Ham Tongue

We adopted a very sweet cat about 10 months ago from the Palm Springs Animal Shelter. I really went to look for a dog, but when I went by the cage where she had spent 6 weeks of her life, she reached her paw out through the bars toward me and I was unable to go any further. She has gained about 3 pounds since she came to live with us, and her fur is shiny and healthy now. She loves to chase a laser light for exercise, and she is very affectionate. She has added immensely to our lives as a source of love, and also of entertainment. Here she is posing with what I call ~ "Ham Tongue". Most of the cats that I have had the pleasure of sharing my home with over the years have had ham tongue on occasion. What makes me laugh so hard is that they have no idea that their tongue has gotten stuck in the "out" position, and has temporarily dried there. They continue to look at you with a haughty expression of mild distain while you are cracking up. Which, of course, makes me laugh even harder!

Does your cat ever get Ham Tongue? If you don't have a cat, please consider adopting one from a local shelter. Or, if you aren't able to adopt one, please consider giving a small donation to help out with expenses at a no-kill shelter. They do wonderful work and can always use a little help :)

A Raven's Invitation

A few days ago I was treated to a unique experience on Highway 74 at a viewpoint overlooking Palm Springs and the Coachella Valley. It was 7:00 am and I had driven up the mountain a bit to enjoy the new snowfall.

The turnout was deserted except for a single large raven who seemed very curious that I had arrived with my camera. He flew over me, I think to impress me with the size of his wingspan, and landed nearby. He looked me right in the eye and started to make some loud clicking noises (almost like he was snapping his beak together) and his head would bob up and down - trying to tell me something. I got very close to this beautiful bird and he seemed to enjoy it, always looking me right in the eye and we spent about 10 minutes communicating with each other. Then he flew up, circled me once, and landed on the parapet to enjoy the view.

He made another series of very loud clicking noises, motioning with his head, inviting me to come closer. Then he kept motioning with his wing as though he wished me to enjoy the view with him!

In the 1960s, neurologist Stanley Cobb found that ravens have among the largest brains of any birds, as well as a relatively high number of brain cells. Natural history author Candace Savage writes:

“Crows, ravens, magpies, and jays are not just feathered machines, rigidly programmed by their genetics. Instead, they are beings that, within the constraints of their molecular inheritance, make complex decisions and show every sign of enjoying a rich awareness.” My friendly raven was definitely enjoying a rich awareness of the beauty of this day, and I'm happy I got to share this experience with him!

The need to photograph

Some days I just "have to" photograph something. It is like a physical urge that I must address, and it's funny how it happens on days that aren't very good for photography.

Yesterday it really rained. The recorded rainfall for Palm Springs was 1.57 inches, a new record for December 17th beating the 1.52 inches in 1940. I was so anxious to use my camera, I took an umbrella (not for me, but to protect my precious camera) and went outside to see what I could find. The water had filled our pool to the rim and the spillover from the spa was flowing nicely:

I played with some closeups of the raindrops peppering the pool, and altered one a bit in Photoshop:

And finally, I had some fun with the way the tile inlay in the spa looked below the water disturbed from the rain and captured this:

So, in the spirit of trying to explain myself and my photographic process on this blog, I just thought I'd share - not because these are necessarily my best work, or because they are commercially viable, but because this is what photography is about for me. My ultimate goal is to create an image that captures the essence of what I am feeling at the moment so that I will remember that feeling in years to come. I imagine myself as an old woman reliving the moment by looking at the photograph and remembering the wind on my cheek, the smell of the place, perhaps the coolness or dampness as I am breathing in. If the photograph doesn't do that for me it ends up on the cutting room floor.

Today, the sky is blue again and there is snow on the mountains ☺ I am heading out the door to find something to photograph - because I NEED to!

Design Style Guide

Today I was pleasantly surprised to learn that two of my Fine Art Photographs are included in two short "One Minute to Inspire" YouTube videos promoting the best handmade home decor available online.
Color in Your Home
Red and Gold is beautifully bold

For more treasures, please be sure to visit DesignStyleGuide.net where you will find high quality home decor items such as:
Furniture, Holiday Decor, Home Accessories, Pillows & Quilts, Pottery & Glass, Wall Art, and many items Under $20!

Here is an example of a beautiful treasury that you will currently find on the site curated by Avec Dieu Couture (who makes gorgeous pillows, wine bags, and custom drapes!):

My 2009 Limited Edition Wall Calendar is here!

Featuring the Fine Art Photography of Alison Du Bois, a limited edition archival quality 2009 wall calendar (only 6 have been printed) with a certificate of authenticity signed on the back by the artist, my Wall Calendar has arrived!

This calendar has been printed by a professional lab using genuine 4-color offset ink printing on heavy-weight, glossy paper - just like wall calendars found in bookstores. Date pages are matte-finished for easy writing, are large enough to allow for plenty of notation, and include major holidays. This deluxe calendar measures 10” tall (closed) x 13” wide and has a quality metal spiral binding with a hole in the top center for easy hanging.

The exceptional quality of this calendar makes it ideal to economically enjoy these fine art photographs throughout the year and then frame the individual photographs when you are finished. The cover of the calendar is not printed on, so you actually get 13 full bleed (borderless) 10x13 photographs! Many of my most popular photographs are included in this calendar :

Cover: Autumn Avenue

January: Aspen Grove

February: Stone Arches

March: Silverton Trestle

April: Amalfi Coast

May: Mushroom

June: Tidepool Rush Hour

July: Statue of Liberty

August: Pastoral

September: Apple Cart

October: Aspen Sky

November: Valley Floor

December: Sunrise Snow

© 2007/2008 Alison Du Bois

Design Style Guide

The Design Style Guide is a collective group of artists and designers that work together to promote themselves through networking.

There are so many amazing artists in the Design Style Guide group! They use varied media, thoughtfulness, and focus to create fantastic items to enhance your home or office, and I'm so proud to be a member! I will begin featuring some of these talented artists in future posts. To view more work by Design Style Guide artists, please visit their blog at: http://designstyleguide.blogspot.com/

A website is currently in development to showcase these artists for professional Interior Designers, Decorators, and Home Stagers to find these unique works of art for their clients. Watch my posts for more information when it is ready to "go live"!
The original artwork and fine art photography in this post are my hobby. I would love it if you would please "follow my blog" by clicking the link to the right ~ ~ ~

The Workroom

I created a new listing for my Etsy shop today entitled "Treadle" http://alisondubois.etsy.com. The photograph depicting the decaying workroom of a seamstress in the abandoned mining town of Bodie, California, features her dusty vintage Singer treadle sewing machine and worn wooden table and chairs.

Along with wondering what she created in her special space, it got me thinking about the differences between her workspace and my own modern version. So, I thought I'd share some quick snapshots of my area created in a walk-in-closet...yes, losing space for clothes, shoes, and purses was hard to do, lol!

My room measures 6' 4" x 6" 10" and I admit I tidied it up a bit before taking pictures, but there is a place for everything. I find it easier to work on projects if I put things away regularly, as it gets messy pretty quickly.

My chair swivels between my jewelry workbench and my sewing/painting area. I do my soldering and patina work outside as there is no ventilation in this room (safety first, always!) I store my sterling silver, copper, brass, and gold filled wire and metal sheet in my bench drawers. The pegboard is great for keeping my tools handy. I use the shelves above the closet poles to store some other supplies.


I utilize these cabinets for my shipping supplies, polymer clay, stamps, paints (oil, watercolor, and acrylic), beads and findings, art papers, scrapbooking supplies, and miscellaneous treasures which fill up the closed cabinets that you see, too.




Okay, the secret is out, I have spilled a teeny bit around the corner into the next room with this Chinese cabinet that has a few more tiny bits and pieces:)

This is my sewing, painting, beading, etc. area. My old Kenmore sewing machine has been with me for about 30 years - I service it regularly and it works like a dream. Working on a quilt in this small space is impossible, so the dining room table is pressed into service for this activity.


I store my serger on a shelf and use the folding table between the jewelry bench and my mannequin when it is needed.

The picture on the bulletin board is a working copy of a Red-shouldered Hawk that I was fortunate to capture a picture of when he landed on the edge of the spillover from our backyard spa into the pool. I'm working on a large watercolor that I hope to finish this month. I'm more proficient with oils and acrylics - watercolour is not my medium - but I'm enjoying it very much!

I needed a bit more space to store my sewing supplies, so this little area where I enter the closet is useful.

By the way, the photographs on the walls are mine, and I enjoy changing them out by the season to pretend I am outside. The wall hanging in this corner is hand quilted by me with lovely gold thread, and I painted the small framed watercolor on the stand.





And this my laptop computer, which is old as the hills and takes forever to start up, but it is very handy for keeping track of my projects and for playing music while I work. It's also great for learning new techniques - it's amazing what you can learn on YouTube!
Thanks for taking the time to check out my creative work space ~ I'd love to read your comments, especially if you have a link to your own post of what your workroom looks like!

Best wishes,

Alison

My Coffee Table Book

I'd appreciate it if you would take a moment to vote in the Weekly Grand Champion Etsy Challenge (hopefully for my "A Collection of Photographs by Alison Du Bois" coffee table book) at:

http://etsychallenge.blogspot.com/2008/09/915-weekly-grand-champion-your-category.html

And, if you wouldn't mind too much, maybe you could forward my shameless begging request *sheepish grin* on to your email list for me ~ I'd really like to win this so I can go on to the annual contest.

My self-published photographic coffee table art book contains 31 glossy pages and measures 11 ½” by 15”. This deluxe hardcover book is printed on high quality archival (lignin and acid free) paper with high quality ink by a professional printer. The black background makes the colors really pop! This first edition book includes a dust cover. Many of the 80 photographs included in this collection are listed on my http://www.alisondubois.etsy.com/ site. The layouts include from one to four photographs per page, and photos have captions. The book is available for purchase here: http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=12706242

Thank you so much for your help, and don't forget to vote in the other categories, too, at http://etsychallenge.blogspot.com/ - I think you will enjoy trying to choose between all of the talented artists competing!