Wordless Wednesday (So Sleepy)

What a Day - Beginning new photos

I'm getting just a little bit ahead here with posting these photos. But not really because I worked to get a lot of new work finished for the past 2 weekend shows, but then ran out of time to take photographs of the new work. But I'm ahead in that I'm posting some of the photos here before I have the full photo spread finished to actually list these pieces in my shops...I should finish and list tomorrow, I hope.

Meanwhile, it was really a gray and gloomy day here, and I only had a couple of hours to get going on this "photo catch up" this morning before I had to hit the road to take care of some things. I was concerned that my existing light might also be a bit gloomy, so I tried moving a big mirror over to my photo area to intercept the window light and throw it back into my set up. It helped some, I think.

I'm really fascinated by how these clear crystal pieces...and there are several different ones still to finish...translate as if they were shot in black and white. There might be some pretty cool design possibilities here...to be continued! And this simple neck piece was designed to be worn from choker style to longer length, where the crystals begin to drape in a lovely "U" shape. There's a jet black version in the works...same shapes and design, very different effect.

I've also been back into making my signature pearl neck pieces, and this new one incorporates a spectrum of "brandy citrine" rondelles which range from deep brandy brown to pale yellow paired with very pale peach tinted natural pearls. I organized the citrine so that the deepest color is in the front ordered to the palest ones in the back. This piece is assembled on knotted, fine leather that I hand dyed in my effort to get more "browns" into my palette. While I do like the "ready made" brown leather that I use quite a bit...these hand dyed leathers do have a little more natural variation, which is also a nice contrast.

Finally, due to the chilly day, I turned around to find Red and Mariah looking just too cute as they cuddled in my big chair...and I love the contrast of the red and black. Kind of seasonal, aren't they?!

Rain Clouds or Rain Butt?

The past few weeks, several collisions of hot and cold air gave us some amazing storms here in the Midwest. In this sequence, a really heavy storm darkened the sky while we were pruning some trees and we quickly gathered the tools and took cover. The wind just exploded around us right after I took the top photo and we later heard that a tornado was spotted just northwest of the farm, but no damage was done, thankfully!

So thanks to intermittent rain showers, gardens and planters are still thriving, despite the cooler than average nights. But when the rains fail us, especially for watering planters and window boxes, a couple of "rain butts" capture the water that falls on the garage roof and keep it for later. Then, a handy spigot is used to fill the trusty old watering cans.

On another note, I wish my cat, Red, could take a few lessons from "Daisy the Curly Cat" about cooperating with my photo efforts. In the sequence I made chasing him around the deck, he deliberately avoided looking at me and my camera, not even once!! And he's not shy at all...just stubborn, I think, and not in the mood for the camera. Little stinker....