Day: April 14, 2006

Pets, Photography

Happy Birthday, Harriet!

Shelly

100_1831

I’ve never been good at letting sleeping dogs lie. I’m more apt to poke them, just because I can.  Make of that what you will.

In the literal sense, this is why Boxers are one of my very favoritest breeds. They just do not care. If there’s nothing better to do, they’ll sleep, but as soon as it looks like there might be something more interesting on offer (poke, poke), they’re ready to go-go-go.

Right now, Harriet is crashed out behind my computer chair, napping away and generally being lazy.  Tomorrow is her 7th birthday, which is not an old age for a dog.  Boxers never grow up, but they don’t generally have a long life-span, so it’s a little sad to think that she’s getting on in age.  She’s been greying around the muzzle for quite awhile now, and yesterday I noticed that her front legs are starting to turn grey, too.  She’s also developed white patches inside her ears

So happy birthday a day early, because I’m likely to forget tomorrow, what with my swiss cheese brain and all.

Art, Collage, Pets, Photography

It’s a good, good (Fri)day

Shelly

I just saw two swallowtail butterflies flitting about in my yard. Spring has definitely arrived. Summer, too, perhaps. It’s supposed to be around 85F today. O ick. And it’s supposed to storm this afternoon, so I thought I’d update and upload while I can.

First, some spring photos.

100_1823

100_1820

100_1822

100_1812

The first three were taken this morning. It stormed at about 4am, but the morning was absolutely gorgeous. The horse in the first photo had just calmed down. He’d been running around and rolling in the grass, full of joie de spring, which was super cute, but not so photogenic in a distance shot.

Next, Teh Cute and Teh Silly:

100_1811

100_1808

What can I say? Boxers are unbelievably weird. They do a silly kidney bean dance, wherein they whip their bodies in half, bending back and forth, accompanied by hilariously funny nubbin wagging. It’s ludicrously cute, but not easy to photograph. I tried to get video of it, but no dice. In the second photo she’s just plain lost it. Boxers are notoriously sassy. They love to talk back. This is Harriet woo-wooing at me. My timing was not good, because I was laughing, so I missed the part where she scrunches up her floppy lips and purses them in a perfect O. You can see a little bit of the lip action, but it’s not as impressive as it could be.

And now, the art. Three of them contain Polaroids I’ve altered using sandpaper and/or bleach.

Diptych: Faun
Diptych: Faun

Diptych: Alba
Diptych: Alba
5 1/2 x 5 1/2
collage (altered Polaroid photo, brass beads, unbleached waxed paper, pieces of burnt paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper

Reissue and Extension
Reissue and Extension
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (stone beads, braided hemp twine, copper wire, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and drawing (Sarasa gel ink and dandelion pulp) on 90lb Stonehenge paper

The paper was stained beforehand with instant coffee. I made the flower by pounding a dandelion into the paper, then drawing around it using a Sarasa retractable gel pen and water brush. The ink in these pens is dye based. It doesn’t skip and it bleeds when wet.

The Bone of a Thought
The Bone of a Thought
5 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
collage (altered Polaroid photo, bone fragment, brass brads, unbleached waxed paper, and fragment from 1854 patent book) and acrylic paint on 90lb Stonehenge paper