Granny Square

Granny's square scan (crochet)
West Odessa, Texas. Jan 21, 2011

Didn't get around to taking a photo today. So instead I scanned! I'm working on a spring coverlet for my bed, not too gaudy, but cheerful.

Where Have I Been?

Oh, where have I been? My head has been in the clouds!

I've been in my studio — aka the office, aka the craft room, aka the junk room — painting. Painting, a lot. And painting just about anything that seems fun to me. These all are acrylics, sometimes added collage elements, sometimes a touch of color pencils, on 8"x8" MDF panels.

I'm building up an inventory for opening an etsy shop.

I Got Ink

"Forever Love" 5"X 5" acrylic on canvas by Debi Cates

No, none on my body. This is a prototype of some tattoo-inspired pieces I'll be painting to sell at our local seller's corner for Valentine's Day.

This reminds me of my Dad's tattoo. He got it back the day when only sailors got inked. He was 19 years old, in the Navy, in the Phillipines. And it doesn't take too much to assume he had probably partied pretty hardy during some shore leave. He had just the one, classically located on his upper arm, a heart with a ribbon going across it, my mother's name on the ribbon.

Misspelled.

Oh, Dad. If he were alive, I'd call him up Sunday morning and tease him unmercifully about that.

Apples and Oranges

...
Hedge apple, aka osage orange, and a bunch of other names, including monkey brains. Ew.
Latin name Maclura pomifera, native to North America
December 3, 2009
West Odessa, Texas

In spite of their fruity name, these "apples" or "oranges" are not edible!

I nabbed them from the sidewalk in front of a neighbor's house. I was seriously hoping that none would fall from the trees while I was out collecting because they are big and heavy. If they landed just right could probably knock a person out. I wanted to try drying them like I remember my own grandmother doing back when I was a kid. I don't recall what Grandma ended up using them for, but me, I'm thinking they'd be lovely in a garland for my Christmas tree this year. Every year I have a theme. This year my tree is going all natural -- in spite of the fact that my tree is fake.

I thought I'd write a bit about the process, although there is not all that much to it.

The exterior is a bit sticky and whatever the sticky stuff is takes a goodly amount of soap and a little scrubbing to remove from surfaces like my cutting board and knife. The fruit center is very fibrous and hard to slice through, causing me to lament having sold my electric knife in a garage sale. With persistence, though, I learned to cut a little, then rotate the hedge apple in order to get the most uniform slices. When done, I rinsed the slices because it oozed white stuff. Turns out, that stuff is a form of latex, so those with sensitivities wouldn't want to try this.

I think my grandmother must have used her oven on a low heat to dry them, but I have this stackable dehydrator and find it very convenient.

While drying, some slices will form a cup shape which is quite pretty. I don't know why that happens, but wish I could force the shape -- the dried cupped shape on a wire stem would be beautiful in a seasonal floral arrangement.

There you have it, everything I know about drying osage oranges, aka hedge apples.

Wildberries collage

(click to see larger)
"Wildberries" collage
April 2009, Debi Cates

Mom and I did some collages when I was there visiting. She liked my idea of putting collage supplies in a hard-side briefcase that I picked up at a yard sale. Done collaging? Put supplies back in. Close the case. Mess gone.

About the wolf spider hole post of yesterday, the hole is about the size of a U.S. quarter, or about an inch in diameter. Around here wolf spiders build turrets around the top of their holes, apparently to keep rain out. Usually, though, their turrets are just dried grass and sometimes pebbles. Not usually as decorative the one I photographed. In other places, wolf spiders have little round plugs that they "close the door" with.

No news on the bones yet. Will keep you posted, though. We'll give it a couple of weeks before we call and make a nuisance of ourselves. (My friend Donna hopes it is a baby Big Foot hand. Me too!)

Mom's Birthday Gift

Coiled yucca basket, Debi Cates 2009

It's taken me a little while, but after three previous lumpy attempts, I made a decent basket just in time for Mom's birthday. It's about the size of an Asian rice bowl. The light center is from fronds found in the hidden, center of the yucca where it has yet to get sunlight.

Not only is it 100% West Texas yucca, it is 100% wild yucca growing in Debi's yard. At last, I found a reason to love the unwanted "weed." ;)

P.S. I'd love to hear from any basket makers out there, especially those that make baskets from natural, local materials.

Back from Vacation

Magazine Collage, Debi Cates 2008

I can't believe here it is April 19th and this is the first blog post of the month. What happened to April? To March even. I'm not entirely sure.

The latest and best news is that my brother and I have just returned from spending a week's vacation in East Texas with Mom. All along the 500 mile drive, the famous Texas bluebonnets were blooming.

Mom's place has all kinds of blooms, too, including lots of different kinds of irises and roses, apple tree blossoms, violets, johnny jump ups, and wildflowers galore. She has made her place so very pretty, and visiting in April it was cool and rainy. I'm always amazed at the difference between West and East Texas. We are desert. She is piney woods. Yet we are both Texas.

Think So Highly of You

"Think So Highly of You"
Digital Work, Photoshop 5.5

Just sharing a little offbeat digital piece I did recently.

I'll be gone today on a special photo adventure. See you -- hopefully with an interesting story and pictures -- when I return.

Leaving 2008 behind

"Leaving"
December 2008
Digital collage: Photoshop 5.5, my photos, manipulated found image

Good bye 2008! Hello 2009!

Remembering 2008

"Remembering"
December 2008
Digital Collage: Photoshop 5.5, my photos

In preparation for putting 2008 to bed, I'd like to document what an up and down year it's been for us here: One funeral, two babies, and a wedding.

• January
  The year started off terribly. My brother Casey's son, J.D., just 18, was killed riding a bicycle. January 19th, my Grandson Carson was born. His middle name, Cecil, is after my dad. In January, and throughout the whole year, my best friend Donna and I make day trips around West Texas to take pictures.
  
  
• February
  February 18th, I celebrated one year of Photo A Day. I started being aware that I was experiencing more than just "the blues." For the first time in my life, my brain succumbed to clinical depression.
  
  
• March
  My mother came to take care of me. She got me to the doctor and on meds. She took very good care of me. Let me talk when I wanted to talk. Didn't force me to talk when I didn't want to, which was most of the time. She did, though, nudge me daily to get outside in the sun. We slowly pulled the weeds out of my old garden.
  
  
• April
  My brother Casey was working on a car and the jack gave way, falling on him and trapping him underneath for an hour. He had three broken ribs and a crushed pelvis. After eight days in the hospital, I picked him up in New Mexico. He has lived with me since. They say everything happens for a reason.
  
  
• May
  Uneventful, but important gentle healings going on here at my homestead. We discover Casey has quite the eye for photography too. We are now a day trippin', photo snappin' Trio.
  
  
• June
  My meds are now working. Casey returns to work 'part time' -- working 10 hours the first day. He continues the year working too many hours, but I'm his banker and am socking away his money for his future. All around there are trantulas galore!
  
  
• July
  July 10th my brother's first grandbaby is born to his daughter. Despite her young age, McKayla makes a great mom. (And Saige makes a great baby.) I discover in a dry creek bed nearby these fabulous things called hemotite concretitions which are these crazy round rocks that look like they are from the moon -- a new thing to look for on our day trips.
  
  
• August
  Hot as blue blazes, still the Trio takes a weekend camping trip on the Colorado River. I'll never forget the sound a blue heron made as it was coming up the river and discovered us. August 30th my youngest daughter marries. All the family was here. It makes me cry now just thinking how beautiful the wedding was. Audrey was stunning.
  
  
• September
  I felt like I was beginning to get my groove back. I don't remember ever enjoying so many wildflowers so deeply before. Donna starts coming to Odessa for whole weekends. We meet the famous naturalist Burr Williams in person when I deliver to him the petrified weasel I had found. (I half-heartedly considered mailing it to my cheating ex-boyfriend as a birthday gift -- a weasel for a weasel -- but Burr wanted it more.)
  
  
• October
  More groovin'. Fall came so gently, giving Donna and me plenty of time to take photos. Donna is our "Susie homemaker" when she's here, cooking for us, doing Casey's work clothes laundry, and just generally being at home.
  
  
• November
  More day trips, including finding the old Upland County Courthouse. Thanksgiving in Lubbock with Donna and her mom at Furr's Cafeteria. No week spent cooking. And even better, no dishes.
  
  
• December
  I can't get into the Christmas spirit, but I did begin thinking sincerely about what I want to do for 2009. I put forth an idea that I'll tell you about later as the year progresses. I buy a storage shed, at long last! It's delivered and set in place by a crane. I'm spending the last week of the year boxing things neatly, labeling them, and storing them there, making room for a clean start. Not so different than what I'm doing with this post right now.

Thinking about 2009

"Fear of Flying"
December 2008
Digital collage: Photoshop 5.5, my photos, mouse painting, manipulated found images

I've been thinking a lot about 2009. It's an important year for me in so many ways. More than anything, artistically I want to risk failure. This recent collage is my meditation on that sensation.

Why would I say I want to risk failure? Why wouldn't I avow to succeed instead? Because as long as I'm focused on succeeding, I'm holding back. If I'm concerned with outwardly succeeding, then I'm not focused enough on what it is I'm trying to do. It's not that I don't want to succeed, it's that I don't want to succeed if that means not risking doing something new, daring, or touching a nerve.

Mark Twain once asked, "Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is."

I'll be 50 years old this coming summer. It's not important unless I want it to be. And I want it to be. I'm hoping that "being in my fifties" will be time for fruit-picking. I want being fifty to mean that I'm no longer afraid of other's opinions. And to be smart enough to know who's to value. I want being fifty to mean taking advantage of the abundance of time I have now that my family is raised. And to know that time is limited. I want being fifty to mean that I'm okay with my imperfections, mistakes, and short-comings. And to look for personal peace and tranquility in myself anyway. I want being fifty to mean that my worst fear isn't to die, but to die without finding out what it seems like I was here all along to find out.

It's a tall order. And maybe being fifty doesn't mean that to you. But it's my turn to be officially old. And you know us old farts; you just never know what we'll do or say next.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween
Digital mouse drawing on digital photo
Using Adobe Photoshop 5.5

Belatedly.

D'oh! I'm such a bonehead.

Obscurity project

My "Obscurity lives on" project,
Projected finished-look.

Last winter, I played around with doing some small monochrome paintings (about 1 1/2 by 2 inches), using two blues, white and sometimes black, unblended. And for fun (and laziness), I chose to paint over portraits on pages of a 1940s encyclopedia. After doing a couple, I decided I liked them and toyed with the idea of displaying them together in some way.

Today I decided to scan them and using Photoshop do just that, and frame them, virtually.

It's not that they have any relationship or significance in my life -- I just like them. I like that they once were important enough to be in the printed encyclopedia, but most are now, at best, footnotes to history.

While fiddling with Photoshop, I meditated that it is a humbling lesson about fame. Even if a person achieves global fame in 2008 (Britney and Paris, Bono and Snoop, Sarah and Karl) they will be lucky if a hundred years from now their quaint, old-fashioned picture can be found in an encyclopedia.

For someone to paint over.

My Neighbor

Kitten's Birthday present from her Granny
Crocheted "Totoro"

Not a good picture of my handiwork, but I had just finished crocheting this little friend for Kitten's birthday and was in a rush to deliver it for her 4th birthday party.

It's one of my first attempts at crocheting something other than a blanket. Any crocheters out there? I used this free online pattern.

Or how about any Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki fans? If you have little ones (especially girls), and even big ones who are still young at heart, you deserve it to yourselves to check out some of his films. My favorites are My Neighbor Totoro and Spirited Away. Kitten also loves Kiki's Delivery Service.

Oh, and she liked her birthday present. Even packed it with her for their vacation this week :)

Kitten's Baby Sister (or Brother)

"In Mama's Belly" acrylics, by Kitten age 3

This recent piece by my granddaughter is one of my favorites. It's interpretive, bold, and quirky. The things I like.

Look at that -- it's the last day of November and November's calendar days were all filled. Woo hoo! Now for the month of December I've got an idea. I'm going to try something new, something I'm calling "This or That." I'll explain everything tomorrow. :)

Shrinky Dink and Minwax

Pin cushion I made for Star Bright's birthday last year, with Shrinky Dinks of butterflies we have around here.

Shrinky Dink

I don't know what else to call Shrinky Dink, so I'll explain what it is for you crazy for'ners. ;)

It's a common item found at hobby stores. The packaging is geared toward kids, but the baking definitely requires adult supervision. It comes usually 10 sheets of plastic in an 8 X 10" package. There are several different varieties available, each with its own qualities -- kinds like frosted and another kind for printing on your printer. You draw on it with a pens, colored pencils, and I suspect water color would work although I've never tried that.

You cut out your drawings, lay on a cookie sheet, pop into a preheated 325 F (163 C) oven and -- the best part -- watch it shrivel, twist, straighten itself out through the oven window. In just a couple of minutes your pieces have shrunk to 1/3 its original size and is now much thicker. You can make key chains, Christmas ornaments, and all sorts of do-dads. If you want to hang it, remember to use a hole punch before baking.

Here's a tutorial with pictures of making pins.


MinWax's Polycrylic

MinWax

And now for the mysterious Minwax. This is the stuff I use as a finish on a lot of things. You can buy it easily at the hardware store, typically around the paint isles, a pint for around $5 USD. It comes in a matte finish as well I believe. It's probably intended for use on finishing wood, but I use it to finish collages, instead of ModPodge which I don't like because it stays tacky. I'm certain there are other brands of this kind of product and I suspect they would work just as well.

After several coats of this stuff, maybe ten, it gives your collage a smooth finish and intensifies the colors. It becomes a clear, thick sealer enabling the collage to be handled pretty roughly without damage -- an important quality for things like the collaged luggage I made for Kitten. I've also used it to finish acrylic paintings to give them a protective coat as well as bringing out their colors and giving a nice finishing sheen. It doesn't have an odor, is not sticky, and water wash-up is a snap.

I love this stuff so much I even tried using it as a glue, but it didn't work. Oh well, I'll keep using my kid's white school glue with a paint brush.

Oh, and here's Minwax's page about this product. They say to let dry 2 hours in between coats. Um, I'm not that patient. I wait only until it's dry to the touch. And sometimes not that long.