maureenthomasdesigns.com blog

Before the rains began on Friday I headed out to take a few photos of the fall garden. Seems the unusual weather this year (extra long, rainy spring and relatively mild summer) contributed to some beautiful autumn foliage. The old Bartlett trees that are scattered among the surrounding properties are brilliant orange, the oaks are turning lovely subtle russet, and the barberries are a beautiful deep red. The rains brought down lots of leaves so I’m happy that I captured some of the colors first.

Maureen

Fall has finally arrived…rain, cool weather and foliage color. The presence of deer on our property is always evident by munched plants and hoofprints, but I’ve been able to watch a doe and her two little ones enjoying the acorns the past few days. The big native oak right outside our kitchen window is especially generous with acorns and we typically spend a lot of time dealing with the resulting seedlings. So, I’m happy for the deer to eat as many as they can get their teeth on!

Other than a few seasonal pieces I haven’t been posting much polymer clay work. The photography and posting take time away from creating and I’ve got only two weeks until the Placer County AAST (Autumn Artist Studio Tour). Because I’ll be opening my studio this year we’ve been trying to spruce up the place. Hope we get lots of tour-goers this year. If not, we’ll at least have the garage neat and tidy and habitable!

Happy Halloween!
Maureen

Hot, hot, hot! We apparently are paying the price for enjoying a beautiful and “cool” summer. Record-breaking temperatures over the past week have left the garden pretty tired-looking. I can’t wait for things to cool down…let the autumn colors begin please! This week’s garden photos felt a bit unexciting so I decided to try a little Photoshop magic on them.

Getting the studio ready for the Placer county studio tour (AAST) in November and beginning to panic as I realize that I need to have something ready for the tour preview show by the end of next week! More creating and less computering would help…..bye!

Maureen

Anxiously awaiting some fall color in the garden. We’ve had a few sprinkles and gorgeous autumn-like weather. Looking forward to a chill in the air and falling leaves! Here’s what’s going in in my garden these days. I particularly like the sunflower petals which are perfect inspiration for a layered Ikat Skinner blend cane…

Maureen

Recent challenges with my local polymer clay guild (Clayville California), my local arts guild (PlacerArts), and various Flickr photo groups have taken me in art directions I hadn’t been before. Art challenges can get you out of a rut or pull you out of an “art block” and encourage you to try colors or techniques you’ve never used before.

I’ve really been enjoying my weekly mini photo safaris. My photography skills have definitely been improving and an extra bonus is viewing the pictures on the computer. A snapshot will often provide a better appreciation of an interesting color combination or an intriguing texture. Great for art inspiration!

The IPCA introduced a new photo challenge. I am thrilled that they chose my closed sunflower picture as the first “inspiration photo”. Please check it out and see where the clay takes you. I’m looking forward to seeing the entries!

You would think that lots of bright sunshine would make for beautiful garden photographs, but that’s just not the case. Morning seems to be the best time for me to take great pictures, while it’s light but before the sun really starts shining. I typically go out about 6am to take my weekly garden shots, but I got a late start today. So, I went on the hunt for some interesting shadows about 9am. I think these are the most interesting shots from today.

Maureen

I like to take my Monday morning garden pictures when it’s light, but before the sun starts to shine-bright without shadows. Got a late start this morning so I raced out with my macro lens and no tripod. I lucked out and got a few good closeup shots just after the sprinklers ran. I’m encouraged to try some more water droplet shots with the macro lens. If you do a Flickr search with the word “drop” or “droplet” you’ll pull up some amazing pictures.

I’ve got a tip to share (unless I’m the only one who didn’t know how to do this). A fellow Flickr member noticed that I have been watermarking my photos with (c) before my name. He filled me in on how to create a © instead! I’m running Microsoft Windows XP and I don’t know if the steps would be different if you have a different system:
~Hold down the Alt key
~Using the number keypad type 0-1-6-9
~Release the Alt key
~Voila!

I learned another cool trick today, but I’ll save that for tomorrow…

Maureen

Short post today, but I did get out for my weekly garden photo shoot. The weather is heating back up in Northern California and the only thing I like about that is that my tomatoes are finally going crazy! This week’s garden pix focus on bugs…

Maureen

While on my weekly garden photo shoot this morning I was just about to snag a closeup shot of one of the pots on my back deck. As I was about to snap the picture a hummingbird zipped right in front of my camera. The first shot turned out OK, but the bird blends into the plants. In the second shot the little critter is just a blur as it’s making its getaway. I’ve peen picking pears, plums, and (finally) tomatoes. I often put underripe tomatoes on the kitchen windowsill, which catches the attention of the hummers. They’ll hover just outside the window checking it out. I’ve been noting their favorite plants: grevillea (their absolute hands-down favorite), lantana, butterfly bush, lavender, salvia, bottlebrush, and agapanthus.

Here’s what’s interesting in my garden today…

Maureen

The tomato wars continue. First, weird spring and early summer weather (as in, not our usual sunny and hot “Sacratomato” weather). Then continued deer attacks. A bout of blossom end rot. Finally got the 8 foot deer fencing up and now the tomato hornworms are in full force. Veggie gardening is certainly not for the faint of heart! Here’s what’s happening in my garden today…
Maureen