Week 20, Day 139 May 2023

Addison, Vermont

Have a luscious Weekend!

Summer is 33 days away

Sing to the wind

Assemble a veggie sandwich

Eat your sandwich outdoors

Read about America's fish industry

Sow birdhouse gourd seeds

Perfect homemade custard

Find your daily calorie count

Draw a row of rowboats

Buy sunscreen

Browse bead making online

The Relief of Sorting

At Sorting Level 2

Little by little, think on it, relax, do other tasks, think more, have a meal, and back again to do a little, day after day after day.

Sorting for me this spring has been an experience of discovery. The more I go through stuff, the more stuff I have to go through. In the past, clearing up, organizing didn't feel like it does this year.

A change has been in the area of the junk drawer. This sorting I dump most of it into a grocery bag and shipping cardboard piece. 

The total I estimate could fit into 4 or 5 plastic shoe boxes. I want it in one.

I am seriously considering putting it all in a clear resin lamp form for a Steampunk vibe.

A bonus, the a new craft, paint and sew area with its own chair. 

I am pleased the last and 3rd level of sorting is the easiest.

<-- Desk

--> Craft/paint/sew area

Summer Set Up

My Reminders & To Do list Summer Side
 

• No liquids, hand sanitizer, anti-bacteroal wipes, creams or lotions left in hot car other than plain water
• No snacking while driving
• No eating chocolate in the car because bits that fall in my lap will melt creating a crapped pants look that's not attractive
• Sunscreen for face, body and sport uses
• Mosquito Nets, hat and single net
• Vehicle warm weather safety pack stored safely in trunk
• Driving safety pack: cooler with freezer pack, water, extra sandals, extra sun glasses, windbreaker, umbrella, long thin raincoat, plastic poncho, crackers or health bar in purse 
• Keep old winshield wipers in trunk for just in case
• Make sure spare tire in good condition
• Sunshield umbrella in trunk
• Folding chair in trunk
• Small sketch book in car
• Repellent spray feet before leaving home to prevent bites from mosquities attracted to foot scent
• New nail polish for toes
• Committ in Prayer to be a courteous safe driver, no finger declarations, no fumming over bad drivers, windows up at all times when critiquing aloud driver talent on the road
• Be considerate of lip readers

Do you have any tips that make your season safer and happier?

Windy Views Along Lake Champlain

 I am not getting out of my vehicle.

Biting cold windy

The light green water is sunshine.

The darkers waters are cloud shadows.

Lots of rolling white caps.

As I type, a man and 3 old retrievers are walking along the lawn's lake line. 

One old dog trails the rest. The black one stops to turn to check on him.

I hope someday when I am slow older, somebody takes me for a walk,

And turns to check on me.

Thoughts On Possibilty Confetti

Years have gone by for me without a printer.  I donated them, used and unused.

As the seasons flow, the body transforms, the TV line up adjusts, our basic lives also change. Thus, need for another printer,  a simple inexpensive, AIO ( all in one) with single cartridge print black only mode. 

In the days of entering the digital age, I printed out nearly everything  with a print button, including photographs. 

My first printer, circa 1992, needed a double ink cartridge about every 6 months. I used it up to circa 2000 +/-, printing out term papers, homework and notes for college courses (as a non traditional student). I miss that printer most.

The new fancier printers needed ink so often, I'm guessing I reduced my printer use by 75%. Colored photos were printed only when being painted from. 

The majority of those pages are  confetti along the recycled paper path. Shredders are so improved, they create wonderful confetti for mixing paper mache, and pulp for homemade paper. 

On the possibility of confetti front, printing out my blog posts will be a thrill for me.  Downloading the blog, last I tried, was not a thrill.

Alas, I suspect those hard copies will be scanned and digitally stored to makes more confetti. 

Do you use a printer often? Print out your blog posts?

 

Thoughts On the Kinship of Artists

Fish Sheds and Schooner
63.5 x 76.2 cm Oil on canvas, 1898
William Merritt Chase
1890 ~ 1916

William Merritt Chase, American Impressionist painter, is a favorite of mine for his landscapes of the Shinnecock Hills of Long Island, New York. Those land and seascapes remind me of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Favorite artists are about how the heart feels when I see one of their paintings. It only takes one. Other artwork is for studying that artist's style. In doing so, I believe we can discover things about our own art.

The above photograph, for example, I see blocks of color without enough definition for my mind to embrace the painting. My transition from the darker foreground to the sunshine above feels more like escaping instead of flowing via the composition.

Fish Sheds
63.5 x 76.2 oil on canvas, 1900 - 1902
John Henry Twachtman
1853 ~ 1902

The impressionism style of another American Impressionist, John Henry Twachtman of a similar subject, (above)  has enough definition for me to settle in with what I expect, as well as prefer for the subject matter. If the weather was foggy, then my impressions of both paintings would change as well. 

What does is all mean? 

Well, for me, studying the art of other artist, especially a painting subject matter that I want to paint, helps me understand where I want my brush strokes to be. 

Positive goals are good. I think they create the incentive to reach into whatever talent we may have. Painting in the style of is a challenge. It also decreases the aloneness of painting. 

Viewing art in person, I have to see the actual brush strokes in the painting. At the Middlebury College Museum of Art years ago, viewing an exhibit, I happen to see bold brush strokes close up. I forget the painter's name, and even the subject of the artwork. I remember that epiphany connection in a way that gave me a sense of validation, a kinship with the artist. 

When I paint this summer, be it the Atlantic Ocean or Lake Champlain, my enjoyment factor will be heightened by what I know about the art of Chase and Twachtman. I can connect with them through my own brush strokes.

A Valance To Remember

Valance, Wires & Creativity

A favorite environment embellishment,  above the old craft desk, wires and other things were handy. Unlike paper, wires are easy to find. And so is the hanging planter spinner (center photo)  I've been looking for! 

❤️❤️❤️ 

May Everyone who lives the love and compassion of mothethood,

Whether by birth from body or heart,

Celebrate Your Kindness to Others

Happy Mother's Day

Thoughts About Being Informed

A hazard of not turning the television or live stream you're watching, off, is that you might learn something from the program that's up next. 

I have begun viewing the PBS News Hour mainly because I don't turn off my PC. You may remember, my television is caput. In no hurry to replace it, I watch PBS, live stream shows and sometimes local news and weather.

Unlike watching major network news reporting, anchor plus news clips, the PBS News Hour often has people talking to each other about important issues. 

Is that good for me? What is this change doing for my brain? Am I better informed? Could this be a form of a social network to ease loneliness?

Today, 11 May 2023, Geoff Bennett, PBS News Hour anchor is talking with journalist, William Brangham on new emission rules from the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). In the interview, Brangham mentions talking to Scott Segal, an attorney, about CCS (carbon capture [storage] and sequestration)

.

Mind you,  

I'm still on Facebook watching Tik Tik reels when I hear Segal say, ..."commercial scale applications."

What?

I write it down. 

I am then searching the Internet to learn more about what they are talking about.

The concept that applications have scale feels like a different way of thinking about the scale of territory where my carbon footprints are leaving impressions.

I am still figuring out why that intrigues me.

An At Dawn Song From a Robin

At dawn, the window of opportunity is short before too much light pales the Moon. A tripod is better than bracing against a patio door. 

The Moon & Thinking Aloud

Earth's Moon

Wanning Gibbous 71.0%

10 May 2023

5:24 AM EDT

Over Vermont

🌓

Something New To Try

What?

Whatever it is,

it cannot include spending.

Hmmm?

Maybe the feeling of wanting to try something new will 

wan like the Moon. 

Ah!

The dark gray dense packing foam I've save will make a good armature.

Cloud Shadows & Landscapes

Plowed Field

Cloud Shadows Over Woods

Tip:

On Blogger when photos are uploaded first, if you can't place the cursor below the photo in the post area, then switch to HTML view. 

From there, go to the end and type a few words to mark the typing area. 

Switch back to Compose view. Now you can edit, and type from the marker words. 

Cloud Shadows

Cumulus clouds are 1000 to 5000 feet above us. For comparison, a mile is 5280 feet. A fair weather indicator, cumulus clouds cast interesting shadows on the ground.

In the photos above, there are no shadows on the plowed fields. I checked all the pictures I took. No shadows on the dirt areas. Right place at the right time. 

Also note an area change in soil colors that's a reversal of perspective. Think contours. The higher grounds will drain and dry out faster as in have a pale hue compared to the wetter low areas. No shadows on the plowed field means there are no clouds in position over the field to block the sun. 

A painting wouldn't look right with a sky full of clouds with no shaded areas over the bare ground.

Evaluating a landscape to paint requires noticing the geology,  weather conditions, and understanding what does what, why and when. You can make adjustments for composition, but not so much with the science of what you see.

Cloud Shadows On the Green Mountains