Something nice from Catchy Colors...

Try this link.
Should take you to a fun little Christmas 2006 assortment posted through the catchy colors photoblog...
=)
Merry Christmas!
D.~

P.S.- December Bills: paid in full...
.Carrollers at the door with a plate of goodies, too...
.My favorite nephews coming to visit with both their parents in tow...
.Next school day? -> January 15th.
.
Ooooh. I'm o, so, gonna enjoy my month "off"!
Cheerios to all of YOU!
All the best in 2007!!!

Owh! =)

After testing her baby language theory on more than 1,000 infants around the world, Priscilla says there are 5 words that every babies 0-3 months old say - regardless of race and culture:

• Neh="I'm hungry"
• Owh="I'm sleepy"
• Heh="I'm experiencing discomfort"
• Eair="I have lower gas"
• Eh="I need to burp"

These words are actually sound reflexes....

Check it out! Here's the link (to yesterday's Oprah Winfrey show) to read and or listen to this way cool revelation about baby-kind!

Cheerios!

D.~

Time for Another Prairie Home Joke...

Life is all about ass: You're either covering it,
laughing it off, kicking it, kissing it, busting it,
trying to get a piece of it, or behaving like one.

(This joke was credited to:
Barry Clark, Fredericksburg, Virginia)

Butt....
it SOooo reminds me of my last bf - I just had to paste it here.
.
Note:
"Jokes are democratic. Telling one right has nothing to do with having money or being educated. It's a knack, like hammering a nail straight. Anyone can learn it, and it's useful in all sorts of situations. You can go your whole life and not need math or physics for a minute, but the ability to tell a joke is always handy."
- Garrison Keillor

=)
Cheerios 2 all of you!
D.~

P.S.-(in rememberance of Pearl Harbor ... I'm being especially kind to any and all veterans today... which reminds me, I got a few cards I need to get out in the mail. God bless all our men and women in service to this sweet land of liberty!)

Ah...the Christmas HYMNS!

One of the special things about church services in the month of December are the Christmas Hymns.

Today's services were opened with this one:

Angels We Have Heard on High

Angels we have heard on high sweetly singing o' er the plains,
And the mountains in reply Echoing their joyous strains.

Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.
Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.
Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.

Shepherds, why this jubilee? Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be Which inspire your heav'nly song?

Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.
Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.
Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.

Come to Bethlehem and see Him whose birth the angels sing;
Come, adore on bended knee Christ the Lord, the new born King.

Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.
Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.

Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.

.

(yeah. If you're reeeeeally into music... you'll note from the way I factored in the 'Glorias' above here - that I take to the 'alto' line - thankful, too, of all the other voices which cover and out shine mine. heh.)

.

Today, being the first Sunday of the month, was also a fast and testimony service... those always bring the spirit close.

It's a blessing and a privilege to fast and pray for special purpose - all of which would be incomplete if it was not followed up by generous offerings.

A blessing and special privilege, also, to have the opportunity to either stand and bare personal testimony of the Gospel - as Christ exemplified through out His entire ministry - or, sit quietly by, listening to other's speak, through inspiration's power, of the deeply moving experiences, treasures really - that they've gained through exercising their faith in the gospel of the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Awesome, uplifting, thought provoking, stuff.

.

I had a mini break with the grindstone last night...

I went with friends to the theater on campus and took in the closing night performance of 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

It was sweet.

I'd forgotten how cool and funny and sweetly touching small town community theater is. 'Cause you just 'know' a good portion of the cast, personally (in some form or fashion) - which only adds to the delight of seeing them carrying on 'in character'. (Big, cheesy grins!!! ha!)

It was the first time I'd been in that theater for anything (other than the induction ceremony to Phi Theta Kappa).

It's all pretty much 'black-box' and I wondered how they'd pull off something as complex as 'Miracle on 34th Street'.

Ingeniously, they used a projector to change backdrops for the scenes which meant the most elaborate set up they had overall, was the court room set - and for that - the actors individually carried their own props on and off the stage area during the fade-to-black in-between the scenes.

.

I'm thinking this was my big cozmic prompt to get out and do more in the name of FUN! Once the semester is over and I hit that luxurious Winter break... ahhhhh. (eyes glaze over...)

Ya know, I poo-pooed and put up a wee resistance...

I didn't wanna go.

(Listen! -> Hear that faint rattle of m' Marley chains connecting text books to brain. ???)

I sure did enjoy it, though once I got there and was in the mix and thick of it all.

Thankfully my friends wouldn't take "no" for the answer - your ticket will be at the door. .. . .. .

When I got there, a gracious man by the name of Tom told me, "You've been paid for."

&

I thought, 'Yes. So I have. Haven't we all?'

...reflecting on the Christmas season we are now entering into....

... haven't we all been paid for?

... by, Him whose birth the angels sing...'

Glo - ooo-o, ooo-o, ooo-o ri-a in excelsis Deo.

=)

D.~

Crunch time...

I may not be posting for a while...
Finals are hurling towards us.
Only 2 (2!!!???) weeks left for classes before finals week drains the living breath out of each and every surviving brain cell and nerve, that have not yet deserted me.
Plus...
I've a grand decision to ratify.
I'm thinking about pulling a double major.
For the equivalent of one more semester's work I can double degree.
One in graphic design
One in business
I'm 97% certain this is what I should do.
.
There was one consideration of special interest that I had been holding in reservation to taking this course and extending my time here at MCC.
.
After careful observations, prayers, and reflections over the questions I've asked and the answers (& non answers!) I've received - I'm pretty sure I know what the right pathway is here.
.
It's the one I'm already on!
.
...and that's a very good thing to carry into this finals week with me!
.
Cheerios to all of you!
=)
D.~

First Thanksgiving of All

Some thoughts from a favorite book of mine: PURE LOVE - readings on sixteen enduring virtues - selected with reflections, by Marilyn Arnold.........

"I do not know of any, excepting the unpardonable sin, that is greater than the sin of ingratitude," said Brigham Young, (Journal of Discourses 14:277) In the United States, and in other countries too, the idea of gratitude has been formalized bya national holiday. In the United states we typically observe the occasion by honoring the Pilgram fathers and mothers who gratefully made a feast from simple fare.

FIRST THANKSGIVING OF ALL

Peace and Mercy and Jonathan,
And Patience (very small),

Stood by the table giving thanks

The first Thanksgiving of all.
There was very little for them ot eat,

Nothing special and nothing sweet;

Only bread and a little broth,
And a bit of fruit (and no tablecloth);

But Peace and Mercy and Jonathan
And Patience, in a row,
Stood up and asked a blessing on
Thanksgiving, long ago.

Thankful they were their ship had come
Safely across the sea;
Thankful they were for hearth and home,
And kin and company;

They were glad of broth to go with their bread,
Glad their apples were round and red,
Glad of mayflowers they would bring
Out of the woods again next spring.

So Peace and Mercy and Jonathan,
And Patience (very small),
Stood up gratefully giving thanks
The first Thanksgiving of all.

--( Nancy Byrd Turner.)

cornucopia....

Anemae Jacks

That's right. The assignment for yesterday's class was to annimate 'something' and since I was working with the Jacks I did them. I was gonna post the little show here, 150 seconds.... however.... the 'Quick time movie" failed to load. Oh well. I wasn't that satisfied with the action in it... although I did like the way I was able to get the ball to bounce and spin and kinda flatten/flex a little, everytime it appeared to hit the counter top.

I wanna

Yes. I wanna animate everything we've done so far now... I've gone crazy for the Cinema4D program...
the toy train,
the 3D logo - I choose the Gazette name plate for that one. Having the 'newsboy' <-(airplane) come flying outta nowhere, barrel roll, and fly through that uppercase G would be a gas, I think. =)
then there's the tea pot & dishes you have not seen here yet, and of course,
the butterflies at the gazing ball.
I'm wondering if having the butterflies emerge from the gazing ball one by one would be a good effect?
I was thinking about replacing the art work on their wings with the faces of my lovely nieces and nephews... only problem is I'm not sure if I have the most up to date pix of all the little darlings.
There was a camera full of good shots from the 4th of July 'lost' sometime shortly there after.
*sighs*
Maybe I can capture some good ones on my 'spy phone' tomarrow. hehehee.

"Happy Thanksgiving!"

Guess I'll move along to wishing everyone a "Happy Thanksgiving" here's a sampler clip-art from Dover...
bless their hearts, they send me sampler clip art every Wednesday - the old style stuff - the stuff with no ties to copy right.
I like the old charm these have very well indeed, thank you very much.
See the next post up for some special Thanksgiving thoughts I'd like to keep journaled here.
.
.
.
I think that I, like a lot of people I know, have much to be thankful for.
We like to complain... it's a human frailty, hard to over come when it was such a successful strategy for survival, during the infancy / toddler years... and to this day how do you improve? Zero in on what could use some improvement? If you haven't the fortitude to register or receive the occasional honest complaint to or from someone deserving to do or have better?
Tomarrow, though, it's all about what is good and what we as individuals and as a nation have to be thankful for.
I'm thinking about starting a list. lol!
let it run on til next Thanksgiving.
That would be a whoot, no?
I'll start here:
1st I'm thankful for my testimony that Christ lives. I'm extremely thankful for the knowledge that there is a God, a loving heavenly Father, and I am thankful for my church - the best spirtiual school I've ever attended - It has worked miracles in my life.
2nd I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful for the love they've shown to me.
3rd I'm thankful for the opportuity to return to school and study after my hearts desire... this business of Art.
and finally, I'm thankful for all the good people I've meet along the way thus far - many, many of you are truly remarkable human beings - nothing but the best wishes and blessings for each and everyone!

(What are you thankful for?)
Hugs,
D.~

Depth of Field

. As promised here's the assignment, cropped in tight with some depth of field added in. 1st front and back have the blur. 2nd a look with only the back in blur. 3rd no application of depth of field. Which do you like better?
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Xs & Os people.
Xs & Os!
;-)

D.~

10 Jacks...

The assignment was to create a ball & jacks scene. This picture used to be a lip-stick, a perfume bottle, an ear-ring & an eyebrow pensil. I decided not to "reinvent the wheele" so I used the basic back ground and materials to create the new scene. the red ball used to be the lip stick. The jacks here, used to be 1 dangle ear ring. I'm also supposed to apply a "depth of field effect" - just haven't gotten that far yet....
When I do - I'll doc. it here.

Cheerios to all who pass this way!
and...
if I don't get back on before next Thursday...
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!!!
=)
D.

Move over Maxfield Parish... =)

Butterflies in the sky...

It's Greek to me...

Confession ('97)

It was 1997 (I think?) when I first heard his ‘confession’…

Thankfully it had nothing to do with me – at the least, I had nothing to do with scaring the boy. I liked him. There seemed to be an instant immediacy, a familiarity and trust between us – although I never talked about this feeling to him, to see if he’d felt it too, I just accepted it as is. I’d had enough confirmation in time past to verify this feeling, whenever it came, as generally being a mutual deal.

I was just a momentary supervisor in time to him… an 'on-the-job' training coach for pity’s sake…

One night the boy blurted out, “Love is a bad, bad thing. I don’t want anything to do with love.”

I don’t recollect now, why he’d say such a thing to me. Perhaps I’d asked, in passing, how his girlfriend was, or made some conspirator’s remark as in: ‘wouldn’t you love to be done with work, out of here, and off with your friends ….?’

It surprised me, what he’d said.
Had I heard right?
Was this young man on the edge of hating love and hardening his heart?
….. forever, maybe?

I do remember what I said to him:

I told him that I thought he'd had it wrong.
That to me, love - true, pure love - is a good thing. The very best thing you can ever cultivate in your own heart and the greatest gift one human being could ever bestow, sustain, and nurture in relationship to another.

I told him that one needed to keep in mind though, that just because you'd the best, heartfelt gift to give - it didn't necessarily mean the person you'd most like to give it to, would receive that gift. They may not be able to.

And…
Also…

Did he not know that there must-needs-be opposition in all things?

I told him I knew that there were a lot of wicked ‘things’ out in the world masquerading as love – all of which really had nothing, whatsoever to do with love - quite the opposite actually... those things, those pretentious, impersonating, imposters … were/are/and continue to be the bad thing, the scary thing, the stuff that’ll hurt you - for the very fact that they are not at all what they pretend to be, they are not LOVE.

I told him that:
Real love is the ‘balm’.
Love is good.
...
and
...
Good is good.

I’m not sure he heard me right. I wonder now if he’d thought I’d said, “REAL love is DA Bomb!”
lol
;-)

Isn't it amazing how, sometimes, trying to clairify something for someone else, helps us to better sort the subject for our own sakes?

For me, the scary thing was this thought of the young man ordering his world with the good thing as bad (and so very possibly giving bad things a status of gooood.) No decent coach EVER wants to see that!

hummm guess I'll roll over to Sunday on this note:

Hebrews 10:35 - Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.

Love and love s'more...
D.

Roswell...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!
I just finished handing out goodies to all the little children hitting up the campus for treats this year.
Dig it!

This picture takes advantage of a program aspect that even lets you pick what place, date, and time you'd like the "sky" in your scene to be. . . then automatically renders it in there for you!
Cool Beans?!
Yep.
Set this one to Roswell, NM - at just around midnight....
Have a sweet, safe night!
=)
D

P.S.-This is one that looks better if you double click on the pix and view it enlarged....

Porch Light On...

A run on the LAW...

That's right.
A run on the LAW...
feels somehow like I 'got away' with something.
I had 4 big test out of 5 classes last week.
The 1st one being in my Business Law class.
Over a half dozen chapters.
Thank God, - literally - and the teacher, for that one being an open book.
I hadn't read all the chapters.
I tried, but, not only is this book the biggest, heaviest, most cumbersome book I've got this semester - it could quantify as a major sleep aid, people.
I missed a class or two of lecture.
(Death, Illness...)
...and...
Here's the amazing part:
I managed to miss out on only 8 questions
and I still scored a 100%!!!
(insert beaming smile here.)

He (teacher), bless his heart <-(in the true Nebraskan sense of this phrase), graded on a curve & I managed to be one of the one's topping the curve!
Whew!

I was disgusted, for a minute, reviewing the test when I saw 2 questions that should have been logical gimmes - which I totally blew... but then I recalled that I'd missed 8 and still scored a 100%. By the Grace of God, I'm telling ya ...and... through the open-book, open-notes sensibilities of this teacher.
=)

Happy Wednesday / happy Hump-day everybody!

I've a great deal more to do so ...
Back2it.
D.

So I learned some more about applying textures, backgrounds and such...
and I applied what I learned to the Teapot exercise.
Here's my results...

Friday October 13th

~
They found your body
(& the corpus of your cat)
on a Friday, October 13th...

I'll never forget getting the call -
The one from your cousin...
Me in my Sunday dress -
curious over the strains of her small talking and then...
Her voice saying,
"Joe died."
.
.
.
.
The clarity and conviction with which I said to her,
"No."
"No!"
"I just talked to him!",
...made her second guess the finality of what she already knew to be true.
I know it did.
I could feel her hesitation...sifting through realities in her world
- up -
on the Holy alpine streches of a far-western, reaching sky...
She was considering the supernal, the supernatural -
worlds,
lives,
loves
without end.
I know she was...
Considering that you weren't "quite" gone yet...

...and...

in that instant...
realities in my world shifted too, to ........
I knew.
(NOT willing to believe it, yet...)
I knew.
You were.
&
She was - breaking - the news.

I couldn't make the funeral.
My veil would have been too thin

I've never been ground -
that deeply sad
in
all
my
days.

At least we'd talked
We'd said what we needed to say
maybe not all that we had to say
but, was it enough - ?
It mustneedsbe.
You.
So self-professedly bad at writing -
surprised me
NOT!
that you hadn't left a note...
...was I your note?
Nah.
You were never that planned.
More happenstance, perhaps...
I think...
... it seemed that way to your family...
that I was somewhat of a "Footenote" - from you...
you'd trusted me with pieces of mind, heart and soul
with shadows, doubts & fears which you'd not given over to them.

You joked with me that I knew you better than you knew yourself...

One year latter, I saw them for myself.
Your family.
I gave them every picture I ever had of you.
ok. I censured that sexy, fetching little-bathtub-one.
I figured your Momma didn't need to see that one.
=)
She was so agrieved...
Yet she was gracious and good to me.
They all were.
Laura told me of your later visit - your spiritual visit
The one to your Aunt, because her sister was too grieved for the loss of her son, for your spirit could not break through her thick tears to speak any sort of peace to her "Mother's broken heart"...
You'd plead for that to stop -
from the world of spirits -
you came, escorted no less,
a message,
a plea,
for your Momma to not grieve YOU, not so hard -
how her sad was holding you
somewhat tied...
... to her...
that...
She needed to know
that...
you were
FREE.

I tried you know,
to not grieve you so hard -
for the sudden end to your living possibilities
for "our world" minus you
I sent them a baloon for you -
that being a special thing between you and me
A blue baloon with a silver string...
and a peace rose.
and many, many prayers...
but you know all that by now, don't you?
I thought of the birthdays we'd shared...
I thought
a lot
of you.
I've stopped asking, "Why?"
I know.
You had to go, Joe.

Rest in Peace, Dear one.
It's good to know that you are free.
... I always wished you could be.
Only...
I never,
ever,
thought -
it would be like this.
Rest in Peace.
Rest in Peace.
Rest in Peace
D.~

Here's the cool thang...

Once you create a scene in Cinema 4D you can rotate, scale, move - it offers amazing flexibility in creative compositions.
Here's the Little Teapot & spoon exercise - with lights & from 3 different angles...
I even moved the spoon to the other side of the teapot and spun it around to a front view on the last example.
It's the same picture - but with this program you can spin it the way, almost anyway, you want to!!!
Before I "rendered" the scene I could even go down below the horizon line, & look at it, the teapot & the spoon, through the place mat... I mean to tell you this program is cool, cool, COOL!

Blue Gasssss

This was yet another class room exercise in lighting sceens from the Cinema 4D program.
The composition has 4 lights.
2 simulating jets
1 simulating a nebulean gaseous space cloud
1 "Omni" light, high & opposite the blue gas cloud to spring highligts off the ship.
Coolio - huh?
=)
D

A Red Planet

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2 "light sources" + 12 adjustment steps in Cinema 4D program turned this image out in a jiffy. Then, because I liked what I saw - I pulled it to photoshop for a background, side frillies, and a sig. just so I could jpeg it to the blog here. Cool Beans?!
No.
Not goofing off.
This was the assignment due.
Now on to a little exploring on my own.
=)
D.~

T-T-T-Testing!

I'm developing a nervous tick in my t-t-t-typing fingers. :P
I've got some HUGE testing coming on next week:

• Business Law
• Multi-media
• Marketing

SO... I maybe even harder pressed to post that ever before.

Back to the books for me.

You all have a woo-hoo weekend.

Seriously.

Run out and win the lottery.

Track down and phone up a long lost buddy.

Drink in the fall colors either on your own or with a loved one in tow.

Savor every breath of life....

Because you can.

Cheerios2U!

D~

Intro 3D

The text book is 3D Modeling with Cinema 4D R9
An Introduction to the Art & Technology of 3D Modeling with Maxon Cinema 4D
by Tony Alley
This is the first project the class has converted to psd (& I took it to jpeg here to share with ya'll).
It's a wooden toy train.
The book has it kept in entirely wood-finish renderings.
The class was allowed to play and choose whatever we would like.
I wanted the feeling of a well loved wooden toy coming alive.
(ok. I just re-read that... its an innocent, artistic thought. Have mercy. No Freudian, pysco-babble, wise-cracker remarks, please! lol...)
This is so fun.
I love my studies.
God help me to find a way to keep going with 'em and there after use what I've learned to good purpose.
Amen.

P.S. - As always you can double click on the image to enlarge your view if you'd like....

Detail of a Sea Shell

Been a while now since I posted any pencil sketching.

Here's an empty Shell...
Just for you...
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D.~

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes....

Friday was my "last" day at the daily Gazette. =(
I loved that job.
I loved the people I was working with.
I really learned a lot.
Wish it could have gone on trough this entire learning journey into the Graphic side of communications that I've got m'self on...tisk...*sighs*
Here's the LAST AD they tossed my way.
It was to be a message for the area Ministerial Association... and about the only other thing they'd written down, for me to "create" with was the phrases:
"Just say no" <-(to drugs) and "Say yes to God" Troubling when you consider the size - it was to be a "4x8" which in newspaper terms means a 4 column wide, 8 inch long advertisement. A wee bit less than a notebook or regular "copy-size" page of paper. Hummmm. What to do? Well, I googled - of course & the first image was the fried egg thang. lol. So done already.... then I found this site. Just as I've feared. Caffeine, my nemesis, is one of the worst and most highly socialized of the bunch!
I know some of you have you're own juries out as to weather or not there even is a God... for you I'd suggest substituting the word "Love" whenever the God reference comes up... that's assuming we can read it once I post it here. I had to make a jpeg out of it so... this posting may never see the light of day on this blog anyway... I didn't size it down any as I usually do. Thinking that if you'd like to read it - reading would be better if you could click it larger.
Hope all is well in your worlds
Cheerios 2 all who pass this way...
Hugs!
D.

Singles Ads...

I loved this e-mail...

This has to be one of the best singles ads ever printed. It is reported to have been listed in the Atlanta Journal.

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, ethnicity unimportant. I'm a very good girl who LOVES to play. I love long walks in the woods, riding in your pickup truck, hunting, camping and fishing trips, cozy winter nights lying by the fire. Candlelight dinners will have me eating out of your hand. I'll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Call (404) 875-6420 and ask for Daisy, I'll be waiting....
Please scroll down . .
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Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever.

Mmm...Racey stuff!

I'm a Porsche 911!

You have a classic style, but you're up-to-date with the latest technology. You're ambitious, competitive, and you love to win. Performance, precision, and prestige - you're one of the elite,and you know it.

Take the Which Sports Car Are You? quiz.

United States Constitution...

“Let our government be like that of the solar system. Let the general government be like the sun and the states the planets, repelled yet attracted, and the whole moving regularly and harmoniously in several orbits.”— John Dickinson (Delaware Delegate), 1787

The United States Constitution is one of the most important documents our country has ever signed and put into effect. On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the United States Constitution, creating the basis of the government that we know and still use today.

Quick Post Toastie

Doh!
I went to post here, to catch up the blog on what's been going on and Blogger ate it!

Post Toastie, indeed!!!

D'Cheerios 2U2, blogger! Heh.
=)Dorko

Subjects...

Marketing
Web Design
Business Law
3D Design & Animation
Multimedia
.
=)
.
+ working part-time in my field (Graphic Design) at the local daily Gazette.
.
Homework already being assigned.
Gonna be a busy semester.
Lookin' for a way to finish up these portraits and maybe start a few more...
.
Cheerios to all of you!

Promises kept...

I know.
I know, I know, I know. All this time - this summer time - and the woman's still not done with them yet. Plus I've got MORE! More projects in my head that I need to get down on paper - however these shown here need that all satisfying finish given to them, first! ;-)
The last 4 weeks have been gruling in terms of time management... Will be looking forward to this Friday with great thanksgiving - for it's payday, yes, but more importantly for being given an opportunity to do what I love to do... (sighs)
Today - all my household chores and the priority heir apparent, THE LAWN - in desperate need of a mow job, tomorrow... more service to my gainful employments. Next week? Semester 3 out of 4 ... getting there - priceless! =)
OK
Hope you enjoyed the brief update... I'll be back soon to post the finals on these and maybe some starts on some others.
Have a Grrreat week!
D.~

Peek-a-Boo...

Thought I'd look in on the old blog just to see if anything was going on... and maybe leave an update. I am looking forward to visiting you all after the semester starts... I definately have some catching up to do! =)
I'll be adjusting to this crazy schedule with the work I'm doing right now - just in time for it to end, and for me, to start school up again.
If I happen to be in town, at the paper tomorrow, (it may end up that way depending on how much work I get done for them tonight!?) I'll up date some art here... if not I promise, come Monday afternoon - updates.
Big smile and warm wishes for any and all who pass this way...
Hugs,
D ~

Whew! Hot Hot Hot Summer....

We like a little heat in our summers, now don't we?
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I'll let ya'll wonder if I'm 'just' talking about the weather... or... not? (heh)
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School will have to start for me to get a break in the action out here on the Prairielands.
I'm working here and here and while I'm not actually working at this place, I am working with these people...
There's a link to a recent, local news release, related to economic development, the center for enterprise, main-street development and this 21CSI on their Web Page (I'm being told that is scheduled for an up date in the near future)...
I'm enjoying a VERY minor roll in (human) resource development with the 21CSI people... hoping all goes well - would love to find a way to build and continue rather than work myself out of a great job... however... it'll be what it'll be, my focus right now is on the present.
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Reminds me of that old quote I love so well:
Yesterday is History
Tomorrow is a Mystery
Today is a Gift -
That's why we call it 'the Present'
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I promise to post an update on my drawings soon...
Just gotta make the rent ...and um, 'grab a little summer gusto' fer m'self while the getting's good! lol! ;-)
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Cheerios to all who pass this way...
D~

FARTS and GARTS

A couple up dates on the drawings I've been working. These are not the final versions by any means. At this stage, at least here in Blog-land, they are still WIP (works in progress).
The file association 'fartsandgarts' is a play off a specific password to a specific program I've used at the collage... 'garts' representing graphic arts and smarty pants me, thinking, "Well then, the Fine Arts would be..." ahem. Yes. ;)
So as not to get all 'diatribee' on you - I'll just skip to the latest thought: that I could check my freehand progress and perspectives through layers and opacities plus add interest in background - quickly - by scanning and then blending the 2 disciplines together.
This 1st image at the left is a Hack version of what I'm toying with.
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Here's one other... looks like just the underdrawing I thought I had a few more in the bag with me today. My appologies to that special one of you who'd sent your darlings my way! I wish I would have jumped the lastest versions on to the drive for down load today - and I thought I had! The old brain must have subcomed to the heat... or should I blame humidity?
I have been busy-busy and most of these are complete or near complete in my sketchbook at home. Maybe I can manage another post before week's end....? I don't know if I'll be able to get that done. I am researching the biblical principle of "Unity" this week. I have to give a talk, you see. I've been called/asked to talk on that topic in next Sunday's Sacrament Meeting. I knew, in advance (through the spirit) that I'd be giving a talk soon - I just wasn't sure about the theme. I should have been able to guess, though. Seems like the Spirit always calls us to expound (and expand? ...ourselves, perhaps?) upon the very issues we're currently in need of reviewing.
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Hope all your flowers are blooming brightly!
... and all ye children are of one accord....
Love.
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and
Hugs,
D.~

Hellllloo!?

Long time no write I know...
I've been doing some good work in my sketch pad.
Now... just how to get all that transferred over to here.
;)

Hope you're all enjoying your summer.
Saw the first flashes of Fireflies just this past week...

(Sigh)
LOVE Summertime!

Hugs,
D~

Great disconnect...

This is the last post from the old home base for awhile.
Students, especially non-trad - just have to pinch pennies where ever possible to attain their (academic and various other) goals sometimes.
So-long internet access.
Don't fret.
I'll be around.....
;)

Now if I just had some capital...lol

You Are a Visionary Soul

You are a curious person, always in a state of awareness. Connected to all things spiritual, you are very connected to your soul. You are wise and bright: able to reason and be reasonable. Occasionally, you get quite depressed and have dark feelings. You have great vision and can be very insightful. In fact, you are often profound in a way that surprises yourself. Visionary souls like you can be the best type of friend. You are intuitive, understanding, sympathetic, and a good healer. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

A Fable...

We talked about 'free agency' (or some might know this principle as 'free will') in church today - I discussed it with the youth in back tracking to Joshua's great call to action "Choose ye this day whom ye shall serve..." scripture... and the matter of "choice" moved forward with us into the book of Judges (which was today's lesson).
In the 3rd hour meeting the ladies again, gathered to discuss this topic from the back drop of a general conference talk titled: To Act for Ourselves: The Gift and Blessings of Agency, by Elder Rober D. Hales of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.
As I listened to the 'sisters' participating in that last meeting of the day - adding their thoughts and feelings to the lesson... I thought of how marvelous, and still rare a blessing it is - even in our modern society - that women can so freely express themselves. Given the fact that for centuries my ilk have been counted as property, chattle, suppressed and oppressed and to this very day held captive in many sectors of the world by the evil designs of conspiring men....
Even in 2006 -America the beautiful - women are wise to be cautious with whom they associate and aline themselves... an unwise choice of companionship can seriously comprimise a woman's opportunity to have her voice heard - and the horrid reality is that sometimes we are silenced completely.
I thought about this tale I'd just recieve in my e-mail this morn from a less active member of my church and I relayed it to the Sisters. It's a good story. I thought I'd post it here for you to read and ponder as well.............

Leave your thoughts for me after you've read it through? =)

A Fable From the Round Table…

Young King Arthur was ambushed and imprisoned by the monarch of a neighboring kingdom. The monarch could have killed him but was moved by Arthur's youth and ideals. So, the monarch offered him his freedom, as long as he could answer a very difficult question. Arthur would have a year to figure out the answer and, if after a year, he still had no answer, he would be put to death.
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The question?....What do women really want?
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Such a question would perplex even the most knowledgeable man, and to young Arthur, it seemed an impossible query. But, since it was better than death, he accepted the monarch's proposition to have an answer by year's end.
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He returned to his kingdom and began to poll everyone: the princess, the priests, the wise men and even the court jester. He spoke with everyone, but no one could give him a satisfactory answer.
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Many people advised him to consult the old witch, for only she would have the answer.
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But the price would be high; as the witch was famous throughout the kingdom for the exorbitant prices she charged.
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The last day of the year arrived and Arthur had no choice but to talk to the witch. She agreed to answer the question, but he would have to agree to her price first.
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The old witch wanted to marry Sir Lancelot, the most noble of the Knights of the Round Table and Arthur's closest friend!
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Young Arthur was horrified. She was hunchbacked and hideous, had only one tooth, smelled like sewage, made obscene noises, etc. He had never encountered such a repugnant creature in all his life.
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He refused to force his friend to marry her and endure such a terrible burden, but Lancelot, learning of the proposal, spoke with Arthur. He said nothing was too big of a sacrifice compared to Arthur's life and the preservation of the Round Table.
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Hence, a wedding was proclaimed and the witch answered Arthur's question thus: What a woman really wants, she answered....is to be in charge of her own life.
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Everyone in the kingdom instantly knew that the witch had uttered a great truth and that Arthur's life would be spared.
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And so it was, the neighboring monarch granted Arthur his freedom and Lancelot and the witch had a wonderful wedding.
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The honeymoon hour approached and Lancelot, steeling himself for a horrific experience, entered the bedroom. But, what a sight awaited him. The most beautiful woman he had ever seen lay before him on the bed. The astounded Lancelot asked what had happened.The beauty replied that since he had been so kind to her when she appeared as a witch, she would henceforth, be her horrible deformed self only half the time and the beautiful maiden the other half.
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Which would he prefer: Beautiful during the day....or night?
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Lancelot pondered the predicament. During the day - a beautiful woman to show off to his friends. But at night, in the privacy of his castle, an old witch (?) Or, would he prefer having a hideous witch during the day, but by night, a beautiful woman for him to enjoy wondrous, intimate moments?
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What would YOU do?
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Noble Lancelot, knowing the answer the witch gave Arthur to his question, said that he would allow HER to make the choice herself.
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Upon hearing this, she announced that she would be beautiful all the time because he had respected her enough to let her be in charge of her own life.
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Now....what is the moral to this story?

The moral is.....

Thankful..

I got this e-mail from a school friend today... they've been trying to figure out how to e-mail me since semester ended, bless their heart! I guess they finally figured it all out! lol! :D

I AM THANKFUL:

FOR THE WIFEWHO SAYS IT'S HOT DOGS TONIGHT, BECAUSE SHE IS HOME WITH ME, AND NOT OUT WITH SOMEONE ELSE.

FOR THE HUSBANDWHO IS ON THE SOFA BEING A COUCH POTATO, BECAUSE HE IS HOME WITH ME AND NOT OUT AT THE BARS.

FOR THE TEENAGER WHO IS COMPLAINING ABOUT DOING DISHES BECAUSE IT MEANS SHE IS AT HOME, NOT ON THE STREETS.

FOR THE TAXES I PAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM EMPLOYED.

FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY FRIENDS.

FOR THE CLOTHES THAT FIT A LITTLE TOO SNUG BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE ENOUGH TO EAT.

FOR MY SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM OUT IN THE SUNSHINE

FOR A LAWN THAT NEEDS MOWING, WINDOWS THAT NEED CLEANING, AND GUTTERS THAT NEED FIXING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE A HOME.

FOR ALL THE COMPLAINING I HEAR ABOUT THE GOVERNMENT BECAUSE IT MEANS WE HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH.

FOR THE PARKING SPOT I FIND AT THE FAR END OF THE PARKING LOT BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM CAPABLE OF WALKING AND I HAVE BEEN BLESSED WITH TRANSPORTATION.

FOR MY HUGE HEATING BILL BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM WARM.

FOR THE LADY BEHIND ME IN CHURCH WHO SINGS OFF KEY BECAUSE IT MEANS I CAN HEAR.

FOR THE PILE OF LAUNDRY AND IRONING BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE CLOTHES TO WEAR.

FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE BEEN CAPABLE OF WORKING HARD.

FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS BECAUSE IT MEANS I AM ALIVE.

AND FINALLY, FOR TOO MUCH E-MAIL BECAUSE IT MEANS I HAVE FRIENDS WHO ARE THINKING OF ME.

SEND THIS TO SOMEONE YOU CARE ABOUT. I JUST DID.

Live well, Laugh often, & Love with all of your heart! <-(AND MEAN IT, WHEN YOU SAY IT!!!)

Small workings...

So!
Another hour or so into it. For a total of ??? (I didn't keep very good track of how long it took to get the "under-drawing" done) I'm figuring that I'm 2-3 hours along on this drawing at this point.
You can see by comparing it to the last post that I did a little more work to the left eye, beard & 'skin'. As always I've scaled these so the page will load quicker - however if you care to click directly on the picture itself - you can zoom in quite a bit. (I'm rather happy with that eye so far... I'm going to have to rework the other one quite a bit to match up!)
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Here's a preliminary under-drawing for yet another 'practice' portrait I just started tonight. =)
Might be kinda fun to document how these things progress, I guess.
Hope everyone's week is progressing nicely!
Cheerios2U!
D.~