You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘arts’ category.
Barbara Ann Clay-Marshall is an amazing lady who often can be found pontooning around the St. John’s River. I met her through the Gateway Center For the Arts Photography group. She is the kindest person, so caring and genuine you can’t help but embrace her. I knew her through her photography, but remembered she told me she painted also. This week when she emailed me and said she hoped she would see me on the 3rd, I immediately emailed back, “what have I forgotten?” I was sure I was missing out on something I was supposed to be responsible for, but she said she was having a reception for her exhibit at The White Cup Coffeehouse in Debary. How could I say no? So, I went and I am so glad I did!
I parked and outside sat a woman who had you sign a card for a drawing for free coffee and there was also a chance of winning a portrait painted by Ann.
The place was filled with people and as soon as you walked in, someone handed me 3-D glasses. It turns out that Ann had painted in a way that everything was dimensional while wearing the glasses. 
It was so much fun! Have a look
Too bad you don’t have your glasses on — these are too cool, a hat lifts off the head, eyes raise above the face, flowers want to be plucked.
Ann had a thick notebook with prints of her work, here ya go… She paints in all types of medium, 
some in charcoal, acrylic, oils and pastels. Ann taught elementary school for 24 years and now spends many hours working at and enjoying her art.
Ann looked so happy as she greeted friends and family- 
she always has a smile, it’s the way I think of her, with her zest for life and learning and that’s how she affects people, they can feel her warmth just by being anywhere in the same room. So if you happen upon the city of Debary, on 17/92 across from the Winn Dixie, get ready for a treat with your coffee or tea or good eats at The White Cup – the scenery will have you trapped within the dimensional art world of Barbara Ann Clay-Marshall, all you can do is go with the flow…
First let me tell you that last night I was blogging when Ringo made a jump on my desk and a dive for the wall and looked like he was listening to something intense. So I listened too. What was it? I saw no crawling bugs and then worried, what if? What if rats were back in the attic or garage? I walked out to the garage with Ringo who inspected the territory and could find nothing to kill. I felt that was a good sign. He then went out for the night and I sat at my desk and tuned into to the house, keeping my ears open to every creaky, creepy noise that comes with a 50 year old house and when it is dark outside, the imagination is ripe! 
(Ringo finds nest of newborn rats in garage last October)
I still have traps set up in the attic and change them every few weeks, only time will tell. So far I hear no foot steps. That cat is a prankster, maybe he was just trying to liven things up. Tonight Frankie has taken over, she just stares into space, she’s old and that’s what she does. If she does what Ringo did, then I will freak out and call an exterminator,
This morning woke to the same old Dante’s Hell outside. I am hoping that by next week my computer will be fixed and my Photoshop and CD/DVDs will be able to be reinstalled and I can work on my art again. Photoshop is like colorfully applied heroin, I am not doing well without my daily fix, (not of heroin, of Photoshop.) “Au natural” is not working well for me. But at least my Alpha is back and the lens working. Here’s a few morning shots:
Actually the squirrel and jay were the day before.
Tonight I drove over to Casselberry where I thought the Arthouse was having a reception. 
There was no one inside that I could see, but the door was open so I went in. No one was in the main Gallery, but I did hear voices in the back to discover artists painting away. It was a class. I felt dumb when no one knew of a reception, but did take time to notice the Gallery filled with an Exhibit I think was called Magnificent 7. The colors and theme were pleasing. Here are a few of the works:
and there was photography too – 
The building itself is wonderfully serene. I enjoy the view of the lake from all the windows. Inside the walls invite you to exhibit. 
I walked outside and came across a huge hawk who only sat still for seconds when he noticed me. 
he was a gorgeous speciman! 
But he was quick. The views around the building are wonderful as I have stated in past blogs. Have a look: 
The lake and walkway are fun, the landscaping has become so lush! But the lightning was becoming plentiful overhead even with a mostly blue sky.
I finally found out through another lost soul that the reception was inside the City Hall building. There I found Linda Moore, the Recreation Coordinator there talking to some of the artists. The exhibit is called “Dance of Life” and the passion was very intense. I met artist, Gary Paduch. His stirring paintings were absorbed as soon as you walked in. I learned he also writes and has a book and plans on writing another. All can be seen at his website at http://gf.paduch.com he has a gorgeous and intense body of work. Take a peek and enjoy! Here is a view of some of the “Dance of Life” exhibit, the artists on display are, Betty and Jim Bay, Stephanie Kindle. Mactruque, Dale Metz, Monte olinger, Berto Ortega, Gary Pauch and Steve Piscitelli. I am only showing a few paintings, the rest are for you to discover. http://www.casselberry.org/ 
I never knew Jim Bay was a painter, but he did this small jazz piece. Betty his talented wife must have rubbed off on him after all these years. 
There were a few sculptures – 
go see it all yourself. 
When I left at about 7:45pm, the sky to the east and north were threatening. The sun was getting low when I reached Country Club but I veered off and tried to get a few pics 
This is over Crystal Lake
The noisy bully of a storm was showing off overhead and thunder got louder. The clouds over my own lake were very dark and menacing. I did shoot a quick video as it was almost too dark. And as I shot, I noticed a heron in my pine, I have not seen a heron in about a month. I was excited by it’s presence and watched till it flew away, maybe tomorrow it will come back. Enjoy the storm that passed over, have a great tomorrow and an even better one after that!
WHEW – What a day! I did the dumbest thing, forgetting that my CD/DVD drive has disappeared off my computer. And since my Photoshop was not working properly, I decided to go ahead and un-install the Photoshop and reinstall. The trouble was, after I uninstalled, I forget the drive would not recognize the CD, so I feeling like pulling out my freshly dyed hair. I am using some vague program to clean up and resize the pics for this blog, but can’t get real creative with my own work. And add to it that no matter which icon I click on, I can’t get the paragraphs to behave either – this is going to be a long blog, literally. Frankie
is helping me by shedding and drooling all over the keyboard.
Tonight was Alive After 5- aptly dubbed, Tropical Nights. It was a
busy one.
I was amazed at the crowd seeing that the last two Alive After 5’s have not been as packed. 
This one was rocking. My mission was to go and see the art for the fund raiser for the Icla da Silva Foundation,
they match bone marrow with Leukemia patients. This was going on at The Art Affair Gallery.
Mauricio Murillo, photographer/artist has been active with this foundation and The Art Affair decided to raise money via raffle tickets and bidding on newly painted work. Mauricio had the big room and it was wonderfully painted and decorated with his comical Gummy Bear Art.
There was a camera and loose gummies for making your own individual picture. 
And Mauricio was talking with the customers. 
These are internationally known artists working their magic on canvas before the public. Marie DeCosta was painting a leopard to bid on. 
She does wonders with motion in a painting.
Both Marie and Peter Cerreta are favorites, I probably say that each time but it’s worth repeating. Here’s a look at Peter’s work: 
Peter painting and his sculptures 
Toelle Hovan was busy beautifying purses and canvas.
Trish Vevera too had paintbrush in hand 
outside was a caricature artist, I think he was the one at Rae Marie’s from my last blog when I was there. 
Here’s a view of the new artwork on the walls:
Tom Abbott wasn’t there, but knew his work right away. And that is Marie’s painting all finished and looking from the outside in. Adam and I bought raffle tickets, we are excited to see if we win anything.
Out on the streets, here were the sights:
Suddenly the wind began to blow and the sky darkened, but luckily the rain passed over. I stopped by The Gallery on First and Mary was there to greet me with her warm hello and then she introduced me to their artist of the month, Virginia Maxfield, she was charming and very excited about how she came about painting with such bold strokes and color. Her work elevating! She has taken an intuitive approach, doesn’t think about it, just goes with what she feels and obviously she feels great -Take a look: 
You must see these close up, they were dancing with color. She paints some with tempera some acrylic. I took the photos with distance to them and now I am sorry I didn’t zero in to give you a
closer look, gives you an excuse to come to Sanford’s galleries and have a look yourself.
I ran into Sharon Hyder in her booth and found her sketching.
Otherwise, Gallery On First has lots of interesting artists and artwork available to buy. The folk art is very welcoming and makes one feel elevated by the mood. I hope one day soon my own daughter Andrea 
will get enough of her own work to submit for a show, here’s a sample:
love her cat art!
Back out on the street was music, food and artists with their tables.
The Consignment shop, Bailey’s Upscale always has 50% off during Alive After 5.
One vendor Joanne Borges who does detailed ceramics has made a new fun line,
Also ran into Bonnie Sprung who is very prolific, she had many items for sale from magnets, to paintings and clothing: 
So have you had enough of this layout? I have, it’s been hours since I have been doing this and I am going out to look at the Perseids meteor shower. But before leaving, Sanford I saw two lovely familiar faces, sweet Ari and Adam. 
And a shout out to my middle child who turns 30 today, Happy Birthday new Daddy!
I did leave Sanford and enjoyed looking at some of the old architecture as I made my way home 
When I arrived at home, there was my Ringo, 
but he didn’t get to go fishing tonight, I was too busy doing the blog.
Gotta run and look at the sky! Have a great view of the heavens and a wonderful weekend! Enjoy!
is helping me by shedding and drooling all over the keyboard.
Tonight was Alive After 5- aptly dubbed, Tropical Nights. It was a
busy one.
I was amazed at the crowd seeing that the last two Alive After 5’s have not been as packed. 
This one was rocking. My mission was to go and see the art for the fund raiser for the Icla da Silva Foundation,they match bone marrow with Leukemia patients. This was going on at The Art Affair Gallery.
Mauricio Murillo, photographer/artist has been active with this foundation and The Art Affair decided to raise money via raffle tickets and bidding on newly painted work. Mauricio had the big room and it was wonderfully painted and decorated with his comical Gummy Bear Art.
There was a camera and loose gummies for making your own individual picture. 
And Mauricio was talking with the customers. 
These are internationally known artists working their magic on canvas before the public. Marie DeCosta was painting a leopard to bid on. 
She does wonders with motion in a painting.
Both Marie and Peter Cerreta are favorites, I probably say that each time but it’s worth repeating. Here’s a look at Peter’s work: 
Peter painting and his sculptures 
Toelle Hovan was busy beautifying purses and canvas.
Trish Vevera too had paintbrush in hand 
outside was a caricature artist, I think he was the one at Rae Marie’s from my last blog when I was there. 
Here’s a view of the new artwork on the walls:
Tom Abbott wasn’t there, but knew his work right away. And that is Marie’s painting all finished and looking from the outside in. Adam and I bought raffle tickets, we are excited to see if we win anything.Out on the streets, here were the sights:
Suddenly the wind began to blow and the sky darkened, but luckily the rain passed over. I stopped by The Gallery on First and Mary was there to greet me with her warm hello and then she introduced me to their artist of the month, Virginia Maxfield, she was charming and very excited about how she came about painting with such bold strokes and color. Her work elevating! She has taken an intuitive approach, doesn’t think about it, just goes with what she feels and obviously she feels great -Take a look: 
You must see these close up, they were dancing with color. She paints some with tempera some acrylic. I took the photos with distance to them and now I am sorry I didn’t zero in to give you acloser look, gives you an excuse to come to Sanford’s galleries and have a look yourself.
I ran into Sharon Hyder in her booth and found her sketching.
Otherwise, Gallery On First has lots of interesting artists and artwork available to buy. The folk art is very welcoming and makes one feel elevated by the mood. I hope one day soon my own daughter Andrea 
will get enough of her own work to submit for a show, here’s a sample:
love her cat art!Back out on the street was music, food and artists with their tables.
The Consignment shop, Bailey’s Upscale always has 50% off during Alive After 5.One vendor Joanne Borges who does detailed ceramics has made a new fun line,
Also ran into Bonnie Sprung who is very prolific, she had many items for sale from magnets, to paintings and clothing: 
So have you had enough of this layout? I have, it’s been hours since I have been doing this and I am going out to look at the Perseids meteor shower. But before leaving, Sanford I saw two lovely familiar faces, sweet Ari and Adam. 
And a shout out to my middle child who turns 30 today, Happy Birthday new Daddy!
I did leave Sanford and enjoyed looking at some of the old architecture as I made my way home 
When I arrived at home, there was my Ringo, 
but he didn’t get to go fishing tonight, I was too busy doing the blog.Gotta run and look at the sky! Have a great view of the heavens and a wonderful weekend! Enjoy!
Stopped at animal services first. The building is across form the Seminole County . 
jail. It conjured up images of an incarcerated Ringo. 
I looked at all the strays they had, no Ringo. I looked at each cage, there were cats who wanted attention and called out for it, reaching their paws between bars for a point of human contact. I saw cats too scared to ask for anything. They had many many animals!
I was then ushered back up front to fill out a form about my missing cat and I left them with a photo. They said I had to check, they would not call and they only keep animals 5 days, so I will look again on Monday if he has not shown up. I left there with the ‘indifference’ weighing a bit heavily upon me. There was no sympathy at all. But maybe you get that way after seeing so many abuse cases and animals needing a home that will never have one. So many animals euthanized every day, animals that just want love and a decent life like we do. It must harden your heart if you are to survive the animal services job.
Wanted to take photos of the cuties in a cage, but waited for a supervisor who never came so I left. They were busy which was good,
unless all the people were dropping off animals.)
Left the Government compound and across the street is the Humane Society. 
I stopped and left them with a photo and the woman encouraged me to look through their cats. While I walked around the cat cages, another woman approached and I told her why I was there and she was so very sweet and helpful and pointed to the doors where the cats were in small rooms hanging out. She said to check out each room and look at the outside fenced areas too. They have a wonderful new facility where the cats can be “free in rooms that have access to outside via fenced in areas. The cats looked so relaxed and happy out there. This is truly the way it should be for animals awaiting adoption. There were many I could have taken home with me, but I still have the two other cats, and since none of these was Ringo, I left empty handed. www.ohs-spca.org/ both agencies have sites to view the animals if you are considering adoption.
upon returning, I saw a couple of the neighbors, passed out flyers and listened to stories of their Ringo encounters. One woman said he was a terrific ‘rater’ and had seen Ringo kill rats on her property, another said Ringo would fish with his kids and they would feed him the fish, yep that is so Ringo! One said Ringo had a regular run most days, spending time at his house, then next door on the neighbor’s carport, then he usually headed back to my house in late morning which is the way it was. He would come inside to sleep at around 11pm, then wake around 4am go out and be back on the porch waiting for breakfast, 
leave for a few hours and come back and nap on the porch till fishing time. Where is he?
Adam thought he would take me to lunch to the new restaurant, Athenian Garden on H.E Thomas where Fishbones and Applebees is.
I only wish I had had my camera with me. They have just opened and it had a wonderful space and nice presence. The waitresses were helpful and the menu was loaded, excellent choices. I had a salad and spanakopita, Adam ordered a chicken gyro. Our meals were delicious and we had dessert of something I can’t say, Galatoboureko, a custard baked in Phylo with honey, YUM. I promise to go back and take photos, it was a beautiful presentation. Go and enjoy!
The draw of a new digital camera calls to me, must I wait for a sale? I think about it and rationalize a lot. Will see if Sunday’s papers bring something of a price drop on that Sony I like.
As we drove back home, I was hoping to see Ringo somewhere, but no such luck, I am thinking more and more that someone nabbed him. I put his face up on two stopsigns, no one has called, more and more I think someone liked his looks and drove away with him.
I only hope they love him and treat him like we did! 
a beautiful and quite humid night — but had a wonderful evening being treated to dinner with Andrea and Lee. Lee is quite the master of the grill and his two dogs are nearby to see what might be reclaimed if someone drops something.
Merle is giving the snake “scent the air” look as he hurries around the pool. Sweet Loretta is always bright eyed for squirrels and lizards. 
The weekend has gone so fast again and here it is Monday. Sleep avoids me and my brain lacks because of it.
The heat is so great, I hardly a flicker of a wing today outside my window, it seems the heat tethered them somewhere shady, but nowhere in sight. Their crumbs and seed remained intact until almost 3:00 pm when the crane family came.
I walked around the yard around 4pm and there was really nothing to visually stimulate me, no bugs, no freshly bloomed flowers since we have been hammered with heat the past couple days and the heads of the roses and many other plants look as if they have succumbed to the torment. 
The lilies wilt, the roses die, sunflowers dry up, 
a good rain is always so replenishing and needed, but not today. I did take the hose and give a bit of relief to what I have planted by the bird feeder. The weeds pull up with ease, but found that the lack of energy to extract them from Hell wasn’t worth the try of being in the weedy garden garden for longer than ten minutes. It has become a haven for the grasshoppers who seem to take advantage of their numbers and breed. 
Clinging to screens, on the ground, they seem to hop around and enjoy their tandem-ness.
Part of the day I explored trying to look into doing a photography book on Blurb or LuLu, my Ovation friend Lana Gramlich did a beautiful job getting hers together. http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1464395/?utm_source=badge&utm_medium=banner&utm_content=140×240#
Why can’t I make one? Tomorrow I will check it out. They are a bit pricey. I love how my friends Lana and Robin Pedrero are always marketing their work, where is my ‘chip’ that can be inserted into my head so I can be as good at marketing as they are?
Here’s some photos from the past two days, not much exciting, but still, the alternative of finding something to admire is always urging me on, and I am hoping that you find it fun also. Have an excellent week. And yes, I am still on baby watch.
The only winged thing flying around. 
an immature grasshopper. A crow from two days ago: 
and that’s it, sleep is calling, must obey! Enjoy the new week and may it bring exciting things for you!
Lots to do coordinating the exhibit for University Club and making sure it is a fine representation for the Gateway Photo Group – the work by the contributing photographers is beautiful, it will be a terrific show – so off to University Club on Tuesday to look around and chart wall space. But today, my daughter had off and she took me to lunch at Willowtree in Sanford, a very noted German restaurant. We stopped by Andrea’s first where her cats were lounging, Musa and Cocobella looked like Romeo and Juliet, 
Little Cocobella was looking so adoringly at that devil Musa. Andrea had taken a picture with her and Musa, I loved it so must add it of course. 
Then we headed to Hart Sister’s Tea Room on Park Avenue and thought we would grab a bite to eat there, but they were closed. It’s an adorable setting. 
there was such a nice garden setting and plants around the place. 
But since it was closed we ventured to First street and the gallery’s were closed so we headed to Willowtree and ate outside. 
The place was still quite full and it was 1:30pm. I had quiche which was good, but the honey mustard pecan dressing for the salad was excellent. Andrea had a sandwich, neither of our choices were German dishes, but if you like the schnitzel and knockwurst, liverwurst and bologna loaf, this is for you! The desserts looked wonderful, but neither of us really wanted any, we were full. 
They do have great desserts! 
My sweetest daughter and I strolled up the road, passed Maya’s and saw the Yoko John Poster: 
and then saw something I didn’t expect – a rooster at Two Blondes and A Shrimp! He was a poser! 
They say he comes around all the time, wonder if he came from Horstmeyers on Commercial Street, they have chicks for sale.
We stopped and bought a few things at Baileys Consignment store and then went over and looked at Miss Libby’s Antique Emporium. 
They had moved their recently, but I believe Miss Libby said she and her husband had been at another location down the block for 14 years. They had done a beautiful job of placing all their antiques. It was well organized. Had a lot of glassware and lots of Harmony Kingdom boxes which are so much fun to look at.
and Betty Boop! 
There is furniture, original artwork, primitives, coins and a very cool monkey 
Enjoyed our talk with Miss Libby who was happy to help us.
address is 204 E. First Street – 407-328-8298.
We had a nice chat and then headed home. It was a lot of fun, thanks Andrea for lunch!
Last night I was a stick in the mud, could see some of the Sanford fireworks from the backyard, also saw my pesky little raccoon who decided to eat the remaining cat food. 
While Ringo decided he did not like the commotion at all and came in and even sat on my lap voluntarily, a first! 
I had to watch to see who I let in — didn’t want a raccoon on my lap! I watched Bye Bye Birdie and sang away with the movie.. 
This morning the jay were at it again, in fact, I had forgotten there were so many fledgling birds. They were trying to be the boss of everyone and chased off the other birds and squirrel. 
Though the doves are pretty feisty too. There was a showdown between the squirrel and dove, but they called a draw and both stayed.
The jays then came in pairs: 
and had a few words, 
the third brother joined in, then two more. 
They were hard to get at one time! Then it boiled down to two and they argued and both flew off 
— but they come back now again and again and it never gets old. 
and to look at this last picture, it is my tribute to Independence day, the natural beauty of the red, white and blue!
The heat is Hell-a-cious, you go out for a few minutes and your burnt. Today no birds have even come to the feeder, the bread I put down this morning is still there and it’s 8:15pm. I guess the birds don’t have much of an appetite, I can’t believe I have not seen one grackle or crow or jay all day! So instead of birds, I took things around the yard and will have color and Black and White photos.
Finally it looks like we might get some rain, 
the lake level is down by a couple inches. I stuck my hand in the lake and it was like bath water, maybe thats’ why fishing is so bad. The flowers on the plants are just drying out so fast after they bloom. We love our daily rains when they come, even if it’s inches at a time because the storms move quickly. So take a look and enjoy Sanford, Florida.
The ants love the ginger plant blooms. Usually there are a couple of them running back and forth, chasing each other around the bloom. 
They are big ants too. My “womenly tree”, a camphor, (non native) is draped now with a vine going up and it looks like it’s dressed like a Goddess.
The dying sunflower
and in color,
Of course Ringo in color shows off his blues, but he is striking in black and white too. 
a lily in
crazy color and in black & white. 
butterflies are all over the place like the dragonflies 
.
caught this bee grooming itself, running its’ legs across it’s face over and over as if slicking it’s hair back. 
the bees were everywhere, almost got stung a few times. This one was more interested in the rose.
the dying flowers have beauty too. 
Last nights fishing companion. 
And a big and beautiful full moon to top the night off, make sure to appreciate it where you are – 
You might find it winking back….
Hold on, have been gone since last Thursday and have had things happen! First people things, went to Tampa for a baby shower and my son, Aaron proposed to his girlfriend, Leila. 
That was a lot of fun. Lots of people and scenery and gifts and a great time. Thanks as always to Mark and Lynette for the use of their home for these wonderful parties and to all the hard workers who set it all up and took it down. Came home Sunday after spending two nights with three hours of sleep while listening to the poor cat in heat. Don’t worry she is an indoor cat, 
but what is really funny, there is a slab porch with no screen out the back door, and Sasha the cat will not go off the concrete, she hates hates hates the feel of the grass.
Before I got on I-4, I was cutting through a Home Depot to get gas and caught sight of two osprey in the trees, had to stop and take a couple pics. 
Then off it was toward O- town. Finally I was ready with my camera to take the upside down RV’s I always forget about – 
They were near Dover. At one point the artist was told to remove them, luckily, that has changed — http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/mar/14/owner-told-remove-vertical-rv-display-dover/ — I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy seeing that display!
And then the monotonous ride to Orlando and the rejoicing when downtown appears ; 
.
At the house, the herons have left the nest, nothing is there anymore, though the neighbors still have their family in the trees. The wood ducks too, they have taken their family and gone – didn’t even say goodbye. The grasshoppers are horrible,
They want to dine on way too much. Most of my neighbors kill them, I have been told to fish with them, but can’t bring myself to bait them. 
So they eat. The birds are still busy even though the heat is overwhelming.
The moorhens have six babies. The jays and cardinals also have fledglings: 
The cranes were yawning in the heat.
The grackles and crows and mockingbirds continue fighting.
I was going to go to an meeting for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission about banning the penning of fox and coyotes for hunters to let their dogs loose upon- what an unfair advantage! Apparently it was well attended and they will pass the ban. I actually slept through it this am, I woke and it was 10am and the meeting began at 8:30am, whoops… Glad there are so many dedicated animal protectors via animal rights activists. Orlando has a large share.
At 1pm, I went to Debary 
to see the Gateway Center for the Arts exhibit. On my way I stopped at the White Cup on 17/92 in Debary to see if Jon D. Miller’s work was still up, and the artist was sitting there when I walked in! 
So here is a sampling of what is hanging: 
A Horoscope theme of mixed media on wood and canvas and even prints of the originals. Here’s a few close ups: 
Jon’s painted palm fronds are just as colorful and fun as he is: 
Jon’s so enthusiastic, and even though this show comes down this Friday, I am sure he will be somewhere else – if you are interested in his art, contact via email: Toyseum@aol.com. Jon does murals, interior painting besides portraits and even body painting.
Don’t forget that the White Cup has a selection of coffee and tea and is now making their own yummy desserts.
Then hit the Gateway because my friend, Judith Segall and another new friend, Mary Segal were both showing with Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson and Joanna White. Judith is an excellent paper maker and gives classes. She has worked on making mixed media art that can be touched for the enjoyment of sight impaired people. I remember her telling me she went to Gainesville and took a class years ago about applying art as therapy. Here she has applied her knowledge as a paper maker, painter and being that she is sensitive toward someone who might not have the visual ability to see the colors, but as in nature, they can touch and identify the shapes. Her pieces are always well thought out and very beautiful: 
Always love the depth of Elizabeth’s collages. 
Her colors are just stimulating and fun! I have seen her do collage and it’s magic! Mary Segal does striking, long panels of soothing colors with mixed media – she has quite an interesting approach to her art.
The hanging box art by Joanna White was of small boxes strung together to make long chains of color, that looks like a time consuming project!. There were other boxes too of varied descriptions,
and some long shots 
Just a few glimpses into the brains of artists. The show will be on for about 3 more weeks I think.
The front lobby had adorable individually made bird houses for auction: 
Here’s some info, click on photo for larger reading and contact the Gateway Center For the Arts for more info. emails for Mary Segal = marysegal@yahoo.com, Judy Segall = http://www.judithsegall.com/
Elizabeth St. Hilaire Nelson http://www.nelsoncreative.com/gallery/
On the way home I saw a anhinga relaxing at Mayfair 
I went home to relax and even tried my hand at fishing, not one thing is biting but the turtles and don’t want them biting my hook! I Took a walk instead. One day seems to mesh into the next, but at 3am, I guess that’s how it seems – good morning!
Kim Nelson must be thanked for all the hard work she did in getting the Museum of Seminole County History’s latest exhibit up and running. 
It is all about native animals and settings around our state of Florida. There are taxidermy samples on loan from The Student Museum which is supposed to be really something to see, I have never been there, must make note to go. Here’s a look: 
The art works shown are from artists:
Betty Bay, Jeanie Beline, Myrna Cumming, William Haight, Sil Horwitz, Pradeep Lodha, Robert Mier, Ted Page, Robin Maria Pedrero,
Mark W. Rice, Linda Shawde, Doug Snider, Julia Thompson, Rusty Wahl, Amy Weick, and “yours truly” are all displayed to show the intricacies that have inspired us as artists. Here’s just a few so I don’t spoil it for you: 
This beautiful bronze cast was done by Amy Wieck, she has two pieces that are so detailed that it keeps you looking and wondering how the process is done.
The wood carving by Mark W. Rice of two owls craved into a stump makes you smile. Rice was the 2003 national Champion of Chainsaw Sculpture – now that’s a title! 
There were acrylics and photographs, sculpture and carvings. The turkey painting to the side is by Robert Mier – 
the woodpecker and marina painting belong to Myrna Cumming. There are more to ponder and it is up to you to get yourself and others over to take a look at the whole place. The exhibit will be up until August14. 
Here’s some photos of the Museum itself. 
It was an old Folks Home at one time. 
Always enjoy seeing the
cameras. 
1906 Blickendorfer Typewriter made a bit ‘arty’. 
Remember, Celery was a big part of Seminole County history as were the Swedes who came here to work the crops.
Upon leaving, the new Courthouse is just around the bend. 
Get out and support the locals! Museum of Seminole County History in Sanford, Florida. Admission $3 for adults – $1 kids
300 Bush Boulevard
Sanford, FL 32773
Phone: (407) 665-2489
Very simply, there is so beautiful detailed bits of nature around here when you take pics with macro lenses. I am going to put up photos that give natures little details. First let me tell you I saw the mallard couple 
and the male was limping, but nothing at all like the other day when he didn’t use his leg and held it up – happy to say he is improving. 
So lets take a look at some details, first Kim’s Sago palm, 
This ‘projection’ means it is a male plant, here’s a bit closer look at the cone, 
and look closer: 
and another
And lets look at some creepy little bugs that chew up my milkweed plant
They are really so tiny you hardly notice they are there. 
This cutie was busy too, I think he was eating those yellow buggy goobers.
these are natures tendrils, little vines, love the way they curl: 
These are all
from the red passion flower vines. 
crepe myrtle.
Canna lily, and canna lily photoshopped, 
Look at the grasshopper – 
he was splashing me with his juices. 
That little golden bubble came out of it’s front left foot… 
a sunflower and variations 
periwinkle and
variation, 
and this 
and a soft shell turtle
— 
The turtle was swimming around cursing me, telling the fish to hurry and go toward the middle of the lake where I couldn’t reach them. It worked too, I caught nothing tonight. Ringo was mad and went back to the porch.
What’s worse, a brooding feline or vindictive turtles? While I stood there watching my bobber a long long time, a crow was helping myself to the bait, as much as he could shove in his mouth. What can you do, he’s part of nature’s details….
and I mean that title literally! For some reason the birds were bossy today. First, there were two blue jays coming to enjoy some seed and water. 
A woodpecker came in and decided to partake. 
and things got heated, 
The woodpecker bowed in a subservient position. He tried to calmly discuss his position 
But the jay chased him off. Though they didn’t bother the doves.
Nor the sandhill cranes, 
Though the crow chased everyone off so he could stuff his mouth.
Sweet cardinals . 
The mallard couple came too. Everyone was hungry for bird seed.
The cranes even decided to come and knock on my sliding glass doors. When I answered they hurried outside the porch patiently waiting for rations. 
A storm threatened and a squealing osprey sat in the tree warning of lightning. 
I took photos of flowers, 
The common grackle took to bossing the other birds around. One jay came back 
challenging the grackle 
face to face they each showed their attitudes. 
and then the jay flew off after a threatening jab of grackle beak. 
The jay landed on the pot and looked down at the despicable grackle.
A back up grackle came in , 
as a squirrel ran up the tree and raided all the food in the birdfeeder, 
peace at last… 
Wonder where Ringo was? he slept through it all, silly boy. 
I bet you are wondering by that title what I did last night and maybe you’re conjuring up names possibly linking me to some guy I might be hooking up with, well you will have to read and find out won’t you? So let’s begin at the beginning, noontime Friday :
Lunch with my good friend and neighbor, Sonja Greenlee who is also a contributing monthly Culinary Columnist for the Sanford Herald. We ate at Amura which is ALWAYS great! Their sushi is the best around – hands down, chopsticks up! Plus the conversation is fun as Sonja is a traveler and had just returned from New York where she got to hear Jill Biden and Caroline Kennedy Schlosberg speak. We can chat away for hours. Afterwards when I was ready to drop her off, I requested a walk to see the garden as she has a wonderful green thumb and she uses that thumb to stir many a great meal she has created and garnished perfectly. Unlike me who feels mac and cheese made from the box and served on fine china qualifies as a gourmet meal, Sonja does not hesitate to cook from scratch using her variety of veggies and herbs. Everything she creates is ‘eat-a- licious! Here’s a view, 
and that’s just a portion of it. She has snow peas, squash, lettuces, chard, collard greens, tomatoes, cabbage, beans and herbs too, even corn this year,
and her flowers, the 
glorioso lily was a stunner.
Went shopping after that, wanted something new for Art Walk tonight, I needed some pants. But how is it, I went to Ross and ended up with dresses? Casual long kind of hippy dresses. I never wear them, but they felt so comfortable for summer and the price, $12.99 was so reasonable I got 3 of them and two pair of $9 sandals. 
That cute cat bag I bought for Andrea.
All set I thought except I needed a short sweater, to cover up and I knew Andrea had a few. While my closet looks like a cluttered, flea market vendor, she has a designer closet and things are organized. So I ventured over there at 6pm as the art walk was beginning and she dragged out clothes and more clothes for me to try on. So by 7:30pm, I had a bag full of things and went back home fully prepared to wear a dress. Well, my bed bed became an abstract, fabric artwall of color. Clothes splashed everywhere. Yikes, my mind was as confused as my bed.
while confusion is part of the alchemy of my gray matter, I ended up wearing clothes I already had in the closet – go figure? Please don’t suggest clothes therapy, though I could use it as my normal look usually consists of T-shirts with peace symbols or funny sayings and jeans. As I stood in a spaghetti strapped long dress so completely comfortably, I felt kind of naked, like I had too much airspace. While liberating, it felt kind of like I was in a nightgown. Now here I was wearing, “Abbe-shabby-chic”, okay, forget the chic part, back to the comfort of old jeans and ‘t’s’. I will wear the dresses around the house. By then it was 8pm. later than I normally get there.
I drove upon a very crowded Art Walk in downtown Sanford. The night was perfect, a soft, nice breeze coming off Lake Monroe and the full moon were my escorts up and down First Street. I always run into people I know. Here’s the view:
For $20 you can have a ride behind that huge Belgium horse.
The parking gets fuller and fuller at these venues! I stopped at The Gallery on First http://galleryonfirst.com at the beginning of my artwalk. Painter, Stewart Jones stewartjonesart.blogspot.com and I struck up a conversation and he gave me a post card proclaiming The Gallery On First was having their first annual summertime art show, it’s June 5th- June 27th. The reception is Saturday June 5, from 6pm to 9pm. Here’s some of Stewart’s work along with Cindy Sturla also a painter who shares the booth.
Also spoke to artists Lori Anne Harris and Sharon Rae Hyder, they are always so full of fun and family oriented in their booth, Lori’s son was there and told me his is working on his Anime art, I told him I would stop by next month and check out his work, the talent pool continues to spread in their family, make more wall space!
Cherie Dacko was not there, but I did see her finished piece, the baby and it is very cool, but since she was not there, I didn’t want to take a photo without permission. It is facing the outside, so take a look a look if you are walking the downtown streets.
Mary K. Shaw is always a smiling face too, she is at the desk or helping people out, plus she too is a contributor Community Columnist for The Sanford Herald, does all the writing for the arts, so if you have a local exhibit coming up around Sanford, or are maybe you are a Local artist showing elsewhere, contact her via the Sanford Herald, 497-322-2611. 
she will put it in the Herald.
Then I headed back to my home gallery, The Art Affair. (http://artaffairgallery.com) – I say my home gallery because even though I don’t have work there, Ronda never fails to make me feel like a ‘homie’! I keep watching as that gallery under her watch expands and expands! It’s exciting to see the artists grow and the wheels turning in her head with ideas. Here’s some of the new work,
Marie DeCosta had brought this in and it was not hung yet, but loved the perspective. She and photographer Ken Elliott have been into ‘bikes’ lately.
Marie DeCosta 
Ken Elliott
Really enjoyed the look of Patrick Flannery’s circus art. 
Oh my, I don’t know who did this to give them credit. 
Gum wrapper purses – 
Melinda Dadelis, budding artist. 
Mindy Colton has intaglia horse prints. 
These collage prints are from Jolie Spellman. Ronda has plenty of work over there too. 
Toelle Hovan has colorful paintings, check last months archive for her chair picture. She will also be teaching Acrylic Painting for adults in July. I really enjoyed her small purse paintings. 
Toelle and her husband were celebrating their anniversary and could not have looked any happier! Congrats, keep going!!! Check with gallery for art classes being offered this summer.
Then it was time for the new venue Ronda is featuring along with the restaurant, Two Blondes & a Shrimp! Every 4th Friday beginning tonight, The Art Affair will be having a meet and greet and mingle with the artists at 9pm at the restaurant until whenever the last person stops chatting! She was so excited to show off this new art venture. 
She shooed us all out as she locked up and off we went to the restaurant. 
The Rand building which houses 2Blondes & a Shrimp, was built in 1887, named for Frederic H. Rand general manager and Attorney for the Florida Land and Colonization Company. The interesting thing is going to the courthouse and doing research on land records and seeing the vast amount of property and land dealings that company did. The building was also home to the Newspaper, The Sanford Journal. The ceiling, floors and bar are all original features.
(whoops, lousy night photo of the bar– that’s why I will be taking the photo class offered by Photographer Ken Elliott so I have control over the dark – (go on website at artaffair.com for details)
The old brick walls came alive with a flurry of assorted work. Ronda and Marie has hung everything that morning and wow, Ronda knows how to hang, hey Ronda, new sideline, offer to hang shows on the side for a nice price! This collection will stay up for 6 months if I am not mistaken. Here’s a look:
Sherri the operating owner and Ronda stand united on the notion of supporting the arts! (And so should you!) Come over and eat at Two Blondes & a Shrimp noted for their Tomato Pie, Shrimp and Grips, linguine and clams and soooo much more. Sherri had a wonderful area with hor doerves for us! I ordered a mixed green salad as it was past 10pm, and had a wonderful dressing, I think it was coconut vinaigrette. I will have to go for lunch. They are closed Mondays, open 11am-3pm for lunch Tues-Sat. and then reopen 5pm – 10pm weekdays, except Friday and Saturday at night they stay open till 1am. Chris the manager will be glad to help with anything you need. 
The artist table was outside near the band, I must say I was walking around snapping a few shots talking to painter, Trish Vevera about going to Poland and to artist Tom Abbott 
who does dimensional art that has to be seen in person. Peter Cerreta too was there 
his work has to be admired for the amazing patterns and symbolism. I did not go over and tell Peter how I enjoy his pieces, so here is a shout out to tell you Peter.
The Lake Mary food critic, http://lakemaryfoodcritic.blogspot.com/ Leon and I chatted about our mutual love for food, he is quite an amazing cook and caters the food at Art Affair from time to time. I shared my secret of beating Kraft spinach and artichoke Philadelphia cream cheese into my mashed potatoes – yum! As I am sitting here, I’m getting hungry!
I enjoyed speaking to others around the table, upcoming artists Melinda Dadelis. She is going in very cool directions for her future. Marie DeCosta’s husband and I spoke about music and touched on Greg Allman as her husband works at the Daytona Beach Harley dealership and Greg had just been there. Now here is how the story goes full circle -6 degrees of separation: Sonja, who I had lunch with was married to Bob Greenlee, who passed away a few years ago, he owned Kingsnake Recording studio and in high school, Bob was in a band with both Greg and Duane Allman – a weird Kevin Bacon moment for sure!
Finally I had to get going and left a few faces still talking into the night. I drove home, my date followed closely, hovering over me street after street, it was my moon of course and the clouds beautifully veiled that moon as if I should be holding wolfbane as protection to ward off the spirits that might be invoked under that moon of the ancients. 
Now think about checking out ALL Sanford art and remember both the Art Affair Gallery and the 2 Blondes & a Shrimp will be having the after Art walk meet the artists, next one June 24th – 9pm — You must take a good look at the local talent and also enjoy a meal at 2 Blondes & a Shrimp in which you will be so busy looking at the art, you won’t remember who you are even eating with, a great place to take that someone who you really could care less about, but you owe them a meal – haha – But really, it has a great feel, like an eatery in a sophisticated big city scene. Go and let the walls and the food do all the talking…
SUPPORT THE ARTS AND ALL SANFORD BUSINESSES!
The poor duck in the duck box, 
almost every time I pass by the box going toward the lake, this duck flies out and cries all across the lake to where she plunks herself in the water and screams and screams. I feel bad that she is so paranoid and worried when she hears me. When she was gone, I made Adam look in her box, he saw three eggs, that was last week, bet they have hatched. 
I try not to go in front of the box, but she knows even when I am out there walking way off behind the box. the good news, she always comes back.
So many lubber grasshoppers all over, they are eating my plants. 
but so what? Hey, they are hungry and I’m sure the birds find them a nice meal.
Stopped by Museum of Seminole County History 
on Bush Blvd. and 17/92 to drop off a couple photos for “Where The Wild Things Are”. The poster, 
was designed by the The museum’s Coordinator, Kim Nelson’s talented husband, Robert E. Mier who is a wonderful wildlife painter. http://www.artnatureflorida.com
He’s a busy guy, he does a lot of art shows around the state, seems to have mastered marketing skills, a rarity for many artists like myself. I need to gather him to speak to our Gateway group, he has a lot of knowledge he could share on the business end.
The exhibit will be shown in their back building, 
it has a lot of items unique to our Florida history throughout both buildings. 
Kim will be working her magic to coordinate her space 
into a wonderful exhibit featuring many Seminole county artists. The show begins June 15th through August 14th, hours: Tuesday through Friday from 1 to 5 PM and Saturday from 9 to 1 PM –
Kim is quite an effective Coordinator and just a great person to talk with. So please come out to the Museum and not only visit the exhibit, but to walk through a huge history lesson.
Other than that, tonight is Artwalk, so gearing camera batteries up for that. Have been trying to take photos of the full moon, will be glad for that photo walk with Ken Elliott so he can teach me how to do it right by next full moon cycle! Here’s some nature pics to leave you with:
Seems like things are steady with the winged visitors, my mallard couple, the whistling ducks and the wood duck in the box are sticking around. Don’t want to bore you with details.
I took photos of mostly flowers yesterday under a very intense sun.
They are also saying there could be a storm brewing in the Caribbean, will it mean anything for the oil spill? I can’t take seeing the oil coated pelicans and the coated eggs! One has to wonder if there was a hurricane with all that oil and it is picked up by the winds, can you imagine the splatter of gook that will have to be cleaned off the homes nearer the water of a storm, it would be messy for sure! BP is going to be doing a lot more damage control when the cities closest to the water are coated in grease!
My flowers at end of blog, but look at this:
Ken Elliott, http://www.kenelliottphotography.com/ a fine Ormond Beach photographer who is currently exhibited at The Art Affair in Sanford is offering a wonderful way to learn your camera – A Camera Walk! Here’s the details:
I’m going, come join us – class is limited, but this should be a real hands on way to learn and the price is soooo right! Hurry, space is limited.
TAKING CONTROL OF YOUR DIGITAL CAMERA
With Professional Photographer, KEN ELLIOTT
SATURDAY, JUNE 5, 2010, 3:00 PM
Professional Photographer, Ken Elliott, will show you how to take control of your camera and shoot under a variety of lighting conditions your camera might not otherwise be able to handle by learning what your sensor can do, and setting your camera on manual. The session includes an informative talk about your camera, and its settings, as well as a question and answer format geared to your individual level. With his extensive technical knowledge and gift for capturing the perfect shot, this session will be a treat for any level. It is a hands-on workshop followed by a photo walk led by Ken, where you will actually experience first-hand how he captures the great shots for which he is recognized.
NEED TO BRING: DIGITAL CAMERA and its MANUAL
APPROXIMATE TIME: 3 HOURS. Discussion inside the Gallery and a photo walk.
FEE: $29 per person. CLASS SIZE LIMITED.
Ken is a professional photographer, located in Ormond Beach, Florida, specializing in fine art, commercial and event photography. Born and raised in Louisiana, Ken began shooting at the age of 8 years old, when his father (who had run the photo lab at a US Air Force base) gave him a Leica IIIc 35mm film camera, and then proceeded to teach him how to develop and print his images. This started a life-long love of photography.
Ken later started his first business as a commercial product photographer. He later joined the family manufacturing business, and photography became a hobby. Ken’s third business startup involved creating 3D computer models and outputting to video tape and large format printers. It was there that he began using Photoshop; and digital editing tools. As digital cameras became common, Ken found his two worlds merging. His experience in teaching AutoCAD, 3D Modeling, and Photoshop led to his teaching digital photography to other photographers in the area. After moving to Florida, Ken returned to fine art photography as a profession.
NAME:
STREET ADDRESS:
CITY/STATE/ZIP:
PHONE/EMAIL:
LIABILITY- ART AFFAIR GALLERY, RONDA RICHLEY, KEN ELLIOTT, KEN ELLIOTT AND ASSOCIATES, AND ANY OF THEIR AGENTS OR EMPLOYEES ,WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE TO PERSONAL PROPERTY, NOR TO INJURY, LOSS OF LIFE OR LIMB, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY DURIING THIS SESSION, TRAVEL TO AND FROM THIS SESSION. THE PARTICIPATION IN THIS SESSION OR ANY OTHER EVENT SPONSORED BY ART AFFAIR GALLERY WILL BE UNDERSTOOD TO IMPLY AGREEMENT AND CONSENT ON THE PART OF THE PARTICIPANT OR AGENT WITH THE CONDITIONS SET FORTH HERE.
I HEREBY AGREE TO THE LIABILITY CLAUSE AND TO ABIDE BY ALL THE RULES AND STIPULATIONS SET FORTH IN THIS AGREEMENT.
_________________________, ________
SIGNATURE DATE CHECK# AND AMOUNT ___________________
OR YOU MAY USE
VISA OR MASTERCARD: Number ________________________________
Expiration date: _____________ Name a it Appears on Card___________________________________
ZipCode ____________________ CVC ___________
Sign if Using Visa or MasterCard ________________________________________
ART AFFAIR GALLERY
30 E. FIRST STREET
SANFORD FL 32771
407-466-6365
————————————————————————————————————————————-
the rest will be some shots of flowers I have taken:
Yes, finally caught a bass! It’s been a long time, he was a nice size too. I threw him back and continued fishing with Ringo and Adam joined us. We caught a few shiners and fed the heron and Ringo got one too. As we fished we noticed that three ducks flew in the heron’s pine tree. They were whistling ducks!
Here’s some pics. 
These are very interesting ducks and they were whistling away for about an hour, loved hearing their songs. They flew away toward the north and left the herons in the tree. The herons still wait for the parents to feed them. 
The large male came down and waited as we fished. And then one of the babies came down and did a funny dance in front of the parent.
then flew away. The mallard pair was hanging around too, and the female flew into the duck box as it has a few times. We wondered if it is either nesting of thinking of nesting inside as they have been here everyday for a couple weeks. 
Also the woodpeckers have babies in their knot of the dead stump and I saw a crow stick his head in the hole and try and grab a baby out! (He missed.)
The rain helped bring more green and flowers. My yard is still all weeds, but that’s fine with me, this way I get to see the bees and bugs that would normally be absent without the flowering weeds, here’s some pics:
how perfect is nature in it’s design! 
And here’s a face to say goodbye. 
I have enjoyed the wonderful array of dragonflies down by the lake – here’s an assortment of photos and a quick glimpse
WOW, can’t believe how fast time seems to dissolve before my eyes. Am I making it go fast spending endless hours behind this computer? It seems I start something online and the morning hours fade into afternoon and then the afternnon till the wee hours of the morning – HOW DARE THEY – it just ticks away too fast doesn’t it!
I have been working on a website and have come to a standstill again with moving portions of it – so at a loss for right now and can’t even look at it I am so tired of the whole website thing. Instead first of all I will show you nature from the past week, then move on to Fourth Fridays in Sanford last night.
gerber daisy new blooms not ready to show their faces 
my new mailbox snake, likes to hang out where the empty mockingbird nest is, maybe that’s why it’s empty.
damsel fly eats hoursefly. 
Now for Friday night at Fourth Friday Artwalk. Headed out and the first thing I thought, wow, the time change does make a difference, I can remember it almost last month as the sun being so low on the horizon, 
but not tonight as I made my way to Sanford, rounding the corner on Commercial Street, I stopped and took a photo of a cool building that I would love to step into. 
The first people I saw were members of the Gateway, as we walked up to the Welcome Center, 
my favorite jazz guy was there – saw Jane Kerle doing her Plein art painting. 
The Welcome Center had a title of “It’s All About People” for this month’s exhibit and I did a quick glance, then left to go met Adam and Ari at the clock. We decided to go into Maya’s Books and you should too, it’s a very cool bookstore and has plenty of merchandise.
Here he is with one of Giger’s art books, Necronomicon. I left them looking through stacks and headed for The Gallery on First where several artists were present and working on their crafts, Debra Lapallo Ryan was painting a rock with cats, could not photograph them, but her rocks rocked – also Sharon Hyder gave me the tour of her booth, she shares her space with her daughterwho paints and does portraits, both do a wonderful job of painting and Sharon had so many pen and ink detailed drawings to look at, again, out of respect for the gallery no pictures, though Sharon let me take some, you will just have to look for yourself.
Went to my ‘fav’ place where I can take as many photos as I want, The ART AFFAIR of course! The theme was about ‘green art’, everything made from recycled items. I was met as a celebrity and now I have been honored with my own official badge that hangs on their hook for these events or for anytime I just want to feel elevated – I grab my badge and feel like I am at home. 
I am listed as “their favorite blogger” – how cool is that! The Art Affair Gallery is featuring artist Peter Cerreta’s work 
This peace sign by Steve Stepp made of resin soldiers was one of my favorites, was told by Fern Matthews who herself is a tremendous sculpture, no, I mean sculptor, so don’t ask to see the Fern Matthews sculpture. She is also a gifted glass maker, that Steve made this with plastic soldiers from the 1960s. Here’s a close up:
he also is a sculptor and has other work in the gallery. Here’s a few other views – you must visit and tell Ronda that Abbe sent you! 
There are Julie Kessler metal scultures, her work is quite intricate – here’s one of her paintings:
Mauricio’s gummy mugs 
So many cute and affordable items. I also ran into Chuck Dinkins who is now executive director of the Seminole Cultural Arts Council. He’s a easy to talk to guy AND I didn’t know he was a professional skateboarder, (now retired) – it seems Chuck has worn many badges along the way to where he is now. I have to sit down and talk to him sometime, pay him a visit, he’s very interesting.
Headed back over to the Welcome center to watch the winners of the monthly artwork, I got there just as they finished, but I did see Rae Marie who owns Framing 508 Gallery on Sanford AVe. – she won and award and recognition for her dedication and hard work, she does so much for monthly shows, I am glad they did this, plus she came in second place for her artwork. Anyone who knows Rae Marie knows she is just a radiant sunbeam always smiling and happy and glad to see you. Her framing work is well known by many as is her painting.
As I was going to take her photo, a dragonfly chose to rest upon her winning pastel. She LOVES dragonflies. 
the details in her pastel were unbelievably precise – what a work of art– go to the Welcome Center and see all the pieces. There won’t be another exhibitition until September again. Here are some of the entrys: 
The First Place winner. 
I loved the smoking guy, he was my favorite this time.
Left and took a few pictures of the buildings 
The fire station. 
love the jazz guy in the dark too, think of the photo as an abstract because it came out so poorly 
And then I headed home, passing the electrig grid on 46 and back to the house where Adam was having movie night with his friends, Brothers Bloom was the featured movie. . 
Now I am trying to figure out how 7:30am is now 7:06pm? There is t goes, I’m in a time warp, oh well, perfect excuse to go fishing — byeeeeeee……
Sunday morning and the light was vague and so is the mindset. 
I saw only three cranes out my desk window and the father was calling because one of the babies was missing. He looked in ever direction after he would call, listening to the chirps to hear if he could tell where the missing link was. It took about a half hour and the baby showed up. 
The babies are losing their ‘fluff’ and they look a bit messy – judge for yourself. 
The water is flat, perfect for fishing. A very light rain might fall for ten minutes and then nothing. Yesterday both my sons came out and fished. Aaron came from Tampa and even Adam joined in. 
Ringo came out and was in a feisty mood, he was ready to ‘tangle’ with anyone petting him one time too many. 
He will latch on like a wildcat and not let go. We all respect his wildside, (Ringo’s not Aaron’s)!
Adam left for work, but Aaron and I caught bass and I brought in a mudfish who was much like Ringo. 
They too have nasty looking teeth and tempers.
Andrea bought me an adorable fishing Santa from the garage sale she was helping with. She is going to be a wonderful aunt in August, this new baby will be have a full closet with such a loving aunt and Andrea will be helping to work on her framed artwork for the nursery, she is such a talented artist. 
We are all excited for August to come!
My garden is getting fuller and found that one red passion flower vine did not freeze as did my hibiscus, the vine is now just beginning to flower so should have a fence full in another couple months. I watched a bee this morning taking his fill of pollen from flower to flower.
Made an “abb-strax” from it 
And finally my sunflower opened after waiting for days to see it’s intricate face. 
The lake is loaded with lilys too and the pads are thickening . At least there has not been much algae yet. 
That’s the wood duck, he was here with his mate this morning too.
The herons are making quite a racket in the trees, they are very big, but have not taken to try their wings. 
And being Sunday with the rain falling, it’s just a feeling of thankfulness – and it’s not even fishing time yet….
P/S – oh my, I just heard the cranes screaming like crazy – had to look outside 
The fox came through and kept going, the babies were in hiding – so think he just moved on, and he was limping on right back leg.
Yesterday I worked on a new website in the am then got tired of it all and had to run and get my taxes finished in Casselberry. Distraction number one. Afterwards, I stopped at the Goodwill, (distraction 2) on the way to see what they had in baby necessities and wow, they had plenty. cribs, highchairs, strollers, toys bassinets, there was a lot of stuff. I guess I will need to be keeping some baby things of my own after the little he or she is born. 
I have been amazed at the prices of car seats and cribs and miscellaneous at places like Target or Toys R Us – I am in sticker shock! Baby needs seem much more expensive these days. But it was fun looking. The only thing I saw that I was tempted by was a cute vibrating baby ‘recliner, kind of a reclining seat for a very young baby. It had a cute sea horse and fish theme that stretched above the seat on an arch and it was all supposed to move with batteries, but they had no way to test it, so I decided against it, but I would not mind an adult version it looked so relaxing! (OMG, is it time for a barcolounger for grandma/Abbe?)
Next to the Goodwill on 17/92 in Longwood is Decor Galore, a used furniture and antique store, (distraction3), since I am an antique myself and I love wandering and reminiscing. They had a lot of interesting stuff, here’s some examples:
the buggy looked really old and right next to it was this…
I thought it would be very effective if this boar head was sitting in the baby buggy!
There was this velvet painting of an Indian, but did not understand the ‘hand moustache-beard thing’. What was this subliminal message saying?
It’s kind of scary! 
a cool old childs car. And then there was a wooden carved hawk by Ohio Artist, Spirit Williams who is a carver/sculptor. It was about 2 feet long and hung on wall. The detailing was beautifully done, and it wasn’t cheap either, over $300. Click on pictures to look in detail. 
http://www.sculpturebyspirit.com/ link for Sprirt Williams.
They had a good selection of pictures, lamps, chairs and knick knacks. 
It’s always fun to go into these places and see things of familiarity. (As a distraction from building a website)
Today I didn’t even work on the site, Instead I traveled to another real antique, 
DeBary Hall, built in 1871 by Frederick Debary. It is on the National Register of Historic Places. And at one time it was quite a hunting and social lodge in it’s day. Four generations of deBary’s lived there and now it is owned by the state, managed by Volusia County. They have art shows there, but it is done by submission. I wanted to check out where they had the artwork displayed as at one point it was kept on easels in the deBary house, then for a while they displayed artists’ work in the barn. 
Now they keep it in the auditorium. 
As I walked around the house I saw one rocker on the porch really moving. The wind was pretty brisk. But I preferred to think one of the deBary’s was on that porch rocking away. As I got ready to leave, I looked up and swear there was an image in the window looking out at me 
So I made my way on home again and tried working on a website and the photos I was putting on happened to come out really big, and gave up for a while. I still have not gone back to look and see what the problem is, it is much easier to blog. I think tonight I will list some pics on Etsy instead: http://www.etsy.com/shop/incatdreams.
And now I will attempt at distraction #5, so will try and fish though the wind is really whipping the water about and it almost seems worthless to try.
but anything seems easier than setting up a business! Why is this such a hard concept? Making money, what is wrong with a bit of capitalism. Maybe that spirit in the window was trying to scare me on home where I am supposed to be a slave to my keyboard and monitor. But that spirit did not know the strength of the lake spirits that are calling for my presence. Yes, easily again I am leaving the screen and leaving the business of art behind – there’s alway hump day, and Thursday…
” Curiouser and curiouser”, Adam and I headed up to Deland to experience the Florida Museum for Women Artists. The exhibit is called “Almost Alice” by Artist, Maggie Taylor. So after all the water issues were solved, we headed up north for about 17 miles. 
I made Adam man the Kodak as we drove along, he fired a few shots of things as I would point them out.
As we passed through Orange City, we saw the orange: 
I loved this guys look, though I did enhance his hair in that is was orange spiked and I gave him an afro, but honestly, his hair was that color.
We passed so many photos we missed, I will have to go again and stop along the way. 
So many cool looking antique shops. The drive is easy. We passed The Gateway Center For the Arts, then Stacey’s Buffet where the abundance of food is amazing and good, the owner is very kid to the members of Gateway. But we didn’t stop to pig-out, we headed straight on through. Didn’t stop to see if any manatees were up at Blue Springs Park, I imagine they have taken off as it has been so warm.
Deland pops up like Sanford, a main drag filled with blocks with lot of little individual shops including art museums, many restaurants and bars considering it is a college town to Stetson and what a beautiful school it is. The Fish building is on the corner of W.. New York and 100 N. Woodlands Blvd, or as we call Woodlands, 17/92. 
Which of course morphed into an Alice kind of mindset for Abbe 
We parked and walked the side streets and I came across this bug that was HUGE, at least about 4 inches long 
That thing was squashed like the bug it was! 
We bounded up the stairs at The Fish building to the second floor. I had been here once before this place was viable, it was in construction phase with no defining rooms, just framing wood to map out space. The Florida Museum For Women Artists is all about promoting women’s art, simple as that. So simple I joined while I was there. Maybe sometime, I can submit and have something accepted to show, now that would be a real accomplishment.
The volunteer greeted us and gave us instruction about voting for very interesting planters 
that were ‘planted’ in different corners in the galleries of which there are three, plus a cafe and a gift shop. I asked about taking photos, but I was not allowed so the pictures I have included are off the web. 
This Maggie Taylor Collection is part of a collection at the Samuel P. Ham Museum of art at the University of Gainesville where she lives. Her technique involves scanning tin-type images and merges them with photos and then layer manipulation. Ah, I wish she would take me under her wing. The collection is stirring, wonderfully surreal and sort of made me think of the funky twins in ‘The Shining’. I loved it all. Adam and I walked around twice to take it in again and again. The photos each in their dreamy tone have so much depth and texture to them even though they are prints. The had the book for sale at the gift shop and I must say the gift shop has quality art pieces for sale. We loved Michele Davdson’s jewelry. 
And there were plenty of other items.
After we left, we walked up the main drag and since we were under time constraints, we went to eat lunch at The Main Street Grill then made our way home, past the Courthouse. 
and looping around again onto 17/92 heading south. 
Was it the effect of Maggie Taylor — because we swear, there was a wolf in the vehicle in front of us!
Finally home, I looked for my two books, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
Illustrations by John Tenniel, colored by Fritz Kredel. These books accompanied me to college in 1968. Must lovingly look over them again. (And indulge in my new favorite flavor of Goldfish, SMORES!
The Florida Museum For Women Artists was wonderful, (they do charge admission) and it’s always fun spending time bonding with your kids! Could not have asked for a better day, weather almost 80 and sunny, but we didn’t notice the weather till we were almost home, it seems we were lost in the rabbit hole in Deland… 
{Tenneil/Kredel}
Abbe's world of wildlife 