Native/Exotic

I just couldn't let this 2thingsphotochallenge get away.

I've been mulling over this one all week and then it finally came to me. The Eucalyptus tree is the exotic. It is not a native tree to our country. It reigns from Australia, where there are more that 700 species, mostly native to this continent. Most of the Eucalyptus trees found in other regions of the world have been planted.

The picture of the Eucalyptus below was taken in my backyard. It stands approximately 100 feet tall. Just below this Eucalyptus are many live oaks, some blue and some scrub oak, which are native to this area.


Here are some pics of the scrub oak, but look, underneath the oak is another exotic it's an Agave, otherwise known as a "Century Plant".

There are some 125 species of this plant in Mexico while there are only 15 in the U.S. This species is an Agave atroviriens, it can weigh over two tons. This plant here is actually 10 ft. tall.



Here's a closer look. I should have placed my husband next to it's prickly leaves to give you some perspective. These stalks are well over 6 ft. long and approximately 15 ft. across. This particular genus will die once it flowers which is about 20 years, it's starting to flower.

click on photos to enlarge:


Now for the fun trivia:
The Agaves have been used as food source as far back as 1000 A.D.
Today, just across the border in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in the town of Tequila, they are extracting Mescal to distill for Tequila from this Agave. By law it's the only Mescal that can be called Tequila.

Perhaps I should consider tapping into this sucker for my Margarita's this summer.

You do not want to be pricked by this cactus nor try to dismantle it without proper protection as it will cause numbing to your limbs, temporarily of course. Now you could suck the Mescal from the plant and your numbing problems will subside.

Have a lovely week! Thanks as always for your comments and visits!

My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"

YoU aRe NoT HeRe...

11 x 14 canvas board, gel image transfers, Golden acrylic paints
rub-ons, paint pens, rubber stamp

My contribution to Illustration Friday's challenge "Pet Peeves"

I've got a few pet peeves, but this one particular 'peeve' is on top of my list and it's about refusing to ask for directions.

Have you ever gotten in the car with someone who will drive around in circles, travel for miles and insist they know where they are going? and it's clear that they are lost and you are not getting any closer to your destination? Then you ask that miserable question, "Why don't you ask for directions?" and the person retorts with a smug remark, Why? I'm not lost I know exactly where I'm going, then your face begins to scrunch up and you're ready to go to battle. If you're lucky you somehow arrive at your destination with the driver acting like they knew all along how to get there or they finally concede they are lost and beg for mercy.

-or wait there's a better one...
they ask for directions and then do something completely different because they don't believe the information they've been given to be true and you remain lost.

Other pet peeves:
cellphone use in restaurants, while driving
dogs left unattended barking continuously
shopping carts left randomly askew in parking lots
ignorance

I'll leave you with the following quote:
"If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up.
What he needs is education to turn him around." - Jim Rohn

Thank-you for your visits and kind words.

My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"

jUsT anOtHeR dAy in PaRaDise

The girls... me, Julie, Kim (our visiting blog friend from Wisconsin a.k.a. the North Pole) started the weekend off Saturday morning, at o'dark thirty...6:45 a.m. first stop Starbuck's, then off to the local swap meet.

Now mind you, our day wasn't complete until we had traveled to a myriad of thrift stores, a stamp supply store, a fabric store (which we quickly left because we were overcome by color and texture) followed by lunch, Border's for more art books, Dick Blick's, Artist's and Craftman Supply, Dick Blick's again... because A&C didn't have a colors we were after and then off to the beach to meet Heather, kick the sand, pick up shells and watch the sun go down, which was topped off at "The Harbor Beach Cafe" with a cold refreshment, some delicious fish tacos and wonderful company.


Flowers at the swap meet



Carlsbad State Beach- Carlsbad, CA

the boy

the sand

the surf

the end to a perfect weekend

Now it wouldn't be a perfect weekend without a splash of creativity and more camaraderie.

The same group of girls along with a few other friends, got together early Sunday a.m. to take class from our favorite Chris Cozen who is a "working artist" for Golden Paints.

Chris is a remarkable teacher and has just released a new book called "Altered Surfaces" which is chock full of instructions for creating all types of interesting surfaces utilizing the wide range of Golden products.

With Chris our classes generally begin with some type of color study on different papers or substrates. Today we began by choosing our favorite color palettes and painting background papers, using watercolor paper, canvas paper and some type of acrylic/linen paper.

Once our papers were complete we put together small collages and embellishments for our glass paperweight and then decided which portion of our paper we would use for the background.

Here is a sampling of my background papers:






Below are my finished glass paperweights.
These were a bit tricky to photograph due to the glass and reflection but you get the idea.





Thanks for your visits and kind words.

Have a wonderful week! My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"

Thank God It's Friday!

This canvas board was painted with my favorite Golden acrylic paints, and the image transfers were made using Golden Acrylic Ground for Pastels and Golden Glass Bead Gel.

The image transfer of the sun was done with the bead gel. I found the bead gel difficult to work with in that the paper does not want to release easily from the beads once the transfer is made, I think I need more practice or... I need to ditch the medium. I'll give it a few more trys. I usually don't give up that easily.

I then took the image into Photoshop and added a posterize and film grain filter. I liked the results.

This has been one crazy week and I found that slaying dragons and doing good deeds can be hard work, so TGIF. I've been able to make my rounds and found most of you busily creating all week long and have thoroughly enjoyed my trip. Keep up the great work!

I'm off this weekend to pillage flea markets and search for more stuff to stockpile for future creative use and... to enjoy the SUN.


Here Comes the Sun-

"Little darling, it's been a long cold, lonely winter.."





See you soon! My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"

Dream State

8x10 colored pencil/pencil/collage material/distress inks

"Twirl me about, and twirl me around
Let me grow dizzy and fall to the ground
And when I look up at you looking down,
Say it was only a dream"
- Mary Chapin Carpenter

I really should be cleaning up my studio, so that I can get back into that room and work. I have two work tables in there that have somehow been overcome by events. Events as in projects.

My workspace has now expanded to our x-large kitchen table, leaving my husband 1/3 of the table to enjoy his breakfast and read his paper. He doesn't seem to mind. I do check with him on occasion when things begin to look like they are getting out of control.

Note to self: things are out of control.

I'm going to do something about this chaos and clean up my act.

Dreamer!

I'll leave you with this thought:
"Yesterday is but today's memory, and tomorrow is today's dream"-Kahlil Gibran

Thanks for visiting! Don't forget to mosey on over to my other blogspot: "The Way I See It"

Old/New

My contribution to this week's 2thingsphotochallenge Old/New

Old/
Here's a photo of Yosemite Valley I took last time my dad came to visit from New York.

This is your first view of Yosemite, located on the lower western end of the valley as you enter the park. It's breathtaking. You can see the sheer granite face of El Capitan on the left, Cathedral Rocks on the right and just below Bridalveil Falls.
Click on image to get a closer look.

Most of the granite features of Yosemite Valley were created during the Cretaceous Period when intrusions of igneous rock comprised of solidified molten magna formed plutons beneath the earth's surface. The earliest of these granite intrusions appeared 114 million years ago.
Plutons, named after Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld.

New/

Here is a recent photo of the Roman Colosseum or Coliseum. One of the greatest works of Roman Architecture and the largest amphitheater ever built in the Roman Empire. It's relatively new in comparison to Yosemite Valley, as it was completed in 80 A.D. under the rule of the Roman Emperor Titus.

It was capable of seating 50,000 or so spectators for gladiator sports, animal hunts, mock sea battles and executions. Last recorded event was in the 6th century.

and another Old/ for old time sake.

my contribution Box/Car 2things challenge. I'm throwing in my image for Box/Car at the request of D.C. Confidential . I thought I was too late last Sunday, so I had deleted it. Might be worth a peek and now it's old.

This was actually a folded box car template that once assembled became a carrier for a child's hamburger.

Thanks for stopping by! My other blogspot: "The Way I See It"