the pattern.
She did an excellent job and caught on to this process quickly, forgot picture of this too.

The next step is foiling the edges...so we moved back to the other table and set the foil holder up with a fresh roll of foil and foiled a couple of pieces.

I remembered the picture...:D

She began at the bottom to move up..the right piece shows a ground and foiled piece the left is ground and she is foiling the middle piece.

The rest is her homework for this break...to grind and fit and foil.

Next session #3 will be soldering...yeah the fun begins.

There are TONS of classes offered at the Stagecoach Gallery...all levels, most mediums.
Come in and discuss your desires or not sure, we have a list to help you figure out what you might like to explore.
The beauty of a class is, that no matter the level of experience you always come away satisfied with some kind of growth in your artist soul.

Or..open the door...

Come on by...:D

Thanks for visiting the blog today.

Mar

Operation Egret!

We have a large pond on the property, where the critters gather and frolic.  This picture is at the top of the knoll down to the reservoir.  It trails off to the East a ways yet and there is a bridge.
One critter in particular I want a shot of (on the camera) rising from the water.  Our egret, and I found out this morning there is a pair of them!

So, I planned all week for today's journey to the pond to get said picture.  Only he wasn't here, he was at the bridge...soooo no picture today of Mr. Egret.

I, for some odd reason, LOVE bee's.  they do so much for the environment and produce a yummy substance...except for a sting what is not to like about a bee...well allergies and allergic reactions aside.

There is a colony of bee boxes by the pasture...the bees were sleeping when I first arrived, it was cool and dark still.
As soon as the sun hit their box, they began to rise!

Those little specks are the bees.
Wait a close up...

Then we rode out to JR's to get some fresh tomatoes.  In the back tree by his pond is a dead tree.  Birds love a dead tree. 
Here is a picture that shows a few of the doves and one of the four woodpeckers.

there was a woodpecker at the very top too...

Time to get ready For Hannah VandenBos...she is learning stained glass, this is week 2.
Her homework was to cut the glass to her pattern, this week we learn to set the grinder up and grind the edges to fit the pattern, and foil.  Grinding the edges and foiling will be her homework for this break.

Have a great Sunday, thanks for dropping by :D.

New Work Displayed

New work is beginning to arrive from several of the showing artists at the gallery.
We are gearing up towards hunting season and Christmas season!

When the hunters arrive in Platte, SD to hunt the creatures and need to return home appropriately attired with gifts..

Jarod Tegethoff has brought some of his antler creations.  This is a coat rack.  Perfect for lodge or home, or take back as a souvenir for the man cave!

Isn't she FUN!  Mary Schweitzer has created Punk Fairie to delight the fun at heart.  PERFECT gift for the teenager, for sure...but I wouldn't mind having her at all.  VERY eclectic.
and of course those Fairie collectors, will not see another like this one!

Julie Windler sent this gorgeous! and I mean GORGEOUS covered dish.  NOT small but not huge either. The perfect size. 

What I love for pottery is it is functional, and when not using it..decorative!

These are just a few of the newest items in the gallery...TONS more selection of so many different styles, mediums and theme.

You HAVE to come in to experience the whole ambiance and flavor.


Thanks for looking..have a great weekend!

Wild Sunflowers

The planted sunflowers are done sunning...they are in their turning process and soon will be harvested for their seed...many uses of sunflowers.

Their cousins the Wild Sunflower...is such a happy plant all over our horizon

Every time I see them they make me smile.

The wild bunches feed the birds, and I am not sure if deers don't munch on a few..the bunnies for sure do.

Behind these Sunflowers is a grove of Ground Hogs...there is so many of them this field has been dedicated to their denning.

They can be so very destructive...I live near these but so far have been lucky..they haven't ventured out to our fields...to put up for new homes.

In the work area at the Gallery I am creating a dragonfly lampshade...progressive photos will be posted...

Thanks for looking...

Have a great day

A Few New Pieces Showing at The Gallery

"Cool Moon Rising" a pastel painting of Chris Cernetisch, a local artist from Burke, SD...the camera caught some glare off the glass and reflected some of the ceiling in the top right corner.  This is a truly lovely piece of work!

Another Pastel Painting by Chris, showing the simpler peaceful barn yard...a truly gorgeous piece that the camera cannot capture !  Even tho we have yards like this all over SD, this piece takes me back to grandmas..and my chore was getting the eggs.

Here is a hand painted Poster by MarySchweitzer "Art is my weapon of Choice"
An honest candid view...and actually the camera did a good job picking the colors up for this one!

So much more work is in the Gallery...selection and style is abundant...I know many of you aren't around these parts, but IF you see something that peaks your interest let me know...I ship.

Thank you for looking today.

An aside, I am trying to update my website too, a lot of the work is sold, some isn't but it gives the viewer an idea of my range...check it out too

http://www.maryshuntstudio.com

Fog

I love fog!

and this morning we had fog..

I am learning a new camera...so I took it out to try some different settings
really, i didn't do very well..

for one thing I wasn't properly activating my settings...which I didn't discover until I was uploading the pictures

I was fiddling around and discovered hunh...well looky there ...that is the setting I thought I was doing
well apparently not
but
I might remember long enough for the next time

can you see the rainbow's?  there are 3 of them

and my favorite thing is webs in the fog...

I figured out how to add that date...only I am not liking that and I can't figure out how to take it away

so

gonna take out the book again...

:D

thanks for visiting..

Mar

It's Time...

I think it is time to start blogging again. 
The gallery is being very well received and I try to keep it fresh and fun which isn't too hard, the artist presenting within the gallery send such a vast variety of awesome work.

I am going to be better taking pictures and sharing the new work and displays and talk about the classes as they become of interest.

Additionally, I will talk about and show work from classes I might be taking as well.

To me, artist is all about practicing, and advancing your style...what helps is taking classes.
What is more convenient than an on-line class!

A new group is forming...The Trodden Path.nig where many artists are offering on-line classes. 
Check them out!
a few of the artists who I represent in the gallery have classes set up in there. 
Lisa Patencio is one and she has a screen printing class.
Seeing Lisa's work incorporating this process has its unique flare of expressions. 
An appreciation that seeing them in person is only enhanced by the experience.

There are several other artists within this group who's work I totally admire...so check the group out
You might like joining from what you see as well.

It is raining today so it feels slow and dreamy...I think I will move some of the work on the walls...

Mar