Creative Arts Group ~ Three Day Weekend ~ Posting it Early ~ Explanation Provided
Heading for the Mountains in the morning where the internet connection is inconsistent, so, I'm posting this this evening, Thursday; I will monitor the post (when not fishing, or, taking pictures in the woods). Post as usual.
If anyone's looking for me, I'll be here …
© A. Mac/A.G.
… or here …
A. Mac/A.G.
… or here …
© A. Mac/A.G.
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or … at the lake above at sunset.
Will look in when I can.
Enjoy the fishing, Mac. Friday is just around the corner.
Wish I could join you...
Beautiful photos
Spring time, Stone Creek, Ocala FL.
A combination of my photos and some by our neighbors.
Great Spring time essay, Kavika.
Now THAT is Spring, and it didn't even need to follow a real winter.
Really nice, Kavika
That gets a “WOW, beautiful group of images”!
Nice images. Makes me feel a bit warmer.
Trying to find photos that are suitable for April Fools Day...
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.And lastly, to celebrate the Blue Jays winning the season-opening game against the Yankees, a die-hard, in fact a VERY hard, Blue Jays fan.
LOL, great series, Buzz.
Funny
A very impressive essay, Buzz. And your salute to the Blue Jays is great.
Cleaning out and resetting up the little 22L (5.8g) desktop tank... I have more images to post on this as I get things setup today/tomorrow.
This should be interesting, love the Buddah.
That should be a very interesting tank when completed, EG. I really like the Buddha statue next to the old tree. Very impressive arrangement.
I am anxious to see the finished setup. Well done thus far.
Was it your intention ot put koi (goldfish) in that aquarium? So that they will peacefully meditate?
Not a great snap, but you get the idea. The dirt substrate, the new filter and just getting it filled with water make everything cloudy...
An interesting bust.
To say the least.
A really interesting work of art, Hal. The imagination of the artist in creating this artwork is amazing. One you get past the individual images that makes up the bust, you can then allow yourself to see what they all together create, an older mans face. It did take me a few seconds to recognize the intended image, and I had to laugh at how it was revealed. And the framing compliments it very well.
Thank you for sharing this amazing work of art.
It is creative. However, his nose is a butt - and those two things don’t go well together. ewwe
LOL! True, but, perhaps it was the artists way of having a bit of fun with the viewers once they saw it was meant to created a face.
Is it stone? Do you know where it comes from or when it was created?
It’s a reproduction cast in resin from Design Tuscano. I like their stuff because much of it is reasonably priced. If you sign up for their mailing list they send you a free catalogue every month filled with some of the most unique items you’ll ever find. I have lots of their things.
I have one of their little alien figurines. I use him as a garden gnome.
That IS fascinating. I didn't realize it made up a head in total until I read the comments.
From our garden. Playing with a new frame app.
Nice array; I particularly like the bottom frame … a design common in French Neoclassical paintings in the 19th Century.
Thanks!
Nice, well done G2
Thank you, pink.
Well done, G.
A rose by any other name is a rose.
Thanks, Kavika
And it still smells as sweet.
Very well done, G. I really like your choice of frames for the various beautiful flowers from your garden. The last one is really impressive. And I applaud your ever improving artwork abilities.
Thanks much, Raven Wing.
Excellent job - the frames do create a vintage effect. If you were to sepia tone the lower three one would think the whole images were vintage.
Here is a Native American version of "a day at the races".....
Perfect, RW.
Thanks, Kavika. I'm glad you like it.
very cool.
Thank you, dev. Glad you like it.
Definitely very cool.
Thanks G.
Love the image, but I would like to see it framed with a frame using only colours from the image. I feel that the colour and boldness of the frame distracts from rather than compliments the image.
Thank you, Buzz. I am glad you like the image. And thank you for your suggestion on the frame.
Initially, I tried several different colors for the frame, including some from the image, and they just didn't compliment the image at all, they tended to make the image look dour and poor quality. That is why I tried a contrasting color for the frame. This was the primary image does not get lost in the wash.
If you use the frame color for the matte then revert to one of the darker colors for the frame.... Perhaps (shrug)
Thank you for your suggestion, Thomas, I sincerely appreciate it. Feedback is always welcome. (smile)
I just offer suggestions. It would seem that the splash of color as a thin line would seperate the picture from the matte and then you could either use the darker or the lighter tones in the picture. Both, I think, would be nice. But that is just my opinion: That and $2:50 might get you a drink of coffee or tea...
Thanks again for your feedback, Thomas. Coffee, Tea and Food for Thought. (grin)
I am in agreement, Mac. Trying to deny any Americans their Constitutional right to vote for ANY reason is not right. Not Democratic, and most certainly not American.
I know that there are members of Creative Arts who feel that this group is a welcome respite because it is apolitical, and taking a side politically is bound to make some uncomfortable. If you feel strongly about a political issue you should comment in the event that a seed/article about that issue is posted or post your own article or seed and lock it when you are not available. It is an issue I would be happy to comment on, as I have definite opinions about it, if you were to do so.
Understood, Buzz. But I'm not looking for debate. What MLB did today and what I suggested less than 24 hours beforehand are both events that speak for themselves.
Wild Iris and a butterfly. 9500 ft Northern New Mexico.
What is the second image?
Look like a petrified tree or a long dead gnarled tree trunk.
It is an old tree trunk. I liked the various swirls and knots. Both pictures are from one of our old camping spots at 9500 feet in the Sangre de Cristo mountains.
Great photos, Steve. The second one is very interesting.
Thanks RW. I thought it contained some rather interesting shapes.
Have a great trip !
Someone mentioned Aloe (somewhere) and mine is going to bloom.
(yes yard is a mess)
What it does look like when opened.
Wow. I had a house aloe plant for years and it didn't grow a stalk or bloom.
I have never had to do anything with them. Just throw them in the yard. Haha
The second pick was where they were. I dug them up and moved them last year. Ended up with like 20 of the plants once I dug them up.
My Aloe Vera is now in bloom as well....
The stalks are tall and very hard. There is only one bloom at this time, but, there are more stalks that have not bloomed yet. They also bloom in December, and will bloom again in July. After it blooms it will 'pup' and by July there will be more stalks and blooms.
Mine can get some sharp spines. Especially on dead, I hate to call them, leaves.
What would you call those, an appendage? Haha
Same here. I have to thin them out twice a year, as it pups like three times a year or more. Then it will get too crowded for the pot it's in. Thinning them out is not a fun thing to do, as the leaves of the plant are really sharp on the edges so I have to wear somewhat thick gloves when working with the plant. The number of pups varies with the time of the year. Winter time there are only one or two pups. In late March-early April there could be as many as 10 new pups. July, the beginning of our summer, there could be a dozen or more pups. Thinning them is a real pain in the patoot as well. But, the blossoms are a great reward. (grin)
I checked. They are called leaves.
Ah, thanks. It just didn't seem right.
I'm calling the yard police.
Love the aloe plant.
I am the only one around me that has not mowed and cleaned up the yard from winter.
The bad neighbor...
You've grass and wildflowers.... it'll wait.
Aloes today (4-3-21 -- Today's date is like a countdown!)
Pretty much what mine look like. Just lots of puppin', sproutin' and bloomin'.
Saturday it is, and one to salute the day......'White Buffalo Calf Woman'
Beautiful image
I'll second that emotion.
Thanks G.
Thank you, Buzz. And that is one of my favorite old songs.
Mine, too!
As we head towards the end of Saturday and towards Sunday …
© A. Mac/A.G
A fitting visual metaphor for "days end". And again, a thank you to all who make our Group the fine entity it has become and continues to be.
A fitting image to end the day, although for me it is still morning, but TOMORROW morning to you.
A truly beautiful photo, Mac. The clouds and the reflection on the water below is totally amazing.
Fantastic photo.
This photo was taken by my neighbor two days ago. He was trying to get a photo of the Egret and just as he snapped the photo the cormorant popped up from underwater with a fish in its beak. I told him that the chances of that happening was one in a billion.
Proving the old photographer maxim, “f8 and be there” to be right on target!
For some strange reason I can't open that photo.
How about now, Buzz.
Okay, that worked, thanks.
That is a fantastic photo. The contrast between the white and black birds is really eye-catching.
At work this morning.
Have a Great Day.
cool. where is that?
Gore Mountain, in New York's Adirondack State Park.
Nice photo.
Thank You! Usually they have a sunrise service at the top of Bear Mt. where the Gondola runs. For some reason they did not have one this year. I can only imagine the reason was Covid related. It was a beautiful morning and the Jacobs Ladder that was coming out of the clods was really nice.
Great photos, Thomas.
The Jacobs Ladder is unique in the photo.
At work doing what? What's your job?
I am, among other things, an electrician at a ski resort. Great views from the office...
Right, they sure are great views.
Happy Easter!
© CZG 2021
That is an absolutely beautiful work of art, pink. Really exceptional.
While I do not share your religious tradition, I wish you a very Happy Easter!
A portrait of a Jewish man for Easter?
Excellent painting, Pink.
My best fish of the weekend … a 16" Rainbow Trout … caught and released.
Yup. Released to allow someone else to catch and enjoy a delicious meal. Very benevolent of you. LOL
I don’t need the food and they’re too beautiful to destroy.
Good for you Mac!
Nice fish, Mac.
Thanks again to all. I will lock this one down on Monday morning.
Late to the game again. I haven't had much time for the camera lately, but I managed to get a few shots earlier.
Gray squirrel
Mourning dove
Goldfinch (with summer color coming back)
Tulips
Up close
Creeping myrtle
Prairie buttercup (wildflower)
Patch of henbit in the front yard (wildflower)
Up close
Some people consider wild yard flowers to be weeds, something to destroy. I think that's insane. I love a yard full of little flecks of color in the early spring. They're also natural food for all sorts of pollinating insects. I always miss them after I start mowing, which really cuts them back. I haven't mowed yet, though.
Great bunch of photos.
Great photos, Dig. The wildflowers are wonderful.
The wild flowers are beautiful. We have a lot of them growing right now, the field are covered in them.
Nice series, great comment. Better late than never.
Yesterday was Qing Ming Jie , known as Tomb Sweeping Day, when Chinese people visit the graves of their ancestors to clean the graves and place flowers on them, and to burn fake money and items made of or drawn on paper or cardboard to be of use to their ancestors during their afterlife. When we were living in Zhengzhou, where there were not the restrictions as there are here in Chongqing, my wife used to light a small fire outside (many people did) and feed it with fake money for her deceased father A few days ago I posted a review of a novel called The Ghost Bride (available on the Books group) that related much of the Chinese traditions and folklore of Qing Ming Jie and the afterlife.
Here are photos I took about 8 years ago of my brother-in-law and his wife preparing a mass of pictures and fake money to prepare for burning, and her lighting fire to them in a crucible in their home.
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And as a preview for next weekend's Creative Arts, here is the first photo of a photo essay I will be posting of the walk my wife and I took in a nice park yesterday afternoon, to celebrate Qing Ming Jie - this is the entrance to the park. Unfortunately it was a somewhat dreary day.
I love the customs.
Living in China has been such a fascinating experience for me - it has SO broadened my horizons. As Bilbo Baggins said when he was an old Hobbit in Lord of the Rings: "It's never too late for another adventure."
Closing this one down.
NOTE: In the event I'm heading back to the mountains this Friday, I'll post the next article on Thursday night, otherwise, business as usual.
Thanks again.