Last Chance to Register for Fall eClass

Week 1 has just started in the Pixeladies’ Fall Introduction to Photoshop Elements eClass, and I will be closing registration on Friday, September 21, 2012. 

We have a wonderful group of  artists, quilters, and art quilters taking the current class, which runs for 3 weeks, along with an extra 6 months of course access to finish this self paced class at your leisure.  For more info, please click on “eClasses” in my menu bar above.

Expedition Update:  I have been accepted for the leg of the sailing expedition I wanted, which travels to both The Societies and the Cook Islands in the South Pacific in June, 2013.  This will be a 3 week trip.  Can’t wait to snorkel, see other cultures, and shop for fabric, too!

Works-In-Progress- I will be the guest lecturer/instructor at the January, 2013 Folsom Quilt Guild, so I am busy finishing a workshop project.  It is already quilted, and now I am painting it with pigment colors.  Tomorrow, I plan to quilt a second one to also color.  Keep watching for photos. 

I would love to know what YOU are working on.  Please share!  Carla

Metal Art Workshop!

Off to visit my friend, Faith, for a couple of days to work on metal and jewelry art class homework.  It is getting towards the end of the semester, so I need to get busy.

I will have lots to show when I get back, at least that is my goal.  I will keep us focused on the task at hand, so that we finish our class requirements.

So my car is packed with tools, supplies, and of course my trusty areobed with really high thread count sheets.  Faith has read on my blog that I LOVE high quality sheets to sleep in, so she told me to bring my own!  LOL!  Now that is a good friend that we can speak so honestly to each other.  LOL

Enjoy your day and I’ll see you soon with lots of pictures.  Hugs, Carla

Sedona Trip recap

Arrived home safely last night from our travels. The stop for turkey supplies on the way home was successful, so the family doesn’t have to eat tofurkey for Thanksgiving dinner now.

The colors of Sedona were brilliant- no,make that beyond brilliant! Sunset quickly became my favorite part of the day, here’s why:

No retouching or photoshop enhancement were performed on my photos. Amazing colors in the sky at sunset:

I highly recommend the place we stayed- Las Posadas Luxury B&B. The staff and owner were extremely nice and welcoming, the suite and breakfast were amazing. Be sure to check out their website.

Jessie, our concierge, was kind enough to book reservations for dinner and activities. Our favorite fine dining experience was The Silver Saddle at The Cowboy Club. Be sure to get reservations ahead of time and be sure to order their cactus fries appetizer! Joe ordered buffalo filet mignon and I had the buffalo flank steak. The chef also sends out complementary items for you to try. It was a memorable dining experience. Oh yes, the Silver Saddle also had a fine selection of wine, plus they make a delicious prickly cactus margarita. Cheers!

We also booked the Ultimate Tour from the Red Rock Jeep Tours. This was a sunset tour, we were able to see scenery off the beaten path. Our cowboy tour guide was very funny and entertaining.

Another favorite diversion was the Verde Canyon Railroad ride. Joe is a train fan, so I booked 2 first class tickets on their afternoon train. The scenery here was spectacular, plus we got to see a pair of eagles soaring above their cliff nest.

One day was devoted to geology- so we drove out to Meteor Crater near Winslow, AZ. If you stop here, be sure to take the geology tour and hike along the rim:

We also stopped near Flagstaff to hunt for fossils, then again near Winslow to obtain specimens of jasper, agate, and calcite. Joe then sped back to Sedona so we could take more sunset photos, including the first one above.

Our next stay was in Phoenix at a golfing resort, though we didn’t golf. Instead, we visited Taliesin West, which is Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture school in the outskirts of Scottsdale:

This was an interesting place, I highly recommend taking a tour if you visit. The school spends half the year in AZ and the other half at Taliesin in Spring Green, WI. I especially love the idea of student living in experimental desert shelters that they build themselves.

I cannot finish my travel recap without mentioning all the shopping that I did. I did hit two quilt stores- one in Sedona and one in Chandler. I also found a wonderful yarn and bead store in Jerome, AZ. Lots of galleries and other shopping, too.

It was a great trip! Thus said, it is always good to be home again. Last night, I lit the fire in my bedroom, jumped into the jacuzzi with a good book and snuggled into my feathered bed with wonderfully soft (high thread count) sheets. Yes, it is good to be home.

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Hugs, Carla

Trip to Sedona

In a few days, Joe and I depart on a special trip to Sedona, Arizona! The reason? Our anniversary, the 25th one, to be exact!!!

We are staying in a very nice B&B, have fun stuff to-do booked each day, plus we can just spend some quality time together! I know, I know, we already celebrated our 25th anniversary by renting that catamaran this past summer, right? Yes, that was our big trip. This one is really a last minute, let’s get away for the actual day kind of trip.

We first visited Sedona last December where I took the picture above. We only had one day there, but we loved it so much we knew we wanted to come back.

Memories of Sedona- there was this one Mexican Food restaurant we went to that had yummy food plus the BIGGEST cactus margarita I’ve ever drank! I will take a picture to show you as it is very colorful!

So it is time to think about packing. Though I still have a few day to pack, but I do want to make sure to shop for everything I need to bring along. I did purchase a rockhound book on AZ, hopefully I’ll get lucky and find some cool rock specimens to drag home.

Thank you for all the nice comments for my last cartoon. I appreciate your positive comments as I am self taught with my drawings. My last art class was in 7th grade, you don’t want to know how long ago that was! In college, I took art history classes, but no studio art. Anyhow, I appreciate your encouragement!  Hugs, Carla

Back from Seattle!

Yesterday was a traveling day for most ArtFiberFest attendees- including me. I arrived home with lots of art to photograph and share. These include my work and other artist work, too.

The experience was exciting, exhilarating, and exhausting-all at the same time!! My favorite part is meeting and connecting to people I’ve met there. I thoroughly enjoyed meeting Alma Stoller, an artist whose blog is on my “must-read” list. She has a lovely spirit about her, a gentle and kind soul. Her vendor booth sold out in a matter of minutes, but I was wise enough to head there first and buy some items.

I also met an Oklahoma gentleman named “Bird” that was lots of fun to hang out with. Turned out that Bird and I had lots of friends in common from the old rubbestamp/eraser carving days in the 1990’s, but our paths never crossed. He and I were in an eraser carving swap started in the mid 1990’s and is apparently still going strong- called Raplica. (Bird also gave me lots of info about metal art to get me going in this area. I plan to take a class on metal art jewelry next semester at a local college.)

Jana Newton, a FL educator and artist, was a breath of fresh air. We connected over buttons in the Art Asylum room one night. The Art Asylum room is a place where everybody cleans out their studios and pack up boxes of interesting stuff. We send it to Teesha (AFF organizer) who places it in the Art Asylum room. Then, if you need any art supplies, you head to this room and find what you need.

Of course, I must mention Lori and Teri, my travel mates. We stayed at an old Victorian Hotel in Port Townsend called The Bishop. We shared a 2 bedroom suite, and recommend this hotel for its cleanliness, service, proximity to restaurants, shopping and the shore. Be sure to check out Lori and Teri’s fabulous blog to see thier art.

I also met about 2-3 dozen more wonderful artists who I loved to hang out with and talk with… I think I will need to showcase some of their work and interview them for my blog so you can see what they do as well.

More later as I unpack, and finish my class projects and trades so I might share them with you. I also made a few “other” items to share including a very funny sock creature.

Hugs, Carla