Brewing up some mushroom magic in the studio! It started with that gorgeous barn owl, “Owlivia” from the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center. I knew I wanted to include her in my birds & teacups series so I took lots of pictures when I had the chance. Then I had to scout out a perfect teacup. I thought should be a in a woodland theme, maybe ferns or branches but …
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Saved a California Alligator Lizard from a hungry crow yesterday only to subject it to a photo shoot before releasing it back into the wilds of Silicon Valley. So much fun my son and I decided to do it again with one of the many Blue Bellies (aka Northern Fence Lizard) that patrol our gardens. What’s with the circuit boards? I have them …
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How exciting to run into the great volunteers from WERC – Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center and their amazing birds at Los Gatos Birdwatcher! These birds either had an injury that meant they could not be released back into the wild or they had been imprinted by humans (as was the case with the acorn woodpecker who would be attacked by her own kind). These birds now serve as educational …
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Still fooling around with teacups! This time I have a group of red transferware pieces with birds already adorning them, a red bird floral by Coalport, a swan with rushes, also by Coalport, and a tiny a child’s cup with a bird on the inside is (also from England). Transferware first came onto the scene by the mid 18th century as a quick (and more affordable) alternative to hand painted …
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Each week that passes brings on a glorious new wave of blooms – this week it’s the dogwood that’s caught my eye. I’m amazed by the variety in my very own neighborhood (sadly the white one I planted next to my studio isn’t blooming this year as it’s still struggling to get enough sun). Of course I do have a vintage teacup that had been begging for little dogwood bouquet, …
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I’ve been wanting to make a nosegay of violets for as long as I can remember (the violet is February’s flower and that’s the month I was born in)! A nosegay is just what it sounds like – a happy nose. These miniature bouquets were made of fragrant flowers (as early as medieval times) to be worn close enough to smell them, on a broach or in the hair. And …
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There’s something so magical about living in California. It was only a matter of hours between basking in the sun of my Los Gatos back yard, watching the plum blossom petals drift off the tree like lazy flurries and being caught in a two and a half hour (real) snow induced traffic jam in the road to Truckee! These flakes were not delicate little flower petals either – they were …
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I can’t decide whether the stylized flower on this English Deco teacup by Royal Grafton is meant to be a narcissus or a daffodil but I think there is some wiggle room. I will shoot it both ways. My favorite flower shop, Bunches, had nosegays of narcissus on two for one so that was the perfect place to start. Even as I write this post I am surrounded by the …
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A bed of roses………. I’ve always loved that idea. I have been playing with the notion of using other flowers to create beds based on their victorian meanings (like my Forget-me-not Casket here and here) and while I envision life-sized beds, I couldn’t resist doing a miniature version when I found this vintage doll’s bed at an estate sale! Faithfulness – Bed of Violets This was such a pleasure …
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The sun broke through just long enough to shoot tulips in a teacup today. I love these little teacups made in Occupied Japan, they’re hand painted with such vibrant colors and the flowers are so playfully stylized. Look for more coming up (when their flowers are finally in season). Now what kind of bird? Here are some from my archives, though I don’t know… Does …
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Found a perfect bundle for the little bamboo demitasse I had waiting in my studio (like so many other vintage teacups I have, just waiting for their flower to come into bloom so I can take their picture in some dramatic light and pair them up with a matching bird – all so I can paint a picture). This three stemmed lucky bamboo symbolizes happiness, long life and wealth. Bamboo …
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The bluebird carries the sky on his back – Henry David Thoreau, Journal, April 3, 1852 So a little persistence and patience and I got my full color bluebird shots! This flock had been feeding off a pepperberry tree near Saint Luke’s, downtown Los Gatos but the light hadn’t been great when I photographed them earlier. So when the morning broke bright and sunny I took off for the parking lot and …
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Nothing blue about these bluebirds… silhouetted against a winter white you have to imagine their blue feathers and rust colored breast. Imagine the rose pepperberries, the green palm fronds, the brown acacia pods. Imagine they’ll be sun soon and a bright blue sky! Meanwhile there is a poetry in form that is revealed when color is removed from the equation.
Imagine my delight discovering the flock of birds overhead were actually bluebirds! It may be hard to tell silhouetted against the sky like this but I swear that’s what they were and I’ll prove it in upcoming posts (I plan to stalk this pepper berry tree in better light)! In fifteen years of living in California I’ve only had two previous sightings, so this was a real surprise and a …
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Nothing like a good walk to clear your mind and give you a fresh perspective …especially after some much needed rain. I love how the parched world feels whole again, even though that’s far from being true. All the colors are a little richer, even in the subdued light. Moss and lichen sping back to life. I was …
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Inspire comes from the Latin: in- + spirare – to breathe. So I breathe. I take deep lungfuls of clean forrest air, fragrant with bay laurel and dry brush. I am quiet so I can hear bird feathers beating against the breeze. I am still to gaze at the deer who freeze and gaze back at me before bounding away. I look for the lizards fleeing from my shadow. I take in …
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I was mesmerized when the television transmission I had been watching broke up into colorful pixelations of abstract patterns before my eyes. Not only was it more beautiful and engaging than the program I had been watching but I was also fascinated by how the human mind likes imagine recognizable forms in the chaos. I quickly took a number of photographs, appreciating the transcendence of this moment of technological breakdown. …
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Well, the drought hasn’t been kind to my dahlia’s this year so I couldn’t resist stopping in at my fav flower shop, Bunches, for some of their well irrigated beauties! Canning jars say farm fresh! Pete (the resident duck) says admire me from afar. Pete’s fresh ground espresso, a slice of pumpkin bread and a bouquet of flowers says I’m ready to get down to work! (a different Pete) These perfect …
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With August comes Naked Ladies and pretty horses. The sweet scent of the lilies and hay (and the not so sweet smell of manure) mix and hang in the dusty, sunny air.
OK, I find these vintage Chubu demitasse ridiculously charming! They were made in occupied Japan, and I think they are meant to resemble lotus flowers. I’m a little short on lotus today so I shot them with strawberries, which I felt was in keeping with their fanciful nature. The only thing they’re missing are hummingbirds! Yummy yellow. Lovely lavender. And my personal favorite, pink of perfection! Or is it green …
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