Friday, November 27, 2009

Lights On at Utica Square

Hope you all had a wonderful Carbs 'n TurkeyFest Day, full of joy and thanksgiving for the good things in your life. After our family feasting, we decided to join in a local tradition - the Lights On celebration that officially kicks off the shopping mayhem of the season. It takes place at an upscale, outdoor mall in what I affectionately like to call "Old Money Tulsa." Some of the stores had beautiful holiday displays. Some were more understated, but ready to receive your cash nonetheless.
This has nothing to do with the holidays or Lights On; I just absolutely loved this woman's profile. Lights were on in this parking garage.Lights were on in this old fashioned phone booth. It actually works. Quite charming.Lights were on the statues outside PF Chang's.Lights were on in the sky. The moon peeks through some remaining leaves.The street lights were on and illuminating a tree strung with miniature lights. Just waiting for......the Main Event! Fa La La La La!
And so it begins.

Finished Project!

So, I probably haven't told you about the art doll workshop I went to early this month. I belong to a local club of the most fun ladies (& one retired engineer. go figure.) I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. They are so talented and so generous with their knowledge, materials, and time. And so full of joy in the art of art doll creation! (check out our blog here)
This was my second workshop - as fun and informative as the first. The doll is supposed to be a high-fashion lady of the art deco style. I started off with a black evening outfit, but after sewing it, realized it was all wrong with the accessories we were making. This is when having a fabric stash pays off!
We learned how to make tiny, delicate hands & paint them to look like she was wearing leather gloves.

OK, so now for the mess-ups confessional: She's wearing leather, high heeled shoes (cut from an old glove) and "gaters". Oh, I should have added the words "supposed to be" to that sentence. No way was I going to sew the teeny, tiny beads on her calf that would give the button-up gater effect. Uh uh. Then I messed up the heels. Then I didn't care for the placement of the holes in the base, so I drilled another one. Hmm, how to cover up these mistakes? Ah ha! She's wearing gloves, fur, & carrying a muff - it must be winter. Make it look like she's walking in snow. Unfortunately, it looks like she's walking in a bubble bath. Or maybe she's walking on Cloud 9! She should be - her ankles were fat & she had big feet; she's so happy I covered them, right?!
Oh, the learning curve of new hobbies! I didn't finish the doll in class and I was pre-occupied with sewing the body when everyone else was making the hat & hair. (yeah, I'm always behind in any new class I take.) But it didn't look hard. Until I tried to do it at home. I realized I didn't have the faintest idea how to do hair and the hat pattern wasn't working out for me either. Time to improvise - glue a wad of packaged doll curls on her head & cover them up with a modified hat.

One thing I am happy with is her eyes. I love sculpting the faces and shading the eyes. I had difficulty making the mouth. The instructor worked on that for me. An interesting observation: I notice that many dolls somehow resemble their makers. I've always paid more attention to my eye makeup than anything else; and I hate lipstick. I never wear it. I'm not surprised I have trouble with doll mouths.
There are so many mistakes and some really bad workmanship on this doll. As with anything I make, that's what I tend to focus on. I'm so glad our Maker doesn't focus on our flaws. We are created in His image, and therefore we're beautiful and complete in Christ Jesus. If we would choose to see ourselves and each other with the eye of faith and the grace and mercy of our Lord, we might be a bit happier, don't you think?

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Day Trippin'

Better get these last few autumn color shots in before the first freeze, which the weather-wizards have been prognosticating all week.
Right about the color-peak we took a little day trip to the Ft. Gibson / Talequah area.A view of Ft.Gibson Dam. Why are dams so darn fascinating?

Talequah is the capital of the Cherokee Nation.
The street signs are written in both English & Cherokee.
A little park in Talequah. Aren't those stairs interesting? Wonder where they go?Lest you think we don't have hills out here...!
Remember my Great Bison Hunt? I finally found one. Not on the wondrous Tall Grass Prairie of northern OK, but in someone's yard around Ft. Gibson! I made my husband turn the car around and go back so I could snap this picture. He's such a trooper when I'm being Miss Daisy.
This must be the Bison's BFF. How would you like to pooper-scoop this yard?

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Color Moods

Pondering more on the story color creates in ordinary objects.
For example - this is obviously an old farm tool. The tone suggests a time gone by. A paradox of a simple yet harder life. The people are gone, the tool remains, neglected and rusting.
Now it seems 'in the present', as if an amateur photographer was passing by and stopped to snap an interesting object then moved on down the road. End of story. But maybe the next person will see use for this tool. Maybe it still has purpose. An element of hope? Or just an object of fleeting interest? Same setting wildly colorized. A carnival for Munchkins with a lime-green ferris wheel, a roller coaster in the background and blueberry edible grass!


Meloncholy/pensive.
Momentary/affirming.
Whimsical/imaginative.
See, told ya color tells a story :)

Every Picture Tells a Story

Isn't it interesting how color can be used to depict time, emotion, or story?

What do you see here? Is there a story? Does it remind you of a time period?
Comments welcome!

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Ode to Autumn

The warm, sunshine of fall came in November this year, not October. But it was very welcome, nonetheless. Today, however, is classic dreary gray November. Time to remember the color & beauty of the past few weeks.
 

What does a rusty bucket have to do with fall foiliage? Nothing, just thought it was an interesting shot. Rust is a fall color, right?

Same rusty can with a splash of red nearby.

This little boat probably won't see much action for awhile.

Enjoyed a hayride & cookout with some friends.

This was an interesting thing to come upon when we stopped by the river to photograph the scenery... didn't make me want to hang around there very long!

Looks like the party's over...and the holidays are right around the corner!


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

A Duck's Tale


I'll give you a little pause from our Search for Fall and tell you a story, A Duck's Tale, so to speak.

We went on a hayride / cookout with a group of friends. While everyone was feasting, I wandered off with my camera - In Search of Fall, of course. The property had a good-sized pond so I was looking for something interesting to photograph, when around the bend came this little flock of ducks. (flock? gaggle? herd? what's a gang of ducks called?)
  When they turned the bend and came into view, something by Wagner should have been playing! It was quite dramatic.
In perfect unison, as if they were performing a synchronized swimming routine, they turned & looked my direction.

They started to swim past me, then all of sudden turned my way.

Apparently a discussion took place on what to do next... "should we go see what she's doing up there?"
A decision was reached and they began waddling up the little bank.

They didn't come very close before they realized I was holding a camera and not treats. "Aaack! I thought you said Pizza! Waak-Waak! No, I said Papparazzi!"

A committee meeting was held. It was a bit shorter than most committee meetings I've witnessed, I'll give them that.

A vote was taken and a decision made.

They flipped me the bird tail and back into the water they went!