Just Give Me A Reason (piano cover)

Just Give Me A Reason (piano cover)

I think this is one of the prettiest songs I have heard in a while. A couple of weeks ago I got this song stuck in my head. What happens when I get a song stuck in my head? I teach myself to play it on the keyboard. Within half an hour of listening to it over and over again, I had most of the song down; but I struggled with the bridge. I’m still not convinced that I translated that part as perfectly as I would have liked, but I finally got a decent recording tonight. Feedback is welcomed!

Rainbow over Putnam County, TN

Rainbow over Putnam County, TN, a photo by pixygiggles on Flickr.

This double rainbow was huge. I couldn’t get it all in one frame, so I decided to try a video. Neither the photos nor the video turned out that great as far as quality, but it sure was something to see. Quite beautiful.

Free as a Bird

Free as a Bird, a photo by pixygiggles on Flickr.

I thought I would share the piece of art that I’ve been working on the past couple of days for the Coursera’s class, Introduction to Art: Concepts & Techniques with teacher Anna Divinsky. I thought that this class was just the refresher course I needed to get me back in the habit of creating art on a more regular basis and to once and for all determine what direction I want to take my art. Our assignment this week was to do an introductory piece and create an Artist Statement addressing the following:

1. Explain your process (medium and technique). How was it made? Which art materials and approached did you use and why?
2. Describe the idea behind your artwork. What story or message does it get across? What does it mean to you?
3. Why did you create it? What are your reasons for creating that specific art piece? What do you want your audience to feel and think while observing it?

My Artist Statement for this piece titled: Free as a Bird

1. Mixed media – Papermate gel pens, watercolor, collage on Strathmore Drawing paper (80lb). I first created a pencil sketch of myself from a photo, drawing the tree behind me from memory. I also sketched the bird from a random photo that I found online. Next, I drew over the sketch with a black gel pen and allowed it to dry overnight. This afternoon I completed the watercolor washes and cut out the two pieces, the tree and me, and the bird. I honestly, didn’t care for the original background I had created; so I thought creating a collage from the pieces was an acceptable solution. After painting a new watercolor background image and allowing it to dry, I pasted the pieces together using rubber cement. Finally, I drew the tree branches and music note ‘leaves’ with gel pens.

2. The idea behind this piece was my love for nature and music, the two things in life besides art that bring me the greatest amount peace and contentment. I chose to use music notes as the leaves on the tree as a subtle reflection of how the natural world has its own form of music, if you listen closely, and my own appreciation for all types of music. The bird represents the freedom I feel from creating art, music, and relaxing in nature.

3. I created this image because I wanted to get across the message that taking a brief pause out of our busy schedules to enjoy the things we love is what freedom is all about. Peace comes when we slow down and appreciate life and feel gratitude for those things in our lives that we love and that calm us.

The Moon, Jupiter, and a Drive-by Ranger

The Moon, Jupiter, and a Drive-by Ranger, a photo by pixygiggles on Flickr.

When David got back from the store, he told me to get outside with my camera. I’m glad he did because the moon was so pretty. Tonight’s waxing crescent moon sat between Jupiter and Venus. Venus had already set below the horizon, but I managed to get a couple of shots of the moon and Jupiter. I believe the two smaller stars above Jupiter are Tau and Alnath. Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong. I couldn’t resist shooting the above photo when I noticed a neighbor getting ready to leave. I love long exposure shots. Both are full-size and unedited. Click on the photos for the larger version.

Mirrored Selfie

Mirrored Selfie, a photo by pixygiggles on Flickr.

Via Flickr:
A mirrored self-portrait of myself taken at the Minister’s Tree House last June before they shut it down to the public. It’s not the best quality image which is the reason I didn’t upload it before, but I liked the side-by-side version of me. I decided to upload this one for SouPancake’s “Mirror Images” challenge. I thought, why not share it on WordPress as well since it’s been a while since I posted anything.

The month of April was busy, to say the least. David’s niece was here visiting with us, so I didn’t have a lot of time to put into blogging. Bless my inability to tackle more than one thing at a time. I’ve learned that, sometimes, I just have to “give in” to my quirks and let some things go for the sake of sanity. Thus far, the first 4 months of this year lacks productivity and a clear direction in which to focus my energy. I’ll probably be playing catch-up for the next few weeks. Bear with me.

Unexpected Gift

Unexpected Gift, a photo by pixygiggles on Flickr.

Look, a bunny! This, things like this unexpected little gift of Easter goodies sitting on my desk waiting for me this morning, this is one of the reasons why I love David so much! We’ve also gotten in the habit of leaving special hidden messages for each other on the bathroom mirror, so that they magically appear in the steam after a shower. I’m always looking for new random acts of kindness because it’s the little things that often mean so much. So tell me, what are some of the special ways you brighten a loved one’s day?

Spring, Where Are You?

Light and Shadow

The beginning of this year was much different from last year. Though I would still consider it to have been a mild winter here in Tennessee, last year’s winter was almost non-existent. Spring came very early last year. Not so much this year. In fact, earlier today – on this first day of spring – huge, fluffy snowflakes fell from the sky in a brief downpour. The last three or four weeks brought more snow showers and cold temperatures than most of the earlier weeks of winter. The tree blossoms and spring flowers suffered for it, too. The above photo was taken on March 3, 2013. This small, lone tree was the only tree blooming that day at Cane Creek park (at least, that I saw). In the last couple of weeks, the trees have slowly begun to unfold their delicate spring offerings, revealing a less vibrant display.

Yesterday, as I drove into Cane Creek park for my walk, the tree below caught my eye. After I parked my car, I walked back to take a few photos. Yesterday was more about exercise and fresh air and less about photography, but I never go to Cane Creek without my camera. Thanks to a couple of friends on Facebook, I now know that this is Saucer Magnolia, Magnolia × soulangeana.

Beautiful blossoms, but I was surprised that they had no scent! Yes, I always take the time to smell the flowers. I wonder if the lack of scent has something to do with it being a hybrid or if it’s more to do with the colder weather? My curiosity will probably lead me to research why flowers have a scent to begin with – something I never really thought about until this moment.

Traditional magnolias have a heavenly scent. One that reminds me of the plumeria blossoms of the tropics. Hmm, now I’ve spent the last 15 minutes thinking of Hawaii, writing nothing, and wondering now, where I was going with that train of thought? LOL, look a bunny!

Anyway… even though the weather forecast is calling for more snow for the next few days – a slight chance – maybe, just maybe, spring will take hold and warmer weather will be on its way.

Happy Birthday, #509!

Happy Birthday, #509!

The 509 had a special birthday party over this past weekend. The steam engine is a century old! I didn’t get to attend the party; but since I was out and about today, I did stop by to get a quick photo of the train in its birthday attire.

100th Birthday

All of my photos of the train thus far are very similar. Looking back at all the ones I had taken previously and the ones I took today makes me wonder how to challenge myself to come up with a more unique way to photograph the same subject.

Setting Sun at the Depot

This one is heavily edited. The original didn’t have nearly enough detail in the train; so I duplicated the image, lightening the area quite a bit while trying to maintain the sunset. Overall, probably not one of my best; but I liked it.

Swingin’ Revisited

I was in a creative mood tonight, so I put together this image in Corel Photo-Paint X4. It’s from a series of photos David took of me a couple of weekends ago at the park. I have always enjoyed swinging! It was my favorite past-time as a child; and anytime I get the chance, I’ll happily revisit a favorite childhood memory.

The above photo inspired me to create a GIF using the same images. I figured since I already had the layers created, why not? I chose the black and white version because the colors weren’t rendering as well as I would have liked. Black and white can be a refreshing change sometimes anyway.

The entire time I was working on these, I had that song Swingin’ by John Anderson stuck in my head. This made me laugh because that song reminds me of a visit to an aunt and uncles’ house in Alabama. My cousins, my sister, and myself sat in my cousin’s bedroom singing that song at the top of our lungs until our parents finally came sneaking down the hallway to see what we were doing. All I remember after that was a whole lot of laughing and everybody joining in to sing the song!

Granted, as kids, we didn’t really “get” the lyrics. Listening to it, now, makes me laugh even harder because I realize that the song was actually about a guy and a girl making out on the front porch swing. As I write this, David is at his desk laughing at my naïvety! It really is funny how our perception changes throughout our lives.

Always keep the happy memories alive! They are the ones that feed the soul!

A Snowy Day

This Year’s Tiny Snowman

It’s been a pretty mild winter here in Tennessee. When I woke up this morning to a little snow, I couldn’t resist the urge to go outside and build a tiny snowman. Even now, it’s still spitting snow; but I’m sure it will all melt away quickly enough by this afternoon.

Paw-prints in the Snow

Moses insisted on following me outside, briefly. These are his perfect little paw-prints. He only walked around for a couple of minutes before darting back to the porch to go in. The poor little thing tripped going up the steps and face planted on his way up. I think his pride was hurt more than anything.

Snowy Branch

Weighted Down

The bird feeders remain empty because I’ve noticed a young neighborhood cat hanging around using this area as her own personal training grounds for hunting. She’s not quite learned the skill yet, but I don’t want to make it any easier for her.

Reflections