Wednesday, April 29, 2009

spring has sprung!

it's amazing what a difference
a week will make in the garden
with the unseasonably high temperatures and
a few rain showers
and i can actually watch my garden grow!
everything has sprouted up and out
my garden has really expanded over the past 10 years
last year i dug up 500 "babies" and
sold them at my plant sale
this year i'll be able to work a little less
----------------
above, one of my pencil sketches
played with some color in ps and added a border

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

random act of kindness

i love sending out things in the mail
and it is always wonderful to get a surprise back
like yesterday, i got a package from nyc
from my friend marie
it's so exciting !
a lovely handmade card and a soap sack
from the outback, what a refreshing scent!
thanks marie, i don't know when you had time,
in your travels and taking care of your boys
i so appreciate it and love it!

------------

recently i've noticed on several blogs like
a R.A.K. giveaway

Here are the rules -
they are really pretty simple:
The first five (5) people to comment on this post
will get something from or made by me.
This offer does have some restrictions
and limitations so please read carefully:
I make no guarantees that you will like what I make
What I create or give will be just for you.
It’ll be done over the next 12 months.
You have no clue what it’s going to be.
I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.
I reserve the right to change the rules!
(like giving away to more than 5 people or
pick someone random from my followers list?)
And in return, all you need to do is post this text
into a post of your own
and make or give 5 things for 5 others.
Of course, you’ll want to send me your mailing address…
Sound fun?
if you are interested in
participating in the Random Act of Kindness,
please let me know in your comment
and pay it forward!

-------------

above, one of my photos
played with in ps
and inspired by
dj pettitt gentle whispering hues
i had the opportunity to take a class with her
she is a wonderful person and teacher
plus a talented artist


Saturday, April 25, 2009

dreams

hold fast to dreams
for if dreams die
life is a broken winged bird
that can not fly
langston hughes

Friday, April 24, 2009

i'm so honoured

i'm so honoured
i've received two awards
the sisterhood award from brendalea
and
the renee award from aimeslee
at paper paisleys
thanks ladies!!
--------
it's been a joyful year blogging
i've "met" so many wonderful, talented,
creative, inspiring, fun, caring and giving people
i think everyone deserves an award!

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

blogiversary

it's been a year since i started my blog
i can't imagine not having this outlet
it has been wonderful
"meeting" so many talented people
sharing ideas and art
and being inspired by it all
i greatly appreciate every ones
comments and encouragement
and would like to say
" thank-you "
sincerely, nancy



Tuesday, April 21, 2009

more found grunge art

you can't walk very far
without finding postered walls, graffiti
or some kind of advertisement
as much as i like a clean city
i'm fascinated by the layers
torn, riped, weathered papers
revealing whats hidden
----------
above 8 layers of photos
with various blending modes

Monday, April 20, 2009

street grunge or found art?

you be the judge!
above a wall inside a doorway on queen street west
after a few minutes of play in ps
below the original
it's amazing how much fun ps is
with just a few click you can
transform any picture
another reason to carry your camera
everywhere you go


Thursday, April 16, 2009

character project

i rarely take picture of people
this fellow intrigued me
last summer during the italian festival
while sitting on a patio enjoying
the food, drinks and music
i couldn't resist taking this picture
and of course , the one time i do snap a shot of a person
i get caught!
he was sweet and said he didn't mind
======
while flipping through one of my fashion mags
i noticed this "pull out" advertisement
i was intrigued by the photo
so i looked inside and found some wonderful shots
featuring 11 photographers
from alaska to new york
set out to capture the character of america
they have an amazing site and book
my favorite
(you can "skip into" to go to their photo page)
david eustace highway 50
joe fornabaio salon style
which i could relate to being a hair stylist
mary ellen mark ny festival in b/w
eric orgen michigan music
close to my hometown and some really
cool photos of bootsy collins and iggy pop
sylvia plachy spirit of the south and
richard renaldi the 49th state
they have also started a flickr page
for everyone to join in

blogging etiquette

OMG! i can't believe that i didn't notice this earlier
i started my blog almost a year ago
eventually i found one of the features-
have your comments e-mailed to you
convenient, especially for older posts that
i don't go back and check
my mistake, that i just notice today and feel like such a idiot,
was to simple hit reply, to answer someones comment
easy, i do it all the time
well, i just realized that some of these e-mails have a
return address of
so i have no ideas where my e-mail have been sent and
not sure who has gotten them?
so i would like to apologize
i promise not to make this mistake again
for some of my regular reader
leslie jane, irene, tess, jonaks, jennifer
(to name a few, who post all the time, which i greatly appreciate)
i have no excuse, i do have your e-mail address in my book
i've just been lazy hitting the reply button
please forgive me, sincerely, nancy


Wednesday, April 15, 2009

blending modes

just mindlessly playing
with one of my photos from my morning walk
the remains of an old house
i layered the same photo 5 times,
resizing and off setting each photo from the previous one
then changed the blending mode for each layer
and added a ttv to frame it





Monday, April 13, 2009

encaustic

what a wonderful class
turns out i was the only student of the day
which was great!
one on one with my teacher
of hag studio in the distillery
she has created a wonderful studio
with a great energyit was nice to focus on just a few pieces
patience, patience, patience
i need to quite my mind and learn this virtue
heather was a big help!
above, one of my photos ,
layered under layers of texture!
which i just love leaning how to create
applying , scraping, applying, heating, applying, carving
repeat several times
which was very therapeutic
i don't think i can wait 5 week for the next class
this is my new addiction!
thanks heather for such a wonderful class

Saturday, April 11, 2009

happy easter

Happy Easter

Thursday, April 9, 2009

you never know

everybody knows i love texture
no matter where i go
i have my little camera with me
i'm always taking shots of urban grunge,
above, from my last encaustic class
the hot plates we use to heat the wax
very cool texture
it's like finding a little work of art!
i couldn't plan this if i tried
you just never know what will happen
when you start playing with them in ps
some of my images work so
well with these backgrounds

i just inverted the background and added one of my
images of some grasses in my neighbours yard

an image of part of wooden barn door


more grasses



and my favorite
i added the watercolor filter to the background
and a scene from frenchmans bay
i wish i could do this all day!




Monday, April 6, 2009

encaustic

it felt a little strange not going to school today
i get used to a routine
i'm missing it already
this weekend i will be taking a one day workshop
(that will help)
working from home is a little messy
i had a few boards started
so all i really needed to do is find a photo to do a transfer

Sunday, April 5, 2009

one of a kind

it was a wonderful day!
wondering around the
"one of a kind" craft show
so many talented artists
it was hard to decide what to spend my money on
i could have bought something from everyone!
i did get a top from "if"
2 trees painted on glass by katherine o'mally greer
and of course some wonderful art cards
and a poof from my friend carmi
my favorite new artist
i just love her unique style
so original
amazing acrylic by
quirky characters by
i just love this purse!

the photo above was taken at the show
just as we walked in there was a display
of winged mannequins
it was the way the lights hit them
that made me stop and take a picture
i played with it in ps
added a filter and a background of
scrapbooking paper

Friday, April 3, 2009

april showers

april showers bring may flowers
yesterday was gorgeous
14 celsius that's 60 fehrenheit
(for toronto that's above average)
it gave me some time to wonder through my garden
and uncover what's growing under the fall leaves
it's so exciting to see my babies sprouting up
buds are forming on my lilac bush,
clematis and honeysuckle
i see bleeding hearts, sedum, chives, bee balm
shasta daisy and echinacea
my lilies and iris are 3 inches
looking through my garden journal
it inspired me to do some sketching
above, an iris
which after i scanned the sketch
i played with it in ps and
added some color


Thursday, April 2, 2009

soul awake

" hope is the dream of a soul awake"
a french proverb

 
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