memorial moment

driving home from work one day this week i pulled into an old rambly, hilly cemetery. it was very spur of the moment. i generally only take photos on sunny days. this was a drizzly cool day, a perfect day to ramble in a graveyard.



the cemetery was deserted, quiet and quaint. small, old headstones were dwarfed by larger and newer ones. many wore cloaks of blackish green moss and tilted sideways from years of fighting the forces of gravity on a hilltop. the names and dates, once exact and distinct, have faded to almost secret messages.


and, so i walked and wondered and shot to my heart's content. the drizzle didn't stop me. the lack of sun and shadow did not deter. i found beauty there, a solace from the world if only for a moment.

have a wonderful weekend, all!

images

tic tic tic
images click
cerebral overload
super slow mode

constant opportunity
visual acuity
seeing past the obvious
reality oblivious

nature's treasure
sensual pleasure
enhancing detail
magician's veil

glorious light
colors of twilight
call my name
call my name



breaking boundaries
photography frees
spirit soars
happy encore

hint of yesterday
lingers every day
girl at play
here to stay

carefree travel
creative unravel
soulful sojourner
hopeful learner

images hint
only a glimpse
the me in me
and who i'll be

all images and words (c) 2009 julie king

she journeyed far

she journeyed far
mixed media
8 x 12 x 3/4 canvas
(c) 2009 julie king

i posted this piece as a work in progress a couple of days ago. here it is finished. it is the first time i've ever attempted to paint a portrait. i used shiva paint sticks which i loved and i was very pleased with how it all turned out. i've long admired the work of kelly rae, martha lever, jenn, flor larios, julie and so many others who do amazing work with faces. i'll admit, faces intimidate me. i was convinced that i could never do it. but, i finally pushed those negative thoughts to the side and had fun with it!!

the copy on the piece reads "she journeyed far to become herself". isn't that truly what we're all doing? every laugh, every tear, every relationship, every step we've taken in all our years have led us to the person we are today. i think the girl looks like she's lead a very interesting life and has wisdom beyond her years. she knows who she is but is till on her journey and her quest to live life to the fullest.

i photographed the collage with this set of dishes from grandma julie's treasure chest. i attended an estate sale with my folks about 17 years ago. i was single at the time and raising my kids alone. needless to say, i didn't have a ton of money to spend on frivolous things. my dad saw me admiring this set of dishes and when they came up for bid he bought them for me.


the markings on the bottom say "heinrich & co. selb, bavaria". they belonged to my friend diana's mother. diana called them her mom's every day dishes. at the time of the sale diana had no interest in the dishes and placed them in the sale. recently i contacted her to ask if she didn't want them back. she had a granddaughter now and i have a feeling she may appreciate having these one day. i know i would want my granddaughter to have them if it was me. so i'm posting photos now as one day soon i will pack them up and return them to the family they belong with. it's the right thing to do. i will miss them, though.

off to the art table to have a bit of fun! have a great evening!!

let me bloom

let me bloom
mixed media collage
8 x 10 x 3/4 solid aspen
(c) 2009 julie king

you may have noticed that i've not posted any new art work lately. i've been thinking about being creative, wallowing in a bit of a creative slump and pretty much just tuckered out. vacation did seem to reenergize my artistic spirit a bit and i spent some time in the art room over the weekend. i had 3 goals on saturday: 1) reuse some old canvasses and boards 2) break out of my comfort zone 3) have fun. the above piece is a discarded collage i didn't like except for the bluish purple background. i collaged over the icky part from before and i like it now. i then took a photo and used photoshop to add the text. it was really fun to make!




this one is a work-in-progress and my first attempt at "painting" a portrait. it is another old canvas that i collaged and painted over, added some rubber stamp images to and then used white gesso to paint the background for the face and neck. then i used my shiva paintsticks (love, love, love these. OMG!!) to paint the face and hair. the paint sticks are oil so it is a slower process than i'm used to while i wait for the first layer to dry but i'm liking the girl very much. more soon on how she progresses.


another repurposed canvas. i've added a few coats of paint and am still exploring my creative options on what to do next and what will bloom on this canvas.

i'm off for a bike ride and then to pull a few weeds. i'll probably check in on mama robin and mama duck as well.

shadow shot sunday #3

short and sweet today! i couldn't resist taking another photo or two of the lovely tulips i borrowed (hee hee) from my neighbor's yard. click here for full story on that! i'm back to the art pieces i started yesterday. i'm having fun, fun, fun!

be sure to bop over to hey harriet's blog to see all the shadow shots from last week.

nesting

happy saturday everyone! it is sunny and nice although a bit cool here in ohio today. while working in the art room this morning i noticed a robin flying past the window into the front door alcove of our house. hmmmm, i thought, what is she up to? so i crept toward the front door and while peeking out the vertical side windows i could see her tail feathers sticking up out of my front door wreath. further investigation and major stealth revealed that she is indeed nesting in my lovely spring bird nest themed wreath.


and, she is caring for these cute little birdies. i'm not sure if there are 2 or 3 but they are quite small. unlike her nest, which is quite large and tilting at a precarious angle on the front of the wreath. when she sits in the nest, i wonder how she is able to stay in. which or orse makes me worry that the little ones will not be as lucky as they grow.


the nest is like 5" deep with several layers including one that looks to be made of mud. i wonder how she was able to anchor the weight of it to the wreath. i do understand her attraction to the area. the alcove sits back under a roof, is protected from the wind and also gets a good deal of sun late in the day. the only time we use the front door is when we have pizza delivered or fed ex arrives. mama robin is happily secluded and nurturing her young.



her are mama and papa duck in our back yard. i snapped this photo after noticing that they were splashing in a puddle in the back flower garden. i guess it is the closest thing to a pond in our yard. we do have a large neighborhood pond across the road where papa idles away his time while mama sits on the nest. he arrives every morning bright and early to escort mama over to the pond and he does the same in the evening.



other than these twice daily breaks, mama spends her day and night minding the family brood in this nest under our asiatic day lillies in the front flower bed. she looks quite calm in this photo but believe me she was puffing herself up and making hissing noises by the time i was able to focus and snap the photo.

that's it for today from the king aviary sanctuary. i'm working on some new art pieces i hope to share soon.

covet thy neighbor's tulips?

sadly we have an empty house across the street from us. the family that lived there moved out over a year and a half ago; the house sits lonely and forlorn and i'm sure wishing for a loud, loving family to move in sometime soon. lovely landscaping adorns the front of the house, including a large beds of tulips. last year around this time i secretly coveted the gorgeous blooms from my kitchen window. there were several shades of pink from blush to peppermint to deep rose plus a gorgeous red!

as i left for work this morning, i noticed that all the tulips had burst into bloom. what a glorious picture they painted against the somber gray of a rainy morn. so what do you think i did in a steady rainfall when i got home this afternoon??!! if you guessed that i picked a big bouquet of those tantalyzing tulips, you are 100% correct! i threw on my raincoat and grabbed my kitchen shears and marched right across the street and helped myself to a large bouquet. okay, okay, if i'm being 100% honest, i cut enough to fill both of the vases shown in this post.

am i feeling guilty? yes, a tad. am i sorry i did it? no way! they fill my heart with joy every time my eyes light on them and i rationalize that i saved them from a very early rain and wind-induced death. hopefully, my crime spree is over and i can be a good girl again for a while. but wait! my mind is thinking hhhhm, i'm pretty sure that same house has a gorgeous rose garden in the back yard. uh oh!!

capricious

while strolling thru an outdoor shopping mall in destin i caught sight of this young lady posing in the window of a shop. when we approached she skitted away from the window, giggling with her little friend. as we passed, she resumed her model pose. i eased back into her view and signaled with my camera "may i take your photo?" she gave a cute little shoulder shrug and nodded yes. many words pop into my mind when i see this photo -- capricious, carefree, whimsical, spontaneous, confident, bold, flirtatious. how about you? would you do this? how daring are you? what is the silliest extroverted thing you've ever done?

to the anonymous girl in the window -- you go, girl! keep that carefree, daring, fun-loving spirit alive for years and years to come! and, when you're 56, you can look back at your life and say i lived an abundantly rich life filled with laughter, creative independence and enough smiles to keep my spirit soaring!! spread your wings and fly!

unencumbered

back from vacation rested and a little bit tanned. we had a wonderfully relaxing time. i am bummed that most of the photos i took did not transfer over to my mac properly yesterday and i threw them away off the memory stick in my camera before i realized it. i'm saddened but taking it in stride.

we arrived at our rented condo in the early afternoon on saturday. we talked about going down to the beach for a stroll but i suggested we just take a little nap. the windows were open letting in a wonderful sea breeze. the sound of waves crashing and children playing welcomed me. streams of sunlight filtered thru the slatted wooden blinds as they can only do in a tropical setting. as i lay my head down on the pillow gone were the worries of meeting the next deadline. gone was the need to rush around and perform a household task. a feeling of total ease washed over me. and the word unencumbered popped into my mind. yes, i was unencumbered in a way one can only be while on vacation. and it was heaven.

worry washed away
as children played
sea gulls floated
in a gentle sway
surf crescendoed
a lullabye
sleep descended
gentle sigh

seeking

seeking sunshine
and a salty spray
peaceful moments
time to play

seeking laughter
and a sandy walk
lots of sea shells
time to talk

seeking solace
on a deserted shore
creative renewal
spirits soar

i'm on hiatus from blogging for a week or so.
i'll catch up with all of you then.

bunny house

oh, no -- my secret is out!!!! i'm NOT crafty at everything. i bought this bunny house kit for jenna for easter. friday morning she and i assembled it together. i pretty much sucked at it and jenna, well, jenna was too busy eating the candy decorations to really care how the house looked. the icing kept running and the candy house tiles kept sliding off onto the table. it sure didn't look like the picture on the box!


once i got my chance to hold baby ben while his mama took a shower, jenna was on her own to squirt the icing over every free area of the house. i was happy to see her express her creativity. little miss independent was a happy camper!


and, here's baby ben's adorable new tennies! he's such a sweet, sweet baby and nothing makes me happier than cuddling him and singing him a little lullaby!

busy week as i try to get things done at work so i can be on vacation next week. a sneak preview tomorrow of where we're going (again).

grandma's orange dish

this week's treasure chest features a somewhat mysterious item. i call it the orange dish; i believe that my daughter once inserted the word "ugly" into her description of it as in "why did you pick that ugly orange dish?" my mom has an assorted variety of dishes handed down to her from all sides of her family. a couple of years ago she put a few dozen pieces out and asked each of us girls to select a piece. as you know, i love orange so this was a natural pick for me.

i know that this dish belonged to my mom's grandma johnson. i never knew her and don't even know her name off the top of my head. i've tried to figure out what year she might have been born. mom was born in 1926 and her dad in 1904. his mom might have been born around 1884. how did she get this piece? was it a gift? did her husband buy it in a fancy emporium in the city and bring it home as a surprise? i wonder if her granddaughters oohed and aahed over it hoping that one day it might be theirs.




the dish is separated into two sections. and although both the dish and the lid are quite worn in places, it is in remarkably good shape. i love all the little crackles all over the finish. i wonder what great-great grandma johnson served in this dish. was it a daily vessel for serving vegetables or only brought out for special occasions?

almost all of the old family pieces have labels hand-written by my mom. this one says "belonged to joyce's gr johnson dish & lid". the only marking on this dish is the made in japan on the bottom. the little stacked feet on the bottom are adorable. i've never used this dish but it has a special place in my china cupboard. and, megan, ugly is in the eye of the beholder. maybe you'll get to inherit this piece one day. hee hee

shadow shot sunday #3

two heads are better than one

skeletal tree burned by the sun

whimsical play of shadow and light

sunny yellow cheerful sight

shadows chase us as we go

filigree leaves delicately grow

zip zag shapes a contrast make

line of trees not quite opaque

image broken into pieces

the lore of the west never ceases

ebony bench shaped like the moon

very tall man makes a balloon