Rock Pick, Area 5

This is an old photo and I wanted to give it new life and try out some different framing ideas. This picture was taken several years back but the wabi sabi Rock Pike/Hammer is still around someplace on the property. If you want one there are several being offered on eBay but they don't have this nice rust.

The summer is almost gone and I feel the excitement of returning to school. eSchool that is. I will be taking a photography class with Carol Leigh in late September so maybe that will give me a kick in the pants to embrace my camera. 

This next weekend I start a class "Experiments in Collage" and e course with Randel Ploughman who is also the author of the "Collage Workbook". I am not quite ready to get my hands dirty with glue and paint but I have cleaned out the outdoor studio formerly belonging to my late husband (sorry Marty) and will initiate that space with some hands-on collage. I am so spoiled by using Fusion 4000 as my adhesive. It is a heat process and very clean. I need more backgrounds to feed the digital urge so nothing will be lost.  Food for the scanner and maybe the camera.

My joy is in the learning.

Tea House Door Latch, Area 6

Cloudy, rain threatening. The Tea House is secured by this piece of bent metal. A true example of Wabi Sabi right in my back yard. Does it need painting? Probably, but it is just getting good. Have I used it as a tea House recently? No, but it still has the tatami mats and my neighbor wants to have a tea ceremony this fall. Yes!

I have been cleaning out and rearranging my studio to accommodate the use of a tripod more easily. What to give up or move out is a bit of a quandary. I am going to take a class with Carol Leigh this fall and my current attempts at High Key Photography have been very poor indeed. Check out her site for inspiration.

http://carolleigh.blogspot.com

Envelope Circa 1943

My how time flies. I have had a lot of company and it was good seeing old friends. Now I will try to post more frequently.

Ephemera from Area 15 in the Amt Dig Site.  Love this grungy envelope. I found it with glue stains really dark in color. The glue had burned the paper with it's acidity. It was an empty envelope so the stains show through to the front also.

"Reach...Beyond Your Head..."

This collage began with a juxtaposition of two paper scraps. I first think of them as horizons. I really don't think they need a subject but it adds to the challenge.

"Cancelled" and Bulletin Board Collage

I still return to my pile of wabi sabi paper scraps for therapy. I have been away from this blog site so I am catching up by posting these two scraps. The top collage background is a 1655 map of old London. I have a 1864 reproduction of it that I scanned in to use in this collage. The bottom collage is a photograph of papers on my bulletin board.

To frame or not...?

I been mulling over all the Flickr changes with their new Format that began the end of May and I have been trying to like it. One of the things I could not learn to like is when one goes to a page the overview line up of pictures looks messy to me because they are separated by small border. I haven't found a way to override the size of the border so I am considering adding a frame around each pic to give each a space to breathe. Carol Leigh has been doing this forever and was kind enough to share some info on her frame technique. So these are similar pictures with different formats. If you go to the Flickr site you will see it posted.

PS  Carol Leigh has just announced a new class. "Mini-Developing Your Creative Edge" photography class. Carol gives excellent critiques.

Starts September 29,  4 assignments over 6 weeks.

 http://shop.carolleigh.net