Lost Aussie on the loose

The Short (and Tall) of It

I bid farewell to the boys (again)today.  They jumped on (yet another) jet plane and headed off to the UK where they will spend Christmas with family in Scotland before testing out the slopes in Turin, Italy for a spot of skiiing.

I can't complain as they have spent several of the last Christmases with us and we have enjoyed a wonderful  and very special ten days together.  Given the difficult time they have had over the last month it was nice to see them relax, let their defenses down and just "BE" at peace.

Although not too much time has passed since I was with them in Perth, it does seem as if they grow centimeters at a time between hugs!  As evidenced by the photos, I am definitely the "Little Person" in the house now - they are even taller than DH!

Fortunately I only have to wait about three weeks until I meet up with them again in Oz.  It will be time to hide away from the New York winter for a bit and let them enjoy the rest of their summer vacation with their friends in the sunshine downunder!

Until then, they will be on my mind and, as always, ...tucked firmly in my heart.

I'll leave you with a quote by Washington Irving, which seemed rather apropos for today and an altered photo of a rather 'frozen rose'.

Angels On High

Not much time for art at the moment as all my attention is focused on making the most of the days that I have with the boys and getting them ready for the next leg of their "Summer" vacation in the northern hemisphere. 

I have several pieces that I need to get ready for gallery submissions and exhibitions for next year, the Angel, being one of them, has evolved over several days and a few late night minutes snatched when I can.
Not my usual work habit, but that's OK as being "Mom" is more important than anything else right now!

One For The Birds

It's snowing outside and cold enough that I daresay there will be a blanket of white when I wake up in the morning.  Just the sort of inspiration needed for creating a picture of chilly little birds huddled on a winter branch. 

Ive experimenting tonight with some of the techniques that I have been learning in Misty's class and even though I am still most comfortable sketching and painting with pixels rather than charcoal or paint, I have garnered quite a bit of useful learning in the class.

I guess it does not really matter what your preferred medium is, there are some art 'rules' that are applicable across the board!

And I apologise if I owe you an email (or two), I'm a little behind in that department - Mom chores are front and center for the moment :-)

xoxo

A Christmas'y Looking Card

 Well the Otero 2009 Christmas Card is finally unveiled.  I teetered between artsy, ethereal designs, and various other compositions and in the end decided that this year I wanted something "Merry, Red and Bright".

I combined some Christmassy background material with a few other vector graphics that I cooked up, clipped them all to some Holly Jolly text and shaped the words into a tree - added a few other bits and pieces that I had handy in the digital toolbox and Voila - there you have it!

If you would like one to appear in a mailbox near you, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email with your snaily address and I'll be happy to oblige!

On another BRIGHT note, I have my men, small and large back home, safe and sound.  They've been sleeping (and eating) copious amounts but its wonderful to be back in the kitchen baking and cooking up a storm as well as getting all the hugs and long conversations that we need to catch up on.

I have to laugh, as they are probably the only two boys in the New York playing cricket in the middle of winter on a Tennis Court!  Gotta love thinking 'outside' the box (or net - as the case may be)!

Leaves and Trees

We've had wild and wooly days of late - lots of wind and rain.  The trees are almost bare and although it was 67f today, it's supposed to get a lot colder in the next few days.  A far cry from the 37C it's supposed to be in Perth today!

In between getting the house ready for the 'large' and 'small' men's arrival I've found some time to fiddle away in Photoshop, creating some custom layers and masks for my students to use in my Art and Soul Workshop next year. One of the workshops is already sold out, so don't wait too long before taking the 'digital' leap!

And...I am hoping to get my "A" into gear and develop a few more photoshop tutorials soon and if all goes to plan will be posting some online classes in the near future!
So stay tuned!

Lady In Waiting

DH will be back with the boys on Saturday - and yes, I am waiting with baited breath!  It's only a scant six weeks since I saw them last and although I see them on Skype most days and run up humongous phone bills talking to them before they go to bed each night, nothing really takes the place of having them in my hot little Momma hands and being able to take care of them.

That place between being a 'little boy' and a 'big" one is strange. It's so easy to think that because they are 16 & 17 and over 6' tall that they don't need nurturing, love and gobs more understanding than usual - in fact it seems to me that it's quite the opposite.  When they become lean, gangly, shaving, almost men and at odds with everything - then that's when they need the most love and attention.

Knowing what they listen to on their Ipod, what cool (overpriced) Tshirt is the must have outerwear for parties, which friend is IN, which friend is out, how  many (dubious) groups they belong to on Facebook, being able to relate to them on at least 10 different levels on subjects that you have (almost) no clue about..and having the fortitude to grin and bear it when they tell you they have used $30 of phone credit in a week....

It's a complex time, but I am grateful for each and every moment and for the fact that there is enough trust and love for us to talk to each other and that DH and I are not only their parents but part of their world too....

I am very blessed!
Hurry home Boys (all 3 of you)!!!! xoxxo

 

What No Glue?

DH is down in Australia right now, gone to visit with the Boys and sort them out for the end of the school year.  While I was waiting for him to check in on Skype I spent a little time doodling in Photoshop - have to say there is way less MESS with digital collage and for me the enjoyment factor is actually greater!  Go figure!

Paint or Pixels

A while ago I signed up to do a painting workshop with my friend Misty Mawn. Now if you know me well, then you know that painting is really 'not' my thing, but having been in a bit of an art funk of late - a little painting seemed like a good idea.  So far I have just watched the videos and slurped up all of the goodwill that abounds on her class blog, facebook and flickr.

Tonight however I decided to put into practice some of Misty's good instructions and had a play with my paints (kind of grungy and dried up as they were!), collaged a little, made marks and generally had a bit of fun!

By contrast, last night I collaged and painted backgrounds for a digital project that I have been working on. These days I am not content with just 'printing' my digital creations on plain paper but like to add dimension, colour and depth by creating custom substrates -  makes each image unique and interesting and gives the whole piece a much more "mixed media' feel!
I think I know where my forte lies, but there's no harm in playing....right?

Stroked Borders - Photoshop Tutorial

My friend Christine in Germany wrote to me and asked me to explain how to do the thin stroked borders that I put on some of my Blog pictures ....so you can either click on the picture or follow the LINK - to watch another Photoshop Tutorial!

Enjoy!

How Do I Count Thee?

It's been an odd kind of day.....I persuaded DH to help me clean out the garage today in preparation for Winter....you know, clean out the dust bunnies, reorganise stuff and exchange the lawnmower for the snowblower...that kind of thing.  90% done and Hubby says - "Where are my golf clubs"?...........Hmmmm says I, no idea, but if they are not in the garage then they must be in the house!  Large amounts of scrupulous searching ensues.......and sure enuff, golf clubs are no-where to be found - not behind doors, not in the basement, not decorating the desk in his study.........

Best guess is that one of our recent tradesmen, meter readers or some other "person" of interest has 'lifted" them from the garage.  How sad!  They are definitely gone, gone gone.

Irons aside, there are two important gifts amongst the Clubs.  Both from my husband's time at DuPont and both with significant memories attached.

All I hope is that whoever has them REALLY enjoys them - or got enough money for them to pay for something special and important.

Tomorrow we will be checking out the local pawn shops to see if they turn up there.  Really horrid to think that people will steal from you while your personal spaces are open and available for work.

Beware the 'folk' you let roam around your home is all I can say!

As an aside, the above piece is created from some new found ephemera and various overlays and textures that will soon be available as part of a tutorial that I am getting ready.
I've also had requests for some simple but easily done Photoshop videos and hope to get them posted in the next day or so.
Lots of the tips and treats for creating the digital images like these will be covered in my Art and Soul workshop next year - Lovely Layers and Magical Masks and my workshop Surface Magic has ONLY TWO spaces left...so don't miss out!