ad libitum

CATCHING UP ON ART PROJECTS

After traveling and holidaying and retreating and trying to deal with real life, I managed to get in a little art time to finish up some commitments.

I was in a 12 Days of Christmas ornament swap and was assigned  Day 7:Seven Swans a Swimming. I used a photo of swans that I took in Hawaii a few years ago. I printed it out forward and reversed (for front and back) and gave it a fringe and a sequined ribbon hanger. I wanted something a little different than the usual white swan image. These measure about 4 inches across and 2 1/2 inches high.

 

I am also involved in a gift exchange, which I better get in the mail by Thursday. I used some heart and star bezels that are rustic looking. I filled them with resin (mixed with beads and glitter) and put a word in each one. The Resin Gods are whimsical and I did not have total success with all of my efforts. I poked a hole so that each could have a dangle (I used my new little twisty doo-hickey that cuts through metal and I love it).  I made jump rings - one for the dangles and one to use as a bale (bail?). I am currently deciding on whether to use a chain, ribbon or cord.

At Kari's bash/retreat, she showed us a method for making polymer snowmen on canvas. I added a felt scarf and head band to mine to give him some personality.

It's not that I'm all caught up yet, but I think I'm making some headway. I currently have a batch of chex mix in the oven and I have my recipes out for my cookie party next week. I will make Annie a batch of chocolate chip meringues tonight for her birthday tomorrow. Then I can check out my To Do list...

A WONDERFUL TIME WAS HAD BY ALL

This week-end, I had the joy of attending an art retreat hosted by Kari McKnight-Holbrook. It was a gathering of 12 members of an online art group I belong to named the Altered Art Divas (there are many more than 12 of us, but we were the ones who could make it to central Ohio for this event). We talked; we laughed; we taught each other projects; we exchanged gifts; we ate very well; we had tasty beverages; and we shopped. Kari beats out Pearl Mesta (I'm showing my age here) as "The Hostess With The Mostest." She pampered us and indulged us and organized us (the last is NOT an easy task; we are an unruly bunch).

I had such a great time, I hardly took any photos. But, of course, I did manage to take a few. On Friday night, Beth and Sue gave us a jewelry lesson in Kari's incredibly organized, tidy, well equipped, and delightful studio.

Below, is a shot of Beth teaching us how to make earrings. The photo includes Beth Bricker, Brenda Bliss Delaney and Angela Hoffmann.

Here is Sue Trump, who showed us how to attach beads and charms to a bracelet and later demonstrated how to make beautiful embellished bobby pins.

 

Here are Christy Grant and Kari McKnight-Holbrook. Christy flew in from Virginia to join us.

 

Here are Lou McCulluch and Darlene Rolls.

Here's a photo of the 12 of us (taken by Kari's very patient husband Mike) on the stairs. Top to bottom/left to right: Brenda Bliss Delaney, me, Jan Brown, Andi Hinkle, Kathy McElroy, Lou McCulloch, Sue Trump, Beth Bricker, Angela Hoffmann, Darlene Rolls _ standing on the left is Christy Grant and standing on the right is Kari.

top row: Lou McCulloch, Sue Trump, Kathy McElroy, Andi Hinkle, Darlene Rolls. bottom row: Beth Bricker and Jan Brown.

 

Kari with a few cameras to take our photos.

NOT SO SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION

I love ArtUnraveled; and in 2010 I will be teaching my first class there. I am going to teach a class in making crowns on Monday evening, August 9 from 6:30 to 9:30. I promise it will be a fun class and you can run with your imagination. Registration opens December 30 and continues through the retreat. I invite you to sign up for my class (and, by the way, the line up of teachers and workshops at AU is great - see previous link - and you'll find a lot you want to sign up for: my problem is that I'd like to take more of the workshops than is humanly possible). I have posted some crowns below; but no one in the class will be limited to these rather traditional designs and the color palette is wide open.

Also, I want to let you know that I have posted albums of my photos from Israel, Egypt and Jordan on my Mobile Me account and have posted links on the sidebar to the right. I invite you to take a look. There are an awful lot of them, but there were so many wonderful things to photograph.

PORTRAITS AND SOME PORTALS

I'm going to finish up this set of pictures from my trip (yes, I realize it's time to move on; I apologize for 5 days of trip stories and photos; but it really was the trip of my lifetime - so far) with photos of people and portals. I know that this may seem like an odd combination, but somehow they seem like good final images to show you. I have no doubt that you'll see some of these photos again and some others in various forms of digital collages or other pieces of art.

Thank you for staying with me this long.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

JORDAN

Jordan was the biggest surprise to me during my trip.  It's a very tidy, prosperous (the dinar is worth more than the Euro), sophisticated country. Our tour guide was a Bedouin, very active in tribal life, highly educated (former army officer, holds 2 degrees, owns independent antique businesses). The level of security in Jordan was very high (as in Israel and Egypt, each of our buses had armed security guards and we had to go through security when we entered hotels). Jordan sees itself as the Switzerland of the MidEast.

We visited Amman, Mt Nebo (where Moses stood and looked into the Promised Land), Jarash (incredible Roman ruins) Madaba (famous for its tiles, especially in St George's Church), Petra (you may have seen part of it in the 3rd Indiana Jones movie), and the Dead Sea (yes! I bobbed in the Dead Sea and I truly mean bobbed).

 

 

 

 

 

 

ALONG THE NILE

The center point of my trip was the cruise along the Nile (like the focal point of a beautiful piece of art). I spent a lot of time on the sundeck taking photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VERY OLD THINGS IN EGYPT

I loved the temples in Egypt. The carvings, the hieroglyphics, the columns are all expressions of a faith that explained the natural world to the Ancient Egyptians. Almost every temple has been desecrated by subsequent religions (Christianity and Islam) or by people who moved in and dug holes in the walls for rafters and covered the ceilings and walls with smoke from fires. Soldiers practiced shooting at and in them. Tourist from the 1800s and later carved their names into them. Yet, they are still majestic and impressive and have a sacred atmosphere.

Here are some photos of very old things: temples and pyramids (the Step Pyramid as well as the Pyramids at Giza) and the Sphynx. I have included a photo of me (I'm old, but not yet ancient) sitting on the Second Pyramid with Kate's friend (and now my friend) Jutta. Five of us (more of the Five Rowdy Women in Egypt at a later posting) sat at the base of the Second Pyramid and soaked in the sun and our incredible experiences among the ancient artifacts. I can't really describe how it feels to touch something so ancient made by men.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SOME PHOTOS FROM JERUSALEM

I had the time of my life, but I am incredibly happy to be back home! Kate and I arrived back in the US last night (it was about a 22 hour trip) and were exhausted. Today, we took it easy and tomorrow I will drive back to Michigan; so I will really be home. I spent much of today catching up on blogs, reading emails and getting my photos from my camera to my laptop.

I have pretty much gone through the photos from Israel and  have pared down hundreds to about 20 to share with you. While we were in Jerusalem, we took an afternoon trip to Bethlehem; so I have included those photos.

I cannot wrap my mind around the political situation in Jerusalem. I usually have the answers to political issues (I keep waiting for world leaders to ask my advice; I would gladly straighten things out for everyone - no charge), but I am totally lost within the complexities of the situation and the intense feelings on both sides (we were on the outside of a skirmish on the Temple Mount and a lady in our tour was hit by a rock thrown from a mosque down at us). So, I offer my photos of Jerusalem without commentary.

Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem (built where the Temple was).

Tiled walls of the Dome of the Rock

Ladies praying at the Dome of the Rock

 

 

The doorman at the Dome of the Rock (to keep non-Muslims out)

Pictures from the Arab Quarter of the old city

 

 

 

The men's section of the Western Wall
 

 

The women's section of the Western Wall (much smaller than the men's part, segregated from the men by a wall).

A shepherd (mixed herd of goats and sheep) between Mt Scopus and the Mt of Olives in Jerusalem.

The Garden of Gethsemene.
 
 

Pillar from the Church of the Agony.

 

Inside the door of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

 

A date tree

 

Monks with cell phone is Plaza of Nativity, Bethlehem

 

Church of the Nativity

 

I'M OFF TO SEE THE PYRAMIDS...

Well, actually, I'm going to meander for a while first. Tomorrow, I'm driving to  Ohio, to see my friend Chriss. On Tuesday, I'll arrive in Virginia at my childhood chum, Kate's. Kate and I will visit and make final preparations for our trip and then we'll leave on Friday for the MidEast. The main thrust of the trip is a cruise on the Nile. Kate and I added on a pre-trip to Israel and a post trip to Jordan (we figured we might as well, as long as we were in the neighborhood).

 

We are going on a Tour organized by Cross-Culture Journeys, sponsored by WAMU, the Egyptian cruise on the Nile will be hosted by Diane Rehm. I don't expect that I will be blogging until after November 16th, when I'm back in the U.S. I am really excited about this trip. I've been fascinated by Ancient Egypt since I first saw photos of the pyramids in elementary school (that was waaay back in the 1950s, for those keeping count).

Below is my itinerary. I plan to take lots of photos and to have the time of my life. I'm not taking my computer and don't know if I'll be running into any internet cafes, so I'm not expecting to be in touch until I return home. Bye!

Trip Itinerary:

Friday, October 23: leave U.S.

 

Saturday, October 24: Arrive in Tel Aviv and drive to Jerusalem

 

Sunday, October 25: Jerusalem: Mount of Olives, Davidson Center (site of Temple), Yad Vashem

 

Monday, October 26: Jerusalem: Western Wall, Dome of the Rock & El Aqza Mosque, Arab and Christian Quarters

 

Tuesday, October 27: Jerusalem Quarter and Museum, Ammunition Hill

 

Wednesday, October 28: Depart Jerusalem, drive to Tel Aviv, fly to Cairo

 

Thursday, October 29: Islamic Cairo: Citadel, Khan El-Khalili Bazaar, welcome reception

 

Friday, October 30: Egyptian Museum of Antiquities

 

Saturday, October 31: Fly to Abu Simel for excursion to temples, fly to Luxor, embark on boat, sail to Esna

 

Sunday, November 1: Esna Temple, cruise to Aswan

 

Monday, November 2: Aswan High Dam, Philae Temple

 

Tuesday, November 3: Elephantine Island, Botanical Garden, Sobek Temple

 

Wednesday, November 4: Horus Temple at Edfu, to Luxor

 

Thursday, November 5: Karnak & Valley of the Kings, hot air balloon ride

 

Friday, November 6: Qena, Denderah Temple, Luxor Temples by night

 

Saturday, Novmeber 7: disembark, Alexandria

 

Sunday, November 8: Alexandria, Cairo

 

Monday, November 9: Memphis, Sakkara, Giza, depart for Amman, Jordan

 

Tuesday, November 10: Amman, Jerash

 

Wednesday, November 11: Mount Nebo, Madaba, Kerak Castle, Petra

 

Thursday, November 12: Petra, dinner at Petra Kitchen

 

Friday, November 13: Dead Sea, Farewell dinner

 

Saturday, November 14: fly to Cairo

 

Sunday, November 15: fly back to U.S.

 

HOW I SPENT YESTERDAY

Because I'm in Dithering Trip Preparation Mode (a standard part of my behavior before any big trip), I decided to make a purse for my MidEastern adventure. Since I don't use a pattern, I can pretty much make it the way I want it. I started yesterday morning and finished late last night. It's pretty much the same design as the purse I made for my trip to Ireland (hmmm...have you heard about Joanne's line of trip purses?), but I made a few modifications. It's about 12 inches high and 15 inches across and 5 inches from front to back (I want to be able to cram a lot of stuff into it). I put a webbing pouch on the side for carrying a water bottle. I made a button hole on the front for a button closure (I wanted to use one of my buttons, I couldn't use the buttonhole attachment because I had to make a bigger than usual slit for my button, and I'm pleased with the way it turned out). I'm pretty pleased with it.

Late last night (early this morning?), I took some photos of it. I tried to show it from all the angles.