Category Archives: art

Will, Framed by Paint the Moon

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These wonderful frames are a free download as one of the many delights that come with Liking the Paint the Moon’s fun, friendly Facebook Page. I wanted to try them out and, loved them so much I had to write about them right away. (Ok, I should have photo edited my photographs before putting them in those lovely frames but I will just have to learn that part next!)

I found the Paint the Moon site (that offers Photoshop Actions and Textures) after I stumbled upon the wonderfully charming blog Dear Button by the multi-talented mama Annie Manning. Both sites are filled with eye candy and are vibrant communities that are pleasure to be a part of.

Please go check out these wonderful sites. Annie’s love of life, her family and, making the world an even more beautiful place is a gift for us all. Enjoy, and be inspired!

http://paintthemoon.net/

http://www.facebook.com/paintthemoonphotography

http://dearbutton.wordpress.com/

Pregnancy Photos

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It has crossed my mind to have some artful photos taken of my pregnant body. The question is: clothed or unclothed… or partially clothed.

Then there is the fact that most times when people take my picture I get uncomfortable. Camera shy sums it up. But I must admit, I love it when pictures of me come out great. Unfortunately most times I just end up looking awkward because I feel awkward. Sigh.

Billy said to me “this is a really beautiful time for you” and suggested that we hire someone to take photos of me (without knowing that I too had thought about this). I didn’t hire anyone because I felt bad spending the money and I don’t know if any good ones would come out of it on account of the awkwardness I spoke of.

I have tried to take my own with the camera set on a timer. I haven’t downloaded them yet because what if they didn’t come out very well? Well, if they didn’t I will just try again. You see, I fancy myself as a amateur photographer and would love to get this deed done myself. I would feel accomplished, and richer.

Barcelona: Art & Dance

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It seems as if Barcelona is in my world this hour…

In the last hour I have conversed with Etsy seller and artist LOEY who was gracious enough to let me use her photograph of her beautiful necktie in the post just prior to this one. I just found out that she used to live in my neighborhood but she currently resides in Barcelona.

After finishing up posting Loey’s picture I turned to Current TV to find a link that I told my brother that I would send him. And would you believe I got sidetracked and came across a video created by a viewer (VC2 a.k.a. viewer created content) about a flamenco dancer who it turns out is also from Barcelona.

The video I watched made me think of my dear friend Eliza, also a flamenco dancer, who recently went to Spain to further her flamenco studies. I kept imagining a video about her and her art. She is amazingly beautiful and talented. It gave me visions of filming a pod for Current TV. I don’t know when I will have time to do such a thing, but I like the inspiration that surrounds me.

Using Word Press As A Website

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I am intrigued by the idea of using a WordPress as the building blocks for a website. I have only scratched the surface. I have begun building a WordPress site for my dancer friends Julia and Jenny (of Portland, Oregon) so that they can get the word out about their art. They are The Joe Cocker Dancers. Here are the beginnings of their site.

So far I have played around with very basic layout, design and content. I need their help to get the content in place and Billy is helping me learn how to make it into a cohesive site. Billy manages my blog site, MaternityShare, so creating Julia and Jenny’s blog/site is novel to me. And, theirs will have a different purpose in that it will be promotional as well as informational and will be set up to look and function more like a traditional website.

I customized the long retangular header for them so that it wasn’t stock photo that came with the WordPress template but rather an image of them in costume. Billy and I collaborated on this photo in photoshop. It is not a finished product as I want to get their feedback on the look and feel before investing more time into its creation. I need to learn how to customize visuals so that I can choose the shape and size of the images. Perhaps we will find a way to incorporate more of the original image (see image below).

Next steps:

  1. buy a domain name then have it point to their WordPress page.
  2. get Julia and Jenny set up as site administrators so they can add and edit content.
  3. get input from the J&J about visuals and layout.
  4. have J&J create and collect content so we can flesh out their site.

Baby Super ‘Stine

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My Mom sent me this baby picture of me yesterday. I am running around in my dad’s shirt and looking very pleased about it.

I am attempting to restore this picture in Photoshop but have come across some difficulty with the biggest flaw that runs across my noggin. Once I am done I will post my results. I have done simpler repairs in Photoshop. This one will definitely challenge me and help grow my skills.

(You can click on the image to see a larger version.)

Create A Photo Wall

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We have this long, quite nice, concrete wall that spans our hallway that we wanted to adorn. We don’t have the means to put pins or nails in the concrete but we did notice some points in the wall that we could run some string on and create a place where we could display a multitude of images. We used small wooden clips (a mini version of clothes pins) to hold the pictures on the string. It is easy to change out, add or, move any of the pictures.
Project cost: $3 for the mini clothes pins bought a craft store, the string was virutally free.

I recenly saw a Photojojo project that is another version of a photo wall Bulldog Clips + Photos = Stylish Photo Wall. They suggest variations you can take to customize it for you.

This is a more complex project with the simple way or, a more complicated way. But its a fairly cheap project: $60 for a lot of photo displaying real estate. It was inspired by a theater who displayed cast bios and other information on little boards.

Get out your photos and enjoy them! Try one of these ideas or, invent your own.

i heart etsy

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I’m totally fascinated with Etsy (www.etsy.com).

In the words of Etsy:

Etsy is an online marketplace for buying & selling all things handmade.

Our mission is to enable people to make a living making things, and to reconnect makers with buyers.

Our vision is to build a new economy and present a better choice:

Buy, Sell, and Live Handmade.

Watch the “about” video to see a bunch of spirited, creative people tell the little Etsy story.

Billy introduced me to Etsy in January of 2008 and I have been visiting their site on and off since. I spend about as much time (maybe more) reading their articles as I do looking at people’s Etsy shops.

And, recently I discovered the Etsy videos… these made me fall in love with them even more. They have this style that is raw documentary meets inspired, thoughtful, and creative.

One video that I really enjoyed (I’ve watched it twice) was about this guy who creates t-shirt designs from the stuff of his dreams. He is a self-made, passionate artist who makes a living at what he does. His beginnings seemed grim but he persevered. Me: inspired! Watch his little video portrait.

Recently I discovered that my friend Kirsten Moore of Portland, Oregon is a seller on Etsy. Her company is called piper ewan. Her stuff is so divine that they even did a feature on her! Visit her blog post “written up” to find out who’s writting her up now.

And finally, I will leave you with a short Etsy article on Guerilla gardening. This is something that Billy and I have talked about doing. The author has some inspired ideas. Although, I would test the soil quality if you plan to eat your crop.

Etsy walks the talk. They have really created a great community, not only online but in person as well. People meet up and exchange ideas, teach skills, and the list goes on.

I look forward to eventually becoming an Etsy seller myself!

11 year old girl interviews seasoned author Neil Gaiman

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I was reading up a bit on Scott McCloud today. He is a comic book artist and theorist.

He went on tour with his family from September 2006 to September 2007 to promote his latest book Making Comics. Toward the end of their tour, his daughters, Winter and Sky, video interviewed author Neil Gaiman. Neil wrote the comic The Sandman, the children’s book (and a movie soon to be released) Coraline, and Stardust (book and movie). Being a long-time fan of Neil’s and having enjoyed Scott’s book Understanding Comics I thought I would have a look. The video was cute and it made me laugh, it even inspired me. I love watching and being around people who are living fully. It was neat to see a playful production and the interplay between an 11 year old girl and Neil. I found it refreshing. You can watch it as well as other interviews done by the McCloud family at Comic Book Resources.