A busy month

Wow, what a busy month! It feels like it barely started and now it's almost gone. There was a lot going on this month, lots of company and projects and fun to be had. First an old friend came to town, one of my husband's oldest and best friends from Texas. There was much talking and laughter and a back backing trip for the two of them gone awry due to bad weather. I feel like I got to know and understand this friend better after more than 10 years of occasional meetings, get togethers, and lives evolving. How you can be very much like someone and not even have known it.

Then there was a garden growing ripe and full of sweet tomatoes, eggplant, patty pan squash, tomatillos, and herbs. It is now overflowing and the melons and pumpkins seem to have appeared overnight. We had more visitors, Chad's mom and grandma, and shared many movies and meals together. We even ventured out to the Loveland sculpture show which ended up being far more pleasing than I expected. The show was the reason we went, but the sculpture garden was such a surprise. Grassy and green with pathways, sky reflected water and sculpture at every turn. And on a most beautiful summer day no less.

All the while I was making and working in journal for a round robin that I am a part of. At the end of all this, was a two day work shop with the inspiring Stephanie Lee. I feel like a soldering goddess now, having made my first etched and soldered box and bezels. The photo of it here is before adding collage and resin to the bezel. I will share the fully finished piece soon. So after looking back on August, I am feeling ready for September. I will be taking my first ever silversmithing class (a dream of mine for years) and concurrently working in all the lovely journals that pass through my mailbox.

Self portrait Wednesday

These are some deliciously double exposed self portraits taken with my Diana camera that I mentioned previously. They were taken on my recent trip to Sailda, CO. I just love how unpredictable and ethereal they can be. Magic!

Circus Journal

This is my recently finished circus journal with a few close ups of some pages. I made it using prompts from Juliana Coles Circus, Circus Big Book of Postcards booklet that I bought here. It was so much more fun than I expected. The imagery is full of meaning and metaphor to be explored. Seeing which circus characters I identified with, or aspired to be like, was quite telling.

A classic introvert

This is how someone described me to my husband recently. As if he doesn't already know me much better than that. Nothing makes my blood boil more than a statement like this, of being summed up in a few tiny words. My whole life I have struggled with being a quiet person with so much to say. Sure life would be easier if I could just bubble and spill forth my emotions at will, but that just wouldn't be me now would it. It hasn't always been easy living in a world that thinks if you are quiet that you have nothing to say. I doubt most of my close friends and family would call be shy, but there it is. Not to mention that being quiet, shy, choosy with words and people generally gets treated like a modern day affliction. What was once a character trait, offset by advantages such as being sensitive, thoughtful, tactful and comfortable with ones self, is now treated like a disease. There are books and drugs out there all designed to make us quiet ones feel like there is something wrong with us. A lot of times it can be a reaction to being in an uncomfortable or new situation. Being around people too loud to listen. (Where is the self help book on that?) I felt side blasted by this commentary on myself even though I should be used to it by now and not care. But these are the pages that followed, not what I started out to make that day, but visual proof that, yes, I have much to say.

Self portrait Wednesday

I first saw postings of "self portrait wednesdays" here. I am not sure what the story is, there doesn't appear to be an official site encouraging these posts, but they pop up on lots of blogs I read. As a "recovering designer" as my friend Pinky puts it, I rarely use photoshop for more than photo editing anymore. But after viewing Misty's blog, something started to shift. This image reminds me of the ethereal, double exposed images I like to take with my Diana. More of those pics to come.

Salida weekend

I spent this past weekend hanging out in Salida, CO. We went with no plan, only having heard what a creative and outdoorsy community Salida is. What we didn't know was how friendly everyone would be and how much fun we would have. We stumbled upon great restaurants, live Bluegrass music, and this great spot on the Arkansas river. We spent the day swimming, jumping off rocks, sketching for me and fly fishing for Chad. There is already talk of a return trip to go rafting. I took lots of pics with my Diana camera, and will post some once they are developed.

Oh sweet lilacs!

I know I am a bit late in posting this image, but one of my favorite things about living in CO are the Spring blooming flowers. Particularly lilacs. In late June they were still in full bloom in the mountains. In the weeks that they are blooming I stop, stare, smell at and comment on each lilac I pass by. My poor cat Nehi has his name temporarily changed to Lilac in those weeks. And believe me, if he were a she, the change might be permanent. Here's a little Spring joy for you all, and hoping that Summer turns out to be as beautiful.