Tilt-Shift for the Poor

I love tilt-shift photography and video. Someday, when I inherit money (won't happen, in other words) I will buy a nice camera and a til-shift lens. Until then, I use an online, post-photo-taken site to create nice views of, otherwise, standards shots. Here are some examples from over the years; (by the way, click on each photo to actually see the advantage of the tilt-shift alterations).

 My youngest brother and his BEAUTIFUL daughter during a Christmas Eve dinner at our place in 2009.

 Looking down a quaint little pathway leading into a secret garden room (no, it really is a secret. I buried something back there and no one will ever find it!).

 Family trek to Bend for a long ski weekend, in front of the little house we rented.

 Carving trails with our backcountry XC skis on Mary's Peak in January 2011. It was AMAZING, and I especially loved the company we were with, our artist neighbors, Michael and Donna K.

 Hubby took this shot of me ahead of him in a beautiful grove area on Mary's Peak.

 Holding my camera on the dash of the Jeep while coming into PDX.

 Yes. Beaver Basketball in Gill Coliseum!

 Backyard pathway.

 Skiing at Willamette Pass...first run of the day with the sun streaming through!

 Another Christmas Eve dinner with my son's bright smile behind my homemade bread sticks.

The Corvallis High School Nordic Ski Team when both my son and daughter competed.

Link to the site I use for altering stored shots:

http://tiltshiftmaker.com/

Go there.

Change your views...

A Space for All of My Crap...errrr, I Mean, Craft Supplies.

I will post additional photos at a later time and discuss how difficult it truly is to be a "random artist," who rarely schedules a time for working on a project, let alone has time to get the initial set-up completed. But, here are some starts!

Clear glassware; I opted to use some of the multitudes of old PE locker room baskets I have accumulated over the years. Easy to see through. Strong. Yeah, not as protective as I'd like for glass, mind-you, but hardy. 

This little shelf was originally built by hubby for part of my CD collections. When the number of CDs overwhelmed the space, I opted to make it a "small ceramics" storage shelf. Now, when I'm building something, I can easily pick from my own collection! 

Have an ugly cabinet door? I covered several of mine with a collage of garden scenes from magazine I decided to finally part with.  

 Just made this from the little drawers from a storage cubby I had that broke after getting wet. The little drawers will eventually hold important stuff, which is everywhere!

Garden Rooms and Lay-Outs

Views from different angles in the backyard...

Under a trellis...

near the French back doors...

along a pathway...

nearing the patio...

along the back fence...

in a raised ornamental bed (weigelia) ...

 a pretty little hebe...

 sedum in an old wooden box...

a little pink climbing rose along the back deck...

a bowling ball from a garage sale ($5)...

friendly frog and bunny, hiding amongst herbs...

leftover champagne bottles from an OSU lab...

classic arts and crafts bear holding a trout that I bought from a garage sale for about $3 and have left in the garden for YEARS...

 wisteria outside my craft room...

 view of the herb beds from back deck near craft room...

giant cardoon...in one herb bed...

Totems of the Day

Today was wet...cold...windy...rainy...wet...cold...windy...the PERFECT weather for placing new totems in to the test area! This way, I can find out if the seals are holding and how well the totems are balanced. You'll notice in the "frog-topped" totem that condensation built up under the glass globe. When it dries, I'll reseal!

 This totem took less than 5 minutes to create! Found the little water pump at The ARC in Philomath for $2.

 The Delft frog atop this totem is one I have had for at least 5 years, hiding under some leaves in an herb bed. I found it yesterday afternoon while weeding and decided to clean it, dry it, and add it to something special!

Totems of the Garden

Garden Totem Fever. It comes and goes with me, with up to 4 years passing between creations. This "old" totem has now been in the garden for 5 years and no dogs have knocked it over, so it was meant to be! Being on an extended medical leave from work has re-opened the "desire to create" wound and I have been bustin' out the totems.

This little cutie fell over 3 times, breaking the cute teapot into several pieces, which I kept repairing and replacing...until I finally woke up and realized that it was talking to me! "I am not meant to be!" it shouted. So, thank goodness for having the time to recreate and replace.

By the Front Door

Color, color, color. The exterior (and interior, for that matter) brightens my days and adds zing to our lives. Created a "simple" wall vase to hang by the front door. Stuck some silly pipe cleaner flowers in, as the day is too rainy for collecting posies from the gardens...

The Hoe Opens the Shop

The craft room is open for business! Yes, there is still a lot of organizing and cleaning to do, but creative juices have been flowing and multiple totems are now out in the garden!