capturing glow

Taking portraits is intriguing. Editing portraits is even more interesting. Even though it is a picture, when you stare at an image for a long, long time trying to get the colors just right, you get kind of mesmerized. You feel as if the subject is there in person looking up at you, as if you are getting to know that person better and better. This is my neighbor, Jana. I met her sixteen years ago when she was a seven year old cutie pie. Now she has turned into a beautiful young woman. Sometimes, when you look straight into someone's eyes, you get a glimpse of something like their soul. There is a light deep inside. The light has a contagious kind of energy, or glow. That's what I try to capture.

craft day, or how to make a domino necklace

This time of year I start thinking about holiday gift giving. I like to make as many gifts as I can because created gifts represent time and attention as well as the gifts themselves. I got an idea for a necklace made out of dominoes and other re-purposed items. Here's how to make the necklace. Also, you could glue a magnet on the back of the domino and use that as a gift instead.

You have several options for the decoration. You will need a little picture the size of the domino. I like to pick up old picture books at book sales just to use the illustrations. For some of these necklaces, I used those. For the others, I painted small watercolor scenes after tracing the domino onto the watercolor paper then cutting it out once the picture was dry. If using the pictures, first trace the domino onto scrap paper and cut it out. Use the cut-out frame to find an area of the picture which looks good in the frame. Then, trace around the domino at that spot and cut it out.

Second, glue the pictures onto the top of the dominoes. Thick paste works well, but you can test to see if what you have at hand works. I used acid free YES paste, as it was left over from an old project and it worked well. Let dry, then gently sand the edges to be sure the paper is flush with the edge of the domino. You could also glue an assortment of buttons onto the domino instead (for that I used 527 glue), or make a tiny collage of your choosing. Drill a small hole at the top center, or top two edges if you're using the horizontal orientation. If you used buttons, attach a screw eye onto the top instead of drilling the hole. Now paint with polyurethane and let dry.

While it is drying, begin preparing the chord. Simple options include using a leather strip. I buy old leather coats from Goodwill and cut slices with a rotary cutter. This way, you can get tons of leather strips for a few bucks. Tie a few together for the desired length. Another more special option is braided thread with beads slipped on at intervals. I did this for one. I used thick button thread, but you could also use silk thread or thin twine. 

Now, use a wire and pass it through the hole, wrapping it around to form  loop at the top for stringing the domino. You may also want to throw a few other hanging items onto the necklace. I keep a box of single earrings, junk jewelry, etc, so I pulled a few orphaned earrings out to throw onto my necklaces.

questions on black and white

The older I get, the more I disbelieve in in black and white. Some things are certain. I will die. I was born. Some things are a matter of faith. I believe in heaven. I believe in kindness. I believe in grace. I believe that Jesus was the coolest homeless person that ever lived. He was a guy with no stones to throw. That's all I know. There is room enough in my heart for everybody, no matter what they believe. 

I had a cousin who was disowned because he loved boys instead of girls. He died of AIDS over fifteen years ago and most of those years I was looking for him. He melted away and nobody could tell me where he'd gone. When I was little, we were best friends. We lived together. We spent our time catching chameleons and building houses for them. We played bouncy ball for hours. Some days, I have to run my fingers over the picture of him in my mind. I don't want to loose that boy who was kind to chameleons and every living thing. 

The more I know, the more I don't know. What is black, what is white, and who gets to decide?

portrait day

Agnes and I love people. Agnes is my camera. She and I are learning how to take protraits. Today we took 558 photos of me and my buddy Jana. Fun, fun fun. So exciting. Here are 2 of my faves:

Thank you, Jana. You make a gorgeous model, though I can't say the same for myself. Tomorrow,  Agnes and I move on to another victim. Look out world! I hope you find what you love to do.

pears 'n grace

Here's a simple, tasty recipe I came up with for cooked pears. You can eat this as a side dish, or over ice cream for dessert, or over plain yogurt with granola sprinkled on top for breakfast. Here's how to make it:

Ginger Vanilla Pears

Gather 6 Bosc pears, 1/2 of a medium-sized lemon or lime, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup water, 1/4 cup white wine (I used Riesling).

Peel the pears, cut into slices, removing the core. Put into a deep saucepan and squeeze the lemon or lime over top. Stir then add the ginger, salt, water, and wine. If you prefer not to add the wine, use 3/4 cups water instead. Cover. Bring to boil on the stove, then turn down heat to simmer until pears are soft, but not mushy, about 25 minutes, give or take. Add the vanilla in the last few minutes of cooking. You may want to take off the lid for the last 10 minutes to boil off some of the liquid if there is more liquid than you want. Enjoy!

On another note, something really freaky happened yesterday. It has to do with the poem called Feather, which I posted on Wednesday. I wrote the poem that morning when the image came into my head, and I felt I just had to write it all out as a poem. I don't know where the idea came from. I'd never heard it from any source.

Then, yesterday, I stopped into Half Price Books to pick up The Autobiography of a Yogi, which I've been wanting to read, and of course, I had to check out the sale rack. I start scanning and this title  popped out at me sending a weird quickening straight to my heart. Of course I bought it. Hey, it was only a buck and when God talks, I listen. It must be that. What else could it be after I'd just had that total image the day before of me as a feather being blown by God's breath. I can't wait to read it. I'll report back. I'm so thankful for the magical days thrown in amongst the chaos. They come to all of us now and then. Keep watching. Keep listening for those days.

poem day

Feather

Lord,

I’m a feather

floating to Earth,

swooning back and forth

like a rocking cradle.

Slide your hand beneath

me. Life me up, then blow.

Give me rise

to drift across the green

and fertile land,

whipping, swooping  

in the playful wind

until night ushers stillness

and I rest,  

gazing up at stars.

  

      -Kimberly Laustsen

DAMN good work

Oh my gosh, guys, I am so loving the classes. Yesterday I was slightly bummed because I couldn't load my new photos taken in raw, and I used a tripod for the first time, and I couldn't get the instructional CD to play on my computer, so basically I was a dummy. Today I am a tiny bit smarter. I found out the CD is defective, and my computer was not set right to load those pics, which just goes to show that every problem has a solution if you can manage to stay calm.

So, anyhow, about the classes. My teacher is the best. I have the same gal for both classes. She is even older than me, and is also a former accountant, and is finishing up a full degree in photography and graphic design. To say that she is enthusiastic about taking pictures would be like saying Texas is a little bit warm in the summer. This gal is in love with her photography and it is so contagious. Also, she is soooo encouraging. 

However, the best thing about her, besides how cool and hipster she is, is her vocabulary. I heart her vocabulary, and spend half of the class writing down her quotable quotes so I don't forget them. Like, last week, we were learning how to whiten teeth and some folks did not have any people photos among the ones they brought to class, so she said to go to google pics and "find somebody with a jacked-up grill" and use that picture to work on. A less interesting teacher might have told us to find someone with dingy teeth. Jacked-up grills beat dingy teeth any day in my book. 




Also, one lady brought a picture of her daughter, who had recently been a flower girl in a wedding, and the photographer was so artsy in this photo, the only one he took of the girl, he cut off her head entirely, so it was only knee to neck. The lady was steaming mad about it, since he took none of the girl's face. That's the kind of photo our instructor likes to take, which is why she does not do weddings, as she explained, "For weddings, you have to give the people what they want, and people don't wanna see headless children."

Here's one more: "You're here to do good work. I want you to do good work. I want you to do DAMN good work." yeah, Vernetta, that's what I want too. Thanks for helping to make it possible.Good teachers rock!