Collage

"Collage from the French Coller, "to glue" or to

stick together in a technique of art creation,

primarily used in the visual arts."

This is my second paper college.  I start with a photograph

I have taken (Pahrump NV 2011)  and then... 

 

I look through 100's of scrapbooking samples

of paper, printed, textured or whatever that I think

would  achieve the results I'm looking for. 

Then I put my printer to work.  In this case I only needed 3

different colors for the background.

The bar portion of the kitchen counter is the perfect

height for me, so out come all the tools and supplies I need to

create my design and it's close to the wine!!!

Since I wanted my collage pieces to have a stained glass or mosaic look, I

developed a process where I start with a piece of metallic black acid free 

poster board and cut it to the 9 x 12 size of my purchased frame.

Then I cut out each pattern piece, one at a time,  trim it and

glue it  down, leaving a small area between it and the

previously placed piece so it looks like grout lines.

During the design process, I planned exactly where the Great White Pelican 

would be placed to determine where my black lines would 

intersect in relationship to the Pelican head & wings.

This is a multi-layered collage, as you can see, starting with

the black poster board and then the foreground green area.  As I did

the blue areas, I tucked the lower edge of the pieces  behind the foreground area.  

 Then I cut out the pelican from the enlarged photo I created on my

computer.  It's a lot easier to cut little shapes to delineate the feathers, 

out of pater than doing the process with cut glass!!! 

Lastly non-glare glass is place in the purchased frame 

I've always been fascinated with Pelicans, and took

this photo over 30 years at Pyramid Lake NV which is

one of the 2 nesting grounds for the Great Whites in the U.S.

As I develop  my collages, I combine knowledge I have gained

from other techniques...  tapestry weaving, stained glass, mosaic, photography

and the use of color and design tips to come up with an 

original one-of-a-kind unique piece.

For example the Brown Pelican in Florida became 

the inspiration for this mosaic stepping stone, as well as

this handwoven tapestry tote bag that I wove many years ago.

And when I needed a companion piece for my stained

glass Bald Eagle, I once again picked a Pelican.

Certain Circles

While walking this morning I listened to Dan Seals, 

one of my favorite country artist, 

singing "Certain Circles"  from his album "Make it Home". 

The words were very appropriate for my circuitous route.

(Check it out on iTunes and you'll see what I mean.)

As you can see, there's not much elevation gain around

here... only 41' this morning,

which was in too separate locations - here 

and here.  As you know from prior posts, the rest of the 

walking takes place on paved streets.

I saw a new critter and several other walkers where already 

out before the 5:22 sunrise,  trying desperately to beat the heat.

 It was already 81, headed for 105 today!!!

However it seemed like it was already un"bare"able for others.

'

I made it back, just as Don headed out, and quickly retreated

out back to sit in the shade where I enjoyed watching

 the birds and bunnies, and a few dogs dogs walking their owners

on the path behind our home!!!

Not quite as exciting as watching the more than occasional

black bears out back at our former home in Colfax CA.

Wherever you are today,  Happy Independence Day.  This photo was

taken at Gold Butte Nat'l Monument NV in 2013, and there

certainly was a lot more elevation gain there than around here!!!

The Backcountry Byway, where we were is worth taking

if you are in the area.   It begins 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas 

The 62-mile scenic trip offers opportunities to see desert wildlife,

 red and white sandstone formations, sinkholes, petroglyphs,

 the Muddy Mountains and the historic mining town of Gold Butte,

 established in 1908. The primary extractions 

from Gold Butte were copper, gold, lead and zinc.

Don even did some geocaching when we were in the area.  

Check out the BLM.gov website for more information.

Raven's...

Today's blog is all about Ravens and I've photographed

them in many places over the years including here

in AZ again this morning.

   

Is it a Raven or a Crow?  Both are in the corvid family.

All photos here are of Ravens...  Both of these birds are extremely 

intelligent though ravens seem a bit smarter!!

Both can recognize human faces.   

(This photo was taken in Death Valley CA)

To help you recognize the difference,

Ravens are as big as Red-tailed Hawks, and crows are 

about the size of pigeons. The raven is all black, 

has a 3.5-4 ft wingspan and is around 24-27 inches 

from head to tail. The crow is also black, 

has a 2.5 ft wingspan and is about 17 inches long.

Both can recognize human faces. They are among

 the few animal species that use tools. 

They’re also really smart about getting into things, 

for example, figuring out how to unlatch containers to steal food.

Ravens have fluffier feathers and these two were waiting

to catch a Thermal while we were visiting the Petrified Forest

in AZ about a year ago.

They also use stunt flying to attract mates (barrel-rolling, 

flying upside-down, and somersaults), as this one proceeded

to do, you know where.  There was quite a breeze as

he took did a couple of hard flaps to get airborne.

They’re known for their ability to understand 

cause and how to solve complicated problems.

 

About 10 years ago in Dawson City YT, Canada, we watched

a Raven trying to get the remains of a burger out of

a garbage container.  When he picked it up, it fell

out of the wrapper and wrapper & Big Mac dropped back into the 

garbage can.  So what did the Raven do?  Well, he picked

the wrapper out first, put his foot on it on the edge

of the can and successfully retrieved & ate the burger!!!

They are very social animals and are constantly

calling to one another from high places.

 

And this morning was no exception as I began my walk

 under cloudy skies,  with a brisk breeze, at 5:30 a.m, 

and it was was already 79 degrees.

There was a proud Raven sitting on a rooftop

when a friend arrived.  Boy did I have my camera

in the right place at the right time...  and

they continued the process by calling a third Raven to join them!!! 

  I guess I'll quit raving about Ravens for awhile...

You can probably figure out who's on the top of my favorite bird list.

Early to Bed Early to Rise...

definitely has it's advantages unless you're

on the short end of the branch.  You can almost

hear the caw, caw, caw, caw of the early rising

Raven as he got slapped in the face by a tree branch!

It was my intention to walk the edge of our

community, next to the desert, to enjoy the early

morning shadows, but someone beat me to it.

As I snapped this shot with my iPhone, Mr Coyote let 

me know who the fence walker was going to be

 this morning and it wasn't me!!!

So I headed for safer ground and decided I was

brave enough to creep up on these bunnies.  The objective

to get 4 or 5 close-up shots without scaring them away.

As I crept up closer & closer & closer my 5th shot showed that

the leader of the "Bunny Broad Meeting" was being ignored 

by fellow participants, which reminded me of another

similar occurrence when we lived in Colfax CA.

Many early mornings (and late evenings) the acorn woodpeckers

would gather at the bird bath out front.

Don or I would fondly call to each other "the Board is meeting

again", so the other one of us would not miss out. 

 

 

That got me interested in types of woodpeckers, 

so over the years I have created Mosaic versions of

a variety of different woodpeckers

and gave them to family and friends to hang

in trees or on barn doors... or wherever.

My mosaic woodpecker, here in AZ,  keeps a close eye

on the early morning antics of marching mosaic ants 

on our wooden front window ledge... somebody's got to do it!!!

Well, as you can see, this blog developed a mind of it's own

and took off in all directions... could be a result

of getting up too early.

Chasing Shade...

At about 5:45 each morning I head out for my

"walk"... and this is why I start so early!!!

Forecast for the next 12 days.  Not getting

any better and won't till SEPT...

So here we go.  Nice to have you on a virtual

walk with me...

especially when we have a nice breeze

and a great view  Yippee!!!

Time to deviate from my  planned walk

since there isn't much shade in this direction after 40 yards.

Oops, shade ahead, but the terrain is too rough for tennis shoes.

This looks better.  Since the RV section is practically

empty, I could choose to chase the shade thru former RV sites.

Nice desert view, but where's the shade????

AHHHHHHH

Things are starting to look good...

but that is short lived.  TOO HOT to play or watch 

a ball game!

Likewise, no participation here till mid-Sept!!! 

DRATS.

OMG this has possibilities.

As most of you know, I am a color person and GREEN 

psychologically makes us feel cool.

So, I'll just take it one step at a time and see where

I end up.

Normally I walk about 3 miles, and Runkeeper keeps

track of me... how far I walked and where I went.  Today  I had

other places to go; Costco, Lowes, Home Depot

and an afternoon haircut.

Even tho I "shortcut" the daily routine, I received my just rewards.

Remember those Argentine Cactus I featured in a prior post, 

 "Spring has Springing" on 3/20/2020?  

Well this is the first time I have ever seen a color other than white. 

As I neared home, I found that someone had lost their "Noodle". 

O.K. I heard that... - I thought we were friends!!!!