Cozy and Inviting

Doesn't this look inviting? I suppose no one was home as there is no smoke rising from the chimney. Maybe I could add some! This picture is the result of time spent playing with filters in Elements (cutout, twice) and a texture on top. Then I searched for a quote.

Picture yourself in a rocking chair pulled up close to a woodstove with the doors open. The logs are snapping and crackling. A book is in your lap and you have kicked off your shoes. Do I smell hot chocolate?

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What next?

I have really been wanting to work with my fabric now that the monkey (my photo exhibit) is off my back. So am I working with fabric? No! I did a macro photo shoot of a stack of old books and a pair of antique eyeglasses on my coffee table. Those are not finished yet but I did get a few good shots. Then I went into the woods and took pictures of tree stumps. Yes, tree stumps. The grain of the wood is so interesting.

Tonight I have been playing around making wild abstract art on Photoshop Elements. What fun. I'm thinking these can be printed on fabric and they can be stamped, stitched and embellished.

This first one is a collage of two pictures. I'm linking to Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Join the party!

Take my Heart!

Don't you think the next two should be called Lollipop Trees?

 

So many possibilities -  I don't know where to start!

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Photography Show Opening

It was a successful opening. The food was good and everyone was very complimentary about my work.

I was determined to wear my new red shoes (love them!) even if my feet became numb! I managed just fine. My daughter and son-in-law took family and friends out to dinner afterwards. They toasted me and I thanked them all for their support. And I thanked the family for putting up with the mess in the house as I framed 34 pictures. The son-in-law is cooking dinners for a week to give me a break after all the Christmas cooking I did. My next projects will be fabric and I'm planning to submit works to all the juried shows I can.

Today I will watch football with Mr. B while I try to organize things on my computer. My new book is calling me. Thanks family for the Amazon gift cards!   The Best of Quilting Arts: Your Ultimate Resource for Art Quilt Techniques and Inspiration.  Notice in the sidebar that I follow Melody Johnson's Blog Fibermania. Melody has a section in this book.

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"Nature Unscripted" - Solo Exhibit

"Nature Unscripted"

by Nancy Hoffmann

Windham Hospital Gallery

Willimantic, CT

January 7-29, 2012

Opening Reception  Saturday, January 7, 4 pm

An eclectic mix of photographs highlighting the beauty of nature

we sometimes fail to take time to notice. Also included will be fabric sculptures.

Since I agreed to have a solo photography exhibit I have thought of little else. Had I realized how much work was required I would have said no. But all along I knew I would be glad I had done it. January is not the best time of year for such an undertaking unless you are an incredibly organized person.

To make matters more complicated, my son-in-law and I painted some of the kitchen cabinets the first part of December. That involved stripping and sanding and three coats of paint. The kitchen was a mess for a week. Utensils were in boxes in the dining room/studio next to my boxes of framed photos.

I did get all 33 photos framed before I devoted a few days to cleaning the house before the Camera Club Christmas Party was held here on December 13.

Then the family started to arrive and there were numerous trips to Providence and Hartford airports, both a little over an hour away. There was no time to even think about the show until the last guest went home on New Years day.

Suddenly I had to print business cards, name each photo and prepare a list with prices and print info cards for the photos. A Bio had to be printed and mounted on foamcore board as well as a title of show piece. And the bio had to be written! I asked my daughter to do that as I was stumped as to what to write about myself. Boy, did she do a great job. When I read about myself I thought, "Wow, I would love to meet this talented woman." She made me sound wonderful!

 Framing in Progress

Framed photos ready to go

Use what you have, even a laundry basket

 

Partial view of the Gallery. I have to thank Mr. B for naming most of the photos. 

He has a real knack for it. And he named the show -- "Nature Unscripted."

 

My Bio mounted. The basket holds business cards. This is first time I ever cut foam

core board. It was not as difficult as I had feared. The secret is a very sharp blade to

get clean cuts. Spray adhesive ( great stuff) was used for mounting. I taped wire

on the back for hanging.

 

Tomorrow I go and hang my fabric art. I have sent emails through all the organization

I belong to and there are newspaper notices as well. The hospital is providing refreshments

for the opening on Saturday, January 7 at 4 pm. I think I should do some baking to supplement.

THIS IS EXCITING STUFF!

Can I call myself an artist now?

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Frosty Leaves

Frosty Leaves

Since our disastrous October snowstorm, we have had no snow. Yes, no white Christmas in Connecticut! But we have had some lovely frosts. This photo was made the day after Thanksgiving when everything was white with frost. Every leaf on the ground was lined with white. There is beauty in the most ordinary things.

I'm joining Dear Little Red House for Mosaic Monday. Click on the link and see the other mosaics.

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Quick and Easy

This is an ornament I made for my tree a few years ago. For people who love snow, it could hang on the wall year round.

The backing wood is a rough piece of lath. Mr. B and I were completely remodeling a log cabin and exposing the logs inside, so there was plenty of lath as I tore off the old plaster.

The "Let it Snow" was cut from a piece of fabric and fused to another piece of fabric, in this instance a green check. The fused fabric was glued to the lath and two buttons were glued to the corners. Two short pins were driven into the top and a ribbon was tied around the pins as a hanger.

Simple to make! This is a "Nancy Original." Dimensions are 4 1/2  inches W x 1 1/2 H.

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Here it is!

I'm certain you have all been waiting to see a picture of MY FAMILY'S TREE.  : )

It is ten feet tall and gorgeous!

My friend in England told me it looked sophisticated. I really appreciate that comment, but if he could see it in person he would see the milk caps with glitter and a five-year-old's picture in the middle. That five year old is now thirty-one and you can see his photo in the side bar. His two brother's pictures are also on the tree.

Somehow their sister does not have her picture there but her handiwork as a child is well represented. She drew angels on pellon, colored them and cut them out. And someone cut a bell out of a styrofoam meat tray and glued fabric squares on it. Maybe I should look for initials on that one. Every year we all come to attention as we hang the two miniature cans of spinach on the tree. My children were Popeye fans and those little cans are a must!

Each ornament is a memory. My Aunt Lucy's knitted bells are there and my mother's crocheted Santa face and little wreaths. And there are so many ornaments I have made. (And keep making!)

Our young friends (our daughter's co-workers) went with us to choose and cut the tree. Three of them had never had a live tree in their house so they were eager to set it up and help decorate. It was a cold windy day, but after a lunch of chili everyone was ready to get to work. The ladder was barely tall enough. The angel on top had to be tossed up and stayed a little crooked. We thought it looked like she was flying. We listened to Christmas music and sang along. And everyone chose to have marshmallows in their hot chocolate.

We go to Allen Hill Farm in Brooklyn, CT to cut our tree. Last year we bought their special tree stand that has a 5 inch peg in the middle. They bore a hole in the tree trunk, then the tree balances on that peg. And it is perfectly straight and secure! It is a miracle! Of course we went there again this year and topped last year's nine foot tree by a foot. Next year I take a tape measure with me - or buy a taller ladder. Really, I think nine feet was tall enough.

The nest is empty again and I miss them all terribly! How nice for Mr. B and me to be sharing a house with our daughter and her husband! We will have a few quiet days before I launch into overdrive to hang my solo photography show. 

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Winning Photo and Others

Shelia of Starshine Through My Windows and MerCyn of Six Decades and Counting- Life Reinvented, asked to see a closeup of my winning photo in the University of Connecticut art contest. The catagory was Nature and the Environment, an artistic celebration of the natural world. Ladies, thank you for your interest. The photo below is the winner.

                                                                    "Evening Mirror"
                                          

                                                     And here are my other entries.

                                                     "Good Night and Good Luck"

                                                              "Autumn Reflection"

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I did win a prize!

I never meant it to be this long between posts. My photography seems to have consumed me! I have even had to give up reading novels for several weeks to get everything done.

I won a prize in the University of Connecticut Sustainable Depictions Art Contest sponsored by the University of Connecticut's Environmental Policy Department!!!! 

Here I am at the opening reception with my photo. The one on the right is also mine. The winning photo is Mr. B 's favorite. He named it "Evening Mirror."

Suddenly Christmas is almost here and I am still madly framing photos for my January show. But I took time off to paint a section of the kitchen cabinets with my son-in-law. Busy as I am, I volunteered to host my Camera Club Christmas party. So now I have two days to get the house cleaned, organized and decorated.

We had a tree cutting and decorating party. Friends were glad to go with us to cut a ten foot tree. After a lunch of chili we decorated the tree as we listened to Christmas music and sang along.  Several of our young friends had never had a live tree in their house so this was an experience for them!

I haven't forgotten you all and I plan to post regularly again!
Best wishes for a Merry Christmas!
Nancy

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Coventry Fair

Mr. B and I went to the Coventry Farmers' Market today. I had heard it was a nice market. But I was stunned when we arrived to see how large it is! There were plenty of food booths and judging by the lines, the food must have been very good.

There were vegetables, fresh CT grown meat and lots of crafts. I saw lovely hemp skirts and bags, jewelry, photographs and hand woven scarves. There was even a baker who specializes in gluten free food. I took her card for when my daughter-in-law visits.

So for those of you who live in New England, you must visit the Coventry, Connecticut Farmers' Market. It is held every Sunday, 11-2, June through October at the Nathan Hale Homestead. 

Oh yes, there is live music as you can see in the picture.

Join Mosaic Monday at Little Red House and see what everyone has been up to!

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A Favorite Photo

In my last post I was dreaming of winning a prize at the juried show. That didn't happen but there is always next time. This is one of my photos in that show.

This was taken at the lily pond at Gillette Castle, a state park in East Haddem, CT.  I waited until late in the day so the sun would not be too bright.

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You thought I was relaxing?

No, I haven't been sitting by a lake watching the sunset. Instead I have been taking hundreds of photos while fighting gnats and hordes of mosquitoes.

I am finding shows where I can exhibit my work. Currently I have two photos and one fabric collage in a juried show in Willimantic that is sponsored by ARTS Fiesta. The camera club show opens at ART SPACE on Main Street in October. And I am making arrangements for my own show at the hospital gallery in January. Heady stuff, all this. Also expensive to frame or mount everything. It would be a dream come true to win one of the three prizes at the Fiesta show. A girl can dream, can't she?

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No email - no blogging -- no internet!

As you can see by the photo, our cat, Big Guy, stayed dry during the hurricane. Schedules were disrupted Sunday morning as the wind was blowing too hard to let the cats outside. You know how disgruntled a cat can get when he wants to go outside and can't? Pretty grumpy.

We were fortunate and suffered no damage from "Irene." Lots of limbs down as this picture of the front yard shows and a major cleanup to be done. The bottom picture of the pines show how large they are and how close to the house. I was very worried about them falling, but when the other trees were thrashing wildly the pines were not moving that much.

A tree came down on the wires in the neighborhood and some people lost power. Luckily we didn't so we could have a hot breakfast as we watched the storm from the many large windows in the house. But no cable and no internet!! We had no idea what was going on in the world. My weather radio was equipped with batteries just in case. It goes off frequently to warn us of thunderstorms and severe weather. But strangely, during the hurricane it didn't go off a single time. The day after the storm it went off with a warning of floods.

We were suffering withdrawal from lack of news. Monday we didn't try to venture out until late in the day and all the newspapers were sold out. Tuesday Mr. B went out early and bought three newspapers! News at last. Reading that 80% of homes in Eastern Connecticut were without power made me realize how lucky we had been. Many traffic lights were out on one side of town and it was chaos.

Cleanup is underway and the front yard is clear. Now the back will get our attention. As much as I hate leaf blowers, I have to say using one is much faster and easier then raking. A neighbor who has a yard service is going to chip all our limbs and leave me the chips.

I hope everyone came through the storm with no damage!

Join me for Mosaic Monday with Mary at the Little Red House.

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Pulled through a knot hole backwards!

Have you heard the phrase "Pulled through a knot hole backwards?" That is how I feel. I used to create photo mosaics in Picasa or I made them myself in Photoshop Elements. So when I opened Picasa and started to choose the photos for this mosaic to upload, it started to upload every photo on my computer! NO! NO! I DON'T WANT THAT! So I quit and tired again. Same thing. I hit quit. No way do I want every photo of mine on Picasa. I feel like I'm losing control.

So I went to Mary's blog, The Little Red House, and read her tutorial on how to make a mosaic. Then I had to try and remember how to deal with Flickr. Where is my password? What? This is Yahoo? Which email, which password, which "screen name?" EEEEEEEEEEE! HELP!

I'm into Flickr and have uploaded my photos. Now Mary says put them in Big Huge Labs. I'm in Big Huge Labs. How do I get my pictures there? I need a photo set??? What is that? Back to Flickr. Found the button and created a photo set. Instructions say hit the mosaic button. Where the hell is it????? Back to Big Huge Labs. Oh, I have to create an account. And link it to my Flickr account? Click here, click there. What am I agreeing to? Is this worth is? Okay, I'm linked. Put in the URL of the Photo Set! Does this never end? Choose colors for background and border. If I don't like the colors can I go back and change them? Apparently not. How many pixels between photos? How do I know how large a space 5 pixels is? Can I shuffle them?? Don't know. Okay - create. Figured out how to export and there it is on my desktop. Then I had to resize it!

I'm exhausted! Will I ever remember how to do this again?

I have not been able to find a free download to help me create a collage on a Mac. Photoshop Elements will create one like snapshots or other fancy things, but not like the style above. If you type in Google "create mosaic" you get those things where tiny pictures create a large picture like in the shape of a heart. And lots of the things don't work on a Mac. If anyone has any advice, please tell me! Please! There must be an easier way.

Now that I have calmed down,  I will tell you I have been in the yard taking pictures of mushrooms. When it rains they magically appear the next day. Aren't they lovely? The one in the top row in the center is the largest. The top of it is about as large as my hand. The others are from one and a half inches to four inches. I wish I had a mushroom book. Will have to check for one at the library.

I need to go to bed and rest now. My brain is smoking.

Oh, forgot to say I'm joining Little Red House for Mosaic Monday.

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