My Rock

One of my best friends is ailing. This is Rocky - aptly named for Rocky the Flying Squirrell since his feet rarely touched the ground his first few years of life. I could write reams about how special he is, but everyone thinks their cat is special so I won't bore you. Suffice it to say he owns a good-sized chunk of real estate in my heart. Rocky is currently struggling with kidney problems and things are dicey right now. Positive energy and well wishes are welcome.

Ball chains

Flora Non Grata

Ice plant is not something to be mentioned in polite California company. Environmentalists and native plant advocates agree, this non-native interloper causes big problems in many natural areas. It forms nearly impenetrable mats that dominate resources; has invaded native habitats; competes directly with threatened or endangered plant species for nutrients, water, light, and space; suppresses the growth of both native seedlings and mature native shrubs; can lower soil pH in loamy sand; change the root system morphology of at least two native shrub species... in other words, does not play well with others.

And yet... kind of pretty, huh?

Greek Fishing Float

When I was very, very young some neighbors, upon returning from a trip to Greece, presented each of us neighbor kids with a glass fishing float, in it's rope netting, as a souvenir. As a small child I was underwhelmed with this gift, hung it from my bedroom curtain rod, and didn't think about it much. Oddly enough though, I have taken this item with me, through every stage of my life, and to every place I've ever lived. The string it originally hung from broke and fell apart years ago, and the rope netting has decayed to the point of being more like a loose nest for the glass float. I truly love this object now and really like watching it's evolution as it ages.

Draw a Bird Day!

It's like they created a day just for me! That's right, April 8 is Draw a Bird Day. Otherwise known as, A Good Reason for Lisa to Share her Pen and Inks with the World Day - you decide.

What's a day without crows anyway?

Healing

I am currently healing from a neck and arm condition that's not only impairing my computer time, but also my art time in general. I dug into my archives to share this photo.

Last fall, while raptor watching on Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, I looked down and saw this guy. Butterfly is all about metamorphosis and change... after all, everything is always changing.

Look closely

One part of what I love so much about the actual act of photography for me is the isolating and capturing of a small element of a larger picture and having it stand on its own merit. I frequently have to remind myself to look up and see the larger landscape as a whole because I am so captivated by the amazing things that are happening on a "small" level all around us. I think the macro lens was invented for us "God is in the details" type of people.

Sometimes it's obviously breathtaking, like looking closely at a blooming Protea or strands of pearls in a glass jar. Sometimes it's seeing how the cracks and bumps in an old chalkboard make an amazing texture. I think beauty really, truly is all around us if we just adjust our lens.

Yeeeeeowch! Coyote and the blank canvas.

"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans."

When applying for the Landfill Art project, I had to come up with a basic idea of what I wanted do with an old hubcap. No problem, I thought. After some reflective thinking and meditation I knew what I wanted to do, and that Coyote is the animal teacher for this project (such a hog for the spotlight...). So it should come as no surprise that Coyote's energy is all over the place lately.

Here's something to think about. Overall, there were an estimated 250,851,833 registered passenger vehicles in the United States according to a 2006 study. OK - now think about how many different models and makes that must encompass, how hubcap designs differ, and how many more vehicles--and hubcaps--are in landfills throughout the U.S. from older models. You get some sort of idea of the variety of hubcaps that must be out there.

So. My hubcap was a surprise. And not really what I had in mind.

I can:

1. Cram that square peg into the round hole and try and make my original idea work, godammit, no matter what


2. Complain bitterly and be a whiny diva-wanna-be and ask for another hubcap to fit my detailed specifications ("I just can't work in these conditions!")


3. Sit back, let Coyote take me where he wants me to go, and see what this particular "canvas", and the Universe, have in mind for me and this art piece

I'm voting for number 3. Good luck with that...

Simply because I think it's cool

I took this photo at Apartment 46. Check out her stuff, there's so much more where this came from. I love the composition, colors, subject matter... sharing it here just because I think it looks cool.

Sunday Bike Ride

I was having one of those days where it was just too hard to shake the vivid dreams from the night before and I needed to get out, by myself, and work off the nightmare hangover. I've been eyeing this fence for months, so grabbed my camera and hopped on the bicycle. I love the colors, textures, and faded impressions where numbers used to be. The endorphins from the bike ride didn't hurt either.