26 December 2014

Life of Art SitRep #255 Xmas week

Happy Boxing Day! Or Merry Post-Christmas! Or Happy Post-Saturnalia! Merry what-have-you if you celebrate this time of year, and if you don't, I hope you've had a lovely week all the same!

The driver hoped-to-be-the-fix I uploaded last week was short lived. Went two days before my computer crashed again. Argh.

Most of the week has been enjoyable with the holiday, however, so I'm focusing on that.

Post-processed a new photograph and added Storm Clouds Breaking to my shop:
Storm Clouds Breaking Wallclocks
Storm Clouds Breaking Wallclocks by RocklawnArts
Shop for additional Wall Clocks online at Zazzle

Started work on a new design.

Rocklawn Arts blogged New iPhone 5/5S Battery Cases at Rocklawn Arts! and New Incipio Feather® Shine iPhone 6 Plus Cases at Rocklawn Arts!

Updated LOA, links files.

Reorganized store a bit.

Watched Tony Cliff's Scan Preparation video for Delilah Dirk.

How was your week?


(Links to my store or products on Zazzle are affiliate links to help me earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' price.)

8! years ago on TTaT: 47

24 December 2014

Christmas Eve

It's 42 degrees and pouring out.

The past few weeks the ground was covered with snow and the temperature spent most of its time in the 20s. Several of those days were the quintessential winter wonderland scenes, trees outlined with snow.

But not now for Christmas. Nature's sense of humor.

I went out to make use of a $10 Jockey coupon and got the nicest help at the store.

On the way back, I stopped at a gas station to pick up a lottery ticket for Mom.

I stood at the counter for a moment scanning all the advertisements looking to see which lottery draws tonight.

A middle aged Indian woman around my age appeared from behind a display.

"Hi," I said. "Is Powerball the one that draws tonight?"

She nodded, "Yes."

"Do you know how much it's worth?"

She scanned the counter in between us and pushed some flyers aside. There was a printout with the totals for each game on it.

"100 million," she said, "but that's from this morning, so it's probably more now."

"I'd like 3 Powerball quick picks on separate tickets please." That'd be one for each of our stockings.

She started punching it in, I pulled out my cash, and she said, "May I see your ID?"

"Sure."

I still had my wallet out, so I slid my license out and handed it to her.

She examined it for a moment, looked at me, and handed it back. She put the tickets on the counter.

"You look very young for your age," she said.

"Thank you."

"It's a blessing," she said with enthusiasm.

"Oh, I'll take it," I said smiling.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas!" I said as I headed for the door. Merry Christmas to me indeed.


3 years ago on TTaT: An xmas eve glimpse

22 December 2014

80. Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant

Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant (Delilah Dirk, #1)80.Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant by Tony Cliff

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


So great! It's 1807 and Delilah Dirk is a globe-trotting, confident, swashbuckler. What's not to love?

The story is actually told from the point of view of the Turkish lieutenant, a kind but somewhat hapless tea aficionado.

There's travel, adventures, and beautiful art.

One of the things I love about this book is that it's not mired in the competing back stories and stylistic conventions of the superhero graphic novels I read. This is its own unique story.

And it's a lot of fun. Made me laugh out loud more than once.


Two years ago on TTaT: 64. Lost Worlds: Ruins Of The Americas

19 December 2014

Note to Self, vol. XIX (out of order)

If while you're lifting weights you think to yourself, Why does this seem so much harder today?, check to make sure you're using a matched pair of dumbbells.

On the upside, it looks like I'll be able to shift up to 12 pounds for both arms soon.


(Bonus note to self: the next volume should be XXI.)

Life of Art SitRep #254 Fingers Crossed

I'm currently waiting for an interminably long Time Machine backup to finish, so that I can update a few things and then back it all up again before attempting to fix a crashing issue with a driver update. Sounds promising from what I've read on Apple's support forums, so fingers crossed.

In the meantime, may as well write this week's life of art and get it scheduled to post before I possibly break my computer.

Made templates and added my designs and photographs as appropriate to 4 new iPhone cases:

Uncommon Clearly™ Deflector iPhone 6 Plus Cases, a case that prints colors of images with translucence and whites as clear.

Incipio Feather® Shine iPhone 6 Plus Cases, a case with metallic finishes of gold, silver, or rose gold that shows through translucent or white areas of images.

Wood iPhone 6 Plus Cases that feature real wood inlays of maple, cherry, or walnut. The wood grain shows through the designs.

and iPhone 5/5S Battery Cases which double the battery life of your phone.

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Uncommon Clearly™ Deflector iPhone 6 Plus Cases at Rocklawn Arts! and New Wood iPhone 6 Plus Cases at Rocklawn Arts!

Updated links, LOA files.

Watched Zazzle Chat #2 with info on and examples of various new products.

How was your week?


(Links to my store or products on Zazzle are affiliate links to help me earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' price.)

A year ago on TTaT: Doctor Who Character Encyclopedia

12 December 2014

Life of Art SitRep #253 Morning Glory

It's weird I had a photo in mind from a couple years ago that it took me too long to track down, but it wasn't quite what I'd remembered. I added the crucial missing tag so it'll be easier to find in future. Not really suitable for my shop, but I'll try to get it up on the blog soon.

This week, I...

Finished adding my Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Close-Up photograph to products in my shop.
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Close-Up
Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Close-Up by RocklawnArts
Look at more Blue flower Ornament at zazzle

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Close-Up photograph.

Updated LOA and links files.

Watched Pinterest Marketing for Makers & Designers with Megan Auman on Creative Live.

Finished reading Popular Photography 12/14 issue.


(Links to my store or products on Zazzle are affiliate links to help me earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' price.)

4 years ago on TTaT: Sketchbook, page 59

06 December 2014

X, Y, Z

By chance last night, I discovered that ME tv, one of my high DVR channels which shows a wide variety of shows from Perry Mason to Cheers, also airs Wonder Woman.

I loved it as a kid. Still love her theme music sans the goofy lyrics. And the gymnastics done as Wonder Woman are cool including her high jumps which must have been by trampoline? Those are still very cool.

I watched an episode, fortunately from the later years when it was shifted from World War 2 time to present day. Wonder Woman works as Diana Prince in a government agency sort of like a special agent for the FBI.

In this episode, 3 scientists have unwittingly worked to create a terrible weapon, realized it, destroyed their notes, but are now being abducted and replaced by androids.

The codename of the project? XYZ.

Really? It sounded like a placeholder name to me, as though someone had written a Star Trek script and put in "technobabble" where technical speech was to be added later. On Grey's Anatomy, they write "medical medical" where specific medical jargon is to be added later.

But no, the ominous weapon in this episode was Project XYZ.

And they said it at least 50 times, possibly closer to 100 times, in the course of the episode. That took some discipline to say "Project XYZ" or "the XYZ weapon" seriously over and over and over.

Here's a go to tip if you've got a placeholder name like XYZ in your script or story: use a letter from the Greek alphabet or two. Not three because then it will sound like a frat house. Or pick any name from mythology, bonus points if you go more obscure with Incan, Egyptian, or Indian instead of Greek.

Project Omicron, the Theta weapon, Project Osiris, the Shiva weapon: all more ominous than XYZ which feels like another way of saying "and so forth."


A year ago on TTaT: Life of Art SitRep #200 Two hundred? Woohoo!

05 December 2014

Life of Art SitRep #252 Distracted

My brain is slow moving this week, so I'm going to tap out, hopefully get a good night's sleep and start anew tomorrow. Here's some of what I did get done.

Shot 54 photographs, treetops with snow against blue sky.

Post processed Heavenly Blue Morning Glory Close-Up photograph and added it to one batch of my store products. It should start showing up in a day or so.

Some of my additions from last week didn't show up in my shop until this week, so I thought I'd share a few with you. The red linen background products are new additions; I had to remake them since the template fields weren't showing up to let people customize the text.
On The Golden Gate Bridge Incipio Watsonā„¢ iPhone 6 Wallet Case
On The Golden Gate Bridge Incipio Watson™ iPhone 6 Wallet Case by RocklawnArts
View other Golden gate bridge iPhone 6 Wallet Cases at Zazzle.com
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram by RocklawnArts
Look at more Red iPhone 6 Wallet Cases at zazzle
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram by RocklawnArts
Look at more Red USB Flash Drives at zazzle
Double Arch USB Wood Flash Drive Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Double Arch USB Wood Flash Drive Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive by RocklawnArts
Check out other External memory USB Flash Drives at zazzle.com
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram
Red Linen Texture Photo with Monogram by RocklawnArts
View other Red USB Flash Drives at Zazzle.com

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Incipio Watson™ iPhone 6 Wallet Cases at Rocklawn Arts!

Edited down recent photo additions to my archive.

Updated LOA file for end of month.

Watched free segment from day 1, Picking the Right Products to Sell from Create Digital Products That Sell While You Sleep with April Bowles-Olin on Creative Live.

Made monthly backups. Have you backed up lately?


(Links to my store or products on Zazzle are affiliate links to help me earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' price.)

4 years ago on TTaT: Sketchbook, page 58: Self-portrait

02 December 2014

Grandpa Ott

Not a relative but a flower, specifically a morning glory. Enjoy!


3 years ago on TTaT: Life of Art SitRep #95 Rest and education

30 November 2014

Canopy Roads

The weather of late has been reminding me of the canopy roads in Tallahassee, Florida. However, instead of Spanish moss draped from the tree limbs, it's snow that decorates them here.

The weight of the snowfall is responsible for pulling the branches over to create the arch effect above the road. It feels more ominous though with branches crashing with the sound of gunfire and heavy hunks of snow thudding to the ground.

It's warmer today, enough to let the trees slough off the snow holding them down. The canopy is gone but it was beautiful while it lasted.


Two years ago on TTaT: Life of Art SitRep #147 Thinking bigger

29 November 2014

Keep Your Head In The Game

Was out shopping at Michael's looking for one thing to use a 50% off coupon on. They didn't have the type of paper I had in mind, so I was perusing other items. After a few minutes, I started bopping along to an old version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and it registered in my brain that they were playing Christmas music.

What am I doing?! I thought to myself in a panic. I'm lingering. Just pick something and go before the song changes!

I really hadn't been thinking. The Little Drummer Boy Challenge starts the day after Thanksgiving and runs until Christmas Eve. As soon as you hear any of the myriad versions of "The Little Drummer Boy," you're out.

In a stroke of luck, there was only one person ahead of me at the register. The song did change, I don't remember to what, but it wasn't The Song and that's all that mattered.

Thankfully, I got out in time. I'm still in!


ETA 2/15/15: I made it all the way through! For reference, I first played this game in December of 2011, and I'm currently 4 for 4 with wins as of this date.



A year ago on TTaT: That kind of day?

28 November 2014

Life of Art SitRep #251 Post turkey

If you celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a lovely day with some tasty treats. My part of the world got buried in snow on Wednesday with a bit of flickering power. Just enough to shut my computer off. Lots of people are entirely without power so it may be a while before the power company comes to reattach the power line to the house. Pulled a bit loose when a snow laden branch hit the line. Hoping wind doesn't jiggle it while I type this.

The upshot of this sudden winter wonderland with sketchy power for computer usage is that I shot 230 photographs of snow.

Earlier this week, I finished adding my photographs and designs to the new iPhone 6 Wallet Cases, Wood USB Flash Drives, and Swivel USB Flash Drives.
Red and Green Polka Dots Flash Drive Swivel USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Red and Green Polka Dots Flash Drive Swivel USB 3.0 Flash Drive by RocklawnArts
Check out more External memory USB Flash Drives at Zazzle
Construction Crane USB Flash Drive Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Construction Crane USB Flash Drive Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive by RocklawnArts
Browse more External memory USB Flash Drives at Zazzle
Rainbow Polka Dots on White Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Rainbow Polka Dots on White Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive by RocklawnArts
Shop for Rainbow USB Flash Drives online at Zazzle.com

Rocklawn Arts blogged New USB Flash Drives at Rocklawn Arts!

How was your turkey/tofurkey day?


(When I provide links to my store or products on Zazzle, I use affiliate links to earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' cost to you in any way.)

Two years ago on TTaT: Super Moon

25 November 2014

75. Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally

Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally75. Ready to Run: Unlocking Your Potential to Run Naturally by Kelly Starrett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you are a runner, you should definitely read this book. Chances are you're leaving a lot of your potential performance on the table whether from injuries, poor mechanics, or lack of mobility. Dr. Starrett (physiotherapist and coach) gives you a road map for addressing all of that. T.J. Murphy offers a runner's perspective in the "Runner to Runner" sections.

I am not a runner or an athlete, but I'm a fan of Kelly Starrett's mobility work. I borrowed this book to see if he talked about proper footwear (there's a whole chapter on flat shoes), but found myself into the book as a whole.

It's not just about running. It's about your body's position and how you treat it in life, not just the fraction of time you're exercising. If you spend a lot of time sitting during the day, you should read this book to learn how to unglue those tissues.

The book is full of helpful photos which illustrate neutral and poor positions as well as a variety of mobilizations to try.

Starrett's book Becoming a Supple Leopard has more mobilizations and a more in depth explanation of the mechanics involved, but Ready to Run feels more approachable and applicable for a non-athlete.

Ready to Run provides recipes to improve your mobility and address various pains runners often encounter. It has sample weeks of mobility work in the back as well as an index.

He also includes lists of resources and links to videos on his mobilitywod.com site. For example, Unglue Your Sticks offers approaches for dealing with tight calf tissues. There are a lot more free mobility workout-of-the-day videos on his site. That's where I got to know him first.

It's worth watching a couple of his videos to feel his enthusiasm for the work he's doing. Also rest assured that Ready to Run is not a dry read. Starrett's enthusiasm, humor, and pop culture references come across in his writing.

A great resource to have at hand. This one's on my xmas list.


Two years ago on TTaT: Justice, Vol. 1

24 November 2014

74. Shake Puppies

Shake Puppies74. Shake Puppies by Carli Davidson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A book of silly photographs of puppies shaking their heads. Good times.

It's a very quick read as it's a picture book with only a few pages of text (worth reading). I read the whole thing standing up while waiting for some people who were shopping.


Two years ago on TTaT: 57. The Non-Designer's Design Book

23 November 2014

Out for a Walk

After lunch, I checked the thermometer. It was 50 degrees outside. Warmer than forecast and much warmer than the 20s and 30s (not including wind chill) of the past week.

I went back upstairs to my computer to work.

At quarter to four, I thought to myself, What am I doing?! It's fifty degrees outside. Or it was.

A thin grey veil of clouds covered most of the sky and it looked like the sun was already behind the hill I live on.

These days I aim to take walks before 3 now that we're back to standard time. I didn't go out for a walk at all last week though because it was too cold.

I put my sneakers on, swapped hoodies for a heavier one, and hoped the temperature hadn't dropped too much.

It was still 49.

I grabbed my jacket and headed out.

The air was moist and the pavement wet. Clearly it'd rained but I hadn't noticed. It smelled like wet leaves.

I strode to the top of the hill where it levels off. The turnaround had been buried in leaves for weeks but was now mostly clear. The left fourth or so had arcs of soggy flattened leaves.

I walked down the other side of the street noting the Christmas decorations a neighbor had put up recently.

A silver SUV pulled onto the road. I waved as it passed, not quite sure if or which neighbor it belonged to. I thought it was one of the people at the top of the street but it pulled into the house with the wreaths, lights, and angel.

At the T intersection, I turned back. The main road has little visibility with a hill and a curve, and it doesn't have a shoulder to walk on. I was just out for a quick break anyway.

I stopped on the bridge on the way back. The pavement angles up on the road edges toward the guard rails. I planted my feet on the upslope for a calf stretch while I surveyed the creek.

There were little shelves of ice clinging to the rocks on the sides.

The water spray was on. Good, I thought to myself. The town's been by. I hadn't been sure if they'd turned it on yet. The spray prevents the water main that goes over the bridge from freezing.

This time, the water is hitting the top of a rock a couple feet away, flinging the spray upwards. That should make for a more interesting ice sculpture this year.

I took a few deep meditative breaths and headed home.

On the lower deck next to the garage door, an oak leaf had landed between two slats of wood so that it remained upright. I left it because it looked like it was waving to me.


4 years ago on TTaT: Hay-scented fiddleheads

21 November 2014

Life of Art SitRep #250 Hunkered Down With Coolness

This week, I finished adding my designs to the new Ribbons, Tablecloths, Paper Plates, and Fleece Blankets.

But wait, there's more!

I started adding my designs to new iPhone 6 Wallet Cases, Wood USB Flash Drives, and Swivel USB Flash Drives.

Have to say I think the flash drives are really cool because they are available with USB 3.0 or 2.0 and have a selection of capacities from 8 GB to 64 GB. The wallet cases are also cool because you can pop out the iPhone case from the wallet if you don't want to carry the whole thing.
Rainbow Squares Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive
Rainbow Squares Wood USB 3.0 Flash Drive by RocklawnArts
See more Rainbow USB Flash Drives at zazzle.com
Red and White Zigzag Incipio Watsonā„¢ iPhone 6 Wallet Case
Red and White Zigzag Incipio Watson™ iPhone 6 Wallet Case by RocklawnArts
Shop for Red white iPhone 6 Wallet Cases online at Zazzle.com

Rocklawn Arts blogged New Ribbons at Rocklawn Arts! and New Tablecloths and Paper Plates now available at Rocklawn Arts!

How was your week?


(When I provide links to my store or products on Zazzle, I use affiliate links to earn more so that I can continue creating photographs and designs. The links do not change the items' cost to you in any way.)

A year ago on TTaT: Sketchbook, page 56