Max's Artwork

My oldest grandchild sent me a lovely drawing of two saguaros and a scorpion. Max did an incredible job of depicting the cast shadows on the cacti that he drew.  

Then he included a card that says it all. "I love you, Grandma,"

Shower Hangout

We did a Google Plus Hangout this evening as a after-the-wedding shower for my niece Karen and her husband Josh who were married the week after Christmas. They live in Florida. I'm in Arizona. The guests at the shower were back in Michigan. That's me at my computer in Arizona in the photo above.

Early this month I sent invitations out to the guests. It was pretty straightforward.

Send 'em a gift. Wish them well. And, oh, by the way, join us on a Google Plus Hangout on Thursday, January 30th.

Several of us got together on Google Plus over the weekend, just to practice the clicks and clacks. So, tonight, Karen and Josh were feted by Wanda and Ed, Sue, Barb, Lori, and MJ. We had a jolly good time on our video hangout.

Karen and Josh told us about their honeymoon flu, which they picked up on the day of their wedding. They opened their gifts. We played around with the digital party hats and mustaches and cake that are a part of the hangout app. And, best of all, we got to see each other and visit for an hour or so.

So, how does all this Hangout stuff work?

Well, you have to be signed in to Google Plus which means you might need a Gmail account (which you already have if you have ever had a Droid phone). Then you need to download the Google Voice and Video setup located HERE.

Once I knew who would be on the video call, I added them to a circle on my Google Plus page. Ten minutes before the time of the shower, I opened Google Hangouts on my computer and  issued an invitation to the participants. They received an email with a link to the Hangout. They click on that link, and -- presto -- we are all video chatting together.

In the second photo you can see Karen and Josh on the screen. Look closer and find the small screens on the bottom right. Those screens are the rest of the people on the call.

Very cool. Very fun. Not really that difficult to accomplish, even for a non-techie aunt like me.

Happy Shower, Karen and Josh! It's great to know you are doing well as a married pair!

Shelter From The Cold

While the folks back home are dealing with frigid temperatures, school closings, and stubborn furnaces, I'm safely residing in Arizona this January, doing art and walking and eating well. Today's work has been all about the final assignment for the pen and ink class.

I'm caught up in line art. I sketched a huge agave plant that I found in the courtyard outside the Baldwin Education Building at the Desert Museum yesterday. It took me an hour to get the sketch into a form where I could use it. Then I spent another hour and a half working on shading and laying down washes with a brush.

The assignment is to do five things in one piece of art: draw with pencil from a life sitting; turn the drawing into line art; using ink wash, find the lights, mediums, darks; add cross hatching; then highlight and shade with stippling. The result will be a real revelation for me as I have come to like the strong definition of line art, and then I find that the subtlety of adding wash to the clear cut lines also suits my temperament and my eye.

My soul is warming in the sunshine of pen and ink, wash and brush. It has been a good month to be sheltered from the cold.

Easy Riders

I slipped out of the car at one of the picnic areas at Saguaro National Park today. The late afternoon light was carving shadows into the side of Mt. Wasson. It was one of those views that I'm thinking I might be able to use in my watercolor explorations someday.

Returning to the car, I felt something sort of weighing me down. I closed the car door and looked down.

There were four good sized chunks of cholla cactus, hitchhiking on my jeans jacket. In the desert you always carry a wide tooth comb.

That's what I pulled out to remove these giant pricklies, the easy riders, from my jacket.

Sewing Machine Still Life and Something Horsey

The iron base for a Singer sewing machine, topped by weathered boards, makes an interesting centerpiece in this garden still life. Photographed in an outdoor courtyard at the DeGrazia Gallery in the Sun on Swan Road in Tucson, the old Singer ironwork brings a rusty brown accent to the charm of the gravel paths, cactus collections, and antique accents in this dappled by shade, yet sunny courtyard space.

The garden contained many found objects -- old band instruments, cooking pots, machine gears, kitchen tools -- that survive in the desert climate. Many of these items, especially those made of wood and metal, would deteriorate fast in the wet, cold climate of northern gardens.

Speaking of found objects, this decorative screen that hangs from the eave of a small building on the DeGrazia Gallery grounds is made from metal chain mesh and has horseshoes woven through the links.

Kind of a cross between a wind object and lattice, it is a very artsy object and might be an inspiration for some of my horse loving blog readers who are also gardeners.

Desert Museum Album

Cruz, the new mountain lion

An afternoon spent at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum resulted in some up close and personal images of many of the animals. Here are a few favorites.

Desert bighorn ram

Prairie dog

Great blue heron

Artwork: White Barked Acacia

A clump of white barked acacia, reflected against a stone wall in the afternoon sun, was the subject of my very first ink wash drawing on Tuesday at my Pen & Ink class at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.

I rather like the results and think that ink wash might be an engaging new medium for me.