Spring

Another still life, fresh from the garden...

The Yellow Tulip

The Garden

Not what I expected to post photos of today, but I hope you enjoy it. It's wonderful to have flowers growing in the yard.

A Wish

Swamps

I apologize for my infrequent posts lately. I've recently started a new part-time job, and I'm still adjusting to my new schedule. Today, I spent a long, rainy day doing fieldwork at UCONN, where my company is involved with a large wetland mitigation project. We monitored water levels and vernal pools, helped plant some wetland shrubs, and I, at least, came home smelling of swamp. A day that made me truly appreciate proper rain gear and long, hot showers.

Nearly three years ago, I was at this same site, while things were still in the planning stage. I took several photographs of the Great Blue Heron rookery there. Since then, an owl took over the area, and the Great Blue Herons moved out. Today, we saw one lone heron return.

Here's a photograph of one of these bizarrely beautiful animals, from back in 2005 when the rookery was full of them.

Warm April Days

I had plans to photograph either more natural history specimens or more beach scenes today, but wasn't able to do so. I was, however, able to procure some white clover seed with which to overseed our lawn! Perhaps not so photographically thrilling, but a good Earth Day purchase.

In lieu of the planned natural history/ocean photographs, I strolled around my yard and picked some flowers to photograph. I love the fact that I have a yard with flowers growing in it!

Lilies of the Valley


Cherry Blossoms

Blooms

Daffodils are finally blooming here in Smithfield. Down at my sister's house in South County, she's had flowers for weeks! But Spring has finally made it here, and I'm very happy about it.

I didn't want to cut my precious first flowers, and they border on the road, so rather than get myself run over attempting to photograph them, I chose an indoor blossom as my subject. This Gerbera Daisy was a gift from the same sister mentioned above, and apparently will purify our air! Nothing like clarity and fresh, benzene-free air to get the creative juices flowing!

Gerbera Daisy

decor8!!!

I am thrilled to let you all know that I was featured on decor8 today! For those of you unfamiliar with decor8, it's an amazing design blog authored by the talented Holly Becker. You can also find her on Real Simple and as a guest curator for Domino Magazine's online Etsy gallery.

As a new homeowner with a penchant for decorating, and as an artist, I am completely addicted to decor8 - definitely go check it out.

Here are the images featured, from my Natural History series:

Barnac-ular

Just a quick post before I head out to my much anticipated, greatly needed massage appointment at the wonderful One Yoga Center.

I've gone back to my black and white roots with this one. Enjoy!

Barnacles

Cabin Fever

So I've had the luxury of being able to devote my time almost exclusively to photography for the past 2 1/2 weeks. It's been wonderful, I've been very productive, I've made a good number of sales, and I've really enjoyed the experience. Trouble is, I'm getting antsy. I think I've been spending too much time with myself, you know? Art is often a solitary pursuit, in my case, and I think I'm missing the social connection one usually has at work. Especially since I mainly sell online, so I'm not interacting directly with shop owners, customers, or fellow vendors.

It's something to think about pretty seriously, since one day I hope to make photography my exclusive career. Does anyone have good solutions for keeping the social aspect of work alive?

Gift Guides!

Did you know that Etsy has some great gift guides to help us choose gifts for those tough-to-buy for folks in our lives? Well, I'm excited to say that my photographs, as of today, are in two of them!

Spring!

What a gorgeous day it is! It's the kind of day that makes me grateful that I don't own a dryer. There's something magical about getting chores done while standing in the sun in your bare feet. Yes, today is officially the first bare feet day of the Spring.

Rawr!

I had a wonderful time this past weekend, with some of the best people in the world. The weekend happened to include a birthday celebration, and nothing says friendship like a comparison to dinosaurs...

Zoom In!

Here's a close up of that little yellow bird :-)

Wall Art

I had some fun playing around with some mounted photographs today. It's an interesting experience, taking photos of photos.... I especially like the strange mirrored affect of the 3rd image.

Specimen 652


Chickadee and Chickadee Eggs


Ranunculus

Darfur

Did you know that the armed conflict in Sudan's Darfur region has been going on for FIVE years now? How easy it has been for me to slowly stop thinking about it, and to stop trying to educate people about it. Listening to this song reminded me how important it is not to give up on helping those in need. The women in the displacement camps are still being raped. Only about a third of the required peacekeeping troops have been deployed..... FIVE years after the conflict started...

Check out Save Darfur for more information, to make a donation, or to learn how you can help. Click the play button below to listen to the song.

State Radio – Sudan

"If I had but one wish on which to stand,
I'd have the weapons all leave Sudan.
I'd see the gunners wash their empty hands,
Down by the riverside."
- State Radio

A Walk on the Beach

I went for a nice walk on the beach today with a good friend of mine, and we came across this little guy:



An unusual sight to see along the little cove we were walking along. We were at first concerned that something was wrong with him (or her), since we were able to get within about 4 feet. But, seems like it was just sleepy, since it shuffled off into the water and swam away without too much trouble.

Nestled

Another photograph from the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center! I really must go back there.

I liked the dreamy look of this nest, with it's washed out colors and delicate eggs nestled inside.

Scoutie Girl

Some photos of mine have been featured on Scoutie Girl!



Click here to read the post, and see below for the featured images! They're all available on Etsy.

Shorebird

This photo is part of my Natural History series, but it would work in my Ocean series as well, since terns are shorebirds.

Tern


Taken at the Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center.

April Arts in RI Contest has Begun!

ARTS IN RI is hosting an April contest! The contest will run from April 1st through April 8th. Fellow team member Lisa of Pinklemonadeboutique has generously donated a beautiful handmade bag called Sakura: Featuring imported Japanese cherry blossom fabric, trimmed in natural linen, and embellished with a detatchable handmade felt flower. It measures 11.5 x 9. Check out each of the Artsinri shops (see the list, below) and find our April Arts In RI logo hidden in a featured item in ONE of the shops. When you find the gray and purple logo convo Paula the Listing # and the name of the shop you found it in and you will be entered into a drawing for Sakura. You must have an Etsy account, or sign up for one here (it’s easy and free) The hunt will end at midnight EST on April 8th. The Winner will be posted on the Arts in RI blog and be contacted via convo on April 9th. Good luck and happy hunting!!!!