….this week’s theme focuses on photographing strangers or a A Face in the Crowd
It’s not about capturing any one face or even a group of faces in the crowd but more about capturing a moment. It could be a silhouette, the back of a person or just a crowd.
….day 47 and week 7
I’m a little behind with my collage art so I’ve posted two assignments back to back. This week’s assignment was to take two different images and cut them into thin strips of equal size and alternate them to create a new image.
For my first one I had two different images of snakes and for the second one I used an image of a tulip and one of my art papers that had similar colours.
…..day 46 and week six
I’ve returned to work on some more of the 50 creative exercises from Randel Plowman’s book The Collage Workbook. Evelyn Flint and her sister, Carolyn, have challenged themselves to work on one exercise each week and I’ve decided to join them in their challenge.
For week six we were instructed to take an image and cut it into two pieces and create two different collages. I found an image of a Joan Baez and Bob Dylan poster that I used for my two collages this week.
….thanks Cee for hosting Share Your World
Are you a practical jokester?
I might take part in planning a practical joke but I’m not one to do it on my own. I’m all for a good laugh as long as no one gets hurt or no damage is done to property.
Who cuts your hair? You, a friend, or professional.
I used to cut my children’s and my husband’s hair but I’ve always gone to a professional to get mine done. I’m very loyal when it comes to my hairdressers and I’m devastated when they leave the salon. If I know in advance where they are going I’ve been known to go to the new salon even if it’s out of my way. Of course if they leave the profession I have to find someone new and it can take awhile before I find someone I like.
Did you have a stuffed animal when you were a kid, if so what kind?
I don’t remember having a favourite stuffed animal as a child but my mother told me that I had a beautiful teddy bear. When I asked her what happened to it she said it ended up in the kiddie pool and she threw it away. My mother did that a lot. If we stopped playing with something it went in the trash. She hated clutter. I did have a favourite baby doll that I named Dorothy and I think I had her for quite a long time.
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
This past week I went cross country skiing with a friend and her daughter. I had a great time and it felt good to be in the outdoors for such a long time. After two solid hours of skiing we went back to the chalet and had a late lunch. It started to rain so we pulled out a scrabble game and played for about 45 minutes. By that time the rain had subsided so we went for a short walk and then it was time to board the bus and return home.
…..days 42 and 43
Yesterday I left the house at 8:00 in the morning and didn’t get home till almost 8:00 in the evening. I spent the day cross country skiing but almost five hours of my day was spent on a bus getting to and from the ski centre. On the way home I pulled out my phone and my sketchbook and looked up some photos I had taken of flowers that I thought might make good subjects for sketching.
It was pretty dark in the bus so it was a good opportunity to work on my blind or semi-blind contour drawing skills.
Today I took those drawings and redrew them in a larger sketchbook, adding more detail and shading. With the rose I added colour with watercolours.
…..days 38 and 39
I started these late last night and then finished in the wee hours of this morning. So I guess that still counts as a painting a day.
I’ve always liked the simplicity of Chinese Brush Painting but there’s nothing simple about it. I can see why Chinese artists take years to master their craft. I took this book out of the library as a reference. It’s beautifully illustrated but I’ve discovered that I’m not very good at following directions from a book. I’m in too much of a hurry to take the time to read all the directions. I’m much better with a video demonstration but I did enjoy this process so I think I will go back and read some of the chapters.
….thanks to Word Press for a theme close to my heart
People always ask me if I’ll move away from Toronto when I retire. I can’t imagine living anywhere else right now. I live in the southwestern area of Toronto more commonly known as New Toronto or South Etobicoke. I love being 15 minutes from downtown (depending on the time of day) and being able to take advantage of all the city has to offer. On the other hand, I feel blessed to live where I do. A century ago people used to travel to this neighbourhood from downtown because they had cottages here on the lake. A few of those old structures still stand today but they are quickly being eaten up by renovators who appreciate the value of the land.
My father recently moved back here after living in Oshawa for 20 years. He feels like he’s come back home. Nothing beats the view of the city skyline that I see everyday at the bottom of the street where I’ve lived for 39 years.
I love the nature trails and beautiful parks that you can find all over the city. The big one in my neighbourhood has wonderful hiking and biking paths that wind through Colonel Samuel Smith Park and the Humber College grounds. Part of it is a naturalized area with a pond in the middle and Lake Ontario at the south end. We have more wildlife here than we do at my cottage. It’s not unusual to see coyotes, foxes, beavers, turtles, o’possums, racoons, skunks and the occasional deer. We have birds and waterfowl galore. In the summer many people come to the park to take advantage of the beaches that line the eastern side of the extension to get relief from the heat or to paddle or kite surf.
If you’re not into nature the city offers the best in museums, art galleries, aquariums, recreational sports and the best restaurants.
….thanks Cee for bringing us Share Your World every week
What would be your ideal fantasy way to spend Monday?
In an ideal world I would get up and go for a brisk walk for an hour, take a few photos along the way, come home to a nice hot cup of coffee and a breakfast of bacon and eggs and then settle in with a good book for an hour or so. After that I’d putter in my art studio and work on some sketches or tackle a paint project. This could take an hour or several hours. Later in the afternoon I might go for another walk or get in the car and browse at a few stores. My husband would cook a magnificent dinner (which he does most nights) and settle in for some TV watching afterwards. If there’s nothing on TV I’d probably phone some friends and have a good gab and make plans to get together during the week.
The reality is that the weather has been so cold that my walks have suffered lately. I did finish reading a book yesterday and after dinner I talked to a friend and we made plans to get together on Friday.
What one person that you are out of contact with would you like to say thank you to?
I need to write to my friend Mike from university. Every year we exchange Christmas cards (well he sends me one and I sent one this past Christmas) and when he was in town he used to call us from the airport on his way back home. This year Mike surprised us with a poster that he sent through the mail. It wasn’t just any old random poster; it was one that my husband had designed and silk screened when we were at university together. It was in pretty good shape and we had never saved a copy for ourselves. At the time we all belonged to a theatre group called Curtain Call and every year we wrote and produced a play that we performed for the student body. Thank you Mike for thinking of us and sending this wonderful poster. I’m thinking for having it framed or mounted.
List your favorite toys or games as a kid?
Games
Dolls – a baby doll that you could feed and she would wet herself – I named her Dorothy-my younger sister was more into Barbie dolls
Slinky
Etch A Sketch
Yoyo
Easy Bake Oven – I don’t think I owned one but I had friends who did
What did you appreciate or what made you smile this past week? Feel free to use a quote, a photo, a story, or even a combination.
Last week I helped my neighbour by feeding her cat everyday while she was in the hospital and then on Saturday I picked her up and brought her home. Later that day I also went with my daughter to visit another good friend who’s in a rehab hospital. We sat with his and watched a movie, Mama Mia. He loved it and said so several times. It was a joy to see him so content and I remarked that he was just a romantic at heart. He turned to me and said, “Yes, I really am.”
…..Super Bowl Sunday will be quiet around here
….thanks Cee for hosting the Which Way Photo Challenge
It’s Groundhog Day. Which way did Wiarton Willie from Ontario go? Back in his hole. Six more weeks of Winter for us. Ugh!!!!!!!!
Not surprising. It’s freezing outside and the forecast calls for more snow this weekend.
Mama Cormier 