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i won! i won! i won!
my, oh so spectacular and expertly filmed, flip book was a winner in this week's whiplash competition sponsored by the wonderful folks at whip up!!!! i actually participate because it is fun and not to win, but, it turns out i like winning a whole lot too!!!
rock on!
several weeks ago julie suggested an art swap, to make make each other something and send it half way around the world. i said yes! i set the timing.... mail it by 20 may. ok, i am late, packaged it up a couple of days ago, but forgot to take pictures so i did that today and am resealing it all to take to the post office on tuesday - because monday is a holiday, and, the unofficial first day of summer...
i received my package from julie on tuesday the 23rd, because she was better - a lot better - about getting it in the mail on time....
we were both online when i opened it so it was sort of like we were together while i unwrapped the treasure.... conversation went a little like this...
j: You have to open it!!!!!!!!!! Together with me!!
s: ok, does that mean right now, or at the same time when you get mine from me!!!!!????
j: NOW!!!
s: you know, i have never received a package - or letter - from isreal[sic] before.... this is very exciting.
j: You're killing me here!!
s: i am pretty sure you know how excited i am ........ oh my god, this is SOOOOO cool
and it went on from there.....
these are the wonderful and beautiful things she sent....
isn't this the greatest??? and, to make things just a little bit better there are two anna's hummingbirds in the neighborhood and they feed at my feeder everyday.... and julie didn't even know!!!!
and finally, a little hint at what will be heading to israel soon...
i have been bad. i haven't been using the day light hours to my advantage. i am behind. i am in a bit of a panic. i am getting things done, but not as fast as i want. i owe phone calls, emails and apologies....shit.
but good things too. i just can't think of them right now.
am done with my backtack3 project, need to photograph and package it up so it can head to canada for cate!... here is a little peek.
this week is the sixth and final week for whiplash. i keep meaning to participate every week but things keep getting in the way, or... i don't finish them on time. however, this week i managed to come up with and idea and execute it within the time allowed . so, without further ado, i present...
my first ever flip book.... made with paint color samples and blobs and lettering that i sketched. then i scanned, colored and duplicated the sketches several times in photoshop and printed onto clear labels, cut them all apart and stuck them to the paint chips. it was fun, time consuming and worth doing again...
(a little hint: let the movie, playing time - 15 seconds, load entirely before hitting the play button)
[here is a link to download quicktime for free, in case you are having problems seeing the movie...]
i am not sure it will be obvious....!!!!, but it is also my first movie and my first posting of a movie...imagine a very cheerful song playing while you watch...
have a great and colorful weekend everyone.
when i was just out of high school i spent a month as an intern for a senator in washington dc. after lunch one day, a couple of my friends and i were walking through a park back to the office. we happened upon a squirrel that was looking like it was just waiting to be paid some attention. one of my friends bent over and held out her hand while clicking her tongue, trying to encourage the animal to come nearer. well, it did. it thought it was going to get a little treat, i think. when it got to her hand and realized she did[n't]* have any food, it bit her instead...! she shrieked, flung her arm up and around, all the while with the squirrel still attached to her index finger. it freaked, let go, flew a little through the air, landing against my leg with a thump before it fell to the ground and scurried away. the three of us stood there with our eyes bugged out. wondering. are you ok? can you believe that squirrel just bit you?? do you think it has rabies??? what should we do???? well, we decided to wait it out, that is what we did. you know, just like you would expect an 18 year old to do... she was still fine and well when we all went home three weeks later and as far as i know didn't develop any lasting consequences... i hope.
i am not a big fan of the squirrel, but i do admire their ingenuity. it is pretty amazing how strong their toes are, supporting their entire body weight while the animal hangs upside [down]** emptying my seed feeders. i have also had them in my attic, and one time while i was walking under a tree one peed on me... i am sure of it... and it stung! this one was eating as much of my sunflower seeds as he could stuff into his body. the little bastard.
*whoopsie - fixed at 11:53pm, 21 may 2006.....drats
**fixed that at 11:56pm, 21 may 2006....crap
birds. i love birds. and this year i have been pretty lucky to have several goodies in or near my back yard. i pulled out the birding scope to get a better look at this one. a cedar waxwing. there were three in the madrona in the alley. i think they are one of the most beautiful birds and i am not just a little excited to have them around here for the first time.
i also am loving this digital camera. until i had the blog i thought that a digital camera was cheating somehow. now, i am not thinking that so much. it is so great that i can take 97 pictures of a bird and look at them just minutes later. i do have some more things to learn, and the more i learn the more i think i need to know.
this shot was taken with the camera lens pressed up to the eyepiece of my telescope. i know there are tricks to achieving better results. one of the things i intend to figure out this summer is what those tricks are.
i have learned that if i want to have apples on my apple tree i have to take a walk around the neighborhood and pick blossoms from apple trees whose branches hang into the alley. i learned that particular lesson the hard way. one year i had what seemed like a million blooms on my small tree but later in the season... not one apple, NOT A SINGLE ONE. so every spring i make my rounds and collect blossoms with fat yellow stamens loaded with pollen and bring them back to my yard and carefully dust my few blossoms with my stolen booty.
a little history about the tree. it was a gift from a former 'friend'. he brought a tree home to espalier against the porch. i was hoping a nice heirloom variety, something special and interesting, maybe an apple that used to be a popular tree here in the northwest but that slowly grew out of favor, or even better, my favorite - the fuji.... instead, it is a red delicious.
ok, as it turns out, i have become quite fond of the thing. it has stayed small - with pruning - and the few apples i have managed to grow are pretty tasty. well, the ones that i have eaten have tasted great. chet seems to like them a whole lot, and so do the rats that run rampant through the city, and also through my yard.
i counted this morning - there is the possibility of 13 apples this year. of course, i will keep you posted on the progress of these 13, and on my farming endeavors. although, i might have already told of my farming endeavors - in their entirety, above... i am always quite excited during spring, when things are new, bright green and full of possibility. summer though, brings a bit of boredom with my plants - so here is hoping that my promise to document the apple crop will inspire me to water the tree as well.
there are a couple of babies going to be born in the family in a few months and it has inspired me to craft all things tiny and cute. i have sent quite a few of these little onesies to my sister and cousin already. i am going to offer this one and eight others for sale at my etsy shop. then, i am going to go downstairs to the pit my studio and do some work. the weather is absolutely spectacular here, the birds are singing and tempting me to go outside and play. i have too much to do though, so i will eat lunch and dinner outside and enjoy the beautiful spring day that way.
i found some negatives several years ago, had them processed and this was in the bunch. me and my mother. she is a great and wonderful woman. happy mother's day.
i love you mom.
first i had to prime these stairs. and once i did i realized i was using a oil based primer so i had to wait and entire day to paint.
so here it is painted... i was right about the rain, except that it started about 7 minutes before i was actually done painting. i am going to pretend that i don't care that there are some water spots on a few of the surfaces. after all, in a couple of days they will be all but invisible. it has been so long since they were not losing some paint that it is strange to walk outside and see nothing but blue, strange but nice. next job, scrubbing the steps of their crud.
a collaboration with the futuregirl!
plates & forks
hazel marcella