Just about finished with a sample book that I'll be taking to my workshop at Donna Downey Studios in North Carolina (class is full). This shows the signature wraps in the front of the journal: Painted photo and pages: Ready to journal on: sweetly feast on life: Unfinished front cover. Still needs to be bound and words added: breaking rules, being brave: Last page and signature wraps: Back cover: I still have some embellishment and the binding to do, but I've started another book and will work on both. Here's the cover for the new book: Continue reading

Wow, life happened...for about a year! An update is long over due. So much has happened, and I'm thrilled to be back and creating again. Thanks to everyone who emailed and asked about me. We've moved to eastern Washington where Quail rule, and we love it here (there are tons of Quail everywhere!). I just finished having an art room installed in our new home, and absolutely love it. I'm thankful and thrilled to be able to create in such an inspirational and dreamy space. Let's see...what else... Since we last talked, I've taught in Italy and spent a week... Continue reading

Just finished this journal and will be listing it in my etsy site in the next couple days. Email for details if you're interested in purchasing before I list it. It's 6"X6" and a little over 3" thick at the spine. Each signature is wrapped with a hinged, painted page. Pages within each of the 6 signatures are blank. Enjoy! EDIT... journal is sold. Thank you! Front Cover Spine with vintage lace and shoe buttons Back cover Signature wrap and inside front cover Signature wrap lining and first painted page Close up Above and below show 2 of the hinged... Continue reading

I used techniques in this book that I'll be teaching in Italy this September. Here's the link if you'd like to check it out! I've shown most of these pages before, but they look a bit different bound in the book, plus sometimes I change them around after finishing them, so here they are again: book spine signature wrap- this wraps around all three signatures (groups of pages) friendship is a rose without thorns loving words sunprinted feather created by Elizabeth Woodford a true friendship loves not for what it may receive, but for what it may give. most delightful... Continue reading

Beautiful, ancient, Orvieto is on my mind as I create journal pages using techniques that I'll teach in my September Painted Photo workshop in Italy. I'm feeling so blessed that on the heals of my incredible Australian adventure, I get to travel to Italy and teach there again in September. I fell head over heals in love with Italy last year, and have such sweet memories of my time teaching, and shooting a bazillion photos as I hiked, and explored every corner of Orvieto. I'm beyond excited that I get to stay an extra week and explore Venice with my... Continue reading

I'm so excited that I'll be teaching another painted photo and journal workshop in Orvieto, Italy in just a few months! I'm still sighing and thinking about my trip to Australia (I still have more to share about my amazing time there!) but with September approaching, my thoughts and my heart turn toward beautiful Orvieto, and memories of last year's dreamy adventure fill my mind. I fell head over heals in love with the beautiful Italian people; rolling terraced vineyards, and narrow, one-way cobblestone streets winding through ancient villages clinging to cliff walls; the golden afternoon light; the many family... Continue reading

When Bevlea and I boarded the plane and headed north to Queensland, we both had jackets on as it was a bit chilly in Melbourne. When we stepped out of the airport in Cairns, we were hit with super high humidity and about 90 degrees- and it was only about 9:30 in the morning! Mossman Gorge -a section of Daintree National Park We picked up our adorable lime green rental car and headed north, filled with excitement and anticipation. I was so looking forward to seeing and photographing the bird life, Pied Heron and the gorgeous, tropical scenery, Josephine Falls... Continue reading

After classes ended, I had a few days before we flew up north on our tropical photo safari. You'd think I would want to rest and relax a bit, but my love affair with Australia wouldn't allow it- I didn't want to miss one photo op and managed to fill just about every second of those days exploring and shooting photos. On one of the days, Lucy and I went to a gorgeous nearby park (sorry, I can't remember the name) that had many varieties of birds, and a beautiful walking path around the lake. mmmmmm...Black Swans with their gorgeous... Continue reading

Kookaburra I have so much I want to share about my incredible 3 week teaching/photography adventure in Australia! Rainbow Lorikeet In my previous post, I wrote about the workshops and mini holiday on Phillip Island with Bevlea and Lucy, but most of the part about the trip to Phillip Island got cut off when I published the post. I'll finish sharing about our time on Phillip Island, hoping I can remember it all...and then post about my trip to Queensland with Bevlea in a separate installment. White Ibis While on the island visiting the Koala Conservation Center, watching the Penguin... Continue reading

through the plane window Finally! A post about my trip to beautiful Australia! Ellinjaa Falls I feel so bad that it's taken me so long to post about my incredible trip to Australia last month. I knew it would be wonderful, but everything - absolutely EVERYTHING - far exceeded what I had hoped for. Teaching was so wonderful, with an amazing group of women attending workshops. As excited as I was to head up north to Queensland for a photo safari with my friend and workshop coordinator, Bevlea after classes were over, I was sad when they ended. Some of... Continue reading

My plane leaves for Australia in just over a week! I'm so excited to see everyone, and soak in some beautiful Australian sunshine. Along with journal and painted photos classes, I'll be teaching a collage class using photos and acrylic washes. My goal when creating this class was to incorporate photos into a collage with a flowing, painterly look, but without the need to learn how to paint, or buy a lot of supplies. Since scanning, I've added a hanger made from a garage sale necklace and beads. The base is a 10"x12" vintage book cover. purity of heart determined... Continue reading

I'll be finishing this journal as a demo while teaching in Australia, but wanted to show you the bits and pieces. Still needs some vintage buttons here and there, binding, and maybe a few images and words. I added some string to the front cover after I posted it last week: Spine: Inside cover lining: Another lining and a signature wrap: Flip side of the signature wrap: Another signature wrap: Some of the pages: And the back cover: Continue reading

that my heart would fill- Continue reading

Painted photo of a Rufous Sided Towhee. Another class sample for Australia! I'll finish it with words, stitching and some splatters as I make it into a book cover. Continue reading

Another class sample! Painted photo for one of my April classes in Melbourne, Australia. Continue reading

Happy Valentine's Day! I don't have any heart photos, but I think a beautiful pink apple blossom is fitting on this day of love. I'm still working on prep for my trip to Australia. I can't believe I leave in just 7 weeks! I'll be gone 3 weeks for teaching and an incredible photo safari with Bev. Here's a painted photo I just finished for a class sample: And below are a few more photos that I've processed lately. Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur... Continue reading

I'm getting ready, and very excited to teach in Australia in April. Here are a couple painted photos for class samples. This one is for a book class, and is the front cover: I haven't been taking many photos because I'm busy preparing, but also due to the rain and cold. I'm so looking forward to the arrival of spring and warmer weather, as well as a photo trip to the coast in a couple weeks with a girlfriend. I can't wait to get out and hunt for beauty. Below are a few more old shots that I've processed recently: Continue reading

I'm still processing old photos, and thought I'd share a few more. During good weather, I take far more photos than I have time to process, so winter is a good time to catch up a bit. The Great Blue Heron shots were taken at sunrise in Newport, Oregon. Fall in the Rogue Valley, Oregon: Somewhere in northern California: Below is Crater Lake, Oregon. This is a panorama that I may have shown before, but I reprocessed it and like it better now. I took 15 shots- 3 exposures each, of 5 different sections of the lake. The 3 exposures... Continue reading

Wow. I'm hanging my head, and apologize that it's been so long since I last blogged. And I have no excuse... no new puppy or grand child, I'm not moving, didn't break my arm, and I haven't been traveling. I get going on my day, and just don't take the time to sit down and post. Do come see me on facebook though if you'd like to hang out more. I post there almost every day. Easier for some reason. So what's been going on with me anyway? Would you believe I'm falling more and more in love with my... Continue reading

Finished! You've seen most of the pages during construction, so I'll just show the spine, linings, and a few snippets of words and final embellishments. The book is 8" X 8" with a 4" wide spine. Continue reading

Hello! I'm teaching this class again the first week in December, so you're seeing another version of the same goose on the cover. Since the workshop is in December, I couldn't resist adding some vintage silver trim on some of the pages. The workshop info is here if you would like to take a peek! I still need to add words here and there, a few tiny vintage rhinestones, and bind it all together. Oh, and paint the back cover, but I'm getting close! Beautiful sun print fern made by Elizabeth Woodford. Continue reading

The wall is silence, the grass is sleep, Tall trees of peace their vigil keep, And the Fairy of Dreams with moth-wings furled. Plays soft on her flute to the drowsy world.~Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Happy Autumn everyone. I haven't been creating much art lately, so my blogging has slowed. Although not creating much with paint in my studio, I've been smothered by daily beauty and Divine paint as I shoot fall color and create with my camera. Summer drew me out of my studio like never before. When I make myself work inside, I pine for nature, worry that I'll... Continue reading

As I went out last evening to shoot the last of our vibrant, summer color, it hit me that as much as I love the crisp, moody days of autumn, winter is coming, and it isn't an easy adjustment for me. Suddenly it seems that Tulla and I are taking our walks earlier to avoid the cold and dark, and T-shirts have been covered with vests and hoodies. I'm thankful that although cold and wet, there is much beauty to look forward to during the winter months. I don't look forward to muddy doggy and kitty paws that need drying... Continue reading

I had such an amazing day yesterday filled with sunshine, birds, lava beds, and incredible ancient petroglyphs. I've wanted to view the ancient art at Petroglyph Point in Northern California for a quite a while, but the only other time I've been there I didn't realize where it was, and I had spent too much time on other adventures that day to fit it in. Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the lava beds are only about 2.5 hours from here, so I'm going to make it a point to go more often throughout the year. I can't wait to... Continue reading

I'm loving the glorious and sometimes inexpressible joys of autumn...or almost autumn! Evenings here in southern Oregon have cooled, and for a bit longer, the days will continue to be perfect; most highs around 80 degrees with golden light and a slight breeze. The following poem by George Eliot expresses it well. Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot. May inexpressible joys surround you today. Continue reading