What The Cat Dragged In

Yes. That's what you think it is. But it's of a nonvenomous variety and I'm truly sorry it's gone.


Hello everyone!

Sarah Wallis of Circles of Rain wonders if my Dialogues Project reflects dialogues "you have had or made up ones or from other sources?" Simple -- all of the above! Some of these dialogues are sweet while others are bitter, and while some are funny, others are not much fun at all, and a few would be good substitutes for a side of vinegar!




Here are a couple of shots, these subjects well on the way to being in Dialogues. And one shall be beaded and sent along its merry way to a friend quite soon.

And speaking of bittersweet, I ask you -- how can we have such gorgeous blooms and simultaneously have leaves turning colours on the tree above these flowers? What the...? Hey, it's not even AUGUST yet. Aren't we rushing things a bit here?

Lo, the voice of this particular turtle is still heard in the land -- or in my backyard, anyway. So why is this summer rushing to get it all over with?

Even Molly Brown wonders what happened to Dog Days this year...

Oh well, maybe it's that time compression my mother told me about when she was in her 70s and I was in my no longer 30s.

"After a while, you hit a certain point, and Christmas comes every other week."

Thanks, Ma.

Get More of What You Love

and Watch Where You Step.

Candace in Athens.

Gone, Baby, Gone!

Short post today as My Friend, Miss Mimi Hollace Green, is on her way over for an Art Shenanigans Experience. We have Michael's Coupons. Hoorah!

Hello!
Yes, those little birdies flew the coop. And I saw it happen, but as far as a foto, no cigar.
Who knows? If we leave the nest, Ms Nuthatch might keep populating the landscape with one of my favourite fowl weather friends.



A new project, besides Dryad and Midsummer Night's Dream, is The Dialogues.

Here is the line drawing. I am trying to "clothe" the subject in dialogues, not unlike Violet and others you Peeps have seen in the past.

plus a quick sketch (this will eventually be a painting) of "Guan Yin of the Thousand Hands" ... it's a first draft, seriously. Nothing pretty about it.

And at the end of the day, I trust you will find your own dialogues -- inner or otherwise -- with what you need and love.

Take care! And apologies were going to be given for the lack of colour on this here post, but as Miss Mimi Hollace Green might say, "black and white are colours!"

Live From Athens,

Candace

Violet

Violet has trust issues.

Hello everybody!

That’s what the text in her hair tells us, anyway. But who doesn’t have that, once in a while, even in a blue moon? This is a bit of a page from an art journal I am working on a piece at a time (read: weekly if I'm lucky).

The rest of the text? Well, you can enlarge the image but might have to be patient because when trust is gone --- well, everything takes longer to download, doesn't it?

Take care and get more of what you love.

Candace

DRYAD

Hello Everyone!

A work of a work in progress. Besides “Midsummer Night’s Dream”, I have this Dryad Project going on. Both are whipping my heinie… but I'm having a blast with all of it! Speaking about a blast, go here to read about my and Mimi Hollace Green's roadtrip last week. Fantabulous.


What happens to a dryad when her tree is destroyed, cut down, taken away? Does she disappear altogether, not unlike the tree? Or, does she remain unseen, stuck to the stump, shackled to the memory of there once having been a tree and, for her, a home?

Does she go with the tree, to become a floor or a desk or a series of newspapers -- still there but her environment now vastly changed, perhaps urbanized? So hug a tree. You never know, she might hug you back.

The AUGUSTPALOOZA Art Drawing and Giveaway is Saturday, August 1st. It’s sure to be fun. Just leave a comment here on EyeCandy so your name can be popped into the tophat and, like a magician with the rabbit, I will pull someone’s token out of the Magic Hat at Midnight – The Witching Hour!

Get More of What You Love.
Candace

Augustpalooza!

Hello Everyone!

Wow, there’s nothing like finding past glories in one’s art journal and revamping them a bit. This was a Valentine’s Day drawing. The arms are a bit looong. But that’s Art Shenanigans for you. Let's not focus on perfection ALL the time, it could ruin what spontaneous fun we might have.

The text reads "xoxoxo, Darling, My Heart is Yours." And on the blue, reads "Love Has Made Me Brave, Wild, Reckless and Completely Insane".

From now till July 31, make a comment or somesuch on this here blog to let me know you have paid a visit and you will be forthwith entered into the Augustpalooza Art Giveaway Drawing!

Get More of What You Love.
Candace

Cheep Thrills

Remember the four little eggs we had? We now have three baby birds. Ms. Nuthatch is good to them but one didn't work out. Terribly tiny and weak from the get-go. But three out of four is good, considering that clutch she had. (We like to say the ones that don't make it are sent back to the Institute of Natural Selection for a tune up.)

Hello everyone!

You may also remember the photo of our red doe, a few posts ago. I told you about Buck and Sal, and how they were a young pair of animals, settling down now and then off my driveway to take their afternoon nap together in the blackberry bushes.

Well, here he is. The boon of her existence --

and the bane of my tomato plants. Check out the now nonexistent tops... what the??? The plants are now surrounded by metal guards -- which reminds me of closing the barn door after the horses have run out.

Buck has two other does in his harem and there is a splendid little fawn, still on Sal's udders. They all made a lovely picture early Sunday morning -- a picture I unfortunately did not get as Molly and Bess raced out the back, barking to beat the proverbial band and scattering the herd.

That's what dogs do, they ruin your shots and break your heart every time you think you have a sure thing.

Speaking of sure things,

Get More of What You Love.

Candace

Learning New Things

I'm learning to send posts to my blog via email so that I can blog on the go.

The Bridges of Madison County Redux

Hello Everyone!

Camping out at Walton State Park was fun for T and a trio of friends who gathered for an overnighter. I stayed at home with the Girls, thinking of femminismo and her frequent campouts with Mister. If it's good enough for Oregon, it's good enough for Georgia!



Yes, I thought this is indeed the bridge supposedly filmed in the Streep-Eastwood movie and mentioned in the book, "The Bridges of Madison County". Below is a second shot of the same bridge. I can't believe I did not get a shot of how it looked inside. Talk about Shadow Shot Sunday -- Sarah would have had a field day! (Note: No, THAT bridge was in Madison County, Illinois -- not Madison County, Georgia.)

Gorgeous scenery.

Fantastic log cabins. Tammy brought a quilt, draping it over the bannister to give Cabin 2 a homey look and feel.

Even the privy was a real building, complete with an old-fashioned tin roof and real amenities inside, including a working shower.

What was here, once upon a time? Or was someone's dream interrupted before its realization? I saw this on the way back to Athens yesterday, after dropping off T and enough food to feed an army. Alone in a field -- beautiful in the light,with what looked like a cairn! So, of course, I had to have a photo of it.

There were horse trails for local equestriennes as well as hiking and biking trails at Walton State Park; wildlife observation decks; fishing and general goofball fun. Goofball fun? Yeah, that's when grownups slide on their bums down the slick rocks to splash into the pools of water in the river.

Packing up in this last photo to get out of there. The quilt has already been carefully folded and stashed in a trunk for its journey home.

I myself will be staying in Cabin 3 hopefully soon -- or next January. THAT should be fun! Cold, though. Maybe I can borrow that quilt. And since it's only 15 miles from Athens -- perfect!

Take care!

Candace

Simple Things

Hello Everyone! I was thinking today about some of the simple things in my immediate world today and when I went to visit Janet's blog here, I saw that Wednesday the 8th had been an actual bloggers' day regarding the theme of simple.

Maybe it's the time of year -- here in this part of the world, we throw off the heavy coats and shoes needed for the cold dark days here and slip into lighter apparel, literally and figuratively. Or "maybe it's the time of man," as the lyrics go ... and "we've got to get ourselves back to the garden," as the song finishes up. (Okay, who doesn't know what I am talking about?)

Well, not exactly a garden shot here -- but this is why I don't put "faces" up on trees in my yard as T's brother did at his home -- see it?


Look closer....






Do you see it now? Faces in nature -- you may remember my rock of a few months ago.

And the lovely Ms. Nuthatch broods about quality time with th0se eggs, no doubt. (We think she's a single mother as we've seen no Mister Nuthatch around.) The little post-it reads: "NESTING BIRD INSIDE. DO NOT DISTURB" or somesuch.

Lizard. Sunning. What else do we need to know?

I like lizards and snakes. Bugs. Insects. Worms. The things I am supposed to not like, simply because of my gender. Should have been a scientist, maybe!

And speaking of sunning, I like the sun and its myriad shadows. The warmth and the magic its own light and opposing darkness cast on me, my deck, the lawn, the street, the world.

That "rope" you see on the banister is actually small white lights one associates with winter holidays. I like them year round on my deck ... always a bit of magic, always a mystery. I got the idea from "Mr. Robert", my sister's friend. Visiting him once, he had placed similar lights around his small but cosy courtyard as we sat outside, dishing dirt and eating dinner. What fun!

Below is "my" favourite pot -- what could be more simple than this lovely cobalt cooker? Left here in Athens (on purpose) by my friend Miss Jeanne, now in London. How I miss her!

And as always, Art Shenanigans. The simplest one around.

Here is Hermia, in progress... from "A Midsummer Night's Dream". Is she sleeping? Dreaming? Scheming?

Check back in a few and find out what is happening with her and the rest of the friendly cast and crew of the Bard's best comedy (imho). The ferns seen earlier this season will make a lovely background now. They stand taller than yours truly!

So until then,
Get More of What You Love.
Candace

And The July Giveaway Goes To --

Hello Everyone!

A day (or two) late and a dollar short but here we are again. The train is on the track and while not going as fast as usual, it will reach the destination! It's the first day I have been really "up and at 'em, Atom Ant", in almost a week. Thanks for your patience and your good wishes.

Let's jump right in and look whose name came up for our Independence Giveaway Drawing! Congratulations to Anairam, and again, you know how I feel about all artists, crafters, and photographers... Anairam, please send your street addy to canwiggins@gmail.com as soon as you can! Oh dear, it's mistyped in the photo... please forgive me! You'd never know I was a proofreader and editor, would you?

AND, look at all these bags! Yes, a mini brown bag journal for Anairam will be popped in the mail soon and winding its way to the Fourth of July recipient -- please join me in well wishes and whatnots. And go check out her site, too. (Say, you don't think I am using ALL those bags?! It wouldn't be a mini journal then, trust me!)

This was my celestial view from the deck where I sat today, with a cup of tea and cream cheese and strawberry jam on toast after a refreshing summer shower. This greenery really puts me again, on track, hurrying up to finish the rest of those lovely Midsummer Night's Dream characters!

So, truly none the worse for wear, I hope you all

Get More of What You Love.

Candace