Orchid Wonder

Today, a beautiful orchid to mark the birthday of our daughter,

Katrina Rose.

The sapphire blues remind me of her September birthstone.

Happy creating to you!

A Rose and Spring Dreaming

My favorite flower today and quite an exquisitely

colored one, at that!

Is it Spring at your house yet?

We keep getting the Spring tease -

gorgeous temps and everyone rushes out in light jackets...

then it snows :(  Repeat.  Repeat.

Come on Spring and stay,

 please!

Happy creating to you. 

Portrait of Milkweed

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving,

with lots to be thankful for!

Petals

When we dig into a subject with a macro view,

we can come up with something that is quite abstract in nature.

I like that quality.

Although these are obviously curled flower petals, 

rose petals to be exact,

they also present simple abstract designs with a linear emphasis.

Thus, macros let us enjoy a subject on two distinctly different levels.

Hope you're seeing beauty and abstract designs in your everyday world!

Comments are off.

Small Miracles

I never cease to be amazed by the beauty of nature.

Today, strawberry leaves bejeweled with dew drops from our garden.

I hope that you're enjoying the season!

Comments are off.

Farm Fresh

Farm fresh eggs in wondrous shades of creamy tan to mellow rust

plus buttery light and a 50mm lens...

a combination that made me happy!

Wishing you a blessed Easter.

Comments are off.

Bead Dreams 2014

Happy day!

I recently got word that my beaded necklace, Arabesque,

has been juried into the Bead Dreams 2014 show.

I'm super pleased to be included in this amazing exhibition!

There will be pieces in the show from as far away as Russia and Japan.

I can't wait to see them.

Wishing you a wonderful week full of 

color and good news.

P.S. we're in the midst of a huge snowstorm.

I bet you can't top that bit of craziness!

Comments are off.

Seeing Beyond

An expanse of green, sparkling bokeh, and a lone droplet conjures up thoughts of vastness,

 wilderness, aloneness, loneliness, singular strength, light, enlightenment...

Maybe I think too much,

maybe you see freshly rinsed kale and selective focus on a single droplet.

Hope you have a great week full of wonder!

Sanctuary

Time travel today, back to the month of July and a city trip.

It was hot.

The kind of hot that negates the freshly-showered and clean clothes

 feeling in a matter of minutes.

A hot that lingered in shadowed alcoves.

The sun glared, cars honked, and pedestrians bustled.

I crossed the street and entered a sanctuary.

Inside it was dark with jewel-toned tinted light, and cool.

A refreshing cool that made me sigh in relief.

And, it was peaceful.

A peace born of 150 years of prayer within its walls.

I made pictures.

I marveled.

Wishing you a bit of peaceful sanctuary today and all the year through.

Wishes

Happy Valentine's Day!

Wishing you a day filled with love and sweet treats.

VanDemark Designs

For some time, I've wanted to redesign my website so that it reflected

 all the different mediums that I enjoy working with.

Well, that has finally happened, thanks to lots of work on my husband's part!

Now, at VanDemark Designs you'll find beadwork, textiles, and photography.

We still have some things to tweak and a couple images to replace...

but, please take a moment to check out the new, improved

VanDemark Designs.

If you have an old link to my website homepage, replace it with this -

www.vandemarkdesigns.com/home.html
(blog remains - http://vandemarkdesigns.blogspot.com)

Wishing you a wonderful, creative week!

Winter Rose

The delicate beauty of a rose is the perfect contrast

 to the harsh temps outside.

Hope you're keeping warm!

Bead Frenzy

There is a whole lot of beading going on in my studio

 as I'm working on an elaborate project for a show.

Since I want you to think I'm very neat and tidy,

there will be no studio photos today.

Instead, I'll tell you about what you'd see ~

a large Chinese Writing Stone Cabochon

from Gary B. Wilson Lapidary Design - it's a looker,

Swarovski crystals - the ultimate in bling,

Pyrite stone beads with an AB finish - subtle shimmer and texture,

seed beads - bags upon bags of them in a rainbow of colors,

drawings, tracing paper mock-ups, Ultra Suede,

 and the usual beading tools -

long beading needles, Nymo thread (size D), plus scissors.

If you're wondering what this amazing peacock street art mural

 has in common with my project....

well, they're both colorful,

both large (my necklace only in relative terms, of course),

and

both stop you in your tracks!

(hoping this necklace will when it's done - we'll see).

Wishing you a colorful, creative week!

Winter Dreamscapes

Reality = 20 below zero most mornings.

Sound appealing?

How about a dreamy winter wonderland instead?

That's my vote!

I hope you've got some marvelous plans and dreams for 2014,

and they all come true!

Enjoy this creative life -

it's the best!

Sightseeing

It's a mountaintop forest?  Maybe.

It's a miniature forest?  You're closer.

It's a miniature frost forest?  You're much closer.

It's a miniature frost forest on top of a Subaru?  You've got it!

I kinda love my macro lens

because it opens up a whole tiny, tiny visual world 

for me to explore.

Feeling a bit like Gulliver, today.

Hope your world is filled with wonders,

both big and small!

Thankful

Wishing you happiness and blessings

 on Thanksgiving Day!

Comments are off while I enjoy time with my family

 and lots of delicious food :)

November Dawn

It was early, and crisp.

Mist was swirling across the lake as golden 

light cut through the haze.

A magical bit of lighting,

there one moment and gone the next.

Wishing you great light,

if only for a moment!

The Changeling

In my last post, I mentioned that while teaching at ISQSC

I had a free afternoon to walk around town with my camera.

I spent part of the time chasing reflections,

which is kind of like playing with a changeling ~

magical, elusive, dancing this way and that.

Should I shoot straight on or at an angle?

In full light or shadow?  Low POV or high?

High contrast or low?  

Look for vivid color harmonies or subdued?

Question after question arose, as I tried to find logic within the

light, angles, colors, and shifting shimmer.

Yes, indeed......like playing with a changeling!

The Latest

A couple bits of goodness ~

Recently, I was featured in the Impossible Project's Analog Travelog Series.

This is the Polaroid version of my summer trip to the city,

 taken with Impossible film.

Hope you can check it out - here.

Secondly, I just got back from teaching at the 

Indian Summer Quilt Show & Conference.

Many thanks to Muriel, Marcia, the friendly guild members, and all

the enthusiastic students that I had the pleasure of working with.

It was a delightful week!!!

Wishing you joy in creating.....

it's a wonderful way to live.

Guess What?

In July, I mentioned that we've been very busy getting our home ready to sell.

Well... it's listed!

Picture a house on a quiet 175 acre lake with no public access,

 loons calling, woods filled with deer and other critters, 

plus friendly neighbors.

So, if you know of anyone looking for a gorgeous, year-around lake home

 in the Midwest's northwoods, please spread the word.

You can email me at avq@centurytel.net 

and I will get you in contact with our realtor.

Well, I think I hear my studio and the great outdoors calling :)

How about you.....

what have you been up to this summer?