Fall Colors Exist, After All!

Last Saturday I woke up at 6:30 and couldn't get back to sleep, so I spent about an hour doing laundry, ate breakfast, and then went up the canyon to take some pictures.

By Vivian Park I found a couple of Heber Valley RR cars to take pictures of. I'm still learning about manual settings, and my hands were freezing after about 2 minutes, so I didn't stay around long to experiment or perfect anything. :) This is what I ended up with. Some I like, some I don't...

After that I went down into the Riverwoods business park area to see if I could find some better color. I did find some, but not as much as I would have liked. I have no idea what kind of tree this is just below, but I like the contrast of the little apple-y looking fruits against the leaves.

I took the one below out of focus on purpose to see what it would look like. I kind of dig it--it reminds me of some of Monet's paintings after he started losing his sight. (Not that I'm comparing myself to Monet - Ha, yeah right!)

I was surprised by how cold it was that morning--it took me a couple of hours to really get warmed back up (and my poor hands started to crack and bleed. Boo and hiss. that usually doesn't happen until closer to Thanksgiving.). I don't want winter to come yet. Yuck.

Oh, and Happy Halloween! Here is a partial picture of me last year in my Venetian mask.

Cross Processing of Photos and Films :: the Creepy Cotton Candy Effect

I have never been able to figure out what crossprocessing was actually called until TODAY. I always called it the "creepy cotton candy" effect because of the eeriness I feel it lends to the photo or film, while at the same time really intensifying the colors.

This is one of my favorites from the Cross-processing group on Flickr. By John.

Reminds me of the Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulin. Interesting movie. I got a CleanFlicks version just before they went under if anyone ever wants to borrow it.

It's also possible to get this same effect through Photoshop, apparently (one day I'll own it).

What do you guys think of this particular effect? Is it creepy to you at all, or is that just me? I tend to associate it with "flashback" moments in movies where someone is remembering a traumatizing event they experienced as a child. I also associate it with clips or pictures of eerie-looking deserted carnivals. That must be where my homegrown "creepy cotton candy" name came from.

Eucalyptus

Since about 1999, soon after I started working for a wholesale florist, I have detested the smell of eucalyptus. I had to handle large bundles of it every so often at work, and the oil from its leaves just clings to your skin like nobody's business. Not only does that mean the smell stays with you for hours, but it also leaves a horrible residue all over, like sap from a tree that seemingly never goes away.

Eucalyptus by Marc 50 via Flickr

As a result of this distaste for all things eucalyptus, getting sore throats and colds is even more annoying, because everything seems to have nasal-passage-clearing and sore-throat-soothing eucalyptus in it.

No, thanks. I'll take those pseudo Vitamin C candies that they sell by the throat lozenges.

Waiting Games

So, I officially applied to the Sorbonne today.

I hope I get accepted!! I should know within the next week and a half, although from everything I've read I would be shocked if I didn't get accepted. (No, I don't have a super-inflated ego... I just think they basically accept anyone who will pay them who shows up with a visa. I'm not going to start a Master's program, just some language and civilization classes specifically designed for foreigners.)

You know, this whole process is kind of crazy. It's kind of a Catch-22 at any given second, because you need to make important decisions without complete information being available, and some decisions (and payments) have to be made with nothing but hope that it will all work out. More on that later.

In a matter on months, I could be studying here. Hmmmm. Kind of skews the concept of what a University library should look like, doesn't it? Absolutely gorgeous. It reminds me of one of those rooms in an old house-turned-museum that is roped off but perfectly set up and preserved. You know, the one where the tour guide gives everyone a sarcastic once-over as they all lean in over the rope as far as is physically possible and wish they had lived 400 years earlier...

Photo from the Spirit of Paris. Merci, Michel!

Friday Faves - Movies

Favorite movies of all time in no particular order:

1) Shawshank Redemption (I’ve only ever seen this once, but I absolutely loved it)

2) The Holiday (I just think it’s brilliant and fun)

3) The Village (scary and thought-provoking)

4) Les Choristes (great French film – I own it w/English subtitles if anyone wants to see it…)

5) Wait Until Dark (that is about as scary as I go)

6) Pride and Prejudice (and I’m not ashamed)

7) What Happens in Vegas (SOOOO many funny one-liners in this movie!!)

8) Mansfield Park (possibly my favorite Austen movie)

9) Memoirs of a Geisha (the cinematography is truly masterful!)

10) Hairspray (literally could watch this again and again – I think I saw it 7 times in the theater, including the SIIIIING along time when Heather, Amy and I were three of 5 people in the theater rocking out to the movie). (Mom, were you there?)

11) Mona Lisa Smile (I love the message of this movie)

12) Sense and Sensibility (I’m a romantic at heart, which is the main reason I love this movie. But I have to admit Eleanor hyperventilating at the end is TOTALLY my favorite part.)

"Untitled" - a.k.a. I Love Luis Feito

Well, I love his paintings, at least.


His most recent ink on paper works are interesting, but not as textured and captivating as his older stuff.


These two are my favorites, though I pretty much like everything I've seen of his older works.


They are both "Untitled." Which, if I'm going to be honest, might make me like them better. Coming up with a title for every painting seems like it would be a pain (though the artists probably spend enough time with their medium and each work that they have the time to mull over it a while). I think leaving things without titles allows the audience to take a little more ownership of their reaction to the work itself.

(Plus, I think I would rather own a cool painting that is untitled than one that is called "Blue background with white hatch marks" or "Black and Grey blobs," etc.--wouldn't you?)

Aren't they incredible? The first is mixed media on paper, and the second is sand and oil on board. Breathtaking, and both in private collections. Wow, I want so much to be a rich art collector.

Dear Alexander,

Just wanted to write an extremely belated thank you.


Not only did your research into hearing devices lead to the invention of the telephone...


but you were also one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society.


Either one of those alone would have been enough for my gratitude, but both? That makes you extra cool. You not only made instant communication possible over vast distances, but National Geographic has provided millions of people with inspiration, education, and truly amazing photography, films, and articles over many, many years. Plus you have awesome hair.

So, thanks. I know it wasn't for me, but I benefit from your hard work every day of my life.

~Sarah

More French Tunes - "La Tribu de Dana" by Manau

French Celtic rap.

What, that's not your favorite musical genre?
Yeah, I know. It sounds seriously weird. But I actually like this group, Manau (although I don't think they are still together).

I'm not usually a fan of rap, and even though I speak French I only understand about 1/3 of the lyrics. Even taking those two facts into consideration, I still love this song. No vulgarity, no drugs, no gangs, no inappropriate comments about women... the lyrics are actually about a fictional battle between to Celtic clans (like I said, I know it sounds weird).

Have a listen. It's surprisingly catchy. Everyone I've ever forced it on has been surprised.

Friday Faves - Earrings

Several of you, though I'm guessing not all of you, know that I love earrings. REALLY love them.
You might call it an obsession, a fetish, or an accessory imbalance. But, call it what you will, I love earrings, and I thought I would share mine with you today.

I have amassed many pairs of earrings in my life. In total I think I've got between 85-90 pair of earrings. I counted a while ago but I don't remember the exact number. Almost all of the earrings I wore growing up are gone because they were mostly post earrings, and now I tend to wear drop earrings 99% of the time. I have zero tolerance for being stabbed in the neck by an earring post. Hooks are so much more gentle on the skin behind my ears.

Keeping track of all my earrings (specifically, rummaging through them all to find the ones I wanted to wear) had become a challenge in the last couple of years, so I finally devised a way to keep them all in one place. This was the resulting crafty project.

Ingredients: One unfinished glass-free frame from Robert's, several lengths of ribbon, staple gun, staples, white paint, clearcoat. Oh, and 3M hooks for the necklaces and rings at the bottom. LOVE those hooks.

There are some changes I would make to this having now gone through the process once. I would use eyelet screws on the inside of the frame where the glass would normally sit and I would either use thinner ribbon or wire. I kind of like the way the ribbons wrapped aroung the edges of the frame, but the earrings with the smaller hooks tend to slip off the ribbon because it is too wide and flexible.

Regardless of those little issues, I have loved having this earring holder. It keeps them all in front of me, and it turns my earrings into a sort of haphazard artwork.

A couple of years ago I decided that instead of spending money on random souvenirs on trips I take (which inevitably end up thrown away, lost, broken, or being picked up by me as I scratch my head and wonder where I got it), that I would purchase a pair of earrings for each vacation I go on (or multiple pairs, if I am visiting several locations in one trip).

It started in 2005 with a Thanksgiving trip to New York City and has continued up through mytrip to Alaska this summer.

I'm not going to lie--picking my favorite earrings was a challenge, because I wear so many of them frequently and love them for different reasons. But here are some of my favorites and where they came from.

These turquoise hoops are a recent purchase, custom made by her. (I love Etsy. Seriously.) They are to replace a pair of earrings I bought at the Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program rug auction and jewelry sale in 2005. I lost ONE of them just a few weeks later and have been looking for a replacement pair ever since.

This pair of red coral spheres I purchased at an outdoor market in Berlin right outside of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church.

I wear these earrings at least once a week. They were a Valentine's Day gift from a coworker who knows how much I love earrings. We were on a business trip together and she gave me these and a great card with a quote from Van Gogh about painting. (She obviously knows me really well and is an extremely thoughtful person.) Thanks, Gena!!

These earrings were also a recent purchase, because I didn't feel like I had any silver earrings that were really basic but still had some substance to them as far as their size. These are maybe one inch across, so not huge skanky hoops, but they don't disappear once I've got them on, either. From Target (as are most of my earrings).

This pair was a Christmas gift last year from my best friend Happy. I wasn't sure how I felt about them at first, because up to that point I almost never wore anything but silver and cool colors. Thanks Hap! (For the earrings and helping me branch out).

This pair is also from the Hapster. She got them from a woman who had a booth at the Spanish Fork Fiesta Days fair. Apparently this woman never makes the same pair of earrings twice. I love these earrings, and I get tons of compliments every time I wear them (which is pretty often because they're really versatile).

And to wrap it up (I'm sorry... who knew that anyone could write this much about earrings??), these earrings are coming my way soon. Again, these are replacing a pair of earrings (my favorite pair EVER, hands down--I wore them every day of my mission and then some) because I lost one while napping on my parents' couch. It disappeared into the depths of the cushions or elsewhere, never to be found again.

They are also from Etsy (this shop), and I am sooo excited to have found some that are so similar to the one I lost (I still have its partner in my car so I could periodically stop by Argento and ask if they were making them again).

Okay, I'm done. If you read this whole thing, you are a trooper. :)

"How to Create an Abstract Painting" from wikiHow

I thought this little "tutorial" from wikiHow was kind of fun.

How to Create an Abstract Painting

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Abstract painting might look easy, and it might look as if the artist did not know what they were painting. It might look like it; however, this is far from the truth. Abstract can be more difficult than landscape or scenery, because there is nothing to copy from, and nothing like it has been painted prior to the moment that the artist picked up the brush.

Steps

1. Buy a ready made canvas in a craft store. Buy any size that you feel you would like to work on. A smaller one, 10x10, or 12x12 might be best, if you are just learning and experimenting. The canvas will be ready to work on as is, but if you prefer a colored background, buy a jar of Gesso, to prime the canvas and give it a touch of color. When doing this however, you will have to wait about 24 hours until the canvas dries before you can paint on it.
   
2. Decide whether to use acrylics or oil paint. Acrylics have no odor, are easy to wash off surfaces and clothes, dry faster and can be painted over if you make a mistake. Oils are the complete opposite.
   
3. Buy a color chart and an easel and paints and brushes. Buy the basic colors at first, and use the color chart to determine which colors belong together.
   
4. Start your painting by thinking of an object, or a scene. Do not think of the actual drawing of each, just dwell on the thought. Look at a vase, not at how it actually would be sketched, but how you would think it would look. Your imagination, and your feelings will create what you paint on the canvas. Remember, you are interpreting, not drawing.
   
5. Allow the brush to take over painting with one color. When your thought process stops, you stop. Add another color, shade it, make it lighter at any part, or heavier at another. Improve what you see on the canvas and of what you think should be added.
   
6. Add a bit of yellow, to a part of the red, blend it and make various shades of orange. Some areas will be darker, some lighter according to the brush strokes.
   
7. Remember once you feel that the painting is finished, stop . Do not go back to improve or touch it up. Do not overwork your painting, but learn to finish it, the moment you feel it is finished.
   

Found this here.

Tips

• Experiment with adding textures to the canvas, and painting over them for added depth to the painting.
  
• Use colors according to the feeling you wish to paint. Read about colors and how to use them to express emotions. Reds and yellows will be happy, while blues, blacks, and browns will signify darker feelings. The feeling you wish to convey will depend on the colors and brush strokes you use.
  
• Don't be afraid of drips and splatters. At times drips might add texture to your painting and so will splatters especially of a blending color.
  
• Don't wear nice clothes. Wear something you don't mind getting paint on.
  
• Sometimes the best pictures you make are the ones with your eyes closed. So don't be afaid to close your eyes and just have fun with it.
  

Warnings

• Wash your brushes with a cleaning solution after you are finished painting to keep your brushes soft and usable.
  
• You can also wrap your brushes in clear film or a carrier bag and they will stay fresh for weeks.
  

Sources and Citations

• All about acrylics
  
• Painting
  
• About Abstracts
  

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Create an Abstract Painting. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.