Newest Rescues

Meet Bentley and Mercedes, two little silky terrier puppies that came from a puppy mill auction. I picked them up yesterday from Missouri, and after a long trip, they are safely in rescue now. We are fostering Mercedes, and Bentley's foster family came to get him last night. They are both such sweethearts!

Mercedes is an adorable little female, weighing just over 3 pounds. She is a total lap dog and wants nothing more than to be held all day. She follows me everywhere, hoping that I will pick her up!

Mercedes

Bentley is a handsome little male silky terrier, weighing almost 5 pounds. He is very outgoing and loves to play --- with people, with toys, with other dogs. He is Mr. Social!

Where Has The Week Gone?

I have no idea why, but this last week has flown by. I know it was a busy one, and perhaps that is the answer. On Saturday I went to a dog show, and I fell in love with watching the agility dogs. I didn't know any of the dogs or trainers, but I found myself applauding each and every one of them as they completed the course. Now I am on a quest to learn more about this sport, so that I will have a better understanding of the judging at the next event.

I also spent some time this past weekend photographing this little cutie. He is a puppy that I fostered last year, and sadly, his owner returned him to the rescue, because she is too busy for him now. First I was angry with her for tossing him aside when he no longer fit into her life, and then I was upset for little TJ, that he would have yet another new environment. Eventually I calmed down and realized that she obviously wasn't the right home for him, and I vowed to myself to do what I could to find him the perfect home this time. Happily, he has a couple of great families interested in him already!

Wordless Wednesday

Double Birthday Fun!

Zeke's and Mya's birthdays are today, so Mom and I headed out to one of the local dog bakeries to find some birthday goodies. We settled on these carob pupcakes and got one for each dog. Here they are, in their birthday collars, patiently waiting to sample their birthday treats.

Next, there was a little sniffing to see if they smell as good as they look.

The pupcakes passed the smell taste, so onward to the taste test. Both dogs absolutely loved these treats, so I think we have a winner for birthday treats from now on!

Zeke's #2 Toy

Before we got Zeke, we did a ton of research on silky terriers, trying to make sure that the breed would be a good addition to our family. One of the things we read was that they would play fetch until they were ready to drop from exhaustion. That has certainly proven to be true with Zeke. No matter how tired or hot he is, he will always have energy for a game of fetch. And many times, he will take the tennis ball in his mouth and actually sling it at us to get our attention!

Unexpected Treasures

This is a section of a photograph that I took. I was focused on a little wren singing in the tree, but when I opened the photo in Photoshop, I loved this section of it. The splotchy leaves against the blurred background create a wonderful abstract composition, and I can't wait to use this in a collage --- or two or three.

This is Keaton, our last foster puppy, enjoying his new backyard. His forever mom just got her backyard fenced, so this is the first time that Keaton has been off leash in his new home. And Keaton, being Keaton, is rolling in the grass and having a great time. I love this photograph that she sent to me, because it is so "Keaton", and he is so full of pure pleasure!

Both of these photos are unexpected treasures in my day, and I appreciate both of them!

Zeke's Favorite Toy

This is Zeke with his #1 toy --- a pair of socks. He has loved them since the day we got him as a puppy. He doesn't chew holes in them. For him, it is all about sneaking a pair off the dresser or out of a stack of clean laundry. Once he has it firmly in his mouth, he races down the hall to the living room, and just waits for us to follow him. Then he prances around with his prize in his mouth. I don't know why we have a huge basket of dog toys, when all we really need is a basket of socks!

Wordless Wednesday

Last Challenge Collage

Here's the fourth & final collage in this challenge. I used the large letter element from the previous collage, and as you can see in the photo below, the background element from this collage is included in the very first collage. So, the series of four collages really do make a complete circle of elements.

Click to see this image larger, so you can follow the progression of the challenge. This was a fun endeavor, and I'm thinking about tackling it on a larger scale for a longer period of time.

Happy Fourth of July!

Zeke and Mya are showing their patriotic spirit with some Americana bandanas from Katie Wyatt. Katie makes these bandanas in all different fabrics and donates them to rescues, so that the pups can look good when they head to their forever homes. It's a very generous and thoughtful project, and I'm sure all the rescues join me in thanking her for the donations!

Challenge Collage #3

Here's the third collage in this "round robin" challenge to myself. This collage includes the red fencing grid from the prior collage.

And this photo is just to show you what the lazy days of summer are like at our house. This is Zeke's favorite place to nap, on the back of the couch. I think the leather provides a cool bed, plus he is out of Mya's "play zone" ...... LOL.

Challenge Collage #2

Here is the second morning collage in this week's challenge to myself. As you can see, I used the black & cream lettering from the first collage as an element in this collage.

Wordless Wednesday

Collage Challenge

Sometimes I use a "round robin challenge" philosophy when working on my morning collages. I start out with one collage, reserving a bit of one of the elements. Then I use that bit in the second collage, while reserving a bit of one of the other elements in that collage to use in the third collage, and so on. This description is probably clear as mud, but you'll understand better as you see this challenge unfold. Here is the first collage.

Persistance is Rewarded

Gardening is not for the timid. Every time I plant seeds or bulbs, it is a crap shoot as to whether or not they will actually grow. I do much better with starter plants. This Spring I was suckered into ordering bulbs again as a fundraiser for a rescue. Here is my scorecard:

Grecian wildflowers - 0 out of 50 bulbs

Elodie Lily - 2 out of 3 bulbs

Tennessee Ostrich ferns - 2 out of 3 tubers

Caladium - 2 out of 5 bulbs

Not a great success ratio!

But ..... instead of focusing on that, I have been patiently watching my two Elodie lilies, slowly growing and maturing and preparing to bloom. Yesterday my patience was rewarded as the first bloom appeared. What a glorious sight! And this is why I keep trying every year.

Zeke

Yesterday I took the dogs over to a friend's house for some play time. We had 9 small dogs (under 15 pounds) all running around and having a blast in her backyard. Zeke and Mya really enjoy this, because they rarely get an opportunity to play with that many other dogs at once. Above is a photo I took of Zeke taking a break for a few seconds.

Wordless Wednesday

Roses Galore!

I looked for a few years before I was able to find a Joseph's Coat rose for the garden. This is one of my favorite roses, because of all the colors that can show up on one single bush. Now that it is blooming for the season, here are some of my favorite photos from this past week.

Total Cuteness!

I have a friend that made her little dog, Bella Faith, a tutu out of pink and lavender toulle. I commented that Bella was so cute in it, so she made a matching one for Mya. Today we had both girls together --- in their black leotards and glittery tutus.

Mya

Bella Faith

Total Cuteness!

Wordless Wednesday

A New Start

Recently I have been re-evaluating my life, and specifically, the way I spend my time. I retired from accounting in order to be in the studio full-time, yet more and more, other people and their projects have been taking up my time. So, I am ending some pseudo friendships, leaving some groups, and re-focusing on studio time. It's a new beginning!

The photo above shows some canvas scraps that I re-painted this morning --- in an attempt to give them a new beginning. They were painted in pastel shades, which is not at all my palette of colors. Now they are bold, and once they dry, I will start cutting and stitching them into new mixed media artwork. (And look at that gorgeous piece of paper that will remain!)

It feels good to be taking charge of my life once again!

Keaton's New Mom

I took Keaton to his new home this morning, and his new mom was so excited to see him again. We took him out to the backyard, and he promptly rolled and rolled in her grass --- giving it his seal of approval. I am so happy that he has found the perfect forever home!

Lessons Learned

I have been participating in a collaboration with another artist, and it has been both challenging and rewarding. Neither of us are printmakers, but we set printmaking as the technique for this collaboration. Each of us added the initial print(s) to several pieces of paper, then we swapped and printed on each other's work. I have learned a few things from this endeavor:

1. It is scary to work on someone else's work!

2. Less is more. The simple, minimalistic prints were much more effective.

3. I have a lot to learn about how the design on my printing plate will transfer to the paper.

4. I want to keep experimenting with printmaking.

5. Fluid acrylics do not work for monoprinting.

6. The reason I love collage is because I can rearrange and add and remove the elements before it becomes a final design. Printmaking is not so forgiving!

After our collaboration was over, I was ready to return to a medium that is more familiar. This is a watercolor that was done except for adding the black background and a bit more shading. I am pleased with it, but I can also see where it can translate to a woodcut print. I guess printmaking is still on my mind!

Going Home!

It's official! Keaton is going to his new home on Saturday morning. While I am sad to see him leave, I am also happy that he has found such a great forever home.

Keaton is sporting his new "going home" bandana in these photos. Katie Wyatt in Maryland sews these bandanas and donates them to rescues to use on their dogs. Thanks to Katie for the handsome blue bandana that Keaton will wear to his new home!

One last photo of my boy. It has been an amazing journey, watching him grow from a scared puppy mill puppy into a playful and loving puppy. We are going to miss him, and so will Zeke and Mya!

Wordless Wednesday

Texture, Texture, Texture

I love texture, and I love photographing examples of it occurring naturally in the environment. The photos above were taken in our yard --- macro shots of a knot on the trunk of an ash tree. I love the organic coloring and all of examples of texture. Mother Nature truly is a master artist!

Wordless Wednesday

New Photos of Keaton

I'm still trying to find a great forever home for my foster puppy, Keaton, so I took some new photos this afternoon. He is such a wonderful little Yorkshire terrier puppy, and I am truly surprised that he has not been adopted yet. We've had a few applications, but nobody with a fenced in yard, and he really needs that, so he can run around and play and roll in the grass.

And the Rain Continues...

raindrops on our new redbud tree

mushrooms in the gardens

Thanks to all the rain we're getting every day, we have a bumper crop of fungi in the gardens! It's quite a challenge to watch so the dogs don't try to eat any of the mushrooms and to try to keep cream-colored carpet clean when they come in with muddy paws. On the up side, all of the gardens are beautiful shades of green and full of colorful blossoms, also thanks to the rain.

Sunshine and Sunflowers

5/28/11

Yesterday was the first day with no rain in quite a while. We even had some sunshine for some of the day. This is yesterday's morning collage, and it was almost like I used the sunflower to will the rain away for the day. If only it were that easy to control the weather!

P.S. This morning it is raining and storming again.