Seeing the purple gallinule has been a quest of mine for some time. If you’ve not seen a gallinule, they are quite a visual treat. With their bright purple-blue, green-turquoise feathers they don’t seem real. They have bright red and yellow beaks with a turquoise head marking. Only once had I seen and photographed […]
I’ve been carving spoons from sweetgum this week. The wood was given to me friend who collected a couple of sweetgum branches while out running. The sweetgum tree was being taken down as part of a homeowner’s efforts to clear trees in anticipation of hurricane season. My friend knew I like to “rescue” parts of […]
Happy World Music Day! What a great way to recognize the importance of music and its ability to bring people together. World Music Day (also called Make Music Day) started in 1982 when the Ministry of Culture in France launched the Fête de la Musique (“festival of music”). The event was a day of free, […]
Recently I enjoyed visiting the Red, White and Blues Blueberry farm to do some urban sketching. Well maybe not so “urban” as “farm” or “country” sketching. We spent a few hours sketching then enjoyed blueberry lemonade, a blueberry muffin, and blueberry salad. All delicious. I’d posted my sketches on instagram and was contacted by the […]
Woodworking stores provided a creative break for me during a recent road trip to visit relatives. Walking through woodworking stores always gives me ideas for projects and usually includes purchasing a special piece of wood or a tool I need. Rockler – The surprise was finding a Rockler store in Sharonville, OH — one of the […]
I’ve added a new item to the menu for eating out — urban sketching. Restaurants have such different personalities, ambience and atmosphere created through their decor, their table setup, their wall colors and their food. When I sketch while waiting for an order to arrive, I’m thinking about all the mood-creating effects. Mood is created […]
It’s always fun to experiment with making different flutes. Lately I have been experimenting with making Japanese shakuhachi flutes from PVC cold water pipe. It is not an easy flute to learn to play but it is a wonderful sound when you do get a note. Given how hard it is to achieve playing a […]
