What's Happening...at the Stagecoach

Peacock finished

2011-10-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

I actually accomplished another painting this week...which is totally unusual...so I guess the dry spell is lifting...I am becoming unblocked!

I am entering week 12 of the Artist Way by Julie Cameron...I am here to tell you..her process works...
The first reading of the AW left me cold...I thought yeah right this is a bunch of baloney...she just has this set up like AA...
then I kept reading raves...so I joined a group...I made through about 3 weeks..and I do say the process up to that point was helpful...I got as far as cleaning up the crazimakers...then just thought the rest didn't really apply...to me...

Time rolls on and I am just not the most productive...not as I once was or could be...
so...

Again a friend and I are doing this together...this time things are clicking and I have made such total progress...not to say I am CURED...but I am discovering things that have been hidden
things I have worked through...
I have done the exercises and they are very encouraging and helpful.

If I had to make a guess I would say it has been 15/20 years since I painted 2 or more paintings in 1 week...so I am thrilled!!!!

Here is painting 2

Painted from a photo I took of a local fella's peacock I was lucky to snap of him on the fence...
it is 50x14
canvas on wood
acrylics
varnished

sold

Buffalo Finished...

2011-10-20T17:08:00.000-05:00

except for varnishing the buffalo I think is done..I am not sure if i like the nostril breaths..like on a chilly morning...
In the morning I will see how it hits me when I come into the studio...

Now to find another board and prepare it...and see what happens for subject matter..
:D

thanks for looking.

WIP buffalo

2011-10-19T17:54:00.001-05:00

My desire to paint is returning, and i am in a buffalo kind of mood. I found a board I had painted long ago and repainted it a neutral tone.
Then lined in a buffalo

I wanted texture TEXTURE! so I mixed up some plaster.

and added it to the canvas.

while it dried i added some paint to the fellas face and horns..then added some more plaster.

this is how he ended for the first day..
fairly roughed in and as you can see a lot of texture...which made me happy...I had to stop since the children were arriving for mom to go to do the supper shift at the nursing home...but I had a full day...we don't want to over do it just getting back to it..:D

Well Hello...

2011-10-17T17:42:00.000-05:00

YES it HAS been a terrible long time since I have posted anything here. The last knowledge you may have had was i was going to open a gallery in the Town Museum and help them run the museum. That didn't work out so well, so I bought the building I had originally looked at to buy; which is IN town and in the most perfect location. I am currently renovating the inside and hope to be opening soon.

I have begun trying to work in my art journal everyday to get practice in and be more in tuned with the processes I like to use...I find it helps me open the channels of creativity and do some exploring not making me pull out a creation just do it.
Currently I am getting down characters from a series of books i enjoy by Diana Galbaldon..

The Higlander series a historical collection for Scotland in the 17 and 1800's and then embarking on settling in America in the mountains of NC.

Claire

Jamie

Bree (daughter to Jamie and Claire)

Rollo Ian's Wolf dog

Ian (young) Jamie's nephew

Ian as a Mohawk warrior adopted into the tribe in exchange for Roger (Bree's husband)

this is as far as I have come....

I know a lot more has been going on but it is pretty much all related to moving in moving out and redoing the Gallery...soon pictures to depict those changes
you can keep up with the remodel and the artists who add work at the FB page

http://www.facebook.com/stagecoachgallery

like the page if you so feel inclined...

The plan is to be a better poster...
thanks for hanging in there waiting for me and I appreciate everyone who emailed me looking for me..

♥

Wildlife in Platte SD

2011-05-16T18:21:00.000-05:00

Went photo hunting today came back with some wildlife...
The goose family see the baby up by momma
the dad is HUGE but he has ducked down

In the middle picture is dad and mom baby dove

and in the third shot is a stalking white crane

If you haven't checked out the page set up for the new gallery please do...it won't hurt my feelings to 'like" the page...:D and stay current to what is going on there..

http://www.facebook.com/stagecoachgallery

Pheasant Series of 3

2011-05-13T12:58:00.000-05:00

I worked up a series depicting Pheasant behaviour on the prairie during the spring. The work is mixed-media...using a method for transferring images similar to developing film. The chemicals involved and techniques are from Dass...and the results are amazing. I use Arches 88 paper for the substrate...my photography...and then I enhance the whole picture using Golden acrylic products.
The first in the series is "The Stand-off"
The second is the dance "Cock-fight"
The third is "Stands Alone"

The colors for their feathers is amazing this time of year.

I have them offered on Etsy.

They would make an awesome addition to any Hunting Lodge...or any decor for that matter..or be perfect for Fathers day.

New Window Display

2011-05-10T14:46:00.000-05:00

I have 3 windows (right now) for displaying in. One is an old entry from when this building was originally build as the Chevy Dealership I think (but need to learn) in the early 1900's.
I hung "Wild Angel" and placed a displaying table in front of her, hanging from the ceiling are blown glass orbs.

I listed on Etsy today "The Standoff" two pheasants sizing each other up getting ready to fight. It is 1 of 3 for a series. http://www.etsy.com/shop/maryhuntstudio?ref=pr_shop

Happy Mother's Day

2011-05-08T17:34:00.000-05:00

I have been just terrible about posting these days...or visiting all my friends on the blogroll.
I have missed visiting everyone!

I am beginning to gain (just a little ) in the time department. I opened the store I talked about earlier in the year and there is a LOT to this!...

I am going to begin posting new work as it arrives...explaining the artist and letting everyone see their pieces..they are ALL for sale...just saying... :D

The store will be part of the town museum and updates for their progress will come to the blog pages as well...I sure hope y'all remain interested in what is happening...

Thank you and now to begin catching up seeing what is happening with YOU!

Here is my Logo...we will begin with that...I found a picture of an old stagecoach and sketched it out...

Images of TX

2011-01-17T20:35:00.003-06:00

I have been snapping pictures of just about everything I find down here in Texas
there is still a lot of critters indicative to both SD and TX...that being the case a lot of what I am getting pictures of will find their way into future artwork.

Some for paintings be it either canvas or glass and I have a few murals planned for the new store. Here is a shy longhorn calf peeking around momma.

And I KNOW these are bad critters when they grow up
wild pigs get to be 600 and upwards of over 1000 pounds as an adult
and they are destructive and MEAN they WILL kill you
but aren't they cutest little critters as babies.

they stood by the road for the longest time
well until i got the camera ready then they toooook off
and they are FAST too!

I do not know where momma was but i guarantee if i had gotten out of the truck she would have made her presence known!

The BIG Lamp Reveal

2011-01-15T11:21:00.003-06:00

Here are the final results of the lampshade and the story I hope to portray.
As you saw in the last post the paint is fired onto the lamp from the inside. This means there is NOTHING painted on the outside of the lamp. You gaze at the image when the lamp is lit. Unlit it just appears as shadows. Lamps are incredibly hard to photograph...and then I went through a gazillion images until I decided on these.
The first image shows life on the trail for the homesteader pioneering west to their piece of land...indicated with a Homestead Ticket..which is shown in the next image.

Along the way many didn't make it...indicated with the memory of a grave marker. Other places on the lamp are snippets of journals, as many pioneers documented their journey.
The grass was tall in these times usually 6 ft!

If you look at the left portion of this image and the right portion of the next image you get a sense of the 4th side..."the sod family" which is being featured in a guest post with Anne Gaal. Until then I promised to show that side (in its entirety)

In the meantime here is side 3 the journey made with the wagon, that often was home a bit longer after they made their destination.

Life as a pioneer was extreme.
Extreme bouts of weather
Extreme losses
Extreme dangers

I live in relative comfort in SD and I can admit I would not have fared well as "pioneer stock"
I probably would have made it some how...but I would have complained a LOT!

Reverse Shade Continued

2011-01-14T17:15:00.005-06:00

okay well it has been so long!! I reversed the top and bottom image
the line image is the shade after it has been fired from the matte step and I am now ready to begin adding color

i know it has been forever!
getting to know the new camera has been a challenge for me
that coupled with the Internet issues here in Texas
i have suffered quite the patience curve
we bought a booster antenna and that has helped
some

the color palette is fairly limited that i work with
these low firing paints are extremely expensive
so i chose colors that could be mixed and thus i have a fair palette to work with....

these were the colors i used
the green, pink, orange, white, red and blue
all mix well with squeegee oil that makes a paint like elixir
fired onto the crystal

and you get the top picture
not this one
the painted side fired and ready to look at through the other side!

well I have since finished the lamp
so look for that blog post

i learned that with a slow connection
a person MUST change the size on their pictures

i am spoiled, apparently, in SD to high speed internet
I didn't know

but I have missed y'all and hope you have a good new beginning to another year
:)

Reverse Lampshading Process...

2010-12-22T20:31:00.004-06:00

I like the shape of a crystal lampshade, so I purchase them, which this is...lets walk through the process of reverse painting with glass on glass in traditional techniques for museum quality. Using a special mix of paint with fine ground glass and an added amount of flux so the kiln can embed these elixirs at a lower temperature keeping my shades shape, we begin with what is called the line drawing. This is painted on the inside of the shade in the reverse pattern of your intended drawing.

I am showing just 2 sides of the shade. The fist one is a pioneer family in front of their sod house...the second image is on the trail setting up camp for supper...

this becomes the first kiln firing..

Next I totally black matte the inside of the shade.

This shows the inside totally black...then with scrub brushes and picks I gently remove the matted paint to give details to the images.

This takes hours depending on how much detail you wish to portray...I am keeping it simple since the images are not going to have a lot of designs on clothes and that sort of thing they used homespun fabrics and basic basic living utensils

The letters Yous view are portraying a homestead certified ticket which would give the homesteader their location to stop...also a portion of journal recording the trip...here you can see how the scrubbed areas respond to the matte being removed...this is the same portion above "on the trail stopping for supper"

and the pioneer family in front of their sod house...

tomorrow this fires in the kiln and sets the matte process into the glass..next is color!

Last of the Christmas orders...done

2010-12-17T17:26:00.003-06:00

these are the last 2 commissions that were to be done for Christmas! the 2 small bevel panels were shipped out today...and will arrive Thursday...close!

then the grandma platters...the first set we chose glass that plainly wanted to misbehave...which had me nervous over the whole project..what if the next glass does this too..(it can happen)

so client came and reselected a different sheet for these granny and Nana platters
the children's hands were traced and then i made a stencil of their hands

first i used frits and powders but the purple and pink colors that were to represent the girls were to close to the base composition of the substrate glass
so i ended up having to use enamels..which still set the tone of the color..even tho the bottom plate looks as if both of the pairs of hands are purple
the bigger hands are pink..just where i took the picture absorbed the true colors
these are lead free enamels

the irregular edge lends to a unique arty appeal that says i ordered this just for you
i think you are special!

done in time for Christmas gifting...

how is that list doing there for you??

ho ho ho...

Favorite Piece

2010-12-11T12:08:00.004-06:00

What was my favorite piece of artwork....
that would be this piece
Hannah
done in acrylics
I don't do portaits as much as I used to and Hannah's piece was a limbering exercise...

enjoy the weekend
:>)

Reverse Painted Shade Traditional

2010-12-08T20:12:00.003-06:00

"Wave Of Conflict" is a traditionally reverse painted lampshade. (in lit state)
I did this one back in the 90's and it won an award at the Museum show I had it entered. Back in Va.
I am showing you this to prepare you for the next few postings that you can follow along for how I get to the finished product.

First of all, I use finely ground grass with mineral and ores mixed to a texture that is like paint.
With a brush I lay the design onto the inside of the shade.
(think reverse of how you traditionally might paint a picture)
this much is fired in the kiln...for painting a crystal such as this shade I have to use low-firing mixtures..technically more flux is added...the temps I am taking this to are no higher than 1100 or my crystal will cave on me.
(yes it happened)

Next step is I matte the inside of the shade...A black "paint" is mixed up then put totally over the inside of the shade
everything gets covered up...then I slowly brush the matte away with special stippling brushes that will lend the texture and subtle shading to my images
after MANY hours of brush away step...the shade gets fired again.

Then each color I decide to use on the images and backgrounds get scheduled as each color matures at a different temperature. So highest temps first and so on...

The lampshade you will watch grow is about the homesteaders moving west. This shade is designated for a museum showing in OK with the Chisolm Trail group..you can see the link over to the right of this post.
Check it out some mighty fine artist are part of this group.

The show is in March ...so I have some work to be doing and fast...Right after Christmas I leave for Texas...and this needs to be done...or I have to drive my ownself down and back..and I am not much on this chore...
so
I am opting for being DONE!

More explanations will be given for each step as we follow the Homesteaders
along their trail to being a reverse shade...

Have a great week!...and thank you for coming by!

AEDM day 30

2010-11-30T10:54:00.003-06:00

I wanted to show you these frames. They are a Polystyrene composit sold at http://www.dickblick.com
this is 1 of 9 styles, called the Metro. Some have mattes as well, I ordered the 11 x 14 for 11.99...to me this is a super price for a really nice looking frame..very sleek and contemporary. Also I mounted the painting to a piece of mixed media composition board I painted to compliment the painting...Keeping a nice light weight framed piece. I hope you like my find :)

then Sunday we put the lights on the out front tree..the extent of my decoration requirements

It was warm Sunday but snowing yesterday. I had to wait for it to be almost dark to get a decent picture.

Happy Holidays...buy original handmade artwork and crafts from your favorite artists...help support your friends and family and not the ready made from wal-mart (and the like)...the gift is better appreciated for a lifetime of admiration...just keep this in mind when you make the decision to purchase your gifts this year and to come...
birthdays/anniversaries/holidays of all kinds and ...special thank yous too!

this is the last day for AEDM the tree is my participation...but I am back in the swing of posting more regular...so keep coming back often.

Thank you for coming by!

AEDM 27-28

2010-11-28T15:24:00.004-06:00

This is my final for Julie and Chris's Texture Town class...this was a bit more of a challenge than the last one and this time i am putting in the photo we were given.

here is the photo and my beginning
day.

I have started with some color

putting those braket things in...
and pretty much I am done...

this class is all about texture and how to replicate it..learn MORE about the Golden products...you can only grow in these classes...

thank you for coming by!
have a good week!!

AEDM 25-26

2010-11-26T16:28:00.003-06:00

Happy day after thanksgiving!
nothing I have is done enough to post about...I began a commission of a larger canvas with the sea nettles theme...and I have begun my final showdown exam for textures with Julie and Chris-texture town

We spent the evening at sons JR's...Hannah 5 and autistic had created on her own this book (she gifted me) totally her idea to bind it with the paperclips!!! I am an impressed grandma

a few of the pages follow...

here is the little artist!

AEDM day 22-23

2010-11-23T11:54:00.004-06:00

this is my first of two exams to enter into texture town

offered by Chris cozen and Julie prichard

and you can find the information at

http://www.julieprichard.com

(oh and i passed :>) )

any way this is an intense amount of medium used to create the texture part of the painting

so it took around 48 hours to dry...then my process began to replicate a wall that was given to replicate in the lesson

it had old iron scroll work at the top then grime and rust down the stucco wall

or an interpretation of the old wall.

i have new found interest with stencils..but only a few in my possession to choose from

they are widely used in these processes and offer a great amount of relief to the overall look you might be going after in the painting.

so the stencil at the top of my painting is my

interpretation of scrolled iron work

this painting i like...i would buy this painting...rich hues that may not be coming across in the picture

of umber tones which i love..and even though i am not a contemporary fan...i like the contemporary feel to this piece...or maybe i am converting

i came a LONG way from the first lesson offered in this class...

now

i have been "professionally" painting for over 30 years...(in a more traditional style)

if a seasoned professional can gain from Julie and Chris's classes don't you think the novice would...

thank you for looking and enjoy the day

Happy Thanksgiving too

we have a lot to be thankful for!

AEDM day 20-21

2010-11-21T10:45:00.004-06:00

I have been diligently working on projects but I don't have anything complete to show...so

Here is the first piece I entered in a show that I used staining techniques...She has over 40 firings to achieve the charcoal look I was aiming for
and I was honored to receive best in show for her...more than 30 years ago!
Mata Hari

She is my own drawing from a freeze frame off the tape I ordered from the history channel "Mata Hari"

Next is the beginning for the next painting which is so heavily textured it is still in drying mode

and I have also still been cleaning the years of grime and paint away from the bevel glass in this restoration, which part is ready for the solder
panel 1 of two...

enjoy the day!
and thank you for stopping in...

go art ppl

AEDM day 19

2010-11-19T18:48:00.003-06:00

the bi-plane is finished if you look at yesterday you can see the subtle difference

mainly in the sundog

I mounted it to this composite sheet of mixed media board

and I may, after the medium dries,

add something to it if it doesn't dry clear enough to not look a mess

if it does then it is done and ready to frame

hope the day went well for you!

AEDM day 18

2010-11-18T16:54:00.004-06:00

this is as far as i have gotten today with this painting

a crop dusting bi-plane i captured when he was spraying our fields
at dusk

a cool sundog came up and i am painting it in

here we are beginning the painting this morning

layers and layers later and more to go..

here is the original photo

the painting is on canvas 8.5 x 11.5

AEDM day 14 and 15

2010-11-15T16:27:00.004-06:00

First let me tell you about the weather today...sunny and mild...here is a picture of it hailing! WRONG weather people ...again.

Next I am still working on photos for my moms Xmas present. I am fixing her up with one of those digital frames...since she doesn't live nearby or plan to ever visit here i thought to put lots of area photos plus of course family stuff in the frame
editing takes FOREVER!!!

Last night the birds were just flocking to the trees outside my studio..there were tons of them.

I kept trying to get closer and closer and they would move around but never fully left.

It was beginning to get dark when this picture was taken and just a few moments before the next picture was taken so you can see how fast the sun was dropping at this time of the day
like around 5 or maybe 6...probably closer to 5..
sorta time lapsed it for you.

In the next picture though you can see they were robins!
look how red they are!

I am not exactly painting but still cleaning on this panels pieces and I have been taking pictures so that is my art...

Are YOU continuing to art a day?

I have to say it is quite the challenge to art EVERY day! to do what i typically consider arting

however

remember

Everything a person does in a day is art. (I think this is the challenge to realize this)

You can artfully ask a question, or answer it...do the regular tasks...cook the meal, change the diaper

it is all a manner of art...

In my opinion, art can be the typical or non typical...so it is all good...

AEDM day 12 and 13

2010-11-13T09:23:00.002-06:00

yesterday we rode out and i played photographer

i love old buildings and i found a few to get pictures of this one here is an old schoolhouse resting where currently a person has a winery established near academy sd

i practiced in photoshop with adding a filter and changing the layer

this is the result

it has a painterly feel to it

i think

have a great weekend and thank you for stopping by!

AEDM day 11

2010-11-11T17:54:00.003-06:00

Well today I worked more on the panel restoration even tho I didn't get all that far

but

instead of the same pictures as yesterday here is a face for a church window I have done for a church here in town

Christ in the Garden

I have been slow most of today

i am hoping for more energy tomorrow

thank you for coming by and for keeping up with the AEDM postings

I truly appreciate your visit and comment

happy evening

AEDM day 10

2010-11-10T19:11:00.005-06:00

Began taking this panel apart, it will become 2 windows that look just like this just half that and you get the idea

someone used zinc when building this unit...a sign that the technician wasn't knowledgeable about what he was doing
the zinc was more expensive to use than lead
pulled lead had it been used would have made taking this apart today a lot easier...alas i did have years on my side
the brittleness of the zinc allowed for the piece to practically fall apart in my hand

especially with a pair of nippers

here the unit is all apart off the tray
the tray stored out of the way to return to the owner
area cleaned up and the pieces soaking

here the pieces are soaking

the next step is to true up the edges they were pretty chopped up where the builder was making them fit into the narrow zinc i suppose...and dirt etched from years of being a window unit in a house
i cleaned all the grime off and the next step of grinding the untrued edges begins

using an electric grinder
when i learned the only thing available was a
grinding stone!!!
i liked the new technology that invented the electric grinder

then here are the cleaned up pieces being laid out

to rebuild into the 2 new windows...

and that is my art filled day number 9...
i also began the next painting for lesson 8..i have my elements affixed to the canvas and they are drying...
painting tomorrow!

AEDM day 9

2010-11-09T14:12:00.003-06:00

i am having a terrible time photographing this

the best i have been able to do is this one...but i don't think it really shows the piece how it is in person....

i think it is done

AEDM day 8

2010-11-09T06:40:00.004-06:00

Day 8 ...was an exhausting day! I give you this gorgeous sunset though.

The day started out fine enough, we were going to go to Sioux falls a 2 hour drive each way to load up on the dog food we would need for the winter.
Then we decided to break the day into half and just go to Mitchell for the groceries and then Sioux fall the next day for the dog food.

First, since we were headed out we would take the car scheduled for a repair job onto the mechanic and have that delivery done...
simple enough task huh.

On my way out the road (a dirt road) something was buried in the dirt my tire struck it and I had a hole punched in the tire...changed it and motored onto the mechanic,
then went and ordered the tire..yes it requires a new tire!

Then we motor onto Mitchell, decide we feel good enough to tackle Sioux falls let get it out of the way...
it was 8:30 before we got home!!

a LONG day and trips like this just wear me out...so i didn't get any further in my painting...
but
the doggies have their food and the pantry isn't so bare for us either
and new shoes for the car...arrive weds.

i hope the day went well for you!

AEDM day 7

2010-11-07T18:43:00.004-06:00

The stinging nettles are nearly finished...they have a luminescent appearance more than the picture shows.

Blend blend blend and then blend some more!

This piece is totally off course from the assignment...but that is okay the assignment didn't fit what i had in mind...

today i didn't paint as much as i should have to of finished this

but we cleaned windows and mopped floors instead

so i have a clean environment for creating...

it was a lovely day

warm to do the cleaning

so everything was easy to clean and dried well

next week that won't be the case

but oh my the flies!

i hope that the day went well for you...and you were creative in some fashion...

AEDM day 6

2010-11-06T17:26:00.005-05:00

Today was just beautiful outside! TOTALLY unusual for here this time of year.
That isn't the reason I didn't get very far in my painting though.

I kinda experienced some issues with it and thought about ditching it...then I began fixing on it...so I don't really want to show it until tomorrow after I might have a chance to go further on it...sooo

Here is a hankie bowl in pastel...
Same techniques as in the previous bowl. Using powders and frits and vitreous stains and enamels with the kiln heat become permanent
to the design.

The top pictures gives an idea of the height and the bottom picture shows more of the detail...I don't think i brought it to the viewers attention, as with the other bowl both sides view the same.
Each of these bowls began on clear glass.

So I hope you had a wonderful day ...
Thank you for dropping in
:)

AEDM day 5

2010-11-05T19:41:00.003-05:00

This picture is just terrible but my battery on the camera just died so this is the best we have for today...it is FAR from finished

but you can see all the texture happening in there...the underwater color the jellyfish beginning to take some shape

this is as far as i can go today...

even if you aren't participating IN the challenge I hope you are having an art experience of some kind

art everyday

it is good for the soul...heals the spirit...and improves mood...

thanks for stopping by!

AEDM day 4

2010-11-04T17:02:00.004-05:00

This has been the kind of day where you are needed everywhere right away.
A lot going on!
So...I didn't get a whole lot done in my studio therefore, I am showing a piece I had previously made.
This bowl is in a free form hankie shape. It began clear, but with added glass frits and powders, binders and kiln fire the design makes permanent to the glass..some vitreous staining was involved and vitreous enameling both of these techniques are rendered permanent in the high heats of the kiln as well...
remember each color is a specific temperature so each color represents a kiln visit
at said time
if the strict anneal schedules aren't adhered to the project will be lost...as explode.

Then..this is the beginning stage for the next painting I am attempting in the textures class
I am stencil poor and the next lesson shows such pretty stencils...(and I am not hand cutting any today!) so I am going to do the assignment with one of the other palettes and lets see if I am getting the program
I left the background blue..it is actually white
so the jellyfish and water marks (glossy) show
these are the underlayment for the next level...
i did discover that if i dry this in front of the fireplace
it dries in half the time...

I sure hope you had a decent art day
see ya tomorrow on day 5!

AEDM day 3

2010-11-03T15:36:00.004-05:00

This is day three of AEDM. I was not in my studio today so I finished a sag in the kiln as my piece of art to post. The kiln can for the most part operate alone. If i had a kiln sitter i could program the kiln the schedule of ramps of heat up and it would also go through the cool and anneal stage all through the program...but

i don't have a kiln sitter...it is just me...but i KNOW my kiln and how long everything takes

and i am not fearful leaving it for small periods of time.

This bowl is part of my "splat" series. I call it this because to me it looks as if a drop of molten glass dropped to the floor...splat!

The bowl measure 9 inch diameter with a 1 1/2 inch drop to the scoop of the bowl. It is a taupe color with a light gray mix and black frits...the PERFECT size bowl to serve brie...just saying..

Thanks for dropping in to see what was done today and I hope if you haven't joined in you consider doing so. Art is your friend...you will feel better for playing and creating....go on ya know ya want to..

///

AEDM day 2

2010-11-02T15:04:00.002-05:00

My art for the day is also my texture assignment for Julie and Chris's Texture Town class.

This one has tons of texture in it and actually had several days of that drying before moving into the painting part...learning a LOT in their class!!!

AEDM Challenge day 1

2010-11-01T17:58:00.004-05:00

For the challenge AEDM day 1 I finished making up these 2 journals both are from paintings from Julie and Chris's texture town assignment. The books measure 51/2 x 7 1/2

3 signatures. 30 plus pages

I added a few extra pages in case the special someone who takes these books wants to work in paint the day, they will need to glue a couple of sheets together. The paper is 50# drawing weight. Perfect for anything not wet.

I did them up in the Coptic stitch which allows a book to lay flatter than most...here is one book open.

This is the edge of the book to show my binding for the both of them.

I did the fronts and the back of each book at the same time so they would resemble each other.

Did YOU art today???

Join in the Art Every Day Month Challenge.

Thanks for coming by...come back tomorrow to make sure I arted..:)

Paintings to Journals

2010-10-29T16:53:00.003-05:00

these paintings are part of the assignment given us from Julie's and Chris's texture town class..

these pieces show the top 2 and the bottom left have layers and 1 glaze i left the 4th to show the dramatic difference each layer will make..

I have some glare here but this shows all my glazes in place and the texture layer added...where we were to enhance our texture with writing...i did 4 pieces because i decided that they will become journal covers...so 2 of each as close as possible textures and glaze applications

this one resembles slate to me...

so now i make signatures and then stitch them together with 2 journals for gifting..:)

thank you for looking

and if you haven't been to the new website

please check that out...i will place these journals there when completed

http://www.maryshuntstudio.com

Next Lesson

2010-10-26T08:13:00.003-05:00

the next lesson Julie had us doing involved the heavy gel medium...then picking 1 of the palettes to work our color from to enhance the texture we created from the gel medium...this is my second piece the first one ended up such a disaster...i re-did it 4 times and i still have issues with it...i deduced part of my problem to i see pictures in my textures...we are supposed to be working more in abstract

which is a struggle for me t begin with...i see scenes

so i cam a LONG way in this piece

my next struggle is getting decent pictures..the piece isn't nearly as yellowy as it kinda shows

altho the other picture i initially put on the class site had a lot more yellow hue to it

this one better represents the project...

i am moving on to our next lesson...!

if you haven't checked out my new site please take a moment to..

http://www.maryshuntstudio.com

thanks for coming by!

Bleu Vase...AND!!!!

2010-10-24T08:37:00.003-05:00

This vase is cobalt blue..cathedral (see through) glass...even if my photo doesn't show the clarity the glass possesses it is the perfect candle vase. I was going for a more nuggety look like the red vase...but forgot I had the kiln going and over fired it a bit...and it became the more drippy edged series i do as well more than the lace edge...still a nice vase.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!

www.maryshuntstudio.com

Christy finished my website...I am all put together. I wish I had more past work to place up for example, but on the move up here all my photo albums were lost on the travel...I think Jack mountain got them...but as I find them stashed here and there in books and such I plan to scan and upload them MYSELF thank you very much! so over time the website will become fuller.

The perks of this new site I never had on any of my other sites (I have had sites previous to this but I couldn't work on them and over time gave them up) It has been 10 years since I had a site..
this site :::
will house a classroom for my on-line classes!
a store, to sell pieces!
updating gallery!
announcements page...and the blog can be accessed from it...

I am excited!

I hope you will check out the progress...thank you...

have a terrific day!

Knowing Our Color Pallet...

2010-10-23T09:27:00.002-05:00

In this lesson of Julie's class we had three pallete lists of colors we were to blend and texturize for our sample story boards

left to right

Blue board, Red board, Brown board

I didn't take a bunch of pictures of how I got to this point because I don't think that is fair to Julie's class.

Check out her classes she has a lot to offer...from novice to expert...I just think everyone could get benefit from her lessons...

http://www.julieprichard.com

Texture Lesson

2010-10-20T17:43:00.003-05:00

this is the final picture results but look at the bottom piece..i added just the smallest amount of the rusty brown color i mixed and the depth (to me) leaped off the canvas...

this is a Julia prichard Chris cozzen class called texture town....now i was truly thinking i didn't need this class... texture is texture and anyone can have it...but i have already in just 3 videos learned heaps!!! HEAPS!

This lesson was called implied texture...meaning everything is on one plane no textural products have been added just blending and shade...stamps and stencils...

definitely brings you more comfort to the texture zone...

thanks for looking and check Julie out

all her classes are interesting and have great projects...i can safely say everyone will come away with some new knowledge or tip...!

www.julieprichard.com

thank you dave for correcting me!!!!

The Red Vase

2010-10-20T07:50:00.002-05:00

glass is hard to photograph! this candle vase measures 5 inches tall and 3 1/2 inches wide.
day 1 in the kiln is fusing glass to make the slab that in day 2 in the kiln is sagged over a cone mold to give the draping shape...this one i call my lace edge.
It is more cathedral than the picture shows...meaning clearer where the candle will flicker nicely...another additional benefit with this kind of edge is the flame nicely casts shadows upon the wall making for a nice ambiance...

these run around 20 dollars depending if you want simple as shown or intricate design work...

thank you for stopping in!

Platters...

2010-10-18T09:35:00.003-05:00

I tried photographing them with zero light and tipping the flash so it would go above the subject
I still have a little glare..

Here are both platters together this one shows the colors fairly well the colors are a little faded in the picture but this picture gives the best essence of the look.

These are not decals!

They are painted using finely crushed glass with the pigments of ores and minerals added for their color...fired in the high temps of the kiln to fuse the design to the substrate.

Labor intensive process not anything like using hobby paints that fire in the oven...more closely resembles glazing of ceramics.

Thanks for following along and visiting... have a great week!

Critter Fight...critter lost...

2010-10-17T17:22:00.002-05:00

Roach looks worse than Baby...(below) most of his injury is to his lip and it is swollen pretty good.

Baby has most of her injury to the eye area and it is becoming swollen as well..2 raccoon fights!

Good thing is though both of them had their rabies shots like just a month ago (we get them every year just for such occasions) so we know they won't have to be put down...

headed out with the compresses...they did real well hunting for the crowd though! They got each a star.

Aren't they pitiful looking though....

Platter One...Done!

2010-10-17T12:37:00.004-05:00

Between these 3 photo's it might be possible that you can get a sense of the final results of this turkey platter.

Glass it difficult to photograph and I can't seem to make my flash turn off...I have done it before but either the feature now won't co-operate, or I am not doing the turn off thing right...so the pictures have some glare.

This side to picture has the least glare....

This is not a decal...the process for vitreous staining and enameling to glass has been explained before on this blog so I will kind of just highlight.

The colors are fine ground glass chips with minerals and ores in the mix and flux as well to help imbed the mixture down into the glass creating new glass with a specific design.

High kiln heat fuses the mixture into the substrate and each color has a specific maturation temperature...too much that color fires out.. the chips remain they are glass

the ores are touchy.

So you need to schedule the different color layers according to temperature.

Yesterday marked the last kiln visit for this platter...

Thank you for stopping in!

Pond Repair...

2010-10-14T09:38:00.003-05:00

I changed the name from working projects to what's happening..I more write in this thought, so it makes my posts more cohesive.

This is the pond that needed repair from when we had that flood of rains that erupted the pipe at the road...it tried to wash out the dam at this pond as well...so we needed to make repairs.

This is JR (son) talking with Phil (helps JR) they helped to do the cement over the broken rabble rock that will filter the overflow of water to the creek.

Ryan is manning the cement truck and he does an awesome job of moving this beast.

This is the job pretty much finished...the cement holds the rubble in place...so the water flows under it but at the same time it acts as a dam to hold the pond in place.

HUH! no mispellings...I amaze myself sometimes

have a great day!

CowGal...

2010-10-12T16:43:00.004-05:00

We rent out the pasture where cow/calf pairs nourish during the spring and summer or until it gets too dry.
BUT, there is a section of CRP they are not allowed...where they look over the fence ans see the lush tall grass and pond to cool their tummies and nifty trees to go get lost in during the heat of the day...darn fence.
UntiL!!! that is someone leaves the fence OPEN...mooooooo come on girls lets go check this out.
Well it is night time when we discover their party and they are bedding down so we plan to herd them out of there first light in the morning.
I hope my trusty steed Hondo! (picture above...Hondo moonlights as a sprayrigger)...load up and moooove out.

They were all down in the bottom which kind of made it somewhat sorta easy to herd them up to the fence they needed to go through.
They are all nestled up to the fence and I am thinking wow
that went lots easier than I thought it would...this is only like my second time to ever herd a cow.
We are up to the fence as I say...and I am staying in my spot that is supposed to deter them from heading the wrong direction...
when
some young calf thinks he doesn't wanna go across the fence and crossed the pond instead and all the rest of them
follow
suuuuure...

now Hondo and I have to cross the pond...have i told you ..mud and i are not friends...well i get across

and travel up up and more up to keep the herd from going any further into these trees..I DO have a helper

Craig is on the other side trying to push the herd to me and we then move them on...only...

hondo experiences an issue...and Craig had to come revive it and the cows dispersed...where is JOHN! the cowmaster...well... he is opening gates over the west end which is near to his dads place

and he decided to move the day to take the herd from our pasture over to his dads corral...so

i am now going to move this herd...

only first I have to get over TO them..I ask on the radio just which was is best...they gave such general directions like I am supposed to know what to do to get them..yeah right...okay so I see john and motor on...up some pretty rickety stuff...I really thought for sure a couple of times I was going to flip...but I made it!

Craig says you came from THERE!?...

well yeah..

why!? didn't you come that way

because I didn't KNOW about that way..well I can't believe you made it up that place that has to be THE worst spot on the whole place..

maybe (i say in my mind...not out loud)...I am a better rider than you! P...

well it actually all went pretty smooth from this point...i just followed the critters along and kept any from branching off but

I suspect it is because there were now three of us and not two....so

that is the cow story...

mauoooo

Guidance for this Challenge

2010-10-10T08:39:00.004-05:00

This has been a horrible challenging week. So I thought I would share a piece I did years ago...my young angel. She is done on mouth blown antique glass using frit powders and vitreous staining and enameling techniques....methods worked through in the high temperatures only a kiln can provide. But lets hope she can breath a little peace into the beginning of our new week.

This past week has been busy and some of it the stories are humorous and I will share those later this week maybe after I calm down.
But Wednesday met with a turbulent cause and effect that stems directly from a negligent parent.
Said parent was visiting at my sons place, he lives in the country.
Country living means parents should be watchful over their children.
This said, Brian (the visitor) brings his 2 children with him out to JR's (my son).

Brian's 2 children are unruly horrible little brats. They are vicious to the animals...poking their eyes with sticks, twirling the cat by the tail this kind of behaviour. And Brian does not correct his little beasts.
Jen (DIL) generally tries to keep what control over these children what she can by the older one plays usually with their child in the house or right at the door, but the smaller boy won't be anywhere but with the father, as he was this day. IN THE FATHERS CARE!

Who was more interested in sipping his beer and smoking a cigarette visiting JR in the shed.
NOT watching the smaller child.
10 minutes is a long time to not check on a youngun.
As in this case the next thing heard was screaming.

No one sees what might have happened to this child but his lip is split and needs a drs stitches.
He could have fallen on the rocks (probable)
the dog Bo might have bitten him from abusive behaviour (most likely)
the cat may have bitten the child again due to abusive behaviour...but
no one saw what happened so no one knows.

The first response of Brian is he ran in the house accusing BO of biting the child...then he is off to the clinic for 4 stitches.
The next day (Thursday)
the cat is being accused of biting the child.

The certificate for rabies could be found for BO but not for the cat.
Voluntarily!!! JR and I take the cat (a valued member to the family) up to the vet clinic in town CDAC
for OBSERVATION...10 days to guarantee the cat has not got rabies...

The receptionist Vickie, assures us, guarantees to us NOTHING will happen to this cat! he is SAFE with them.
During the course of the day the Health department lady calls asking us to put the cat down to undergo the test for rabies
an adamant NO was recorded to the health department. When the health department heard the rest of the story they said further investigation was needed about this incident...they were not even aware of the dog...so
the calls were made to the clinics
medical clinic in town and the vet clinic...that the cat would sit the full 10 days for observation.

It is 4:00 pm now and the children have been picked up from school and JR was by to talk to his father about a cement job they were planning and all the family were loaded up to go see the kitty at the vets...
they get to the vets and Vickie the receptionist said the cat had been shot ..his head was on the way to Pierre for the rabies test.
!
What gave you the right to kill our cat...WHO gave YOU authorization!!!?????????
she says: "the medical clinic called! and DR Hagge ordered the test"...
that does not give you the right to kill our cat

who killed the cat...Vickie says WE did
WHO did we ask...she would only say We the CliniC killed the cat....

where is Jay the VET and owner??? he isn't here today...who is certified to kill the cat...
no answer
(no one at the clinic this day was even a certified technician...there is a receptionist and 2 dog walkers)

they assumed the role of owner and vet and took it upon themselves to execute this animal on the supposed call from the medical clinic...(there is still no proof said dr made this call, it could have been anyone)

These 3 workers did not stop...make a call to the owner of the cat, make a call to the owner of the clinic, make a call to the health department (which had made the call to them remember that this cat was to NOT be killed) there was not a court order nothing!

They killed this cat and sent him on the UPS truck in a hurry to make the 430 departure from town.

The owner vet Jay returns and discovers the events as just described. He is heart sick, as is the family of this cat.
The test came back negative by the way...and the injured child is going through the rabies series shots anyway
because

NO ONE saw what REALLY happened...anything could have bitten this child..if it was a bite
he could have fallen on the rocks

a stray cat roaming through the property, a raccoon...anything could have occurred, as NO ONE was watching the child.

the parent was negligent and then got to the dr clinic and lied...
he didn't want the dr to know he was sucking a cigarette and downing a beer while his child was unsupervised, and thus in there needing stitches.

He admitted to Craig, (my husband ) that he did not know for sure what happened...the neglegent parent did by phone on Oct.7 at 12:27

And Vickie LIED the cat was not safe with the clinic, entrusted to their care, they did not protect their client.

Due to LIES an innocent member of our family was killed.

The children are suffering nightmares and want to know when they can wake up daddy's cat.
JR was the closest to this member of the family the cat helped him therapeutically calm down at night de-stress and finally rest himself after a painful day at work.
This was a very special kitty (as everyone sees their animals that are members of the family)

Twyla Edwin Hunt will be greatly missed!
We hope there are angels among us who will help him be guided as a spirit to watch over the family as they continue to mourn his passing.

The Egret SplogsThrough the Marsh

2010-10-04T20:28:00.005-05:00

The last update had the added brown paint..
which i thought too drab..
so i added the sienna and a maroon...which perks the piece up a lot!

i loved working with the wax...talk about layers of textures to work over.

if you let the layer dry well the texture sets up good and the next layer picks over that texture
it all works so well together

i still have to add the coat of wax to seal it
but for practical purposes this project is complete.

Thank you Christy for adding to my repertoire of arts...gosh that word looks funny..but spell check says that is it...
Christy is nearly done with my website...

and beans update
they were finished today and the last truck is in line for empty tomorrow
i think (i am not 100% sure) but we keep this afternoons price intact through the dumping tomorrow morning

He isn't acting very devastated so i guess we did okay
once the planting/feeding/herbicides/more spraying/harvesting/trucking expenses are deducted
we might have food and heat for the winter
and get the wheat into the ground...
and then the next worry begins
:)

thanks for coming by!

WWWWWWWHHHHOOOOPpiiieee

2010-10-03T18:06:00.004-05:00

came home from grass cutting and they were harvesting my beans!!!
see that gold stuff on top of the combine...my beans....which is excellent

saturday the market crashed on the bean prices they were 12.50 a bushel then 10.70
and this evening 9.00 a bushel

so the faster john harvest them and has them in the truck and in line first thing in the morning
we stand a better chance of getting this price as opposed to the next low price...i doubt they will come back up...

hopefully we do better than just break even but i even hope we do not go further and lose!!!

john does not usually harvest on a sunday
we were scheduled to begin tomorrow
his prudence can bring in a HUGE difference for us

thank you john!!!!!!

To Egret...

2010-10-02T12:16:00.004-05:00

hmmm i might have gone to dark...but brown says marsh to me...i added green too
i find that fine details are hard with this wax method...but texture is awesome
in person you can see all kinds of layering textures
subtle and not so subtle
i tried stamping
that didn't do too well...i tried adding marsh fronds of grass...that didn't look too right either...
i am really not sure what else to do with this except another layer lighter over the brown...
???

and christy is ever closer to launch!!!...probably lunch too...which is what it looks like it you glance quick

have a terrific day

i am off to mow...part of the last of my season..then i am jobless again!...i might not eat or heat but i will be creating.. :)

First Frost

2010-10-02T07:52:00.003-05:00

In 1998 when I had just arrived to SD yesterday 10/1 it was 32 degrees and that afternoon it snowed...yesterday 2010 was the first major weather change again true to form, it cooled up dramatically yesterday afternoon and last night we had the first frost. This picture is kind of bleary when i use the night time setting it does that. Regular setting did not work yet there must not be enough sun up.

Here is steam coming off the lake bed across at Harold's place and you can see the frost as well on my pretty grass, which is usually dead this time of year but with all the rain this year

is still green...which is why i still am employed cutting grass!!!..but it is all beginning to stop growing now

it will most likely be the last time i cut this weeks areas.

Christy is nearly ready to launch my website

I AM SOOOO EXCITED

she has a classroom where I can offer classes

she has a cart where if i choose to sell pieces through my site i can

as well as show what i offer at etsy

and

my blog can be accessed through my site

and all my information is in one place....wonderful!

have a good weekend

i hope to work some more on the egret wax piece I think it has set up enough for continuing...so check back

and i also hope for a few minutes to be visiting y'all!!! see ya

Cold Wax Update

2010-09-30T20:10:00.003-05:00

I added more color to the background the other day...then last night i finally decided what my painting's subject was going to be when i saw an egret at the reservoir...
i have always associated egrets with calm and peaceful

so i was again finally able to work on the painting some tonight...i have the egret begun...

there is a lot more to do to just the painted portion but i need to add some more texture to the overall piece and i needed to know where the bird was going to sit...
i just happened to have some green in the piece...hmmm was that a subconscious plan...muuuaaaawwaaaaaa hahahaaa
probably not

so stay tuned for the next phase of the project

PLUS

tahdah...soon will be the launching of my new website!!!!!

i could not do the site myself...i tried
i totally do not speak web design...and it was beyond frustrating for me
so
admiring a fellow artisan who does web design as well
Christy Sobolewski at www.gulfspite.com
she has all the features within her site i was desiring...so...i asked would she design me a site
and i am SOOO excited ...she would!

I will have my classroom and all my information in one place!
which i think is awesome
plus
i don't have to wonder if the site i join and begin to have host my classes is going to change or die...
so
soon will be the unveiling of my beautifully designed site...

thank you for coming by have a great weekend!

Cold Wax Project

2010-09-26T18:51:00.002-05:00

At http://www.gulfsprite.com Christy has a coldwax class going on...I have my project going...

There is a layer of color and papers...then this layer of color and wax for texture...

usually...i go a little too dark on my backgrounds so i am working them reversed with this project....i am not sure that the project will turn out any better than the other way around

but it is an experiment just the same.

Christy has many videos for this class...ALL informative and inspirational..i really like adding my textures in the wax..quick! and the wax smells so nice.

use oils with this technique and i was glad that Christy uses the water oils first it is what i had

but i am sensitive to regular oil paint so it is water oils for me...

working with the cold wax is less hazardous i think too and the effects are creamy and deep...

i really like this new technique a lot!

check her class out though...you will not be disappointed and reasonably priced too!!!

Sunday Snaps

2010-09-26T15:09:00.002-05:00

Last night it was clear enough to get a picture of the moon...i think it turned out pretty cool..

isn't this a pretty mushroom...i like the fringe of black and that it has irregular edges...

hope you are having a great Sunday!

GAH!

2010-09-25T11:22:00.004-05:00

SEE this STUFF!!!

HAIL!

By the time I got the camera out and going most of it had already begun to melt and the rain had begun...my beautiful drying bean crop... but I am not the only one suffering a loss this year!
This struck at 2:30 this morning!

Craig looked though and luckily not all of the pods were knocked off..maybe where they weren't all the way finished drying and still leathery helped keep more on the stem.
what also helped was no wind!

I AM thankful though it was not the golf ball size or larger hail being reported in other areas.
This was about the size of a dime. Lasted 4 minutes...but torment just the same.

I hope for this week no more of this stuff and they can combine me and be done!

Yesterday Hannah and Charlie began painting the backgrounds for sack to take trick or treating.
they made a huge mess and had a great time...i won't put up pictures of each step but i will place their final project bag up when we are done.

Have a great weekend!

Retreat!

2010-09-18T13:02:00.004-05:00

Hannah, 5 and Charlie, 3 came to grammas on a painting retreat, as rewards incentive to go to school without much problem over the week. Here we are practicing dipping brushes into water and paints and painting on store bought color book pages...they caught on fairly quick!

Hannah loves pigs and one of her favorite cartoons is Olivia, she is a pig...remember Hannah is 5

Charlie's image undertook the look of a bird!!! do you see it...he is 3!

they painted going on 3 hours and didn't get tired..we ran out of paint...i mixed up some goldens for them but that contains lead so i didn't do that for very long...

but they learned how to handle a brush fairly well and how to not get the brush toooo wet when you want color...

they did better than some of my older students for focusing!

She is very much looking forward to next friday too...:) So is Charlie but I really think Hannah will equate it more special if she gets to come alone...we will see...

Hannah has Autism and going to school she likes to do

but the socializing with the children kind of freaks her out a little

it is a small class and she has been with these children for 2 years in pre-preschool and preschool...so she will readjust in a week or so more...i hope...

thanks for coming by!

Reorganizing

2010-09-17T11:01:00.003-05:00

Been spending a few days...okay all week trying to reorganize the pigpen studio...big job!
Here is the view to show one side of the room.

This view shows the other side of the room...i have a lot of stuff..

this table shows a panel i have just picked up that is going to be refurbished and broken into 2 windows...

this is my painting area...

and this table shows my station set up for working on these platters...still in progress...

this is what i have been up to...and since i haven't blogged in a few days might have even been a week i thought it was time to check in and go visit y'all too and see what you have been up to..

thank you for dropping by!....(i had no mispellings!!! that rarely happens!)

VENtiNg..

2010-09-06T13:25:00.003-05:00

Grass cutting is rained out...isn't that a shame...LOL

enamels are finely crushed glass with ores and minerals for color striking
(like stains)
but they have more flux added to the mix
so the burnoff is achieved at a lower temperature
keeping a good color

I am finally ready to begin firing platter 1...the kiln is loaded and vented
I have to vent out the nasty burnoff of the oils...venting protects my coils
it ramps up reeeeaally slow...to prevent the glass crashing

a success would be i am done

this rarely happens
i am always missing places and need to reload the enamels and fire again
but
should i have good coverage
i will finished with platter 1

here is platter 1...enamels can be loaded from either side

sometimes i do both sides

and i might yet with this one

that gives a lot of depth to the pieces

i begin with the loading on the backside

this way

if i want to add more i load from the front

it might be done

then the trace lines are fresh looking which are on the front

so we will know more tomorrow when i can open the kiln...

thanks for following along...

Late...

2010-09-05T12:54:00.003-05:00

Can you see the babies? This is a really late hatch..they can't be more than a couple of days old. Momma was carefully watching out for mr hawk..while the babies were probably warming their little feet in the sunny dirt.

Here it is cooling off so much and supposed to be below temperatures this week

rain on the way...there is still lots of cover so they might do okay

and they are in our beans which are weeks away from harvest...

i hope they grow...

Craig spotted them for me to get their picture....i was ready...or i surely would have missed them...

if i can enlarge them just a little more

they will be the next pheasant platter...

i am STILL enameling the platters!!

i haven't fired again though so nothing to show...

thanks for dropping in and have a fabulous day!

holiday too if you celebrate those kinds of things...

Call The Girls...!

2010-09-03T19:32:00.004-05:00

I foresee fun with this feature! 3 pictures stitched together for a panorama!!! Today...

I am still enameling the platters I began the other day of the turkey and pheasants...it is also cow check day where I help out River Hills Ranch...okay gonna go check the cows...I check the east of town ones first because they are furthermost away...everything is fine..

go to the pasture south of me and I see the girls need mineral...again...out of habit i look in the creekfeeder...empty...look around...humph they came and took the weanling's out...don't need to call in about creekfeed...turn around and the tank is empty...go trip the breaker

sometimes it trips itself and is a simple fix
nothing
check the oil
this is a really old well and an even older engine to get the water up...oil is fine
hmmm

call nick...the electrician
cause i sure don't know what i am doing

nick arrives

by now the girls are hovering around me
they are thirsty and wondering when i am turning this rig on...

nick looks over everything
welll...he says...(and i am lucky to get that much he doesn't say a whole lot)
you need to call REA...the wires into the fuse box were fried

oh
i guess that was in the storm the other night i heard a really loud thunder crash and knew it was close
i guess it was real close

yyyeeep...(tell ya he is really chatty)

so he gives me REA number i call them...
gonna be an hour

okay

plus once this thing does get started it isn't the fasted fill tub in the world..so
to contend the situation i go to my place
(just a mile)
and retrieve an old tank i used a few years ago for a planter
(when i was into gardening...i have since outgrown that for awhile anyway)
it has holes drilled in the bottom for drainage
so
i ducktape over those and put the tank under another water source further over in the pasture
a old fashioned pump...not that old a fashioned i didn't have to hand prime it or anything
just turn on...
called the girls
that is in cow language
mmaaaaoooooooooooooooo

and the picture above is the wait line at the tank...
aren't they cute

and courteous too

thanks for helping out today!
have a nice holiday weekend!!

A Heavy Cross..

2010-09-01T13:05:00.003-05:00

The Cross installation is complete at Mount Funeral Home in Platte, SD

Jerod Meryerink fabricated the metal frame...and I really like how he treated the metal giving the art and craft flavor we were looking for in the overall effect.

Mark is going to add a couple more lights in the center to help illuminate the glass...nothing to stark

the reds pick up the light lovely the browns are a little heavier and are resisting the lights right now.

Project completed...

ps.

Mark plans to repaint this wall

when we began the project the cross was to hang ON the wall

a happy mistake decided the cross frame should be installed INTO the wall

so some emergency drywall adjustments have occurred and the blemishes haven't been erased yet..

this is a rather large cross 5ft x nearly 4ft...hefty iron metal unit as well

and they made the back the entrance to place the lights so no removing the glass unit each time a bulb dims...

thanks for looking and following along!

It's A STAIN!

2010-08-31T19:14:00.002-05:00

Drafted some critters...pheasants, turkey, not sure yet what the next one will be...but the project is platters of glass with stained and enameled designs.
first
Decide on the mold to use for the platter..done
prep mold..done (since i put them away prepared ..i am ahead of the game)
Gather materials for staining
palette knife/glass palette
brush
glass stain...I use Reusche master stainer's
binder...i use squeegee oil
cut substrate blank glass

picture 1 shows the stain mixture
(the stain is finely ground chips of glass that has added flux and minerals or ore that strike the color.. it has to be chopped smooth first)

chopped and ready for the binder

here the binder has been added and mixed well
on the glass palette
then gathered back into a puddle

badger hair brushes are the key to flawless strokes...primarily I use a number 1
you can thin squeegee oil with mineral spirits ... it doesn't take much...like a drop

the set up before the oil was added ( i mixed the line up adding in the pictures)

this shows the chosen molds and my selection of stains and enamels the substrate palette and knife and brushes

the secret to great lines in addition to correct brushes is rolling the tip
this movement allows for the thickness of the line to strike without a lot of blotch

Here is the first platter a flock of pheasants

then a standing turkey...

fire one I generally slump the substrate into the mold
with the line trace (that is what the first step is called)

since they both mature at the same temperature
the line trace fires at the highest temperature
1400 F

each enamel color fires at a specific temperature as well and needs to go onto the substrate in the order of high temp to low temp
to keep what the lower temp colors are from evaporating off the glass...the chips will still be there but the mineral will leave if the temp goes to high

and you have been taken through a day in my studio ...staining glass

CCCHHaaannges...

2010-08-30T19:30:00.004-05:00

Well storms have moved through here some kind of fast this afternoon!

JR barely had his cement hard enough to place some poly over it so potential hail wouldn't wreck it...it hailed but hopefully since it wasn't large hail it didn't wreck the happy beans!

This is Craig standing!!! in our beans...this rain we just received will make them really happy

for they haven't stopped growing in the pod yet

some beans are done...it depends on the variety and the number of days and heat units that particular bean needed these beans happily slurp whatever moisture they can for a couple more weeks, growing their pods..then they are done and start drying.

Weather changes tomorrow ..it is supposed to be only 80 some degrees no humidity hardly any wind..a nice day!

I get a WHOLE studio day tomorrow!!!!

and i want to thank everyone so much for being supportive and reminding me about all the great benefits enjoyed in what I do enjoy doing...and I DO! enjoy !

I am going to begin my meditations again...that always helps a person straighten them self out

get back into the groove of things...

I just need to shake myself and get back into the studio and be thankful of the fact i have all i have

ability, supplies, surroundings..imagination..dust myself off and mess the studio up!

Bea at dog in the hole studio blog has a wonderfully inspiring post..thank you!

www.dogintheholestudio.com

and Dave of www.oldpaperart.blogspot.com led me to www.inbetweenthenoise.blogspot.com

another inspirational read both of the blogs with terrific art....

the point is we all help each other out of the doldrums and shaky days...the Internet takes me so many places i never would see and meet so many incredible people/artists i never would have met

thank you!

Face It...

2010-08-29T17:38:00.003-05:00

the last storm we had i snapped some pictures of rainbows and a few funnel looking cloud formations

i didn't upload them until today and i found this nifty cloud image...

do you see the face?

it has been a busy week....seems like everything is getting in the way of my creation energies...

when i do have a moment to go into the studio

i am just too tired

i have learned not to do artwork if i am too tired

i make too many mistakes...

consequently i am kind of in hohum funk...

i was discussing with another artfriend...what is the point anyway...

i don't have anywhere to show and sell...very few commissions dribble in...there just aren't the people out here...and what little interest there might can be i am not in their price range...

and totally misunderstood as for the price set as it is...materials are expensive! so...

other than personal pleasure..what is the point...???

do you have a point?

make me see why we still do what we do...

thanks for dropping in...

In My Sights

2010-08-25T19:41:00.003-05:00

here is a practice digital image piece..i com posited 2 of my photos....which met with many unsuccessful efforts...i was going to give up for another day when during chores as i was thinking through my steps
i thought i had an aha moment...

so i came back in to give it another try

i began working in camera raw to perk up the foggy image

i did add a texture and i forget with mode i ended up using but i like the old photo look about it

then i extracted the spider from this photo and added it to the cow photo
where i liked the push pull effect giving the effect i am shooting the camera through the web

there you have it...a successful merging of layers..

it took all day off and on...but i practiced through it...

thanks for coming by

Practicing...In a Fog!

2010-08-25T13:08:00.003-05:00

Marie's class is done...and I am practicing away with all these new "skills" I am supposed to have...she has a lot of faith!

I took a picture from my files of a foggy hill...
In camera raw i popped it up some but I didn't want to lose the foggy essence...i like that..
I cropped it and used the dry brush effect...to kind of art it up some...i love grungy edges and I tried and tried to download and use some free ones...i FINALLY figured out how to get them to load into the program...but i haven't actually been able to open an image I have downloaded

Except the ones from class..this is an texture we used in week three of class it gives me the grunge effect i am after..
i erased!!! the part i didn't want to cover the image (successfully!) then i clipped the mask together! (successfully)

so all in all i practiced many techniques...and it didn't take me 2 days!!!
i hardly referenced the notes either...i am on a cloud

i still have to figure how to use downloaded things...but that will come...

thanks for coming by

It Is FINALLY!! Clicking!

2010-08-22T12:49:00.004-05:00

Marie Otero is offering digital magic an online class to learn those photshop secrets a lot of you have figured out
I am a slow curve after several books (and they were helpful) another on line class (and she is an excellent instructor as well) it is finally connecting for me...this is week 3 exercise
Marie's barn image we had to manipulate in class.
had 3 textures 2 brushes and 2 lassoed images then text

this is my result..except i spelled incorrectly..oh well

not too bad tho eh!!
of course this is following the step by step instruction
then

I took my own stock photo

a stone outbuilding

I added Maries textures but omitted the text step

and this is what I achieved
i love the look!!!

thank you marie for helping it to finally make the sense i needed to achieve some results!

Student Final Project

2010-08-19T19:48:00.004-05:00

Gather a hand of appluse for shayla, 14...has finished her last project with me of the summer
they start school in a couple of weeks and it is time to get ready...

Here is where she ended last weeks lesson..
mr tiger was fleshed out fairly well..

After a bit of refresher on different ways to use the paintbrush we finished him up today...

I edited the top picture in camera raw...which gives the color richer version in person sees

isn't he fierce looking!

Job well done...now practice everyday!

WOW!

2010-08-14T08:41:00.002-05:00

I loaded these backwards...of course!
but look at the difference

the top picture i took into camera raw and adjusted the saturations...it looks more like an in person view

the other picture shows the "automatic" fix that photoshop has in the enhance box

which is a nice enhancement..however the RAW options enhances the image even better...or at least i think it does!

The Captain

2010-08-14T08:04:00.001-05:00

Bo is an adventurous soul..he hps onto the bow of the boat and imagines himself sailing the 7 Seas...

Acrylic on watercolor paper..

thanks for stopping in have a terrific weekend!

In RAW!...baaaby

2010-08-12T21:15:00.005-05:00

This is my homework submission for Marie's Digital Magic class on line. We are in week 2

working in camera RAW!

you open the image up and tweak all the sliders until you think the image has improved or done what you would like
save it...and in my opinion I think the image looks a LOT better.

When had the automatic tweaker do its thing you didn't get a lot of color add...and you didn't see the red heads on the birds...they are there!
you have to look reaaaaally close!

I probably should have cropped the image

but I was in experimental mode...

like magic isn't it!

I have NO idea why the reworked image doesn't enlarge..i will ask Marie!

y'all this is from an online class

digital magic

by marie otero

over on the side bar you can follow the image link

camera raw is a feature of photoshop elements....

there is also a RAW element that stands alone

they do different things..

this post is about camera raw...

check out maries class

we are approaching week 3 she might still offer an opening..

if she does

her class is full of information and easy instructions that are in pdf and video

maybe she will offer it again

if not right now there is an opening

i hope you check her out!

Fooooogggggg again

2010-08-09T18:02:00.003-05:00

we had another dense fog morning

i didn't go picture taking...but i did find a picture from the last episode of picture taking on a foggy morning

that i hadn't put up

hope the day was good for y'all

Let Us Shine

2010-08-08T21:07:00.003-05:00

I am not really feeling all sunny today...tired and getting burned out of all this outside work..
but on august 4 exactly! because I had been here just the night before
and these were closed still
the sunflowers began sunning
they have already begun getting darker centers
it will be just another few days and they begin their big drying out phase
but i shall get more pictures before they start to turn

I hope they brighten your day...happy flowers aren't they!

WOW I didn't mispell anything...that rarely happens
;)

Grouped

2010-08-06T16:49:00.002-05:00

these butterflies were ALL over the road the other day..
i didn't know it was butterflies until they flew up
then they grouped back up and i thought to get a picture...

hope the day is going good for you and have a wonderful weekend...

Playing With Chalk

2010-08-05T18:05:00.001-05:00

Hannah is an easy please...when they go to town they are allowed to get 1 something from the store....

Hannah always chooses sidewalk chalk and bubbles...

Alonzo or Elmira...the twins

2010-08-03T20:19:00.004-05:00

One of the twins either Alonzo or Elmira...i have been trying to get them pictured together

but they seem to know this and elude me...

anyway

these twins are Estelle's youngest child's daughters...children

they were born in the tree grove just north of the building and i see them everyday

either breakfasting on the south hill

or in the Milo patch just north of their home

coming home from spraying weeds this morning at the ranch (my other job) i spied him/her in the ditch and i waited ...finally they came on out and i got this picture

they are growing up tho and i am not sure how much longer they have their spots

the other twin was already across the road

this season i have spotted 4 sets of twins on the property

oh i know which one is which and i am not seeing them coming past twice and three times

they have differing bunks...

today i began Bo's portrait...sailing the 7 seas...he is quite the captain of the ship!

thank you for stopping by!!

The KIss...

2010-08-02T17:12:00.003-05:00

another practice for the portrait journal...all but the first picture should enlarge..

this is one of my favorite pictures of Sarah...the mouth was not easy
and i am here to tell you all these blonds aren't that easy either

but here we go

acrylics/on gesso'ed watercolor canvas

here the beginning gets drafted

the eyes just weren't right so i redid them...i might have messed them up

this picture of the painting doesn't show the painting like it shows in person..i don't think it is just the glare....

but i am posting anyway...

thanks for looking

Bird Song...

2010-08-01T16:50:00.003-05:00

When i went to spray this property Saturday there was this happy little bird...each time i passed by it just chirped and chirped but did not leave...

well since i take the camera everywhere...i went back to the truck and got the camera out
i figured for sure! when i wanted a picture it would leave...so i began taking pictures kind of far away

but she let me get closer and closer

and closer

and closer

the whole time, she is singing away!!

I am standing right next to her here and I do not have the zoom on!

i was talking to her telling her how pretty she was
obviously this is a young bird not messed with yet to be so un afraid
she would talk back to me and sing

I am really amazed that I was able to get so close

isn't she a beautiful purple marten!!!!

The Web...

2010-07-31T18:38:00.003-05:00

Woke up to FOG this morning~!!

Craig and I rode out to look at stuff and check water tanks and he took me to where I needed to spray the weeds...

However, I was seeing ...other...stuff....

COOL WEBS!

I bet these would make great backgrounds for digital images....should *you* not have webs of
of your own...feel free t snag these

I thought I had another shot that showed tons of gathered webs over the tall grass and rails of the fence

but I don't see it right now...

It has turned off no wind today (rare in SD)
and about 100...

hope you found a nice cool spot someplace today

thanks for visiting

Student Finishes 2 Projects

2010-07-29T21:23:00.005-05:00

The past several weeks Shayla has been learning to work with acrylics and to blend..She had never worked in paints prior to class
These 2 projects were executed to enter into the 4 H arts division and she finished in time to do so.

I think Shayla came away with her lessons well...she learned a lot about blending paint and the kinds of brushes to use and why

How to incorporate the different products used with acrylic paint and how to begin to shade with in her painting project.

This project she also learned how to image transfer using her own drawing for the image.
Which i encourage for her future projects.

Lets wish her well to take home the ribbon!

A few postings below you can see these projects in their beginning state.

thank you for visiting..

The Growl...IDK...

2010-07-25T13:45:00.003-05:00

Well...I am putting myself out here today...I don't usually paint open mouth expressions...and I have NEVER done teeth...IDK...this might not be a good idea but...I am gonna be brave and post.

The other day i posted camping pictures with Sarah and charlie growling...these represent my painting of that scene.

Here is #1 sketched into place expression and trees for the background

Adding eyes

I use all golden products and this time I gesso'ed the page of this journal
the pages are a cross between a canvas and a watercolor paper..a strong composition and it holds up to most anything i have ever done to it

The final glaze is quinacridone/nickel/azo gold
which went a bit yellow for me...so i blended some titanium white and gloss glaze for a lightening up treatment here and there...

practice journal spread...Charlie and Sarah

Have you Heard!

2010-07-24T14:01:00.001-05:00

Birds gathered before the big storm last night...all the animals were out!
but the wires were full!!!
last night tornado's hit all around
downed lots of trees but as far as I am aware no injuries and no demolished buildings
i watched 3 tornado's make up then they went south

softball grapefruit and baseball sized hail fell just as close as 10 miles to the north of us
outed vehicles windows!
a full large grown man was shown on KELO land update holding 3 of the hailstones and his chest was full.
but today is beautiful
:)
and everything is is so lush green and clean..

Mr. TURTle!

2010-07-23T07:49:00.001-05:00

It is WET around here! Driving up the road yesterday? the day before maybe I see this HUGE turtle crossing the road.
I mainly got out to make sure he would go across the road, as the drivers around here have no consideration for the critters
they run them over and think nothing of it...I try to save what i can...

He was covered in mud..from the little pond on the opposite side of the road.

I don't have anything major to report in about...been catching up cutting grass weedeating and such this week, the owner of the place I keep grounds for, was coming to town and I like things to look especially spiffy when he arrives.

I have begun a portrait spread...the growl...

Evolution...

2010-07-19T19:24:00.003-05:00

This was quite the difficult painting on several levels. First i haven't painted a life painting in a LONG time. Next this child is soooooo pale then this day pinked up by the sun and I wanted the piece to reflect the days events.
Here is the very beginning of the project...I ended up many time with her looking just too old..more like her mother...so a lot of adjusting occurred

the pictures are backwards but I was finally getting her skin tone and then i added her eyes

Here is the final glaze done i used..quiinacridone/nickel azo gold for the final layer...i think it helped lesson the pink and golden up the hair.

Hannah

ED

2010-07-18T16:00:00.002-05:00

Meet Edward or Edwina...Ed for short..
Yesterday he either fell or was pushed from the nest...in the horrible heat of the day it was 110 under the eaves where the nest is...keeping the cement wet I think helped keep him alive and his parents kept him fed. His siblings didn't make it.
Probably another 2 days and he will be able to fly off...right now he can hover low and he keeps up near the wall.

This was the nest and that is the temp from this morning.

It isn't as hot today and yesterday!
I hope nothing eats him...and he learns to fly off...

We hope your day is going well
:)

A Cool Pond!

2010-07-16T20:40:00.002-05:00

It has turned off rather warm today...in Platte, SD..not hot by my standards...I am from the south ..now it is HOT there!...
But close today...

I thought a image of a cool pond might help us. And this post had some issues
i am not sure if lightening didn't maybe hit it..it might make a cook background or beginning to a painting not sure yet

Here is the pond this is just a small part of it...it rambles along for the better part of about 8 acres..then spills into the creek..this is in our west pasture.

Sure hope the summer is going well for you!

Thank you for visiting.

Buried Treasure Post..

2010-07-14T19:08:00.005-05:00

Participating in Seth Apter's 'Buried Treasure"

http://www.thealteredpage.blogspot.com/

I was surprised to learn I have been blogging 4 years!

3 years ago..I think... I was commissioned by "Laura Ingels Homestead" living museum located in De Smet South Dakota...I did three styles of boxes for them that year, this was my favorite though.

The "painting" is an elixir created from crushed glass, pigments and flux. Fired in the kiln, the "paint" becomes new glass...as the image fuses into the glass substrate...the boxes were constructed using bevels for the bottoms sides and an antique glass for the painted parts, lid and bottom. The solder lines were sculpted to finish the box decoratively.

Thank you for sharing this moment and helping me participate with Seth's collaboration.

In the Tub

2010-07-13T08:10:00.002-05:00

In the back pasture are cows..they have a lake and creeks for water and also a tub. This said tub sprung a leak.

So we emptied the tub and located the source, an old drain thing.

Craig was thinking major overhaul project
had to get the fiberglass out and patch the thing.
3 day process.

So I asked him if we couldn't just use a plug like a cork...

Tub ready for action...
:)

So far...no more leaks!

Sometimes it is the simple version.

Preparation for Student's Session This Week

2010-07-11T19:17:00.004-05:00

I spent today preparing for this weeks class with Shayla..we each prepared a background to use to paint this horse profile...(i decided i need practice as well and not just for the painting exercise but to create a PDF)..so I took step by step pictures along the way...I have more to place in the PDF
but these are highlights for each segment..

Here is the background...both Shayla and I did one
i sent her home to do the drafting in with pencil...

here is my draft

and here is my draft done enough for me to begin painting washes

I begin laying some undertones...

i used magenta and Jenkins green

several washes of light burnt umber with gloss acrylic glazing
and some hints of raw umber
with a final wash of raw umber with water

and here is the finished head

all products are golden and the substrate is
Cranson Acrylic paper
(a watercolor paper variation..but it is thicker)

River!

2010-07-11T09:04:00.004-05:00

Rising up from the river..swampthing...
a mermaid....

noooo it's Hannah..she is a happy little girl
loves the water
Her momma and da auntie sarah and char and machelle
are camping at the river this week

Sarah and char pose for the camera!

This is the river view about 5 miles from our place

Expansive!!

Wild Weekend!

2010-07-10T19:05:00.002-05:00

Sunflowers are my favorite! i have been waiting for them to begin blooming and today i found the first one (nearest me) open...

In the back pasture are all these really pretty purply coneish flowers
i have no idea what they are..just wild and not a weed...

and then this yellow cone kind of flower much like that herb echanacia which i can't spell and spell check is not helping
so sound it out...the pinky purple ones

then a little further back is a spill over for the lake we have back there...
enjoy the weekend!

Student Progress

2010-07-09T16:47:00.003-05:00

Here is a little progress report with my students on going projects. This one is a day 1 background...it is a rather darkish background but a good one for learning image transfer. Taking her sketch..we transferred it 2 times to the background....then highlighted it some

Since the background is so strong it was determined that the horses would need to be vibrant and achieving that meant white/gray/dappled tones

So she went over everything that wouldn't want to be lost but will be darker later...such as harnesses and reigns
And then began the horse tones...

This is where she is at the end of the session
I think she is doing a super job!

She is learning to work with acrylics...exploring different substrates..and learning how to work with the mediums that are used with acrylics
today we basically worked with water....

Solder Sculpting Day 2 Studio!

2010-07-06T18:40:00.003-05:00

The beauty of solder sculpting..is you do NOT have to be such a great solderer with the solder lines

such as for a large area on a panel or expressly for box making, or many small projects kaleidoscope's as another example.

Making boxes is a lot of trial and error...even after you finally get the box construction down

many don't go together so perfect...answer to this

is decorating the seams and lids

to take focus off a not so great soldering job!

Now..i have been soldering forever!!...my seams aren't so much a problem for me..but

i do not like a boring plain box...make it unique..give it personality...sculpt something on it

bring it to life...

these same techniques are excellent for small things ...like those microscope slide pendants I see sported all around...decorate the edges and give them additional flare...clean up some of the soldering by finishing the edge off with a pretty edge...without having to purchase extra stuff!

Learn it yourself!!!

Here is a box I constructed today with flowers on the lid...this one I am going to instruct in the video...I think it is very doable for any level...

You shall see the flowers and a dragonfly (in the upper right corner)...what gives the imagery its personality is finishing it with patina, or you wouldn't see all the great crags and strokes and dots...

Thank you for dropping by I appreciate every visitor

Have a terrific day/evening

A WHOLE Studio Day!!!!!

2010-07-05T20:03:00.003-05:00

I had the WHOLE day for my studio...
so I built a box..
perhaps this little Octopus might be part of the decorative soldering magic series I plan to offer...I am not sure yet...he isn't "difficult" to accomplish...I think...I need to run it past someone who hasn't ever soldered in such a fashion before I decide...

This is how he began...a blob of wire...in my mind he is sitting on a corner of rock..

There are all kinds of crustacean embedded within
oysters, clams, fish, seaweeds...a mermaid and a lobster

I thought I had picked a picture with them showing but I didn't...they were sort of blurry anyway..

I hope you think he is cute...I enjoyed the day creating him

4TH of July

2010-07-04T07:40:00.002-05:00

means a time to reflect what our ancestors have sacrificed to get us to where we are today...

still free...

it is my belief that for the most part we take for granted our abundance...not realizing what we have until it is too late and taken from us.

Today this happens on many levels...

take a moment and be thankful..the little birds will be very thankful with the abundance of choke cherries this year...they make jelly out these here!

Being a blackberry fan myself I have never tried chokecherry jelly...they say it is good...

Enjoy your day!

The NEW culvert

2010-07-01T19:01:00.004-05:00

I came home to the crew getting these off the trucks

The pipes have arrived to repair the culvert..you saw the erupted pipe in a previous post

the plan is to have cement headers hold this one down

it will be quite the serious drainage pipe!

it should be 2 weeks and the road will be repaired...

those are bugs on the windshield not raindrops...

Three posts today

2010-06-24T13:22:00.003-05:00

This is post 3 today...the deer picture I wanted to make sure you saw her so I did that separate

scroll down

I "planted" the center under the welcome sign

what a green thumb i have!!

not

these are fake!!!

they sure work well tho..i don't have to water

and they hold up very nicely in the winds...I have a piece of plywood drilled for them to sit in

then i covered the board with rock...

Other than blogging and perhaps facebook...what do you do to network yourself?

Pictures

2010-06-24T13:17:00.003-05:00

I was taking pictures of the fields for Craig to send his brother...of the grasses and the crops and such

I looked over and see an orangy brown orb...I think it is a deer...maybe a baby deer...

the post below shows the cropping...it is momma deer....she is laying and positively not moving..

since the fawns are at this time of year

it is very possible she has a newborn with her...

look close you can just see her ears in the tall grass

Deer Hidden in the Grass

2010-06-24T13:17:00.000-05:00

The only way I could get this picture to post was by itself...I have no idea why when I cropped it the only way it would post originally was to the original picture...i am plainly no tech when it comes to these programs
so this post follows the post that shows what I wanted you to see....first

2010-06-21T18:33:00.002-05:00

When I visited Deadwood, SD one of the attractions (to me) was the cemetery. I love old cemeteries in general but here is buried Wild Bill Hickok, and Seth Bullock..who was buried WAAAAAYYYYYY at the top of the hill (and i use this term in jest...it was a mountain!) I am not even all the way up and here is the view of the path you see it winding to nowhere!

At the grave site was a lovely bench!

Then you see the marker for Seth...I took a lot of old marker pictures some with fantastic grunge on them!

Also, I discovered (well I was referred to) www.moo.com they have these adorable moo cards

you design as business cards!!!! and each one can have a different picture of your work...reasonable prices I thought too..

Thank you for your visit!!!