A Little Artwork

Today I graduated to walking with no crutches once I got downstairs.  With the ankle brace they gave me at the ER, it was not painful, as long as I hobbled without bearing full weight on the left leg.  Much better!

I located my watercolor paints and the instructional materials I purchased from Karlyn Holman.  I spent some time working on a sunflower painting from one of her kits.  She provides a line drawing, a reference photograph, and a few step-by-step instructions.  Here is how it looks so far.

The lacy look in the foreground is from sanding watercolor pencils over a piece of lace.  The sunflower center had a piece of gauze in the center to create some texture, but I think mine was too thick and I did not get the desired lines.  I may do this painting over, because I haven't done any serious watercolor in several months and am quite out of practice!

 Here is a Zentangle sampler I did on a blank page in my Moleskine journal.  There was some heavy painting on the pages behind, so I only wanted to use markers on this spread.  (Blogger decided to change the orientation of the photo!)

Finally, here is a delightful sketch that my father, Pete Turner,  did while we were in the mountains with a big group for the Fourth of July weekend.  First he made a list of everyone who was with us.  Then, he somehow managed to draw a  caricature of everyone on a tiny piece of watercolor paper that fit inside a greeting card.  He sent it to his sister Jeanne, who was born on the Fourth of July.

It was great to see Dad enjoying some art supplies after his recent deathly scare with pneumonia.  He looks better each time I see him!  Here he is painting at the kitchen table at my sister's mountain place.



His sketch of the people of the Fourth of July was my inspiration for the Dogs of the Fourth of July journal page.

Mimosas

The mimosa trees are in bloom here in North Carolina.  This is a rather invasive tree that easily deposits its seeds in unwanted spots in gardens and lawns.  The trees can get rather large, like this one that blocks my neighbor's house.

                            

The leaves and branches are fern-like, and here in our area of North Carolina, the blossoms are light pink.

The flowers are long and feathery, and blow off in the breeze.

While I have been laid up today with my sprained ankle, I got out some watercolor pencils and used the back of a page in my hand-made journal.  It had some color leaking through from the other side.  I did not add any water.

When I get back to my quilting machine, I might try to do some quilting motifs that mimic the fluffy blossoms.  They look kind of like the floating seeds in Avatar.

Here is another journal page that I entered in this month's The Sketchbook Challenge.  The theme is "Element."



The Element of Surprise, 2011, Jeanne McBrayer

There are a few surprises in the drawing if you pay close attention.  The text says, "We are not always what we seem."





Lame Excuse

Sorry about no blogging for the past few days.  We left Friday for our mountain cabin, where we met various family members, including the grand-kids.  After some torrential rains on Friday, Saturday was a great day.  We stayed down at the creek.  The kids took turns floating down the creek in a tube, either with an adult or with an adult catching them before they got to the spillover at the dam.

It was pretty muddy, so there was a lot of slipping on the banks.  I got stung by a bumblebee on my ring finger, which swelled up so bad I thought they might have to cut my rings off.  That turned out to be the least of my worries.

It was fun to see cousins Bryson and Jason together with their families.   They grew up almost as close as brothers.  Jason was on vacation up there all week, and got his head shaved while he was there.

We went up the mountain after supper for a gorgeous sunset Gator ride.

If I had just stayed in the Gator, I would have been okay.

Shortly after the above picture was taken, we stopped in the pine woods.  I got out to walk with granddaughter Lily, fell, and hurt my ankle.

When we got home Sunday Charlie took me to the emergency room for x-rays.  No fracture noted, but a severe sprain.  I got a brace and some good drugs.  I already had crutches from having had bunion surgery in the past.

So, I have been doing R.I.C.E.- Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.  I took Oxycontin yesterday, but by nighttime I starting getting sick to my stomach.  Now, take my word for it, it is not good to have to run to the bathroom to vomit when you have a sprained ankle.

Anyway, I feel a little better today, but still can't walk.  I guess I will be in physical therapy in the near future.

Maybe I will feel like doing a little hand work while I am in the sitting phase!

It's All Done

Tonight was the monthly meeting of The Whacky Ladies Bee...and the final reveal of the Heritage Star group quilt.

It is bound with the same blue batik that we used in the center star and the narrow flange.  Marilyn and Kathy did the binding...and Lori made the most beautiful label for the back.

She used her embroidery machine for the text in shades of blue, and pieced a star from the same fabrics as the backing and binding.

Next stop will be the Capital Quilters Guild meeting of July 21, when there will be a Viewer's Choice vote for the auction quilts to be donated to the Heritage Days Auction.  The auction will help raise money for Interact of Wake County, an organization to assist victims of domestic violence.

Great work, Whacky Ladies!

The Joke's on Me

Last week I did a double-take as I drove past Forgotten Pond in the Heritage community.  I thought I saw a swan on the lake.  I have seen a swan on another Heritage pond on the golf course, which I assumed was imported.  I have never seen a wild swan in the Piedmont of North Carolina except at the North Carolina Zoo.

So, Kasey and I walked by last week and I saw that Swan Lake was actually Overflow Pipe Lake.

It looked a little like a swan shape.

Today we walked down to the pond again. 

I got all excited, until I realized that the swan was directly over the site of the pipe, and was not exactly swimming.  It was turning around in a circle, but apparently it is a pipe ornament.

Now I want to get a closer look at that other swan on the golf course lake!

Another joke on me...after not being able to locate my phone charger since my beach trip, of course my cell phone died.  I looked everywhere today, finally gave up, and drove to Raleigh to buy a new one. 

Came home, plugged the phone to the new charger, walked to the living room...and there was the original charger lying on the floor in front of the couch!  All I can figure is that when I pulled out the couch cushions to look under them, the old charger must have fallen from there onto the floor.

Now I have one that I can leave in the mountain cabin or in my travel bag.

Dogs of the Fourth of July

I mentioned in my last post that there were eight dogs in our family/friends group in Ashe County last weekend.  That does not even count the short visit from Lucy, who visited Sunday afternoon with our college friends Art and Mary.

I had my Moleskine journal along with a colorful background already prepared with Neocolor II water soluble crayons.  Here are the Dogs of the Fourth of July!

Family Fourth of July

Every time we go to our mountain place in Ashe County, we say, "This was the best ever."  It always is!

We had a big group of friends, family, little kids, and dogs.  These are my sister's two grandbabies.

There was a lot of creek sitting and riding across the mountain trails.

There were eight dogs as well.  Our dog Kasey and our granddog Roo had a large time running up and down the hills and meadows,

 and cooling off in the creek.

Kasey looks like she has become "one" with the creek.

My dad's health keeps improving thanks to my sister Katy's tender loving care.  Here we are sitting on Kenny and Katy's front porch, with their dog Fred.

I went up the mountain to a natural spring area and dug up some good black mountain soil to put around my flowers.

Our neighbor Mary has several large flower beds around her house that are looking beautiful.  I particularly like the hollyhocks along the fence.

The rhododendrons are still in bloom.  Some of them create huge walls of flowers.

The wildflowers are abundant in all the fields, meadows, and along the creek banks.

Right when it was time to leave, the skies began to darken and rumble.

There were impressive storm clouds all the way to Efland, when it finally became a downpour.

This doe was sheltering under a tree.

It was a nice Fourth of July holiday.