The most important voice

~ Dream Boat, River Tay, Scotland ~

START CLOSE IN

Start close in,
don't take the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don't want to take.

Start with
the ground
you know,
the pale ground
beneath your feet,
your own
way of starting
the conversation.

Start with your own
question,
give up on other
people's questions,
don't let them
smother something
simple.

To find
another's voice,
follow
your own voice,
wait until
that voice
becomes a
private ear
listening
to another.

Start right now
take a small step
you can call your own
don't follow
someone else's
heroics, be humble
and focused,
start close in,
don't mistake
that other
for your own.

Start close in,
don't take
the second step
or the third,
start with the first
thing
close in,
the step
you don't want to take.

~ David Whyte, from "River Flow: New & Selected Poems"

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Found while walking

It's possible to determine the seasons here

by what is washing up on the beach.  The tides

bring oyster shells in early summer,

multitudes of itty bitty crabs

and the particular seaweed that prints red on cloth.

Driftwood is plentiful

bleaching & cracking like rough skin in the sunshine.

It's heaven for the dogs.  Quinn is exuberant over her stick-chasing swims

while Isla is content to quietly sniff every log

up and down the shoreline for as long and as far as you'll let her.

Simple pleasures

enjoyed while I beach comb.

A lovely poem flew into my mailbox this morning from American Life in Poetry.

Although referencing the other coast, there's a truth here

to be found on all of them ... and within all of us.

I thought you might enjoy it.

Strewn 

It’d been a long winter, rags of snow hanging on; then, at the end

of April, an icy nor’easter, powerful as a hurricane. But now 

I’ve landed on the coast of Maine, visiting a friend who lives

two blocks from the ocean, and I can’t believe my luck, 

out this mild morning, race-walking along the strand. 

Every dog within fifty miles is off-leash, running 

for the sheer dopey joy of it. No one’s in the water,

but walkers and shellers leave their tracks on the hardpack. 

The flat sand shines as if varnished in a painting. Underfoot, 

strewn, are broken bits and pieces, deep indigo mussels, whorls

of whelk, chips of purple and white wampum, hinges of quahog, 

fragments of sand dollars. Nothing whole, everything 

broken, washed up here, stranded. The light pours down, a rinse 

of lemon on a cold plate. All of us, broken, some way 

or other. All of us dazzling in the brilliant slanting light.

~ by Barbara Crooker

 : : :

photo processing notes:

images shot with iPhone

double exposure created with Diana Photo app

edited on an iPad with Snapseed & Stackables apps

copyright added online with PicMonkey

: : :

... and if you've ever dreamed about walking the entire coastline of the UK

have a peek over on Ruth's Coastal Walk blog.

She's just been to Rhossili Beach

and you will not believe the unspoiled beauty ....

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Tweaking ones perception

The possibilities are endless.

Whenever I begin the editing process, I just fly ...

rarely do I venture through with a preconceived notion of how an image should look

but rather

an aim towards a feeling or some sort of emotional response to the moments

of being there.

This quote by Ansel Adams remains one of my favorites:

You don't make a photograph just with a camera.

You bring to the act of photography

all the pictures you have seen,

the books you have read,

the music you have heard,

the people you have loved.

Here's another fine one, from the great street photographer, Elliott Erwitt:

To me, photography is an art of observation.

It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place ...

I've found it has little to do with the things you see

and everything to do with the way you see them.

When I stood next to this wall in my friend's garden, I literally had a gut reaction

to the armature of this vine.  I'd only ever seen it during the leafy months

when it's so covered with greenery the exquisite structure is hidden.

I immediately loved how it showed its age, how carefully tended & tied to the wall it was,

how gnarled, twisted, interwoven and even fragile it looked [ but wasn't ] ...

and later, working through the edit, I realized my response was also sparked by

a longing for other gardens I've known, or tended, elsewhere in the world

that I probably won't ever see again.

The bottom photo was the first edit & was yesterday's post on Instagram.  I thought

I was done.  But for some unknown reason I just kept playing ...

With the addition of a 4th app, my perception jumped into another realm entirely

and suddenly two symmetrical versions have added to the story

in quite unexpected ways.  Which, as it turns out, is

precisely in tune and apropos to my feelings about

that vine

on that wall

in that moment.

Memories can be fierce

even if they're buried and one hasn't thought of them in a long time.

: : :

I wasn't going to write a new post until I finalized a fresh blog layout.

HA!  so much for that idea.

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My tools

Work friends.  Ordinary objects and vials of pretties.

A collage from my week ...

simple things I can't live without.

:::


Photo mumbo-jumbo:
shot with DSLR
cropping & adjustments in Snapseed
antique effects added with Vintage Scene
final adjust & copyright added with PicMonkey

Joining in with the gang over at Kim's place for Friday Finds ...

lots of great stuff to be seen over there, go peek.

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Texture Tuesday ... from the bluff

     Where To

     Ignore the weathered pathway,

     the chiseled directions

     the far-off, fragrant promise.

     Ignore the wind

     your impeccable standards for safety.

     Ignore speed.

     Ignore

     the expectation of a handrail.

     Ignore the outlook,

     the voluptuous fantasy,

     the glossy, glimmered possibilities.

     Ignore your shoes

     the rip in your striped socks

     the small fissures of doubt or disappointment.

     This is where you are.

     This is the only place you can possibly be.

     Even if

     no one else is visible for miles

     and you want, more than anything,

     to stop the pending disaster of your legs,

     to surrender that piece of yourself that still hopes.

     Do not swivel from your purpose.

     Do not dash yourself against the sand, striking innocent driftwood.

     Do not turn around, back to the parking lot

     where your old car idles, leaking its silly, extravagant oil.

     Even when the sidewalk ends,

     there is a sea somewhere just beyond,

     waiting for you.

     ~ poem by Maya Stein

: : :

Linking up with Kim Klassen's 'Texture Tuesday' ... free & easy edition

Techie mumbo-jumbo:  image shot with DSLR, vintage look created

with Snapseed for Desktop;

added Kim's texture, framed.

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Hanging around for a long time

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Not just another toe walker ...

... hanging eight,
he's speedier than the dickens.

Cowabunga!

Mission accomplished.
This might also be called, chickadee-as-Ferrari.

Fooling around with mirror images ~
must be all the gray days making me positively loopy,
playing tricks with my imagination.
I used to live in San Francisco. Several days a week
I drove across the Golden Gate Bridge for work.
Can I help it if I see
commuter chickadees zooming through the bridge girders?

Life in the fast lane
when you weigh two ounces. 

Gee, aren't you glad you stopped by here today  ;>]]

: : :

For a fascinating look at some other digitigrades (toe walkers), sole movers, and toenail travelers

click HERE.

~ December views ~

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Serendipity with a single keystroke

My thought was to compose a lovely, ethereal tree photo for a Christmas post ...

The roast was cooking, the dogs were fed, a bottle of red

opened, poured and  emptying  being enjoyed.  And then came some spare minutes to play with photos.

This always works best when I have no preconceived notions of an outcome ... 

it's so much better that way (giving up control)

but I have to say, this happy accident 

takes the cake.

With one mistaken keystroke  this  popped up ...

my mind FLEW!

What had I done???

Here was a quilt of my tree,

a  mosaic,  tree-ness broken into thousands of pieces;

I saw a  graphic map  for intricate stitching,

maybe a pattern  sketch  for weaving cloth,

some  boro pieces  on a faded ground.

It was all of these things

and I had no idea how I got here.

This was the tree I was working on.

Tentatively, I began to hit the "undo" button

and traced backwards to see where I'd come from.

Then I began to wonder ... what if I try to make this happen again  on purpose?

Just some used twine from dyeing bundles this summer,

wrapped now around a new idea.

May serendipity lead us all astray.

  

~ December views ~

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Rising ...

... prayers

for Sandy Hook.

~ December views ~

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A few ways to listen ...

observing ...

remembering ...

studying ...

attending ...

Can you hear it?

It's change

and it is afoot ...

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One day

A perfect autumn morn;  still, warm-ish ... seamless

... until the sun appeared with her own side seam

highlighting an oceanographic hemline outside ...

right angle seams inside.

Not particularly seaworthy,

but my very finest emotional thimble.

Destination ...

your drifting days are over.

Smooth sailing over calm seas,

peace at the end.

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The weight of water ...

... might hold our dreams when we're landlocked

or frame our life when we don't swim

and although great tonnage can be moved by engines across its wide expanse,

silk floats effortlessly in a moonlit tide pool ...

: : :

Beyond Layers is having an Instagram-ish week.

This is my offering for the prompts  water  and  dreamy ...

multiple processing using Infinicam.

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Undressed in blue

Aside from the beaded inset around the yoke,

she's crafted entirely of dupioni silk ... head to toe, gusset to gusset.

Destined now to be ripped and shredded...

for she's headed to the dye pots.

A lucky thrift store find

and for a mere three dollars and fifty cents,

a most exquisite canvas for some plant magic, wouldn't you say?

: : :

Beyond Layers is having an Instagram-ish week

and todays prompt is something blue...

Alas, there will be no Instagram in my future (no cell phone reception down my driveway)

so I'll be participating in the " -ish " category.

Kim Klassen thinks of everything  ;>]]

Used one effect from Pixlr-o-matic & added 3 layers of Scratchcam.

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Bliss and grunge...

As it happens sometimes, I found myself playing around with some images

without any particular direction in mind
or intent...
other than, perhaps, the intent to avoid "pretty flower" photos.

Do you ever feel that way...unable to stomach one  M O R E  beautiful posy picture?

No offense meant, it's just that I need to be heading somewhere else at the moment...

away from literal and more towards how a scene *feels*...

Without a doubt my garden makes me feel blissed-out, especially at this time of year
near high summer, when all the plants are busting out of themselves in vegetative exuberance.
Then, there's all that late evening light
putting its own dramatic spin on what's going on out there...

but there's more to it and its hard to explain...

I add grunge (funny photo term) to what might be "a pretty scene" while I ask myself, why?  

What I realize is,

I'm doing the same thing with image making 

that I do with cloth and stitch and beads:

trying to tell a story.

And with any kind of storytelling,

sometimes it's just better to leave out some of the obvious.

There's a mini-revolution happening at the moment and although I'm not much of a "joiner," 

I'll readily admit to my voluntarily participation in the phone photography revolution.

I happen to think it is one of  the most  freeing

(as in, getting unstuck OR finding a way to express oneself in the first place) 

forms of creativity out there...so accessible to so many,

no rules, shoulds or shouldn'ts...

just a fantastic way to play with light and color and special effects that will

 rock your grandma right outta her traditional chair.

Here's a wee example of just how much change can happen...

This is a straight shot right from my phone camera.

No tweaking, no alterations of any kind.
High noon, hideous light, super contrasty...boring.

Here's (maybe) a not so boring interpretation with some vintage effects and old-timey blurs.
Leaves a little something to the viewer's imagination

and for now, that suits me just fine.

: : :


If you happen to be in a similar artistic mindset, may I suggest a worthwhile read...
Nicola Taylor wrote something today over on the Shutter Sisters blog
and her title sums it up splendidly:  on finding your own way...
Nicola left her career as a stockbroker and not believing she had any creative voice at all
made a life-changing discovery to the contrary.
In her words:
"It's one of those magical things that happens when you just let go
and allow the story to have an ending you didn't envision."
Read her heartfelt post  HERE.

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Interior motives

The best laid plans, as they say...except when it comes to mark making with plants

and other sundry items,

it might be best to put ones expectations aside.

Here is the outcome from  last week's science experiment...

Things were going along quite swimmingly with my idea to stuff two pieces of cloth

~ one, 100% silk, and the other 100% ramie ~

with identical ingredients:  red cabbage, fresh young bracken leaves, a spiral coil of copper wire.

The wrapped bundles looked promising when they first came out of their simmered cabbage "soup"...

that is, until I got the not-so-bright idea of dribbling a tiny amount of full-strength vinegar onto Bundle #1

(shown in its "before" state on the left, HERE)

aaaarrrrgggghhhh,  the whole thing immediately went  P I N K

and worse still,

bleached out every mark except for the copper spiral.

Since you never learn anything the second time you're kicked by a mule,

I decided to leave well enough alone...

Bundle #2 was put up to dry

and Bundle #1 was, well, put out to pasture?

In the meantime, a potful of gorgeous darkblueypurpley dye was still sitting there

and I couldn't bear to throw it away...what if...

so I tore the sleeve from a silky thrift store blouse, wrapped it around a chunk of driftwood 

with some rusty metal bits

and after a good stew overnight and five days rest,

the binding came off...

time, oh yes, time is your friend.

These are priceless words from a wise, wandering alchemist.

The driftwood soaked up quite a lot of color.  In fact, the cloth felt quite dry as I peeled it open

while the wood was still heavy from the moisture.

And it smelled like a big boiled cabbage, tah boot!

Dry down knocked that pink back to a pale lavender, but the blues stayed quite true.

The next thing that happened

reminded me of school days.  Ever try to use that line,

"Sorry teacher, but my dog ate my homework"?

True to her nature, Quinn ate my bundler.

But the "homework" was safe.

: : : :

Special thanks goes out to Dianne, who recently posted a series of photographs

from her time in San Francisco...all processed with the Snapseed app.

They are glorious and she inspired me bigtime ~ I used the app for this post.

Please go see her images HERE.

: : : :

To everyone stateside celebrating the 4th this week, Happy Independence Day all!

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