catching up ...

  This was my acrylic pens redo from a weekend or so ago.  I don't like the reflection of the flash on the plastic in the frame, but it was the only way to get the colors to pop and show what they really look like.  I guess I could photograph it out of the frame, but that would involve too much thinking on my part at present.

  I do like the acrylic pens much better than the others I was trying to work with at the class.  These do not require shaking or priming, so there is less chance of a huge splat of paint where I didn't want it.  And they are double ended with a thick end and a thin end.  The others you needed to pull out the nib and flip it, which I already had visions of me getting paint all over my hands, face, clothes, etc., etc., etc.  If there is a way for me to make something messy, I will find it.

  I was going to try to salvage my original canvas with mixed media/textiles on the original background, but that didn't work out as planned.  The bag of chenille yarn fell into a water bowl and got soaking wet, and without fully thinking it through I just tossed all the skeins into the dryer.  When the dryer stopped, instead of having five dry skeins of chenille yarn... I had a massive knot of five different colors.  At least it all came from the dollar store and wasn't a massive investment to put in the trash.

Source: allaboutbirds.org

  I did put out some bird seed in advance of temperatures dropping drastically and was rewarded with a new bird for my life list.  The [link>] Black-throated Blue Warbler!

  Stay warm ... or cool if this is your summer in the Southern ...

                         Hugs.... Ci 💚

weekend ...

 The craft class I attended on Saturday was interesting.  My project was a huge failure (in my opinion anyway), and I'm not sure I have the patience for the technique.  At least on canvas that has been painted already with acrylic paint.  I kept running into problems with the pens getting gunked up with color transfer from the base layer.  That made the pens frustrating to work with because my subject matter ~ male and female Io moths ~ required several layers of color to make them the brilliant yellow that they have on their wings.

  I've ordered some acrylic paint pens and scrapbook paper that looks like the original base paint layer (see the grass under the ladybug).  I'm going to try it again on a less fussy surface.  AND try to practice patience and mindfulness so that I'm not rushing to get it finished.  I think if I'd not left Charlie home alone, or had other plans later that evening, I would have been content to take the time there to let each layer dry completely.  

  Patience is a virtue.  Just not mine.

   Yesterday I mowed the yard, marveled at a Gerber daisy, and decorated my October tree.  The latter two came after I realized I had pushed myself too hard.  I am nothing if not stubborn.   Hopefully, it will be the last time I need to mow this year.

   A new hurricane is barreling down on the western shores of Florida again.  Tis the season...

... be safe, don't be stubborn ... Ci💚

sunday ...

 ... was a no sun day.  Storm Helene is bouncing back again with rain over the next several days.  She added a leak in my roof that has caused two leaks/holes in my living room ceiling.  Oh, the joys of home ownership!

  Saturday morning, I took a new class here locally at the [link>] Alleghany Highlands Arts and Crafts Center. Painting on feathers taught by [link>] Ron Navroski.

  The snowy owl is on a turkey feather, and the palm tree (our practice one) is on a cockatoo feather.

  He also taught a later class, painting the snowy owl on a piece of slate, that I did not attend.

  One of the things that attracted me to move here is the art community.  There is also the [link>] Clifton Forge School of the Arts.

  Friday after work, I finished this project.  I saw something similar but was not able to master the technique so I kinda sorta cheated with a stencil.

  Then I finished this project Saturday night (insomnia again).  It was something I've been wanting to do for a while, but writing on birch bark is easier said than done.

  I finally gave up and just printed the poem on paper.  It's one of my new favorites.

  Wishing you sunny days ... Hugs, Ci 💚

time passes far too quickly ...

 I've been horribly lax on following through with my Wednesday words and story.

  I feel I may just be a little bit melancholy, although I can't pinpoint a specific reason. 

  Both kittens passing may have been the trigger.

  Last week I went to see the neurosurgeon about my neck, and thankfully, no surgery is in the future.

  Charlie spent several nights away with his other besties, and so when he came home on Sunday, he just wanted to sit and snuggle and do nothing else.  I gave no argument.

  Insomnia has been plaguing me for some reason, and I'm not sure why.  Last night ... or rather this morning ... I could not sleep until almost 4a.  It makes getting up for work at 7a difficult.  Over the weekend, I was awake for 48 straight hours and had agonizing heartburn for the last 24 after I gave in and made coffee in the middle of the night after the first 24.  I will never make that mistake again.

  The besom/broom was a project during those 48, with another over the back door.  As I tend to do when I'm in a mood, I try to craft my way out of it.  There are three other projects that I started that same weekend, and I will share photos later when I've finished them.

  My menagerie of "neighbors" continues to become even more varied.  Black bear, possum, groundhog, squirrel, rabbit, black snake ... and now my two-legged neighbor stated she saw a rather large beaver shuffle running down the road in front of my house and into the creek.  She was also the witness to the black snake in the yard while she did me the blessing of mowing my weeds.  I would have loved to see both the snake and the beaver!

  She also enlightened me on an unusual snake fact that I did not know... Copperhead snakes, which are a venomous pit viper, smell like cucumbers!  She said if I ever let Charlie out in the yard and smell cucumbers, to bring him in right away because he would probably not survive a bite by the time I got him to a vet.   Which is an unfortunate distinction for them because I love cucumbers, especially home-grown ones!  But I will not grow them now out of fear of confusing a snake for my tiny garden area.

  Trees are beginning their fall color change although the temperatures have not yet cooled significantly.  This week we have been getting the rain of tropical storms and hurricanes, currently Helene is threatening my old stomping grounds on the Florida panhandle, and I do not envy them.  Mexico Beach, devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2016, could be hit again, and at the very least suffer from a storm surge of 15+ feet.  I cannot even imagine it.

  Wherever you are while reading this ... be safe.  Hugs, Ci  💚