Cold Turkey(s)

We have been experiencing a cold snap for the past month or so. I have been increasingly concerned about becoming familiar enough with single-digit temperatures so they will no longer be uncomfortable. I will never be a "snowbird" because the change of seasons here in Maine is so invigorating, and the winters are incredibly beautiful!

 

Easter Egg Decoration

Easter in March? While it seems odd, I had the chance to visit my Grandsons, and part of our weekend was spent decorating Easter Eggs! The youngest grandson was involved all the way, but the oldest didn't see the point. I remember the process being something I engaged in as a youngster, but I cannot remember when it lost its thrill!
 

 I fell at SeaWall this winter before the snow started to come. Seven stitches, but I walked away from it with the help of my eight-year-old Grandson, Emerson. It was a windy day, and I had captured some nice shots of the wavetops as the wind blew the crests off them as they began to break toward shore. I turned, my left boot got caught in a crack in the ledges, and down I went! Emerson found the hearing aid that got knocked out of my head when I fell.

 

Reaching back in time. This young man was half the age he is now, and it seems to me that the last five years have passed in a moment!

Trails

 Living out in the woods the past few months has been a wonderful experience, teaching me that I had forgotten the magic of nature and what it offers. Here is an example of the "mysterious" nature of nature. Straight from the phone!

Another Edge to Things

 

I'm not sure what this image represents, but I found it out behind the school on the top of a fifty gallon drum. I was looking for water as I had assigned my photo class to shoot water, and it had rained quite a bit yesterday. 

Everything had dried up! There were no puddles, none of the empty boats had any water in them, and I wasn't sure I would even find something as a subject for  a photo.

But I found this... water and some object sitting on top of a steel drum with branches (easy to put out of focus) forming undulating and converging shapes in the foreground and middle ground. I enjoy the way the dark shapes seem to move across the picture plane.

The Foot of Schoodic Mountain

 I got back to camp yesterday afternoon in time to take a kayak paddle around the pond for a different point of view and was surprised at the space around Flanders Pond and the variety of dwellings that are on the shore. Some are hidden away and barely visible from the water while others have broad beaches of sand in front of them and sunshine falls brightly down.

Peaceful and beautiful at the same time, this paddle and the fact that I only saw one other watercraft, a powerboat, had a great relaxing effect upon me. For that I am thankful!

Camp Sky

 

As Jennifer and I are on Flanders Pond, the first thing we tend to perceive is, of course, the water. The owner of the "camp" we are staying in did a lot of limbing of the trees to allow the water views to be more accessible and it works very well. 

The only problem is that to enjoy any direct sunshine, one must walk out to the beach where there are no trees. I simply got this shot with my phone on the way to the beach while I was looking for "sunshine"! Straight shot, no edits or filters.

TOASTING MARSHMALLOWS

 As a celebration of our move "up to camp", Jennifer, my wife of fifty years and I decided we need to toast some marshmallows. With a hand held broad beam pocket flashlight I tried to light the scene as everything that wasn't burning (fire) was dark. After a couple of tries I came up with this photo. In "post" I noticed that the fire itself was the sharpest part of the image due to the intensity of the firelight.

The End of a Personal Era

 I have spent almost 15 years in this space, thinking, creating, and evolving in numerous directions, such as printmaking, drawing, painting, ceramics, glasswork, sculpture, and more. I am sad to see an end to my using this space, but at the same time, I am full of gratitude for the time I have had here and the growth I have experienced.

I also taught art from this space during the "covid" year, moving around the studio with cameras set up for students to visually participate in my demonstrations and with my development of materials and processes. I will always remember the interactions with students in an online environment. I cherish the experience I gained toward understanding students from a social-emotional perspective and connecting with parents, "meeting" them (virtually) in their own spaces.

This has been a fantastic journey, and I cannot wait for the next adventure!

MDIHS 2020 GRADUATION

What an amazing afternoon! 2020 MDI High School Graduation... the weather held off although it rained all around us, as evidenced by showers and wet roads on my way home. The ceremony went without a hitch, people got in, parked their cars, and celebrated with horns blowing and cheers of joy!

The overcast sky did nothing to suppress the enthusiasm and celebratory mood of the occasion as brightly colored and decorated vehicles dominated the full parking lot. The planners thought of everything as the stage was covered with a huge tent, parking spaces were numbered and locations for students and parents to sit were clearly marked and observed social distancing protocols. The use of masks when persons were near one was prevalent and smiles and tears of joy were everywhere!

WORKING FROM HOME

My art teaching colleagues and I are seeing more of each other than we have for years, and while we are "out of reality" in a sense we are even more connected than we ever have been. We share, we compare, and we laugh together, which for me is a huge piece of what we do and how we do it. We encourage one another to reward ourselves in the making of art of any kind, and we know we all belong to the same "tribe"!

Comfort Food

Jen and I have made a couple of trips into the grocery supermarket for food over the last month, taking all the precautions suggested by our Maine CDC experts, and have made cloth masks to wear.
I noticed, only because I was looking for some chocolate ice cream to go with the birthday blueberry pie that my "Hunny Bunny" has promised to make for me, that the ice cream freezer shelves were almost empty.

Realizing in advance that it is all about "comfort food" at this time, Jen was inspired to make a big batch of cookies Saturday. It looks like we will have some sweet treats for a while, if I don't "overindulge". Yes, they taste as good as they look, and those are gallon bags!

Virtual Connections

Our world. We miss you boys!

Isolation and Connections

Being home is not the worst thing in the world, but there is a sense of loss within me by the isolation from other family, specifically my sons and families. If it weren't for the fact that a virtual connection through FaceTime and our electronic devices allows us to actually see and talk in real time, I think this separation would have worse effects for both my wife Jennifer and I.
Yesterday, as we "got out" for a ride in the car, we received a video call from our youngest grandson, who really does miss us and our bi-weekly visits, and he was dressed in a Halloween costume! He made us laugh, expressed joy in seeing us, and asked if he could FaceTime us every day. A no brainer for Jennifer and I, we are now looking forward to his calls.

Mondays...

The second week of school begins, but at least we were able to be there and share!

I like both the depth in the spacing of the figures and the balance of the various sizes of the figures in this image. I did crop it to improve composition!

Jen's Beauty

These recent shots with a 200mm lens are just a small part of the beauty of Jennifer's flower garden at the East side of the house.

The three shots of the "Day Lillies" below were an  attempt to see the flowers from different points of view, emphasizing the stamen, petals or buds starting to present themselves for the next day.

None of the photos were altered in any way.

Afternoon Sun

Yesterday when I got home, I thought I would go down front and take some photos on the shore, but before I could get down there or even get out of the house, I was attracted to the afternoon light shining in through the living room windows. The geometry of the shapes of light on the floor and furniture were striking to me as they set up an interesting contrast in the bottom section of the image.

Black and White Shore

I like the idea of making black and white images, and it is through the editing abilities of the "Photos" app that an amazing amount of control over image and properties can be used. I used the control sliders to make this image lighter and a bit more "contrasty" to add some drama to the scene, which was shot in the early afternoon.

Right in the Room

 Backgrounds are a key to successful images, and I found this one right in the classroom. Besides having such a great subject, a simplified background draws attention to this center of interest.