Poppy

It's been way too long since I've posted a proper photo. The high volume shooting I've done in the past few months has proved a bit overwhelming. I just resized one that caught my eye and then noticed I'd already posted some poppies, but thankfully not this particular one. (Turns out the other shots are from 2 years ago in any case.)

Enjoy!


A year ago on TTaT: Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Compassion, The 2002 Claire

Sketchbook, page 35

(Other pages)

The process of filling a 120 60 page sketchbook and posting it all by year's end continues:

p.11 Bridgman's Book of 100 Hands "The Hand – Back View"

A year ago on TTaT: Before dinner...

Easy Does It Yoga

26. The American Yoga Association's Easy Does It Yoga: The safe and gentle way to health and well-being by Alice Christensen (4/5)

The book is aimed at older adults, but this seems like a good yoga starting point for anyone.

The very mellow yoga exercises are described in detail and supplemented with photos. 2 or 3 instructions didn't seem to quite line up with the photos, but the rest were clear. Christensen also describes the physiological (and sometimes mental/emotional) benefits for each exercise which I found informative.

Chapters on nutrition, meditation, and yoga philosophy are also included.

A 6 week program is presented but you have to flip back and forth to the exercise descriptions listed on various pages. I've tried weeks 1 and 2 and the flipping around is not a big deal. The routines do take longer than 10-20 minutes though.

I spent 70 minutes doing the week 2 routine today, but it was my first time doing it and that includes ~13 minutes of meditation which isn't included in the 10-20 minute estimates. Granted I was rereading the details of each exercise and taking it slowly as the book suggests. Once you're familiar with the exercises, it should take less time.

What's nifty is that a lot of the exercises presented are suitable for doing while watching tv or doing other things. That's not quite the focused approach of yoga, but many are prime for incorporating into stray moments throughout the day.

Well worth a look. Don't be dissuaded from trying it because the models in the photos are mostly over 60. It makes me think of Havi's Old Turkish Lady Yoga, and that's a good thing.

Life of Art SitRep #20

A series to mark what I did to further my pursuit of a life sustained by my art each week. Committing to these posts is a commitment to action, because to have content for them, I have to do something. Every week. If you have any sort of goal you're pursuing, feel free to share your efforts of the past week in the comments. Or encouragement, that's good too.

*******

This week, I

• Drew some logo ideas.
• Uploaded North Window to Cafepress RA site. Made into postcard group for sale. Took off old product. Tried making some posters, cards but wouldn't let me "fill" to edges so I deleted them.
• Added line to point out that you can change the postage denominations to all of the stamps offered. Mixed and matched rates to different sized stamps, so they display a variety of rates.
• (Re)made print, mug, t-shirt, apron, tote, sticker, magnet, button, keychain for Sunset on Onota lake: horizontal.
• Took a stab at creating horizontal digital image card template. Then made digital vertical templates for: print, card, mousepad, 3 stamp sizes, magnet, button, keychain, sticker, bumper sticker, mug, apron, tote, and t-shirt. Also film horizontal templates for all 3 stamp sizes, card, binder, t-shirt.
• Made 14 cards using templates.
• Made product line of Sunset over Onota: vertical using templates.
• Made card, apron, and shoes for Bokeh in Spring.
• Read post on photography back up/work flow on Chase Jarvis's site. Good info.

*******

What did you do to pursue the life you want this week?


A year ago on TTaT: It's all in my head, so to speak; Brain train wreck

Awareness is the new black

My body is screwing with me.
My body is failing me.
My body betrayed me.
My body hates me.

So often these thoughts and others have run through my mind... my head, my brain, what seems to be my core of self. There's my intellect and this sack of meat and bones that carries me around. Can the disconnect be more discrete?

Only perhaps if there were no pain. Pain, whether piercing, dull, chronic, or fleeting, provides a fast, hard to ignore reminder that my mind and body are connected. But it's often prompted me to curse my body as well.

Havi talks a lot about "noticing" on her blog. She uses the term in a variety of contexts: emotional, physical, literal, metaphorical.

As I ease into bits of seriously low-key yoga and tai chi, my attention has been drawn to my body for a few minutes each practice. The past few days, I've made a deliberate effort to notice more. I ask questions and make observations, all experiment-like. How do my legs feel as I walk up the stairs two-at-a-time? Hey, flexing this, tightens that too. What's going on with my knee? How does it feel if I change my breathing? What is it about this Tai Chi move that's grounding?

It's only been a couple of days and my noticing is sporadic, but I find that I want to move more to see what my body does.

I'm ready for a truce with my body.

When sinus issues, allergies, and weather changes conspire to nauseate me or flatline my energy, I'm sure my body is as bummed as I am. In fact, I know it. There is no "we," there's only me. I'm the one waging war, betraying my body.

My days go better when I take a few minutes to feel integrated. Who'd've thought, right?

Instead of waiting for pain reminders, I'm paying attention to my body in motion, at rest, noticing its quirks and its miraculousness. My body may not look or behave as I'd hope, but there's a great deal I take for granted which is amazing. I think about dancing, and my body moves to the music. The phone across the room lights up, and I read the caller ID from ~8 feet away. Skin reforms to heal cuts and scrapes without me having to think about it. The feel of warm rain on my skin. All amazing.

The noticing experiment continues. May the peace last.


A year ago on TTaT: Gettin' My Groove On... (vol. i)

Goddamn motherfrakking ants

The bug guy came finally, variously delayed with no good explanations. After treating stuff inside and spraying outside, he said, "If you see any more ants, don't kill them. If they're still around in a couple of weeks, give me a call."

It's been a few days, but now that I'm seeing them in my room – where I hadn't before – I'm calling bullshit on this whole let-'em-live thing. Talking with my dad, he pointed out that since the exterior was sprayed, none of the ants that were already inside are going to go out now. If anything, they'll come further inside.

It's just frustrating seeing these stray motherfuckers wandering about.

Reminds me of when my parents were really frustrated by a bunch of ants living in our front steps. I was in 2nd grade at the time. To express my solidarity with their frustration one day as the three of us stood outside looking at the stairs, I yelled, "Goddamn motherfucking bitch bastard asshole shithead ants!"

My parents looked at me for a moment. I started to worry I'd done something wrong. And then they burst out laughing.

It's about three decades later and my mom still relishes telling that story. I get why it's frustrating now. My expression of it hasn't changed much though, except to be a bit more concise with a side of geek.


3 years ago on TTaT: Noticing oddities

Sketchbook, page 34

(Other pages)

The process of filling a 120 60 page sketchbook and posting it all by year's end continues:

I reckon I can only hope you know what this is.

A year ago on TTaT: It's short for Rococo. Obviously.

Life of Art SitRep #19

A series to mark what I did to further my pursuit of a life sustained by my art each week. Committing to these posts is a commitment to action, because to have content for them, I have to do something. Every week. If you have any sort of goal you're pursuing, feel free to share your efforts of the past week in the comments. Or encouragement, that's good too.

*******

This week, I

• got so much done with my new zazzle shop Rocklawn Arts it would take a ridiculous amount of time to link to all of the new products. (Besides, I'd rather keep working.) Please stop by my shop and see for yourself. Oh, fortuitous nineteen!
• Added pixel & scanning info to Rocklawn Arts product descriptions.
• Tweeted shipping upgrade sale code reminders for both zazzle stores.
• Added quick store intro, profile pic, and revised store tags a little for Rocklawn Arts shop.
• Prepped and uploaded Bokeh in Spring to Rocklawn Arts shop.
• Linked zazzle accounts for volume bonus calculation purposes.
• Made ~78 products for Rocklawn Arts shop, including several items my old shop does not carry (or doesn't carry in these designs): stickers, buttons, aprons, mugs, tote bags, keychains, bumper stickers, and t-shirts. Prints/posters for all photos are also up, of course, as well as other items. More to come!
• Did some research online and in the forums for my shop.
• Shot 106 photos and 4 movies.
• Drew 1 sketch.
• Entered contest by Scott Bourne & Scancafe via twitter for a new Canon 5D MK II or $2500 of photo scans.

*******

What did you do to pursue the life you want this week?


A year ago on TTaT: Move More

Vestiges

So, while looking for design sketches from, well, years ago, I paged through some 10 notebook remnants and a couple of binders. That's not all of them, just the ones I considered most promising.

Too many?

They're not all full. Most are legal pads with lots of pages removed. So I did weed things out at some point, but for now, I've hit the wall. It's not like I need most of this information anymore, but it's my history: planning cross country road trips, researching where to live, people I worked with, utilities turned on/canceled, car accident notes, songs I wrote, sporadic recipes, diagrams of new guitar chords, journal writing without journal containment, names and numbers galore.

One binder was full of copies of letters I wrote to people almost 2 decades ago and assorted print mementos from others; I marveled at my neat handwriting. Didn't seem possible, but then I saw some writing I never expected anyone else to read and was reassured by the messier scrawl. My best handwriting now has deteriorated quite a bit.

I feel like I should tear out and recycle some more pages, but each provides a context for the next even if it doesn't seem to contain any vital information.

Never did find what I was looking for, though I just turned my head and spied a large sketchbook on a shelf. It starts with a drawing of the store front I lived in in San Francisco:

Then some amusing animal representations. Ooh, a sketch of my friend's ornately carved daybed in LA–what a lovely treat! I'd forgotten I'd drawn that. I did remember that I'd written down all the words I was unsure of from Lolita, with their definitions. Three and half pages of words, 135 I happened to note at the end. I know many of them now.

Then pages of journal writing scrawled with the blue and silver fountain pen resting on my desk right now. Flowing ink scratching across a thick page: it's soothing, I tell ya.

And then... half a page of brainstormed names with design sketches on the recto. Just what I was looking for. How 'bout that?


A year ago on TTaT: Another not my dog

Thank you, Nigella Lawson!

Around the winter holidays, I watched a cooking special by Nigella Lawson. I've long been a fan of hers, watching Nigella Bites back when it first aired on the Style Network.

The food in this particular holiday special wasn't really my thing, but I distinctly recalled that she used something sparkly to decorate her dessert to make it more festive. I filed that knowledge away somewhere deep until I found myself in the cake aisle of the grocery store a couple days ago. However, I could not for the life of me remember what the substance was called.

In any case, they didn't have it. For all I knew, it could've been a UK product or one only available in metropolitan areas in the States.

Mom suggested Michael's since they carry a bunch of wedding cake supplies. I walked down the aisle, scanning the display of cookie icing, and turned to check the other side.

Edible. Glitter.

Once I read it, it seemed so obvious. I was just happy to find it. Michael's didn't just have silver though; they had an assortment of colors and styles.

I used green glitter on top and blue glitter on the lower edge of the cake with silver star glitter along its edges (all edible glitter). Chocolate frosting isn't the ideal background for the colors, of course, but it does show up relatively well. The edible glitter really didn't impact the taste, so I could've used more of it. (I also didn't have much time to think out the camera lighting to best advantage. It was cake and present time!)

Yes, I know the 7 went out, but he didn't notice before he blew out the rest. It took 8 matches and 2 people to get them all lit in the first place. Also, those number candles melt like you wouldn't believe. The back of the 7 was pouring down the back of the cake. Fortunately, the wax came off easily enough once the candles were all out.

Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting: super tasty! Not overwhelmingly sweet as that combination can sometimes be. Yay, Mom! An excellent cake baking/decorating team effort.


A year ago on TTaT: Not my dog

Sketchbook, page 33

(Other pages)

The process of filling a 120 60 page sketchbook and posting it all by year's end continues:

"Trillium"

Not the best photo by any means, but I really liked the trillium's lines.


A year ago on TTaT: Before and After

Life of Art SitRep #18

A series to mark what I did to further my pursuit of a life sustained by my art each week. Committing to these posts is a commitment to action, because to have content for them, I have to do something. Every week. If you have any sort of goal you're pursuing, feel free to share your efforts of the past week in the comments. Or encouragement, that's good too.

*******

This week, I

• Shot 158 photos.
• Came upon a rad Depth Of Field site. Has a variety of online calculators, charts & tables; some you can print, some you can download, for all manner of digital cameras and film types. (Shared it with Twitter, fsu list, and y'all.)
• Catalogued and sleeved 5 rolls of negatives. Removed irritating packaging.
• Entered lensbaby composer drawing on Scott Bourne's site.
• Finished reading You Suck at Zazzle, v.4.
• Tweeted, FB'd father's day shipping sale info.

50% off 2-day shipping on $35+ at my shops:
Rocklawn Arts
Molto Groovy Photos
Use Code: DADDYUPGRADE
Ends 6/14 at 3pm PT

• Added statcounter and google analytics to Rocklawn Arts zazzle page.
• Set RocklawnArts.com to forward to my Rocklawn Arts zazzle store.
• Changed username tags to RocklawnArts throughout products I plan to put on Rocklawn Arts store. (Find & replace all FTW!) Also added "Rocklawn Arts" to product tags.
• Rechecked and uploaded 13 images to Rocklawn Arts zazzle account . Added info to metadata.
• Added zazzle panel for Rocklawn Arts to shop page on TTaT.
• (Re)created 4 prints in my Rocklawn Arts store:

North Window by RocklawnArts
View other poster designs at zazzle



Desert Wave by RocklawnArts
More Desert wave Posters



Petrified Wood by RocklawnArts
View all the other artwork at zazzle



Desert Silhouette by RocklawnArts
Poster printing by zazzle.com


• Drew 1 sketch.

*******

What did you do to pursue the life you want this week? A year ago on TTaT: Is that my free time I see slipping away? 1 year on Twitter!

It's OK to Zag.

Preferable even. Because it means you've already Zigged and hence overshot what you were going for.

The past two weeks I've been over-thinking so much, overwhelmed with the prospect of starting over, of making another wrong choice I will have to fix down the line. The thing is, I don't have to start from the beginning again. I've accumulated a lot of materials I can reuse with little revision and a lot of knowledge I can apply to this course correction.

If I must subsequently Zig again months from now (an idea I'd do well to embrace, as this being life makes it probable if not inevitable), it's OK because I will still be moving forward. It's so easy for me to become paralyzed with indecision. Better to mush on even if I need myriad course corrections.

But perhaps over time, the Zigs and Zags will align closer to my aspirations.

Now to attend to some much needed Zagging...


A year ago on TTaT: Haiku: Irony; Damn, I should've changed my eye color...

Llamas, sheep, and sky

A year ago on TTaT: 12. Storm Front; Boys are weird, or maybe it was the time of day

20 Minute Yoga Workouts

25. 20 Minute Yoga Workouts by Alice Christensen (3/5)

Explains postures and theory well but is a bit dense if you're trying to read and follow along.

In all of the various workouts, breathing and meditation comprise 10 minutes of the workout if not more. Not quite what I was looking for.

Still, I learned some theory and picked up some new stretches to pepper into my day. My favorite is the lunge sequence on page 93 because it's kind of badass and I can actually do it.


A year ago on TTaT: Huh-freakin'-zzah!

Sketchbook, page 32

(Other pages)

The process of filling a 120 60 page sketchbook and posting it all by year's end continues:

"Neil Gaiman's live UStream to start National Library Week 12/iv/10"
A close resemblance? Not so much, but I like the sketch anyway. In college, it used to really frustrate me when the models we had to draw moved because we were expected to fix our drawings despite our best efforts to coax them back to where they had been. Obviously Neil Gaiman wasn't modeling, so he was free to move within the constraints of the video frame. I decided to draw him anyway, letting his movement come as it might.

The screenshot is included just for comparison, I drew from the live feed of his talk. An entertaining challenge. Thanks for the impromptu modeling, Neil!


A year ago on TTaT: Awakening

Rockin' the single life

I keep thinking about this line, or rather this bit of a line, from Vahid's post last week:

Sometimes you’ve just about given up and you console yourself with, “You know, this single thing ain’t as bad as all that, I can totally rock this for the next twenty years or so,” ...

Being single doesn't bother me, but the feeling that I'm not actually rockin' the single life does. There's a media-soused vision of the life I want in my head, but it's not practical for me. I'm not going to regularly get together with a few friends for a drink or coffee because I don't like the taste of coffee or most alcohol.

You could drink something else.

I've been the person at the bar who doesn't drink. I prefer not to be everyone's assumed designated-driver. Also, being around drunk people? A mix of dull and awkward. Or if they're not drunk, someone often manages to comment, "You're a cheap date." Tired of hearing that. Some of it's my stuff, some of it's their stuff, but it's not what I think of as a good time.

Makes a coffee shop seem more promising but I don't even like the smell of it anymore. Not sure what happened. I used to like it as a kid, but now it kind of makes me feel ill.

So do something else. Not everything has to be about beverages or food.

True enough. It's just... well... I don't know anyone I want to hang out with here. My favorite buds are hundreds or thousands of miles away. And I like being home. Of two local contenders, 1 turned out to be a thief whose actions I would bet money were the cause of a lot of stress I experienced months previously, and the other's interest became clear that it was financially motivated. On the upside, I supposed I did discover these things before becoming invested in these people, but it also makes me feel like seeking new friends out (much like new relationships) is not worth the bother.

Part of me wants local friends and someone to share my life with, but most of me likes feeling safe. Living drama-free. Not being let down yet again. Standing up for myself even if it's alone.

You're overreacting, I'm sure many of my old friends would say. But my life is much more peaceful without most of them. Not because they're crazy (mostly), but because they make me crazy: needy and over-sensitive. Blind Loyalty, I think I'm finally over you.

That was my Achilles' heel as a shy person. Anyone I felt I really connected with had me as a staunch ally. Even when they no longer deserved it. Not anymore. mostly.

Now it's that I like being a hermit too much. You know, this recluse thing ain’t as bad as all that, I can totally rock this for the next twenty years or so.


A year ago on TTaT: 20 self portraits from 1996, day 20, ii; A loser with perfect eyebrows (ha! maybe these are yearly musings.)

Life of Art SitRep #17

A series to mark what I did to further my pursuit of a life sustained by my art each week. Committing to these posts is a commitment to action, because to have content for them, I have to do something. Every week. If you have any sort of goal you're pursuing, feel free to share your efforts of the past week in the comments. Or encouragement, that's good too.

*******

This week, I

• Shot 394 photos.
• Went to an art fair. Looked at lots of artists handouts, site names, store names. When I told a couple of people that I really liked their stuff (even if I didn't buy it), it was so clearly appreciated that I made an effort to get over my shyness to express that more when I felt it. Totally worth it every time.
• Registered a URL (my first, can you believe that? TTaT's a blogspot address, so you probably can.) and several other accounts with its name. Still not sure I'm going to go with it though. Really need to just fucking decide.
• Prepped Maidenhair Ferns photo, made stamps, postcard, card for shop.
• Verified that I can't switch products or images from one store to another on zazzle. (So if I want to change my zazzle URL, I have to start over. sigh. Need to bite the bullet and start if I'm going to though.)

*******

What did you do to pursue the life you want this week?


A year ago on TTaT: 20 self portraits from 1996, day 20, i

Yoga for Wimps

23. Yoga for Wimps: Poses for the Flexibly Impaired by Miriam Austin (4/5)

I've been doing bits of yoga on and off for years, but there are still fairly basic and all too common poses that I just can't do. Downward-facing dog is an excellent example. I've seen modified poses before, but in many cases, yoga blocks are not enough to solve my inflexibility.

Enter Yoga for Wimps. The book is full of really modified poses with no special equipment. A chair, wall, a couple rolled up towels, and a couple of ties cover the accessories used. The text is easy to follow and the photos demonstrate the poses well (though the attire could be more appealing). The poses are arranged in sequences you can do. You know you're done with a sequence when the model changes. Very easy to understand.

There are also sections devoted to achieving certain results: reducing stress, getting refreshed if you've been walking around a museum or a mall for a long time, things to do while watching tv, poses for doing after an action-packed weekend, etc.

The back of the book has a section describing all the poses in greater detail: how to do them, their benefits, things to avoid, ways to makes them more challenging.

Straightforward and very simple to follow. I'm going to check out some more from the library but this one's definitely a contender for buying. I like that I can do a sequence in a couple of pages without committing 30 minutes to an hour to yoga. Makes it more likely I'll incorporate at least some yoga into my day rather than none.

If you have trouble with certain yoga poses that seem to come up all the time even in beginner classes/videos, give this book a look. It lets you get the desired benefit from the poses when you're unable to achieve them properly unmodified.


A year ago on TTaT: 20 self portraits from 1996, day 18; Making it official: coming out to my family

Sketchbook, page 31

(Other pages)

The process of filling a 120 60 page sketchbook and posting it all by year's end continues:

"Alonso on shelf"

A year ago on TTaT: Want