Buried Treasure...

I am participating in Seth's buried treasure dig, where we re-post from our archives, what we find interesting, or are particularly proud of.
I have to post it sorta early...I don't know how to delay the post
and I won't be able to post it tomorrow and be on time for the activity...so hope I am not stepping out of line...but here I am..now.

If you are here, most likely you came from Seth's blog http://thealteredpage.blogspot.com/
if you are checking in because you list me...then GO check out Seth...don't stop with this post go digging all the way back to the beginning of his blog..he is most interesting.

A lot of us are new to the blog thing...but many of you are veterans..I am not too long here however, I seem to have a fair amount of posts.

I tend to only go but so far into a blog that I am visiting.
Looking mostly at the current listings and rarely going all the way through them
NOT because I am not interested in the work...but because I have only but so much time I can spend at the computer and still have myself, a productive day.
The treasure hunt will give us a little glimpse into the distant past.

I am re-posting my first post.
This picture is kinda special in that it is the first canvas piece I had done in many years. I had been focusing primarily in the glass medium...ANYthing working with glass.

I was sorta intimidated to even post the piece, not being very sure about the quality of the work after so many years.
I began working in charcoal/watercolors/and oils.
Since this post I have lightened up a lot...and I am not so shy about posting work.

This collage is worked on canvas. The background is blended inks. The added elements of the rocks and fish are on watercolor paper/watercolor and ink. Then i added a fun element for movement ..the fiber yarn.

The subject is the Walleye.
This is a vibrant piece and I haven't had a lot of success in photographing it. The original post shows a washed out version and this isn't a whole lot better...but, it IS better than the original post.

Thank you for dropping in.
I hope you look through my blog, and see I am getting better explaining what I have done with the work I post, trying especially to explain the processes I work with the glass, as many of y'all don't work in glass.

I will be cruising by to check out what you re-posted.
Thank you Seth for hosting this event!

Paper Kaleidoscope Class

We had 22 participants ranging ages of 4 to 12. Seen here is my niece Kristy, helping one of the younger students get going putting their scope together. They we all very patient as we went around to each one.



They all had a big time, and did so very well!

Sure wish their little designs showed up in the picture. They all shared the colors and markers well and made what was in front of them work for them...I was pleased no whining.

It didn't take the full 2 hours...so I read to them the instructions for some of the other projects in that book
then they studied the book, looking through it until the parents arrived.

All in all a good experience.

Western Living

Elizabeth at http://thelastdoordownthehall.blogspot.com/ likes to introduce us to some of the older establishments in her area, as she has today.

Which has prompted me to post a homestead we came across when showing the area to our guest this week.

In our travels we went through Ideal, SD we are talking a small town, and I think this is the last of it, because there wasn't anything else to see there!

Notice how they curved the roof line up, and how close they built it to the ground!...there were 4 other to the ground buildings on the place, it is being used for pasture now.

In the day though, this was a large prosperous family.

They had a lot of wood in this house...hard to come by and expensive!

Not to mention several windows.

Then the cost to have raised the other buildings, so this family was doing well.

Or brought wealth with them from the East.

Our guest were a SIL Donna, her daughter our niece Kristy and her daughter our grandniece, Kendyl...they had a big time as did we..all together a whirlwind of 4 days!!

BUT, I just discovered...I DON'T work tonight!!! and I thought I did..so YAY!

thanks for dropping by.

An Award!

Tracy Kaufman...http://tracykaufman.blogspot.com/ Kindly awarded me this honorable award. Thank you ms Tracy!

The wording for this award is as follows . . .
The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.
I am to deliver this award to eight blogger, that is where it becomes difficult. I have found so many bloggers that have inspired me so this is the difficult part, yet one that is important so visitors who haven't heard of them might become familiar to their world.

In no particular order:

http://redfishartwork.blogspot.com/ Vickie

http://jkbeesartopia.blogspot.com/ Janet

http://distractedbydesign.blogspot.com/ Carmen

http://dneese.blogspot.com/ Grrl

http://lindart.blogspot.com/ Linda

http://lindavincent.blogspot.com/ Linda

http://gaalcreative.blogspot.com/ Anne

http://greenwomandesign.blogspot.com/ Mary

I encourage you to visit these blogs...I have listed a diverse group...their artwork alone is worth visiting but read about them too, they are so interesting to get to know.

Tracy, truly I feel honored with the context this award has been delivered to me. Thank you!

Rain & Wheat

Raining all day...the crops are happy but my wheat isn't..too much wet and it causes it to lay down. See how the hay in the foreground is laying over...the wheat up on the hill is doing the same thing.
If it doesn't stand back up..it can rot.




Here is an attempt to get back to painting. A journal page about droopy wheat.
I also did some letter practicing..not a lot the pen was picking at this paper..I didn't gesso and it makes a difference!

Having a good stand doesn't guarantee a decent crop. We were predicted a 60-80 bushel harvest which would have been nice.

Hopefully the sun will come out and it will stand back up and do it drying...another week and it should be ready to harvest. If it doesn't I suppose it will make some mighty nice hay for the cows.

At least something will eat!

...A Situation....

We had us a situation...

a cow situation...last evening.

Two momma and calf pairs escaped into the wrong pasture.

Possibly they are mmmoooooving to California.

They noticed Mabel had to fight that strong headwind during the Winter month, so planning for better weather they are leaving now!

The little girls want to break into films...they think they are a LOT cuter than the ones that were auditioning for that ..commercial..

Gone.....

At 10:15 am June 30th the windows left my studio
to travel to their new destination.

After educating the handlers how to pick them up
store them
and travel with them...
AND
to make 2 trips...!!

• they signed off
• they left
• they arrived safe (with number 1)
• they came back collected the second panel

and templates to take to the cabinet maker...
and after finally convincing them the panels were NOT needed at the cabinet makers

• they took them and placed them in a safe storage space...i hope

my babies are gone...

they will call me when they have been installed so i can get a final picture..

the studio is almost back to order (well as ordered as this studio gets)

so

• i am going to begin teaching sessions again..
• and working on the classes i have started for my own growth...
• back to business in other words

:)

Saturday @ 3:15 pm

This is IT...the second panel of the restoration project for the Hospital Chapel...YAY!!!

Monday I will deliver the two panels and they can begin their installation plans.
then I will go get a completed picture.

But,
For my part, I am DONE!!!!!!!!!

Probably my last restoration commission.

Fire...

In the sky!! Last night was the most lightening activity I have seen in a couple of years. The one picture here and I can't tell which one it is right this second...I think the middle one,
looks like the strike is echoing.




The storm was actually happening in Nebraska...which is directly South of us. Our place attracts storms and a lot of them start in our field and move off.






Storms are intense on the plains. I saw flashing under the shades,
eeearyyy looking flashes
and heard nothing, so I assumed there was a fire..panicked I ran to the door.

Of course lightening like this could start a fire if things were dryer. But since it is wet and green still
I could relax and just watch the amazing show...then too I needed to worry about a tornado, but it didn't 'feel' like that.



I have been busy finishing up this 2 panel restoration project, (story somewhere in past post)
very close to done! When I flip the panel today soldering side 2 and clean up...then delivery hopefully Monday.
Then
I can get back to my Layer Love lessons...Everyone I think is on the last lesson, I am still on lesson 5...but I will get caught up quick!

Thanks for stopping in... :)

Lady Bug Box

Finished the little feet box birth announcement.

The decorative effect on the solder is little lady bugs.

Aren't they cute!

the bevels added along the sides of a box allow light to enter and illuminate the lid.

Layer Lesson 4

Layer Love directed by Julia Prichard lesson 4 in gray tones and introducing crackle paste.

She used Tim Holtz crackle paste and that stuff looked a lot easier to produce good results than from what I used being the Golden crackle paste.

I had lot of problems with my crackle cracking. It has been determined (we think) that the paste had begun drying out as it sat on my shelf waiting to be tried.

I did the best I could with this lesson.

I am behind by 3 probably 4 lessons now so I done with this one.

Here is the example.

I learned that in using crackle the project must be immobile (so tape down the paper).

Should have a creamy consistency.

And crackle doesn't chalk flake.

I probably never would have experimented with the stuff so in doing the exercise I gained that practice.

yay!

Flipped..

See how cool the rock is now!...

i had to flip it over

the birds are on their own for a little bath.

i need to make one of those little doors for it...

a faery door!

the big metal jaw looking things

are called

tongs

when we worked the water...a bazillion years ago

these are what were on the boat that craig caught clams with

they dropped over the side

grabbed a chunk of bottom

raised up back onto the boat

opened on the culling board

where the clams were dug from the bottom catch and kept

then the rest was swept back overboard

and another grab made back up...open...back over

craig typically worked on 60 feet of water draw

and the tongs were set/dropped/back up every 30 seconds

fast work

needed to be alert...if the hydraulics messed up

you were looking at 300 pounds of metal trying to whack at you

it could hurt...

for inquiring minds...

:)

Been Doing Lots

First of all I want to show you the coolest rock! You can see it there in the center it holds water...for the birds but
it also looks like door turned the other way and i might put it that way...not sure yet, i found it walking through the trees looking for antlers.


Here I am setting up to stain glass for a birth announcement box.
Everything is ready.
Palette for grinding the glass and mixing up the stain
and glass substrate to make my marks.










Here the feet are applied and ready to fire in the kiln.









This is the piece I prepared to place the feet over to fuse to creating the desired ordered border...ladybugs.










Here is the finished top. a few bubbles appeared but they are kinda cute so i am thinking this is a keeper. Next i make the box part.