the shelf, my photos and more

A series of my NJ Turnpike photos will be on display at WACK very soon, like this week. If you're in the neighborhood, stop by and take a look at them.

Last night, while we were walking the dog, we noticed that someone had placed a shell and a small frog decoration on the shelf. I decided to try my cell 'phone flash and it worked (somewhat.) I hope you can see the little frog.

We're about to travel again. In preparation for travel, I was de-cluttering my studio. It's what I get the urge to do when we're about to leave home for awhile. I came across my collection of TSA notices of my checked bag being inspected. It seems that my bag is ALWAYS inspected. Why, I don't know. I travel very light, I don't carry scary stuff, I just don't get it. C has the same suitcase and his never gets checked. Once they took some souvenir matches out of the bag, but other than that, nothing was ever missing. I was saving the notices for some reason. Maybe to make a collage? Hmmm.

Elflog

This past Thursday, I added somethings to the shelf and pole. A somewhat heart shaped stone with "take heart" written on it, a tiny pin shaped like a piano (in a plastic bag) and a wine cork with a face on it. The shelf had been empty for many days but the pole has remained decorated with holly berries and pine cones, as well as bits of ribbon, wire, and beads.

Water Tanks

One of the things I like to photograph when I'm in New York City is those ubiquitous water towers. I read an article about them recently and found out that they are made of wood with nothing holding them together but bands of metal and the water soaking into the wood and expanding it. Wow! I usually don't get to see them on this level but a gallery that I was in was on an upper floor, giving me a great view of two tanks.

The New Jersey Turnpike at night

I love taking photos as we drive on the New Jersey turnpike at night. These were taken between exits 13 and 11, with my camera held loosely as the car bumped along. (I wasn't driving!)

Some Art stuff

Yesterday, we went to galleries in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan (New York City, USA.) We saw a lot of art work, a lot, some good, some not. So it goes. There was an exhibit of Obama posters by artists, some large silver metal Maos, and some neon. Here I am reflected in a large piece of black acrylic with a reflection of the neon installation behind me.

Staying in New Jersey.

We're staying at one of those extended stay motels up in New Jersey, which is what we always do, though we often whine about the drive up here, and trying to find our way on the notoriously badly signed roads, BUT we can't resist the good deals we get on these places. We've never stayed in this particular location. SO here we are in Somerset, NJ, USA, about 40 miles south west of New York City (Manhattan Island!) We opened the door to the hotel room and said: It's an APARTMENT! I had to show you, even though our possessions are strewn about. A nice kitchen with a desk/table, a living room with an easy chair, a sofa that becomes a bed, and a TV with a DVD player. There's a bedroom with a big bed, a desk, and a TV on top of the dresser. This place has TWO TVs. There's a closet in the bedroom, as well as a big closet by the entry door. The bathroom is very big, with a great shower, and a hair dryer. There's a big gym, washing machines and dryers (free) and a little "shop" where you can get groceries on the honor system. Are we impressed with this? You bet. It was easy on and off the highway that connects to the NJ turnpike so we didn't get lost going to and from Manhattan today. Whew! We went to lots of galleries in Chelsea. More about that next. I had to show you the view....ha ha ha...a parking lot! Check out the flag. The wind was blowing VERY hard the day we arrived, but the clouds were lovely and the sun out.

Smitty

Wanting to show Found-Art who Smitty was, I found this image on my cell phone. I took it last week while we were enjoying a bit of time together on the futon sofa. I'll find a better one to post soon.

A Valentine

This afternoon, my doorbell rang, and when I opened the door, there were four happy faced little girls smiling up at me. Adrianna and her sister Sage, and their friends Odessa and Isadora, had walked around the corner to deliver Smitty's first (probably ever) Valentine's day card. Is this adorable or what?! I wish I'd taken a photo of the girls holding the card but I was just too much in awe of the situation to grab my camera. Adrianna has been taking Spanish since she was in Kindergarten (she's now in second grade) and she knows that I'm studying the language, too. Smitty showed great interest in the girls, which probably was his appreciate for the card, though I'm not sure he understands Spanish.

Artist Trading Card workshop

I had to show you some of the ATCs done by participants in my Artist Trading Card workshop yesterday. We had such fun. These cards are the results of the first experience I guide the participants through and it involves collage, randomness, and making a series of 10 from a single sheet of 8" x 10" (20.5 cm x 25 cm) paper without much waste. Sorry about the resolutions of the images. hmmm. The little happy figure with the Artist Trading Card book image was taking with my cell phone. I was so lazy to go downstairs to get my camera. How silly of me.

My Etsy shop, Fritzi

I re-opened my Etsy shop yesterday after being "on vacation" while away in Paris and Los Angeles. I put some new things in the shop, finger-less gloves also known as mittens, as well as a few of my Purses for Change. I'm very excited about being clued in to using the Photo Booth application on my MacBook. Wow! I was able to take this nice photo of the mittens, called Mauve Mavis, all by myself. Yes!! Check out my shop here. And while you're checking things out, look at my sister's new space here.