My Feet and the Fire Wave

This week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue, "Looking down at your feet", goes so well with some photos of the Valley of Fire that I wanted to show you. As you know, we went to the Valley of Fire in Nevada during Thanksgiving week. Before we went there, I had seen pictures of one part of this area that really fascinated me. I had no idea what it was called or where exactly it was located in the State Park. I couldn't find it on the map of the park. So we just tried to find it.

We were successful in the later afternoon, when the sun was already rather low in the sky. I found a sign for the "Fire Wave" and beneath it was an image of the place I was looking for. It involved a 20 - 30 minutes hike through rough terrain. No question that we made that hike - and we saw the Fire Wave in the slowly setting sun which brought out the colors of this rock formation even more.

This is where my feet come in - here you can see my hiking booted feet just above the Fire Wave:

Here is the photo of the Fire Wave without my feet - there are many pictures of it on the Internet with way more intense colors, but I wonder how much Photoshop and similar photo editing software contributed to those colors. This is what it looked like while we were there:

It's pretty incredible, right? The different colors of the layers are fascinating, and if I knew more about geology I could probably tell you here why this is so. However, I just enjoyed this sight.

This is the view to the other side (behind me) - not quite as spectacular, but still very beautiful.

Think Pink

Another Free & Easy edition of Kim Klassen's Texture Tuesday - and my contribution to this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue, where the theme is "pink" since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.

While processing this photo of one of my last cosmos - a volunteer - I used Kim's texture "kk_annabelle" in soft light at 71% and her texture "golden" in soft light at 50%. "Golden" is my favorite of Kim's textures, I use it VERY often. I like the way it softens up a photo without really changing much.

As I said, this cosmos is a volunteer. It suddenly grew out of a plant that I got from Jo's garden, a geum. The geum didn't make it, but instead this cosmos appeared. It is huge and I love the full pink color. With the dew drops on the petals it looks so pretty. The flower looks very fragile, but it stands up to the winds - an appropriate symbol to Inspiration Avenue's theme.

Anything Halloweeny

Spooky Skulls greeting card

Inspiration Avenue's challenge is right down my alley - anything Halloween, oh how I love it. I remember when we moved here I didn't know much about Halloween since we didn't celebrate it in Germany at that time (I've heard that it has become more popular over the past few years). However, it very quickly became one of my favorite holidays and, what's more, the holiday I love to create for the most.

The card on top is my favorite one because I like its (harmless) spookiness and the funny expression of the skulls that always makes me laugh.

Cat with Hat mini notecards

This little cat is part of a stamp set by Rusty Pickle, a company that unfortunately no longer exists. In their seven years of existence they offered great scrapbook paper and fun stamps. I have seldom used a Halloween stamp as often as this little cat. These are little notecards that can be used as lunckbox notes, thank you notes, little gift tags, Halloween treats etc.

Ghosts in Tree

Ghosts in a tree - another favorite. The ghosts are actually punched - I found this gorgeous punch years ago when I was still working in a scrapbook store, before the economy forced us to close shop. The wonderful tree stamp is by PSX, another company that does not exist anymore. Sigh...

Little Halloween Cat - sold!

Back to Rusty Pickle - do you recognize this little cat? Yes, they also had it on a scrapbook paper - doesn't it look super cute? Just in case you haven't noticed, I really like this little cat.

Ghoulish Greetings

This cute ghost stamp is by Savvy Stamps - and it seems that this company still exists! For this card I used the soot technique. You take a piece of glossy paper and move it closely over the flame of a candle, so that the flame just touches the surface of the paper (you have to be careful not to set the paper on fire as I did several times!). Thus the soot settles on the paper. Then you impress the dry stamp into the soot (clean the stamp immediately afterwards) and use a fixative so that the image doesn't smear. It's a fun technique and perfect for these ghoulish greetings.

Halloween Vintage Tags - sold!

You certainly have seen the fun vintage Halloween images. Well, I used them to create Halloween tags with them. Each tag looks different, and that is what I like about them the most. I'm also a real fan of these vintage images, they're cute and some of them downright adorable (like the cats).

If you want to see more photos of these cards and tags, just click on the link beneath them to see more detailed shots. 

The Faces of Washington

Don't worry, this is NOT a rant about the government shutdown!

It's time for my contribution to Inspiration Avenue's weekly challenge, and this week's theme is "faces". Since I haven't painted faces for a very long time, I can't show you anything here. So I had to think of a different approach to this challenge - and I came up with this.

Abraham Lincoln is probably one of the most famous faces in Washington, one of the most visited (not at the moment, though - but we didn't want to go there, right?). But there are also other faces on display - faces full of pain, sorrow, terror and heroism.

Like the men fighting in the Korean War.

The men of Iwo Jima

Not even faces anymore - just names, ten thousands of names on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The guards who honor the fallen soldiers who don't have faces and no names either - the unknown soldier.

And the woman who helped finding missing soldiers, giving a face to a name.

After all this gloom, there are also other faces. Faces of hope, but where the gloom is still visible. This dad who with his two sons makes music on buckets in the streets of Washington. Despite the rain they attracted big crowds with their rhythms that were so different from their environment at the National Mall.

El Dia de los Muertos

El Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), a Mexican holiday that lasts for two days (November 1 and 2), is this week's challenge over at Inspiration Avenue. During these two days, people pay their respect to their dead family members and friends. They visit the cemeteries, place food on the graves, make skulls and altars. I personally like this idea of including the members of your family who cannot be with you any longer and remember them in a festive way by celebrating.

I chose these ten tags for the occasion. I have this coffin template that I sized down for the "inside" tag. I cut the tags from black and orange cardstock. The grave tombs are a punch by Martha Stewart that embosses at the same time (RIP). The other images are stamps that I used.

Coffin shaped tags available in my Etsy shop

Celebrating Fall Colors

Inspiration Avenue is all into fall, and so this week's theme is "Celebrating fall colors of orange, yellow and brown". Oh bliss. May I add a little bit of green as well, please.

A couple weeks ago Jo and I went to the National Heirloom Expo here in town. It was a feast for the eyes, the nose and yes, if we had eaten there, the tasting buds. There was one building at the expo that was dedicated to pumpkins and gourds - at least so it seemed when you entered the building.

The heart of the expo certainly was this pyramid of gourds, squash and pumpkins:

But when you walked around this building - and we did go into every little corner of it - you saw other things apart from pumpkins and gourds that showed the glory of autumn - all heirloom, of course.

Flowers were all over the place as well - and they fit perfectly the color scheme of orange, yellow and brown.

Woodland

When I first read about this week's challenge over at Inspiration Avenue I wasn't quite sure whether I would participate this time or not. But of course the theme was walking around my mind and silently working its magic.

I have always loved the woods and I always will - be it the beautiful mixed forests in Germany, the dark redwood forest in the northern part of my state or the rain forest in the Pacific Northwest.

But then I remembered the piles of wood that you find in or close to the woods in Germany. The wood would be cut to the (almost) same size and then piled neatly - after all, we're in Germany, so it has to have its order! As children, my brother and I loved to climb on and walk along them. When I grew older I often sat there with my back against the pile, soaking up the sun. They were there, every season.

They were particularly beautiful in winter. Some winters were so cold that icicles would hang from them. If it was a good winter, the wood pile would be covered in snow, the sun would dance over it and paint beautiful little patterns with light and shadow and cast its warm light over it.

Kodak Moment

We all know this term, "Kodak moment".

Kodak just recently celebrated their 125th anniversary, and this is reason for Inspiration Avenue to feature the Kodak moment this week. The Urban Dictionary describes a Kodak Moment  as "a rare, one time, moment that is captured by a picture, or should have been captured by a picture."

For me personally, the Kodak moment still goes a little bit deeper. While what is said above is true to me as well, I also feel a Kodak moment touches my heart, creates some kind of connection. It is more than just a picture, a snapshot. It is something that is deeply connected with me, with my deepest inner feelings, perhaps with my soul.

This connection, the touching of what lies within me, makes this photo my all-time favorite.

It was taken in the Arizona Sonoran Desert Museum near Tucson a few winters ago. Other than at our first visit, the cougars (or mountain lions) weren't sleeping on their rock, but were quite active that afternoon. Since I have a real weakness for them, I stayed there for a long time, observing them. I eventually figured out that they probably were mother and daughter, but of course I am not sure. I was fascinated by them.

At one time, this cougar went up to her rock and lay down. I thought she was going to sleep, but instead she just watched us. Just staring at us. Many people left by that time (it wasn't interesting enough, I think, no more action), but I stayed, looking back at her. She didn't look away which I had initially thought she would do. We just looked at each other, I was probably muttering something silly like "aren't you a beauty" etc. Anyway, this was the moment when I also started to take pictures of her, and this is the one that shows that moment in the truest way. When I look at it I still feel this, though brief, connection with this wild animal who probably never had seen the wild in her life. I felt my heart going out to her, I imagined to see a tiny sliver of her soul in her eyes.

It was my Kodak moment.

Joie de Vivre

"This week share with us what brings you joy!", Inspiration Avenue asks us.

"What a nice challenge", I thought. "That shouldn't be difficult."

And it wasn't.

There is so much in my daily life that brings me joy - little things, big things.

Like this black-crowned night heron that I see so often when I walk around my lake. Of course it's not always the same one, but I do think of him (or her) as my little friend, and it's a highlight every time I see this beautiful bird.

And talking about birds - I love the view out of my studio window. It goes right to the garden and the bird feeders, so that I can observe our feathered friends, and that brings me tons of joy.

Especially when an oriole lands here.

Or this little titmouse who looks so darn cute.

But there are more than birds - squirrels, of course. They enjoy chewing on the moose antler that I brought from Maine six years ago. They are pretty noisy chewers! 

I enjoy taking pictures of the moon and let her sit on the wire or be a pole dancer. If the pictures turn out pretty fine, that's an extra slice of joy!

Of course I enjoy my garden as you have seen in so many posts before. I felt tremendous joy when finally, at the end of August, my seeds of "Heavenly Blue" morning glory turned into the first flower. By now there are so many more of them climbing up the trellis that I feel like living in Provence.

Joy is to be able to bike to my favorite nursery and buy flowers. Priceless (well, not quite....).

Joy is to play with my family. One of the newer games we enjoy is Sumoku. Kaefer's best friend Becca is the real master of this game - she even beat the Geek!

Living off my garden - turning the harvested vegetables into delicious sauces, soups and meals - is a BIG joy in my life. Seriously, nothing tastes better than the food you grow yourself.

I don't always enjoy cooking, but most of the time I do. Especially - see above - if I can use super fresh ingredients, preferably from my garden. Then turn them into something delicious, like this tomato mozzarella gratin. Joy of eating... 

... accompanied by good wine. Ah, the joys of life!

A deep satisfying joy is the return of my creativity. Over the past two weeks I have spent more time in my studio than all summer long, creating tags for Halloween, greeting cards and journals. I haven't returned to painting, though. However, Kaefer requested a "custom order" - an elvish mixed media painting featuring Galadriel. Now, that will be a challenge!

Halloween Cemetery Coffin Tag

But what or who brings me the biggest, deepest, richest joy? 

She.

The Bridge Over the Bay

When Inspiration Avenue's prompt was "bridges" this week, for someone living just a mere hour north of San Francisco the choice wasn't difficult at all.

It had to be the Golden Gate Bridge. This beautiful orange-rusty red bridge that has spanned the San Francisco Bay  for more than 75 years. The direct way up north from the city. The direct way into the city if you come from the north.

At sunset the bridge glows in the warm light. From Conzelman Road on the Marin Headlands you can see San Francisco - on a clear day. I especially like it when big container ships cross under the bridge.

However - clear days don't always happen in San Francisco. More often than not the bridge is at least partly covered in fog.

This is the first view of the bridge when you come from the north on US 101. Sausalito is the last exit before the bridge, and from there you can head up Conzelman Road to get the fantastic views of the bridge from the west (like the photo on the very top of this post).

Sometimes you can't see the top of the pillars because of the fog.

Walking across the bridge usually is rather chilly, even in summer. And it takes quite some time. However, you can see details of the bridge that otherwise, if you sit in a car, just pass by. It's such a fine construction.

The enormous cables

From the south - i.e. from the city - the view of the bridge is beautiful as well. Here, you can see the bridge from Baker's Beach:

If you go up Lincoln Avenue, the bridge is hidden behind trees. If you walk further, the view of the bridge is different, but fascinating.

This is also the first view if you come from the airport via 19th Avenue

Sometimes the traffic on the bridge is horrific.

 At night, of course, she's a beauty.