Card Challenge II

In addition to the print below, I'm considering this one as well. I've got a thing about Canadian Geese and I'm going for a Northwest Native American look. I am incorporating "Joyous" as a homage to the season. Again, just a test print....

Any and all feedback is appreciated!!!!!

Card Challenge

Yes, the title could be from my wife's blog, but this is a challenge I've gotten into. Actually, it's the first I've ever gotten into.....

Anyway, the theme is winter season. Winter in Southern California isn't exactly Currier & Ives for it's scenery. But, I know it's getting cold somewhere when I start to see Canadian Geese coming down for the winter. So, that's my theme and I'm sticking with it!

Right now, it's a 5x7 print. I'm thinking I'll ultimately use ochre or rust Akua Itaglio inks on a natural mulberry paper. ANY feedback would be appreciated!!!! The photo is a test print, not a proof.

The More Things Change, The More They Stay The Same

1000 years ago, an artist sat in front of a sandstone wall. You wonder what went through his mind (and I assume it was a 'he' as it was generally a shaman or the like).

Was he trying to touch spirituality; was he trying to leave a message; was it his magnum opus; was he a tagger?

My guess? He sat there, just like I am today, saying "Dammit, I just can't make it work....." So, if you're stuck on your project, remember, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Hopefully I can crest the creative hump and get busy creating!

San Diego

With school still out due to the fires, we drove down to San Diego for the weekend. If I had to live in a metropolitan area, San Diego would be it. Laid back, lots of great restaurants, a thriving arts and cultural scene, and plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities. We visited Sea World, Old Town San Diego, and Balboa Park (think Smithsonian's). We tried to get in to see the Dead Sea Scrolls, but it was pretty much sold out.

The culinary highlights included pumpkin pie gelatto, and a sandwich which had smoked turkey, fresh basil, tomatoes, gouda, red onion, cranberry mustard, and feta-cream cheese spread on a toasted whole grain bread. Yum!!!

Anyway, the picture is from the Botanical Gardens at Balboa Park. Not often that we all get to pose together!

National Park Series

So, with the family down at Disneyland, I had a chance to do anything I felt like doing. Soooo, I slept in (til 7:00am- late for me), drank a whole pot of french roast, rode my bike for about three hours, took a nap, surfed the Internet, ate leftovers right from the pot, watched football, drank a beer or three, and did some carving.

I picked through some photo's from Zion National Park and found one of the Great White Throne with the Virgin River flowing beneath it. This particular rock face towers nearly 2000' above the valley floor. It was a poor photo as far as exposure, but the composition was decent, so I took a shot. I'm pretty pleased. I think I like monochromatic efforts more than color.

Autumn

Autumn is my favorite time on the mountain. Despite the threat of forest fires, it still runs past other seasons for it's character and effect. Tourism seems to catch it's breath; tired from the summer visitors looking to escape the valley heat while quietly transitioning into it's winter persona for the snow.

Squirrels and woodpeckers scatter about in a manic frenzy to store fallen acorns and pine nuts, with blue jays screaming their encouragement. And the trees...... The dogwoods flushed with crimson hues, set against the dying golds of oaks and constant backdrop of evergreens and always in struggle to hold their flashy coat against the restless autumn breeze.

The air changes and sheds its heavy summer presence for a lighter, crisp feeling that invites you to breath in deeply. In all, it's like waking from a long afternoon nap, slightly groggy, but feeling energized and having the chance to see things with a renewed, if not fleeting, clarity.

So, I'll be out for a 3-4 hour ride on the bike today, enjoying the season. The photo was taken in Lone Pine, CA. last Autumn. Meanwhile, I'll leave the final word with a poem from Ernest Hemingway...

Best of all he loved the Fall

The leaves yellow on the cottonwoods

Leaves floating on the trout streams

And above the hills

The high blue windless skies

Now he will be a part of them forever