RedDancer-Studio

VOICE

I am doing my best to make one art journal page at a time and not try to do one/day. That's just not me. If I get the page made, then there's the scanning and posting to my blog. I made this one yesterday. I used Prismacolor NUPASTEL sticks. The box says: "Firm pastel color sticks. Cleaner, stronger than ordinary pastels." Yes, they are firm. Maybe they are stronger. But they sure aren't cleaner. I will most likely wear an apron the next time I use them. Now I need to get a can of clear acrylic spray to seal the page.

Now there seems to be a problem with IE9 and my blog. This page looks okay and I'm going to post as is. But right now, the image is way over to the right. When I preview the page, it's centered. Go figure.

It's about time to make a page for today, Sunday, 6/26/11. I've putzed around the house organizing stuff for the Art Unraveled vendor tables in August. I have another blog for that and will resize some photos and make a posting there soon. For now, this is what I have to share with my viewing audience.

Creative Diva - again finding my Voice

I think that since I found out that I was going to be a grandmother of a beautiful little girl, I started collecting beautiful dolls from thrift stores and yard sales. I've found some gorgeous dolls and will take care of them until Emma is old enough to appreciate them. In the meantime, I've taken pictures of the dolls dresses and faces. This is one of the beautiful images I took a few months ago and finally decided to play with on the computer. All I had to do is resize it. Yes, I finally find out how to resize images on my laptop and be able to post them to my blog.

I especially like the Victorian dresses on the dolls and bridal dolls. More to come on another day.

When I was a student at Yavapai College studying B&W photography, we sometimes played with white on white to get proper exposures for details. I think I used the DSLR with the macro lens for this photo. It was fun and sometimes I wonder why I haven't done more of this kind of work. Maybe I'm now ready to explore my VOICE with my camera and this blog.

Summer finally arrived in Flagstaff. I think we had a high of 90 degrees and hardly any wind - a real unusual day for this year. Loved it. I spent some time in the garage organizing for the August Vendor Extravaganza at Art Unraveled. Now that I'm back to working only 20 hrs/week, I have more time to work on the prep work for AU. My business partner and BFF, Suzanne, is glad that I'm finally coming out of my depression and am willing to get to work. Poor thing, she's in her new Ph.D. program and her classes are keeping her very busy. It's time for MD to step up to the plate, so to speak.

My sciatica is getting a little better each day. I usually only take 2 Tylenol twice a day now and no Ibuprophen. I will still get acupuncture and massage for a few more weeks and I have 2 more physical therapy appointments. Then it's all exercise at home or in the pool at the new Aquaplex. Age is finally catching up with me.

Time to watch some TV and relax. This is fun now that I've figured out how to size photos on the laptop and have them look really great.

 

 

 

Finding my VOICE - what is that?

I often wait until I have a great photo to add to my blog before posting, however, tonight, I decided not to wait. I'm having a few problems with getting the right size image for my posting and I don't care - I don't want to wait and go to my desktop and resize the image for the web, etc,etc, etc. This is a macro shot of a miniature shoe that I have in my collection. This weekend, I'll take more time to get better resolution for this blog. For now, what you see is what you get. Wish I knew what happened between my last Diva posting and a GREAT photo and tonight. Oh, can't dance so I'll  blog.

 

  
Now to write about the title of this posting. I haven't heard the term, "I found my voice," in several years. The first time I heard it was when I took a writing class from a wonderful instructor at Prescott College, in Prescott, AZ. Idell Kesselman helped me learn to "find my voice" in my writing when I was studying for my undergrad degree in Photography. Tthe truth is that over the years, I forgot how to use my own voice in my blog, in my private journal, my own artwork, my own life. Darn it, does learning never stop? Nope! The good news is that I still use my own "voice" in my photography. That's been a constant since I took my first photo class at Yavapai College in Prescott, AZ, in 1983.

I've been reading a book I just got from Amazon, BLOGGING FOR BLISS: CRAFTING YOUR OWN ONLINE JOURNAL, by Tara Frey. Tera encourages readers/artists to use your own voice in your blog as well as in your craft/art. She writes that it is important for me, and my readers, to believe the authenticity of what I have to say. We'll just see if I get any feedback from this posting.

I decided tonight that it was time to get my voice heard, a little at a time, on this blog and in my personal life.This is risky for me and it's time to take some risks. If not now, when?