Where there's smoke...

Where there's smoke there is fire and my creative cells have certainly been on fire today!

I'm so excited! There's nothing like a creative burst to rejuvinate and energise my soul. I went to a mall this morning and hated every minute of it. Busy. Noisey. Artificial. I came home utterly knackered and all I'd done is walk. I knew what I needed to do to break out of the slump I found myself in and I dedicated my afternoon to some 'nest time.' As crazy as it sounds, my first ICE collage for the 2011 exchange came to me the other night as I drifted off to sleep.I've had the concept brewing for a few months now but I wasn't sure how I would express it. Then I saw it. One collage encompassing the whole idea, the colours, the images, the marks made by stitches and paint. I can't wait to get it out of my head and on to paper. I decided to start by photographing some of the beautiful nests I have around my home. I wanted to create new nest images to use in collages and you can see some of the results below...

And then came these ones...

I'm lovin' this one below. Lines crossing and interweaving barely recognisable as a nest yet earthy, dramatic and bold.

My theme for the 2011 collage exchange is "Fragile" and I was thinking about my theme and wondering how I could better express it. I was totally loving the images I created but knew I hadn't quite found 'the one'  and then it came to me.. 

With my 'fragile' series I'm revisting a familiar theme..based on a theory of mine that society is a nest.

A nest built from a foundation of love, hope, warmth and safety will raise children that can fly and prosper. The whole future of our children is dictated by the nest they live in and how far they will fly depends on each of us. What we do or don't do makes our society what it is. The nest is precious and the souls within it...fragile.

Fragile. ICE 2011 Series. Coming soon.

Shades of inspiration

A little while back I took part in Lawendula's Paper Swap and my partner was Deb of Drydart. I recieved these great papers back from her and have already put some of them into use! Thanks Deb! I espcially like the colours of the papers shown in the bottom right hand cornder of the top photo and when you see where  get my inspiration from you can see why I like them!

You know it's a great day when you find not one but two nests! This close up shot really inspires me, birds are of course master layerists, weavers and recyclers!

The same nest from the close up, below is exactly how I found it- face down on the grass and just waiting for me! I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the clump on the grass and thinking I was being wishful I went and checked it out just incase it was actually a nest. I moved it onto some near by leaves to get the other photo of it. Had it been there I might not have spotted it!

Some more inspiring nature gifts that I spotted on my walk...

Last but not least...I  went back for the nest that I found with Thrush eggs in it about 9 weeks ago.You may remember that I had disturbed the nest not realising that it wasn't vacant and then I spent the rest of the day half excited at my find and half scared that I had done something terrible! Good news though! That nest was blessed and when I went back there were no cold eggs still inside. Wheeew!

Yesterday I 'stole' time to do some more on my Labyrinth book for the Pulp Redux Collaboration , I carved another lino print and did some more on one of the pages. I'm working with such talented ladies and I've had the odd 'what was I thinking? 'moment and little self doubt parties when I suddenly think that I'm not really up for this after all...but they're in passing and usually as a result of my being frustrated over something else!  I'm not about to give up on this don't you worry! It's the best collab ever and there's no way I'm missing out!

A new path....

This photo was recently sold to the owners of the Kiwi Run website. Check out their awesome banner and unique travel and running blog here.

For a while now my poor photography blog has been sitting over at wordpress all sad and neglected! Ironically it's called  "Tauranga Daily Photo" but it hasn't been daily for sometime now! I also focus on a lot of nature photos and Tauranga is about a lot more than cherry blossoms and Kowhai Flowers and I am not getting out and about often enough to really capture it all.
All this time at home has given me plenty of time to think about where I am going with my photography and I've decided that it's time to try and turn it from a hobby and into something that earns a little money. Well that's the plan anyway! Now that I have finished my course and gained my diploma I really need to get out there and do something with it!  I've got hundreds of photos sitting on my computer and most of them will stay there forever, unseen, unpublished and under utilised even though I have had quite a few published in magazines I seem to have lost the flow for a bit there!  I am taking some of my favorites and the more commerical images out from the darkness and putting them onto the NZ photosales website  where they will be available in a range of print and digital sizes and on gift products such as postcards, puzzles and mounted blocks. You can even send a free e-card from the NZ Photosales Website. I am posting photos that feature on the site on a new blog called "Lucky Dip Photography" and I hope you will go over and check it out (it is free to browse of course!)  I am also going to retire my wordpress blog, and post more of my photography here along side my art.
So! that's what I've been up to...and now I am going to do a tour of blogesphere and see what you've all been up too!

Looking up trees (again)

I enjoy looking up trees as much as I enjoy looking at them! These magnolia's are just so stunning they command attention. I was happy to oblige of course.

I was also fortunate enough to get some more butterfly photos which you can see here if you wish too.

Oh.. and guess what? Alicia from the Altered Bits Zine accepted my piece! Yay! That means I will do the full reveal of my piece when she's published the zine around the middle of September. If you havn't already checked out her site then please do so here you definately won't be dissapointed!

Early Spring

As often as I can I like to take a walk with my camera. I do this partly for my daily photo blog and partly for inspiration and a moment to...take a moment. To just listen, walk slowly and watch. Winter seems to have gone by so fast this year and Springs leaving her mark everywhere already. I wish I could share the heavenly scent of the sweet magnolia blooms that I could smell as I stood and admired. Note the butterfy that was kind enough to flutter into my photo! It was quite blissful being out here and spring has more promises to come. How can one not be inspired?

My daughters op has been cancelled for the 2nd time...looks like I'm here to play for a bit longer:)

Red Bubble Update

Busy, busy I have been! I have been waaaay under-utilising this great Red Bubble website but not anymore! Please check out my slide show and view my new bubblesite. Most of my photos on red bubble are available to purchase as cards in a variety of currencies. It's worth a shot I reckon!

Winter Hedge- AB and Poetry

Nest photo copied onto tracing paper, Poem by Ruth Dallas (see below) Leaf/ink rubbings, Small cheque book calender page, string, childs playing card, scrap handmade paper and brown paper, twig, buttons.

As part of the 'Off the Page' Round Robin I get the chance to work on other people's Altered Books. This board book arrived in the mail the other day with the theme of 'Poetry.' I already had the poem chosen and the page came together very quickly even though it wasn't pre-planned. I love the way it turned out!

Here's the poem by NZ poet Ruth Dallas.

Winter hedge

How like shells they are, these deserted rain-bleached nests

half filled with small black leaves;

the green leaves that summer- long sang like waves

have left the now as shells on sand

are left for anyone to find.

To lift them from the tangled boughs

of theses deep sleeping hawthorn trees

would be like taking shells away

from all that gives them colour-

sea, sun and sand.

How sad they seem

and faded when you take them home.

Marvellously as they are made

with moulded earth and moss inlaid

with woven bark and straws and

warm with thistle-down

half their charm- even when the trees are bare

is in them being where they are.

Anzac Bay ...and Billy Apple!

I've been playing around with my photo's again! I am becoming more and more interested video and slideshows and no doubt you will be seeing more of these...and no doubt some with audio effects too!

I didn't take these images with the intention of putting them together in a slide show although I did compose the first 3 and last 2 with the view of pieceing them togther at a later date. It just wasn't much later as it turns out and not quite how I first thought!

Yesterday I saw a documentry on Billy Apple and I was really interested in how the documentry was recorded, the photos, the angles and the silent observations made by the photographer...how that photographer saw things..they way in which it was shared with us. I saw things from the photographers point of view and I thought to myself...I want a piece of that!

The slideshow is here on this blog not because of what it records but because of the greater work my artistic mind is working on! I'm keen to do so time lapse experiments so please watch this space!

Two 4 Tuesdays

I found a new photo meme- Two 4 Tuedays which will be officially starting on March 3. This week is an open theme and I didn't need much of an excuse to post this pic! Two for Tuesday's will work along similar lines to the 2 things challenge group (which is a lot of fun) so why not drop by these 2 groups and add your entries?

Pssst...I've completed my 7th collage and all but glued the 8th so watch this space! I am waiting for photo kind weather as it's all grey and glarey and very wet today! It is 'disentigration collaboration' kind though! Yay!!

Photo Friday. City Life.

These are definately city birds and not country sparrows!
This is my entry for Photo Friday's 'City Life' theme.

2 things challenge- Shaddow/Pattern

The light during a morning boardwalk in Judea was simply beautiful and I was mesmerised by the way light danced its way through the flax and bullrushes. The photos speak for themselves I think!

If you want to join the '2 things' challenge there's still time just add your link here.

ICE #2 Woven

Laser copy of my nest photo and digitally altered bird photo, magazine scrap, green thread, tracing paper scrap, text from National Geographic. Collage on A4 water colour cardboard.

Collage #2. Title: Woven

The quote at the bottom of the collage inspired the whole piece. It says " The loom, the act of spinning, the notion of a community woven into the fabric of a landscape are vital and living metaphors"

The 2nd segment of writing says in part...their bringing together signifies conception...just as the world was spun, woman spun cotton and agave fibre into thread...while mean weave the threads.."

The words are obviously not in there original concept but there placement here feels right to me. The nest (coffee stained from yesterdays near disaster!) is symbolic and deliberate.

I am enjoying these collages!

Detail to show the papers and thread literally woven together in places.

I got an award today, from the lovely and warm hearted Irene who's been sweet enough to nominate me... so watch this space! THANKS Irene! :)

Skywatch Friday

This speaks for itself I guess! It's digitally altered 2 to bring out stronger colours and that's why it's posted here instead of my Tauranga Daily Photo Blog. See the other "skywatch friday' entries here.

Paths and Passages

The theme this month at CITY DAILY PHOTO is paths and passages. I had 2 pics I really wanted to post for this so I decided to post one here and one on my other blog- Tauranga Daily Photo. If you go to that blog not only do you get to see my official entry:) you can also follow the link to see paths and passages from all over the world. It's an amazing tour. The time worn streets of Italy, archways in Rome, dirt tracks in far away places and graffiti on a lovers wall...here's my offering of fallen leaves and light play on a local walking track.

I posted a colour version a while back on my TDP blog in a post titled 'walk with me' if your interested in see that version. This black and white one is my favorite, I just wish it posted a bit bigger here!

Go well:)
PS:One of my favorite bloggers and artists is also working with trees at the moment...click here to see the latest works.

Black and White Birds

I was sitting at a picnic table when this sparrow popped up next to me. I already had my camera in hand so I slowly turned around desperately hoping I wouldn't frighten it away. I'm using an SLR which was set to 'full sun' and 'dynamic focus area' instead of the most ideal setting which would have been 'shade' and 'closest subject.' That would have allowed me to blur out the people of the bench behind the bird focusing entirely in the bird. I was a little bummed that I didn't have the time to change the settings but as it turns out a bit of fiddling with the contrast, light fill and tone took these images from warmish, brightly coloured photos to something a bit more suited for later use in my collages!The 1st and 3rd images look quite good 'large' if you want to take the time to click on them and view them in the next size. These will be printed on to paper or transperancy paper at a later date.

Portrait of a Nest

Portrait of a nest is a series of photographs I did today with the aim of creating images specifically for use in my collages. I don't have photoshop so I created these images by using a white sheet for the background and the black and white and 'contrast' functions on Picassa. I am especially pleased with the bottom image!
I made these eggs a while back by rolling lumps of air drying clay into egg shapes. I would love some real eggs to photograph (they're on my wishlist!) I have to nests that my kids found me, they were so excited to find them because they knew I would be stoked. Which ofcourse I am!! This nest is actually the thrush nest that featured in my 'baby birds' photo a few months back. The mother thrush was kind enough to leave it for me when her babies had outgrown it :)

Altered Puzzle

This is the first thing of this sort of craft work that I have done in while.
The theme was 'christmas' and there are 6 other players. They each get one of my puzzle pieces and I get one of theres. We all worked on the same wooden pieces, same size as this so they will fit nicely onto my puzzle board. I used my own photo's of Pohutakawa Flowers, Ribbon and I made gold dots from fancy wall paper samples and a hole punch.