Life of Art SitRep #73 I'll take this zag

Every week, I work towards creating a life of art for myself. This is the zigzag filled journey.

Play along in the comments with your own pursuits if you'd like. (That's where I'll cheer you on.)

*******

This week, I

Shot 350 photographs: goats!, machinery, train, storm clouds, plants, etc.. Also 3 videos, one you'll see soon. :)

Finally picked a hibiscus image, huzzah! Edited Red Hibiscus With Raindrops photograph, wrote product description, and created product line for it:

Red Hibiscus With Raindrops by RocklawnArts
See more Birthday Cards

Red Hibiscus With Raindrops iPhone 4 case by RocklawnArts
Browse other iphone cases

Red Hibiscus With Raindrops by RocklawnArts
Browse Red flower Magnets

Tweeted, FB'd link to Red Hibiscus With Raindrops collection.

Zblogged Red Hibiscus With Raindrops.

Added Rock Mountain Summit to my Rocklawn Arts redbubble site.

Revised my Rocklawn Arts store description and store tags. Changed out top picks. Reordered store a bit.

Added plain code-free links to my links file. Snow-covered Branches didn't have *s, so I added them and fixed its product descriptions.

Added trailers for last movie to Harry Potter lens, changed intro image. Added more tags to all lenses of mine.

Submitted zazzle links to a lens and blog.

Tweeted sales and some products.

Finished reading July 2011 Popular Photography. Finally totally caught up, woo!

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How are your pursuits going?


A year ago on TTaT: Less thinking, more photos

Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack

32. Wonder Woman: Amazons Attack by Will Pfeifer

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


A fair amount of Wonder Woman's storyline occurs outside of this book which I found disappointing.

I thought this volume followed Wonder Woman: Love and Murder (Wonder Woman #6-10), but Amazons Attack! is apparently it's own run of Amazons Attack! #1-6. It actually backtracks the storyline a bit with plot elements that occurred in Love and Murder interspersed within Amazons Attack which is a bit confusing.

Perhaps Wonder Woman #11-13 aren't collected in a graphic novel since Wonder Woman: The Circle is comprised of Wonder Woman #14-19. I'm assuming issues #11-13 would fill in the gap where Wonder Woman goes to Themyscira, among other other things.


Two years ago on TTaT: After dinner... (a cool photo series)

How to find forgotten money

Suze Orman had a cool tip on the June 18, 2011 episode of "The Suze Orman Show." You can download the episode for free from iTunes to see for yourself if you like. The tip starts around 41:50.

To find out if you have money in old accounts you've forgotten about, check these two legitimate sites:

Unclaimed.org
MissingMoney.com

I didn't expect to find any and didn't, but it was still nice to double-check since I've moved around a fair bit. Also quick and very easy to do. To prove it's worthwhile, someone else with my name has an account out there worth over $100. (Different middle initial and at a place I've never been, so I know it's not mine.)

To see if you have Treasury bills, bonds, or notes (that, for example, your parents got for you but never told you about), go to:

TreasuryDirect.gov

and click on "Check Treasury Hunt to see if you own matured savings bonds." It's at the bottom of the left-most column under Individuals.

Happy hunting! I'd love to know if you have any luck with this.


Two years ago on TTaT: 40th Anniversary of Stonewall Riots

Goats in the wild

OK, not really the wild, but still seriously awesome! I have not seen that many goats all at once anywhere around here before. I actually had to crop out 5 goats from the third stampede shot because it was too wide, and that doesn't include any of the goats from the 1st shot under the tree. This was a super treat.

A camera with significantly better low light performance would've been great, but I'll still take it. Not sure what it is, but seeing goats (and particularly pygmy goats) always makes me happy.


A year ago on TTaT: Sketchbook, page 35

Life of Art SitRep #72 Basement Jaxx

Every week, I work towards creating a life of art for myself. This is the zigzag filled journey.

Play along in the comments with your own pursuits if you'd like. (That's where I'll cheer you on.)

*******

Tombraider isn't a very good movie, but it has moments I love. At the moment, I'm thinking of the very end...

***SPOILER***

...when Lara picks up her guns and swings her aim into camera, freeze frame and "Where's Your Head At" kicks into the soundtrack. Where's my head at? is what I'm wondering these days. I know what I want to get done and yet I'm repeatedly distracted or inundated with too many choices. Need to work out some methodologies, I think. Less stress would be good too.

Beginning is two-thirds of the work, as the Welsh say, except in Welsh. I think I just need to begin again to find my groove.

This week, I

Shot 210 photographs. Finally a break in the rain! I missed my window a couple days ago so I was so happy to be out this afternoon even if my pants' legs were getting soaked.

Tweeted, FB'd, Zblogged Summer Lovin' Sale:

Get set for barbecues, picnics, and beach time!

40% OFF Canvas Bags
30% OFF iPhone/iPad cases
20% OFF Keds Shoes
10% OFF Portable Speakers
$5 OFF T-shirts

Use code: SUNLOVINSALE

Offer is valid until June 26, 2011 at 11:59 PM Pacific Time.

Circle With Fire Escape by RocklawnArts
Create a bag at zazzle.com

Bokeh In Spring iPhone 4 case by RocklawnArts
Browse other iphone 3 cases

Rainbow Squares iPad case by RocklawnArts
Join one of the largest ipad affiliate programs

Blue Bokeh – Men's sizes by RocklawnArts
Join one of the biggest artist affiliate programs

Puffy Clouds On Blue Sky by RocklawnArts
Design a personalized computer speakers on zazzle

Rainbow Squares by RocklawnArts
More Rainbow Speakers

Downtown Kansas City by RocklawnArts
Browse Kansas city T-Shirts

Tweeted sales.

Watched some of "Photoshop Elements 9 with Lesa Snider" workshop on Creative Live. Picked up some more Photoshop keyboard shortcuts and tips.

Read May 2011 Popular Photography.

Zblogged postage and binder sales.

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How are your pursuits going?


First time I've ever posted on June 24th since I started TTaT in 2005. Woo!

Life of Art SitRep #71 If nothing else, learn

Every week, I work towards creating a life of art for myself. This is the zigzag filled journey.

Play along in the comments with your own pursuits if you'd like. (That's where I'll cheer you on.)

*******

This week, I

Watched Beyond Photography - Artistic Post Production with Doug Landreth on Creative Live. Watch courses live for FREE and/or pay for downloads. I enjoyed and learned so much from this one, I bought it so I can rewatch it at whim. I see lots of possibilities for the Photoshop approaches in my art work. Has me inspired and excited.

Reviewed my poppy photographs. Narrowed down possible hero shots for my Rocklawn Arts store. May involve some compositing though. Not as clear cut and simple as I'd hoped.

Shot 18 snapshots of my Dad's birthday. Oh, shutter lag, you're killing me. Cupcake shots came out fairly well though. Ghiradelli chocolate cupcakes with chocolate chips and chocolate frosting. Sooooooo very rich.

Tweeted a variety of sales. Follow @RocklawnArts to see all the sale possibilities or claireofRA for a smattering of them intermixed with more personal randomness.

Watched "High Key Replace Color Adjustment," "How To Remove Tan Lines in Photoshop," "How To Add A Signature To Your Image," "Create A Photoshop 35mm Film Strip" (Pretty cool), "Using Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 with Photoshop" Photoshop tutorials.

*******

How are your pursuits going?


Two years ago on TTaT: Another not my dog, Move More

Poppy profile

Poppies only bloom for about a week here and individual blooms don't hold up long. The petals are very delicate. This photograph is either late the day it opened or the day after, so it's already a bit past, but I love the angles and the lines of it. Actually stopped reviewing my shots to share this one.

No adjustments other than resizing.


Two years ago on TTaT: An introvert, yes

Life of Art SitRep #70 If nothing else, shoot

Every week, I work towards creating a life of art for myself. This is the zigzag filled journey.

Play along in the comments with your own pursuits if you'd like. (That's where I'll cheer you on.)

*******

Wow, that's trim. The shooting I accomplished feels like a big deal though. Thought I'd get another product line out this week but just didn't have the energy for it. Actually kind of glad because I revisited some subjects in other conditions so I've got more to choose from now.

This week, I

Shot 704 photographs. Guess I got out more than I thought I did, woo! Poppies, bearded irises, etc. Have about 300 I have not even looked at yet. Lightning storms, power outage, and needed reprieves. Did some quick tagging but need a clearer head for review.

Tweeted a bunch of Father's Day sales.

Finished reading June 2011 Popular Photography.

*******

How are your pursuits going?


A year ago on TTaT: It's OK to Zag.

Venturing out...

...albeit not far.

Definitely a nice perk for my first real saunter out since surgery. Having a camera with me on post-op walks is definitely the way to go since I end up stopping every few feet to photograph something. Keeps me from pushing too hard.

Surgical Notes:
1. The morning of surgery, my doctor totally exhibited previously unseen OCD behavior, which honestly just amused me. If ever there's a time to get a little OCD, right?

2. My anesthesiologist's assistant was a young woman who looked an insane amount like Marla Sokoloff though I couldn't think of the actress' name at the time. I kept thinking, She looks like that cheerleader from Sugar & Spice. Well, except that she was in surgical garb with a custom cap covering her hair.

She had the syringe of awesome in her chest pocket, something to mellow me out and keep me from getting anxious on the way to the OR if I wanted it. Hell, yeah! In my pre-op interview days earlier, the nurse had described it as, "And then they'll give you some bee-you-ti-ful sedation." Bring it!

When it was finally time to go, Marla's lookalike said, "All right, I'm gonna slip you a mickey."

Had she been male or unfriendly, it would have been totally inappropriate and creepy instead of making me laugh with its unexpectedness. Context is everything.


4 years ago on TTaT: Sometimes narrow expertise is all you need

Blood Rites

28. Blood Rites by Jim Butcher

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Book 6 of Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series. I'm not sure how Butcher does it, but each book delves yet deeper into the life of Harry Dresden, professional wizard in Chicago. Some series feel the same after a while, but The Dresden Files just keep getting more intriguing. Makes me wonder how much of Harry's life Butcher had figured out before he wrote the first book.

This volume has some great payoffs to bits of information laced throughout the preceding books. Even so, you could read this book on its own and still follow the story well only missing the weight of some of the details.

A very enjoyable urban fantasy mystery. I read it in basically 2 days.


A year ago on TTaT: Life of Art SitRep #17

Life of Art SitRep #69 Lost Weekend

Every week, I work towards creating a life of art for myself. This is the zigzag filled journey.

Play along in the comments with your own pursuits if you'd like. (That's where I'll cheer you on.)

*******

There's Lost Weekend, but this feels more like a Lost Week. Guess that's what a room of stopped clocks and anesthesia sets you up for. Onwards!

This week, I

Shot 76 photographs of poppies, irises, and a few self portraits. (Alas Photo Booth is not the greatest tool for recording pupil dilation, at least not when your eyes are quite dark to begin with.

Added links without html code for each product line to links file.

Tweeted, FB'd card sale:

Get ready for Father's Day!
30% Off All Customizable Cards until 11:59 PM PT tonight (June 3, 2011).
Use code: 3DADDYSDEALS

Tweeted, FB'd various Memorial Day sales.

*******

How are your pursuits going?


A year ago on TTaT: Yoga for Wimps