Texas Reds Festival 09

Photos from Texas Reds Festival '08

World Wide Sketch Crawl

Bryan, Texas

Pat & Cecelia

Carnegie Library & LaSalle Hotel

I hope that you are out enjoying the big Texas Reds Festival in downtown Bryan. Steak, wine, lots of entertainment, and things going on for all ages. A big concert tonight to top it all off.

I'm not up to going this year. The heat and the walking would be too much after my "little episode" a couple of weeks ago-on D-Day of all things! Wish I could go today. But, they have downtown blocked off and you have to take a shuttle from Blinn, if you want to see anything, or park far off. Last year, there was handicapped parking, but it was still too far for some of us to walk, and the EMS people took us from the parking lot to the LaSalle Hotel on one of those little car things! I wondered if they had planned better for handicapped people this year.

Last year, the Festival occured during the World Wide Sketch Crawl, so Pat and I went, but we couldn't take the heat then, either. We tried! You can look back in my Older Posts for last June, and find my account of our Sketch Crawl and what little we saw of the Festival. I know it was nice, but it needed to be at a cooler time of the year, for some of us who are not so hardy.

But, in Texas, there really isn't a good time for outdoors. It's either too cold, too hot, too dry, too windy, too wet, too stormy, or something. Festivals that can hit on great weather are really lucky!

This year, it is really hot and dry here. People are begging for rain. I guess I will have to paint another rain dance. (It worked the last time!) Of course, we don't want a hurricane, but, this time of year, sometimes that is what it takes to get rain. A gentle tropical storm, maybe? A really mild one.

It's sad to hear that the art work has been taken out of the MSC while they remodel. That's a really poor decision that has a lot of people upset. Wish they would reverse their decision and just freshen up the MSC with new paint or whatever, and keep it like it always has been. That's such a big tradition of A&M.

If you get a chance, go over to the Art Center in College Station and see the Members Show. Of course, I didn't get to enter this one either. I planned to work on my entry, and got sick instead! Always something it seems. I guess the next opportunity is for next fall.

Be sure to check out my sidebar with lots of information and things to enjoy.

Thanks for reading and sharing, and for joining my Followers or Mail List.

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Speaking of Sketch Crawl, the next one is Saturday July 11, 2009. LaSalle Hotel in Bryan, Mud Creek Pottery in Calvert.

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Thinking especially today of Gwen Shook, former Hearne High teacher, as she battles illness- and Paul Odle, the author of "Memories Around The Mill" as he recovers from surgery in Oklahoma. Many enjoy Paul's stories of growing up in Yukon, Oklahma.

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Friday Night Date

Friday Night Date

8.5" x 11"

pencil

There was a comment on FaceBook today stating that they remembered the days when weekends meant dating and hanging out with friends. I still remember those times, too, although the person reminiscing is a lot younger than I am.

I did this little pencil sketch a while ago, remembering a Friday night date when I was a teenager in Calvert.

A younger girl in our group had a date with a boy from the next town. He didn't have a car. But his friend had a car. The guy with a car was willing to double date, but he didn't have a date. So, the girl asked me if I would like to go. My friends all told me to go. I was a bit hesitant because I was shy, couldn't think of clever conversation, and this was the first boy from out of town, that I had not grown up with, who I would be going out with.

We went to the Eloia to see a movie, which was okay because we didn't really have time to go out of town and be home by 10 p.m. The movie did the talking for us, so we didn't really have to say much. I think he was just about as shy as I was.

So, here we are, in my drawing, sitting in the car after the show, parked in front of the old abandoned movie theatre beside the bank. The sign from the Eloia and the street lights light up the night. Notice that the car is not parallel parked. At that time, our wide Main Street, which was also the highway, allowed cars to just pull in. You can see the other couple in the back seat through the rear view mirror, and their knees on the seat of the car.

My date was really cute , but, as I said, I think he was as shy as I was, so there wasn't much talking. Thankfully, the other girl was lively and talkative, so I just listened. Imagine my surprise when my date leaned over and kissed me! I didn't know what to do! It was a sweet, tender kiss and I almost passed out!

In our little group, we had talked about what to do if a boy tried to kiss you, and how to kiss. But, at this time, I was at a loss as to what to do! What do you do with your nose. And should you let a boy kiss you on a first date. All those big questions that people encounter as they grow up and start to date.

I worried about my manners and felt that I didn't know what to do or order when eating out. And I felt so stupid, waiting for a boy to come around and open my door for me. I thought that I didn't have enough experience at eating out. I was very uncomfortable at this business of dating a stranger. I had dated before, but it was always with the boy I started going out with in elementary school, and had known all my life.

On top of that, what if they didn't like you. Or you didn't like them. Or if you did something stupid like tripping and falling or if you needed to go to the bathroom! And what about the other couple. What if they didn't want to go home yet, and you needed to be at home earlier. So many problems!

Yes, I remember dating and hanging out with friends on weekends and every day. We were a small school in a small community, and most of us grew up together and are still friends. It's sad to think of those who are no longer with us. We did have some good times .

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Congratulations to Kathi Appelt! See her link in my sidebar under Artists and Authors. There was an article about her latest book in "The Texas Observer". See "What The Woods Knew" by Robert Leleyx dated April 3-09 at http://www.texasobserver.org/. Interesting review of her book, "The Underneath".

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Lots of things going on locally tonight. Hope you are involved in some of them.

In downtown Bryan, they are showing the movie "Grease" tonight as part of the First Friday festivitites.

At Rudder Hall on campus, Karl Rove and Juan Williams are appearing. That should be very interesting.

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Monday April 6

National Tartan Day-Wear your tartan! If you don't have one, look in my sidebar and you can find a link to a place where you can design your own tartan. I still like the one that I designed last year on that site.

Brazos Valley Art League-meets at noon at the Art Center in College Station.

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Great News for Stork Watchers!

The storks are back in Poland!!!

Go to my sidebar and see the list of sites under Stork Sites. Mama and Papa stork have returned to the nest where all the babies died from a fungus a couple of years ago. That was so sad! Last year, the adults didn't return to the nest at all. But, now a pair of storks has taken up residence in the nest, and the webcams are working.

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Join us for the 22nd World Wide Sketch Crawl

Saturday April 11, 2009

http://www.sketchcrawl.com/

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Thanks for reading and sharing!

Happy St. Paddy's Day! Lunch Time At The Workshop

Lunch Time at the Workshop

Plein Aire Painting Workshop in Calvert, Texas

with V....Vaughan

February 21, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope that you're wearing your green today so that you won't get pinched! And I hope that you are celebrating and having a fun day today. May the luck of the Irish be with you. And may you catch a leprechaun and get yourself a pot of gold that never runs out. (A lot of us could use one of those, especially these days! Where are you. magical little man with your big pot of gold!)

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Photos From Lunch Time at the Workshop

Top Photo- V....'s painting demonstrating shapes and values. She looked across the street to paint the awning at what was once the Western Auto Store. This is the painting she referred to when assigning homework.

Second Photo- Another of the resident cats at Mud Creek Pottery welcomes customers at the cash register. He seems to be posing, waiting on someone to paint him or photograph him. This is the same cash register that was in Conitz Dry Goods Store for many years.

Third Photo- Workshop participants took time out for a photo in Mud Creek Pottery. On the couch, left to right, Barbara, Toni, Kerrie. Standing, left to right, SuZan, Cecelia, Sonny, Virginia.

Fourth Photo- Lunch at the Wooden Spoon. Toni, Barbara, Cecelia, Virginia, and SuZan.

Fifth Photo- After eating, the group stopped in to look at several shops on their way back to Mud Creek Pottery. In this photo, Jody Powers gives her welcome to new customers to V...., Barbara, SuZan, and Toni. Earlier in the morning, particpants had enjoyed kolaches from the shop, Zamykal Gourmet Kolaches, while V.... painted the sunrise.

Sixth Photo- Three alumni from the tv program, "Texas Country Reporter", gathered in Mud Creek Pottery for a photo before the afternoon session of the workshop. V.... was on the program last spring as she returned to her family farm to paint for one last time. She also attended the Texas Country Reporter Festival recently. Sonny was on the program in 1997. And Jody was on the program this same weekend as the workshop. They noted that the programs are rebroadcast from time to time, so their segments can still be seen. Also, DVDs are available on the Texas Country Reporter website.

By lunch time, the sun was out and the temperature was dropping after the cold front passed. We had experienced quite a few different situations from spectacular clouds all the way to clear blue skies during the day.

Next photos: Painting Main Street

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I hope that you will subscribe to my blog, sign my Guest Book, and add yourself as a Follower of my blog. The Guest Book is at the bottom of this page. The subscribe button and Follower section are both in the sidebar on the right. They are easy to do.

And, if you are interested in drawing and painting in this area, I hope that you will join the FaceBook group or the Yahoo group for Brazos Valley Sketchers. There are pictures on both sites.

Sketch Crawl will be here soon, Saturday April 11. Make plans to join in, wherever you are!

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Thank You for Reading and Sharing!

I appreciate you!

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Remember The Alamo

Alamo Ghosts

photo by Joan

Did you see any movies about the Alamo yesterday, or hear any stories on tv, read something in the newspaper, yesterday? I didn't. One person sent me something from YouTube about it by e-mail.

It was 173 years ago that the battle of the Alamo ended. And soon the cry "Remember The Alamo" came about as Texans and others battled for freedom. April 6, 1836 is another day that should be remembered, along with dates like December 7, 1941. But, as time passes, there is less said to honor the people who gave their lives and to help us remember our history.

The photos above were taken at the Alamo a few years ago by my daughter. She and a friend and their children were visiting San Antonio. They heard about a ghost tour that started at the Alamo, and they joined the tour.

The top photo shows tourists, on the right, waiting for the tour to start.

But, when we got the pictures developed, there were other figures on the left. A group that was not there, or at least visible to my daughter and the group.

The photo has faded some, but, when we first got it, you could clearly see several men dressed in the uniforms of the Mexican soldiers, facing toward the center of the picture. They were so clear, that I thought that they must be reenactors, standing near the wall. I thought that there was a man with light brown pants and a white shirt facing them. I don't see that anymore, and, instead, there is a red image on the scan of the photo. I used Quick Fix on this one to try to bring it out a little more, but that just darkened parts of it. You can see slight images of some figures on the left, where the Mexican soldiers seemed to be.

The bottom picture is the same photo, scanned and cropped to eliminate all but the "ghostly" figures. I didn't use the Quick Fix on it.

I wish I had had a scanner and computer when we first had the pictures developed so that we could see the images better now.

I never did get to go in the Alamo, but I drove by it frequently back in the 1960s. I thought it was sad to have built all those buildings around it.

I did, however, stop by Monument Hill at LaGrange a few times, and that was impressive, too.

We certainly should remember the Alamo and all the events and people that went into making our great state-and country.

Remember The Alamo

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I hope that you got to go to First Friday in downtown Bryan last evening, and to the great band concerts at A&M this week, and today. I would have loved to have gone! There was a convention of bands and band directors at A&M this week, with one big concert on Kyle Field this afternoon to culminate activities. The U.S. Navy band and others were included with concerts during the week. What a great experience! Maybe I can go next year.

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If you are going to be in the Austin area Saturday April 11, 2009, be sure to go by Book People's booskstore on 6th & Lamar (603 N. Lamar) to a book signing with Kathi Appelt and Cynthia Leitich Smith. The event is from 1-3 p.m. Bring your friends and family! There will be brief readings, interesting commentary, and signing by both authors.

The event celebrates the success of Kathi's book, a Newberry Award Winner, "The Underneath", and the release of Cynthia's new book, "Eternal".

Please RSVP by 3/22 to help them plan for the event.

cynthia@cynthialeitichsmith.com

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Congratulations to all the winners in the Brazos Valley Art League Show! Included in that group is Jack Holloway from Hearne and Mary Waldson from Gause. I'm especially excited to see that Mary earned both 1st and 2nd place in Non-Professional Oils and Acrylics. Mary was a participant in the first Plein Aire Painting Workshop with V.... Vaughan in Calvert.

If you are in the area, be sure to go by to see the show at the Art Center in College Station.

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If you are in this area, and like to draw or paint, be sure to click on the Join link at the top of my sidebar to join the group I started, Brazos Valley_Sketchers. If you are on Facebook, there is another group there, Brazos Valley Sketchers that you might want to join. I know that we have a lot of people who love art in this area. Lots of teachers and students, professors, professional artists, hobbyists, etc. in this area who would enjoy things like Sketch Crawl, plein aire painting, etc.

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If you haven't joined my group, or added your name to my Followers list, or subscribed to my blog, or even signed my Guest Book at the bottom of my page, it is really easy to do. Please let others know who might be interested.

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Have a great weekend!

Remember the Alamo!

I wonder what people in Texas were thinking and feeling this day in 1836.

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Happy Father's Day

Indianola Courthouse at Sunset

Family Photo

We don't really observe Father's Day in our family anymore. The fathers all seem to have died. I don't recall that we ever celebrated that day very much. We would get the fathers a card, and a gift like pajamas or a tie. Sometimes we would make something, which really wasn't appreciated. Gifts were taken, with thanks, then put away in a drawer to save for the possibility that they might have to go to the hospital, or if they happened to run out of their closet full of ties.

We often had our special meal of red roast and red gravy, with some of the men being served their favorite, fried oysters and oyster stew, with crackers. Most of the ladies and the children were not going to eat that!

Of course, there was church before that Sunday Father's Day meal.

We had a lot of men in our family who were not fathers. Many, who married, didn't have children. And, many didn't get married to begin with. It took them all to help raise the children, of those who did have families.

In later years, Daddy liked to barbeque, then take a nap before going out to check the cattle. He would put a little stool beside the barbeque pit outside the back door, put a lot of lighter fluid to get the fire going, then put on the chicken, weiners, or hamburger patties. They always were black and tasted like lighter fluid. But he loved to do that. He would sit in the hot Texas sun, tending the fire, and sipping cold "sky juice", as he called water. That was from his Aggie days.

The picture above is one of my favorites. It shows my father, carrying my son, on the old foundation of the courthouse at Indianola, about sunset. This was probably about 1965.

If you are a father, I hope that you had a wonderful day!

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It's just around the corner!

The 19th World Wide Sketch Crawl is Saturday!

Click on the Sketch Crawl logo on the top of the page, for more information and to go to their website.

I hope that you will join in! Remember, it's free, its' worldwide, it's for everyone, all ages, all levels, all media, families, groups, or individuals-just everyone, all over the world, all at the same time, drawing/painting/recording their surroundings through art.

Locally, we will meet at the Frame Gallery in downtown Bryan to register, then gather at the LaSalle Hotel, if anyone needs coffee and such! From there we can see who is working and where they want to work. Then we will spread out and start drawing the Brazos Valley.

We'll spend the morning and afternoon sketching.

Lunch is on your own, or a group could go together, if they want to. The Texas Reds Festival will be going on downtown Bryan, so there will be plenty of food to eat at the festival or at local restaurants.

After working, people can get together at the Frame Gallery to share experiences and their work.

There will be entertainment downtown, so, if people want to hang around and do the festival, they are welcome to do that.

After the Crawl, participants can either post their own work on the Sketch Crawl website, or they can add it under my listing for Bryan/College Station. They can also add it to their own website, blog, or places like Flickr.

People in the Calvert area, can do the same thing, but meet at Mud Creek Pottery on Main Street. If anyone is partial to kolaches, they might be sure to check out Zamykal Kolaches on Main Street, to start the morning. There are other eating places, there as well.

Hopefully, people in other communities will start their own Sketch Crawls for their areas, or they can work on their own, if they want.

Let's draw the Brazos Valley while other people are drawing their part of the world! I think we have plenty of material here to choose from.

Let me know if you need more information, or if you would like to join us in this area.

I would love to see what you create!

So get out your pencil and paper, or watercolors, markers, pens, paint, or whatever you want to work with and join in on Saturday.

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Texas Scottish Festival June 6-8, Arlington, TX

World Champion Gregor Edmunds

Participant in World Highland Games Championship

Texas Scottish Festival

June 6-8

Arlington, Texas

http://www.texasscottishfestival.com/

That exciting time of year is here, when people are busy getting ready for the Texas Scottish Festival and World Championship Highland Games to be held at Maverick Stadium in Arlington. This is the University of Texas at Arlington stadium. People are coming from all over the world to participate and to enjoy this festival. It sounds like a really interesting and fun weekend.

While it has a Scottish theme, this event is for everyone.

I've added some links in the sidebar to the Festival, to some of the vendors, and to some of the many outstanding musicians who will be performing. Look under Music to find the Musicians. I thought you might enjoy hearing samples of some of their music.

Gregor Edmunds, shown above, is going to be the "prize" date in a version of "The Dating Game". Single lassies, ages 24-35, are eligible for the Scottish Dating Game. (Be prepared to answer questions!) The lassie who is the winner of that competition will win an escorted dinner date with the 6' 4 1/2" , 31 year old athlete from Scotland. You can read more about that on the TSF website. I also wrote about it previously on my blog.

Festivities get under way on Friday night with the Calling of the Clans and a Ceilidh (party).

Look over the page of activities on the TSF website and you are going to find things for children including a rock climbing wall and a bungee-strap kind of thing. A ren faire type of group will do a sword fighting demonstration, there will be coloring, a dog show, and opportunities to learn more about Scotland and family history.

Clan tents will offer things from fellowship, to help with locating your clan and ancestors, Gaelic, and, of course, there will be plenty of music and a Highland Dance Competition.

Speaking of contests, another opportunity to compete will come in the photography contest.

Saturday and Sunday will be filled with food, fun, and competition.

On Sunday morning, there will be a special kirking (church service).

Some of the food that will be available will include Heilian Coo Burgers from vendors Oz Highland Farms. They raise their own special Highland cattle. You can check out their website at http://www.ozhighlandfarm.com/beef.html .

Caledonian Kitchens is another vendor that will be there. This year, they are adding fish and chips, Scotch eggs, corndogs, Irn Bru, and hotdogs to their other food items that include their own special recipe for haggis and Irish Stew. Check out their website at http://www.caledoniankitchen.com/.

Another vendor will be bringing sweet treats such as their own special toffee. Brown's English Toffee has a website at http://www.brownsenglishtoffee.com/ .

Many will enjoy the largest pub tent in Texas, and all the many other vendors bringing food, refreshment and wares to the festival.

Birds of prey, a medieval Scotland area, Scottish fiddle workshop, Scottish miltary living history encampment, a "bonniest knees " contest, Celtic harp workshop, Scotch ale brewing competition, shortbread contest, Scotch whisky tasting and seminars, and fireworks, and much more can be enjoyed during the festival.

If you think that you may have a bit of Scottish or Celtic blood in you, you will want to look up your clan tent and get involved. Even if you don't have a clan, or know your family history, there are people there who will welcome you and try to help you find your roots.

If you are already into your Celtic heritage, you will want to wear your kilts and sashes, and enter into the spirit of the festival. This is one of the largest Scottish gatherings in the United States and is in its 22nd year.

Some of the entertainers are Alex Beaton, Ed Miller, Margaret Gravitt, Smithfield Faire,Jed Marum, Hugh Morridon, Colin Grant-Adams, Needfire, Jiggernaut, Brian McNeill, Seven Nations, The Killdares, Scottish Rogues, Beyond the Pale, Seamus Stout, Clandestine, and the Quebe Sisters Band. This is not the whole list. You can find that on the website. These are the ones that I have found links for and have in my sidebar under Music.

I'm throwing in a link for Craig Ferguson as well. After all, he was a drummer in a band, and has performed with drums when he has had bands on as guests. I haven't heard that he will be there, but I just found his link on one of the musician's page. He's a funny fellow, and I thought you might enjoy seeing a link to his page. He's certainly Scottish, and now a new citizen of the U.S. I always enjoy his program and maybe you do too.

Hope that you will get out and take advantage of this wonderful opportunity, if you can get to the area.

The weekend actually kicks off on Thursday with a Scottish Invasion at a restaurant. The lads and lassies will gather at a restaurant, many in their Scottish attire, for an outing before the festival starts. This is a very active group!

I'll be there, in spirit. I'll just have to wait for the pictures, all the e-mails from the group, and look at the links in my sidebar. It sounds like a really fun event, and the weather seems like it will cooperate with lots of sunshine.

Ticket information and times can be found on the TSF website.

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Artfest

on Friday

Downtown Bryan, Texas

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Get ready for the 19th World Wide Sketch Crawl . Let me know if you would like to participate!

Saturday June 21 Let's Draw The Brazos Valley!

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Let me know if you see something of interest to you. I do appreciate your comments and your support!

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I just have to mention the passing of Bo Diddley. I wasn't that big a fan until we got to see him here at Wolf Pen Creek Ampitheatre a few years ago. People called him and called him to come out on stage, while the warm up act played on and on. From our vantage point on a little hill overlooking the stage and the creek, we could see Bo Diddley, just leaning on the railing of the balcony behind the stage, feeding the ducks that floated around on the water. Once he started playing, finally, well, that was a blast! I never had an opportunity to go to those kind of concerts when I was young and Bo Diddley and the other musicians of that type were becoming really popular. So, that was really fun, to me. Except that the rest of the family kept wanting to go home, it got so late before Bo came out. We still talk about the time that we got to see Bo Diddley.

I always liked most of that kind of music, but my favorite had been Muddy Waters. Drove my parents crazy with my music. "It will never last," they said of rock and roll, and rhythm and blues. I think that I knew that it wasn't such great music, but it was fun, and it shocked the grown ups! They just about died when we did the Dirty Bop in the living room! And, of course, that made it just that much more fun.

I hated to hear about Bo Diddley. The younger generations aren't going to know what they missed by not being able to hear and see the old stars like Bo Diddley.

Now, I'm the one who says, "This racket will never last!" when I happen to hear the popular sounds of today.

I'm glad that we do have records, video, CDs and DVDs that will preserve those stars of the past and their work.

A Simple Print

Angel From A Crystal Star

6" x 8"

block print

Summer vacation is just a few days away. At least school is out here for the students on Thursday. I guess that I should have posted this project during school time, but, maybe, if you are looking for a Vacation Bible School project, or something for your kids to do at home, this one is pretty simple and kids seem to like it. Teachers may find this useful for another school year.

Personally, I don't think that I have the patience to do a long printmaking project with traditional materials, so this worked great for students, and for me. I have done the more traditional, longer methods, but it is not one of my favorite things since it really tries my patience.

Materials

1. old newspapers to cover work surface

2. pencil or ball point pens (old pens that no longer work are best!) You can even use a nail, or anything that has a point that you can cut into styrfoam with.

3. styrfoam trays (like the ones that are used to put meat , tomatoes, etc. on at the grocery stores. ) I made friends with the butcher who let me have a good supply of these for students, and also you might be able to buy them for a small cost. I've also seen them offered in art supply catalogues from time to time. They work great for palettes, and other things too!

4. Scratch paper

5. Brayer (you could also use a spoon or other old object for applying the ink)

6. Rolling pin (an old wooden rolling pin would be best. You don't want to use a rolling pin that you would later use for cooking! )

7. Block Printing Ink (your choice of colors) I like to use the water based Speedball Block Printing inks. Starting with one color on one design as I did above is the easiest.

8. Block Printing paper

I like to use Speedball Block printing paper, but you can use anything you like or might have. Even a heavy paper towel! You just want to be careful to avoid using a paper that is so fragile that it will tear, or one that is so thin that the ink will go through easily.

9. Paper towels and something like Wisk, hand soap, Windex, or even Amway's LOC to clean up with.

10. Scissors

11. (optional) If you have some kind of rack to place the prints on while they dry, that would be good. If you don't have a special drying rack for pictures, you could use something like an old shelf from a closet, one of those metal affairs, a plastic milk crate-the box type with the holes in it, or you could even hang a clothesline away from traffic, and use clothespins to hang the prints. Drying time isn't all that long, if you use the water based inks. Usually they are ready the next day.

Procedure

1. Use scratch paper and pencil to draw your design and plan. Remember that all letters and numbers have to be backward or, when you print, they will look like you are looking in a mirror!

2. Cover your work space with newspapers and gather all materials.

3. Trim the edges or lip off your styrfoam tray (plate)

4. Draw your design from the plan onto a styrfoam tray. (plate)

5. Once you are sure of your design, use pencil, pen, or other tool to deepen the lines in your plate. Some lines may also need to be wider. Varying the lines makes them more interesting.

Be sure that you don't press too hard or you will go all the way through the styrfoam, leaving a hole. If that happens, work with it, and make something out of it. Or, you may want to start over.

6. Use a seperate styrfoam try to put your ink in. Squeeze out some on the stryfoam tray, then spread it out fairly evenly with a spoon or your brayer. You don't want it too deep or too thin.

You may have to test your brayer in it, then spread that on some scrap paper in order to know just how much ink to use.

7. Ink your plate. To do this, use the ink of your choice on your brayer and cover the plate (design on styrfoam tray) with an even coat of ink.

8. Print. Place the inked plate on the block printing paper. Try to center it, leaving a nice border, depending on the size of your plate and the paper. Also be careful to not wiggle the plate once it has been placed on the paper.

9. Roll. Apply gentle, smooth pressure by rolling the rolling pin, or a spoon, over the plate. You can protect your tool by using some newspaper on top of the plate. That will minimize any paint that might come out from under the plate.

As an alternative to the rolling pin, you can use a spoon and just rub, in a circular motion, over the plate. You do want to be sure that all of the areas on the plate have touched the paper, evenly.

10. Pull the print. Carefully pull the plate away from the paper. It should be a bit sticky. Pull from one edge out, slowly.

11. Hang the print to dry.

12. Once the print is dry, use a pencil under it to write the title in the center, your name on the left, the date and print number on the right.

13. If you desire using more colors in a print, you will need to make a seperate plate for each color. This becomes a bit more complex, but will work just fine, once you plan your design, and have done a simple one color print to understand how printmaking works.

Another thing that you can do is to add touches of color with a brush and acrylic paint, watercolors, or any medium that you would like to use, depending on what you are trying to create.

14. You can use this technique to make cards, book plates, pictures, stationary, etc.

15. To clean up, I like to use Wisk, or Amway's LOC, and Windex. That is for tables and brayers. The water based ink should come off hands with just soap and water.

In my design above, I was demonstrating this for a class. Somehow, a hole appeared in my plate, so I decided that I could use this for a Book Plate, and just leave that area blank. I planned to use calligraphy to fill in my name, book title, or whatever I wanted to add later.

This is one of my drawings of girls that I have always liked to do, but this one was done as a print, with black ink.

Once a color has been used on the tray, it can be washed off, dried, and another color can be used. They can be reused as long as desired, as long as the tray doesn't crack from too much use or pressure.

If you should decide to use oil based block printing ink, you will also need solvents to clean your plate and equipment. Look at the tube of ink or check out what is recommended for use with oil based inks. After using the oil based things, I still use my usual cleaning products to remove the solvents from tables and tools. You will also need to see if you can use them on styrfoam, as that may make your plate dissolve! Test out a little on some styrfoam scrap, or you might just opt to use a piece of wood or linoleum for printing. And that is going to involve a few more tools than I have listed. A pencil or pen won't be strong enough. But, that is another project.

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I hope that you enjoyed this project and will join my mailing list!

Please sign my Guest Book at the bottom of the page.

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Stork Watch

I have added another link to a stork cam, this one has sound and can be enlarged to full screen. You can hear the storks making noises, as well as background noises of the area. This one is in the Przygodzice nest. There is another link to it, too, that I have been watching, but it doesn't have sound.

Sadly, we seem to have lost one little baby stork, as there are only four now. But those left are really something to watch. One baby, especially, is very active, and seems like he is going to start running or flying as fast as he can!

The Ustron nest that we watched so much last year doesn't seem to have but one adult stork, still, and no eggs. This is the one where all the babies died. Maybe the parents knew that there had been illness there, or they were sad from losing their babies. The nest was cleaned, sanitized, etc. to make it safe for the storks this year. Maybe that was just too much human contact and the storks won't come back there.

I don't know. I grew up hearing that, if you touch a bird nest, or a baby bird, the parents would not come back, or wouldn't take care of the baby anymore.

Maybe that was a story that adults told us to make us leave bird nests and wild things alone, or maybe it is true.

Perhaps something happened to one of the storks, or both. Maybe they decided to start a new home elsewhere. Maybe they got a divorce and moved on. I don't have any idea, but we have been discussing them a bit on a Polish genealogy list. Lots of people enjoy watching the storks.

I hope that all the babies stay well and will fly off safely into their adult lives, when that time comes.

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Sketch Crawl

Look at the top of my page, in the sidebar, and notice the link that I have added to Sketch Crawl. You can now click on their logo and go to the Sketch Crawl web site.

I hope that everyone will join in!

If you are in this area and want to be a part of the Sketch Crawl on June 21, let me know! I hope that we can "Draw the Brazos Valley" and get a lot of participation that day.

Look under Bryan/College Station under Forums for the 18th and 19th Sketch Crawls and you will find me there. You can register and add a note there under my post, or you can register yourself.

If you are in a different area, you can register there, too. Start a group from where ever you are, if you want. Just plan to sketch that day, for at least a little while. And let someone know about it, probably on the SC site, or let me know. Groups, solo, families, beginners, students, adults, professional-anyone, anywhere. And, remember, it is FREE!

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Happy Easter II

Cross

by

Ashton

computer drawing

Today's image is by my youngest grandson. He experiments in a lot of different media. Lately, he has been really involved with computers from games to designing cars. He would like to create his own blog. Until then, I can share some of his creations on my blog.

I thought that this one was appropriate for this day as we watch movies like "King of Kings" and "Easter Parade" on tv and wait for the Easter ham to be done. (Sure smells good, with the cloves , pineapple, and cherries baking on the ham.)

We all slept late today as there was a car wreck in the brand new tunnel last night. That tied up traffic as the family was coming home after picking him my oldest grandson from work and getting last minute groceries. We all got to bed very early in the morning, and, as usual, I didn't get any sleep until after the sun came up. ( I got back in that habit after being up all night with the last round of flu.)

Hmmm. Wasn't this the multi million dollar project, complete with mosaics, that was supposed to prevent traffic tie ups on that very busy street? The reasoning for the tunnel was because trains sometimes blocked traffic when it might be needed by an emergency vehicle, or just ordinary traffic. So, they have spent a long while, and lots of money, moving the street under the tracks. Now we learn that one car in an accident can close the road, and block traffic, just like a train did in the past.

It doesn't seem like Easter without going to church in the morning, having a big family over for Easter dinner at noon, hunting eggs, and the like. Oldest grandson has to work today and tonight, daughter is cooking, youngest grandson is playing with his latest computer game or watching his movie, and I have on "King of Kings" on tv, and am at the computer. Just like most days. We'll have our Easter supper tonight and the oldest will have his special meal when he gets home. And, tonight, I look forward to watching "East Enders" on tv, just like most Sunday nights now.

We probably should be making some better memories.

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Please remember to sign my guest book. Go all the way to the bottom of the page and add your name, and a picture, if you want to. It doesn't have to be of you, but it can be of a place, your art work, or just leave it blank.

You can also sign up for my blog by subscribing, or join my Google Group, Art By Cecelia.

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I hope that you are planning to go out somewhere and sketch (and journal) Saturday March 29th. Join the Worldwide Sketch Crawl that day. You can sketch for a few minutes or all day. It's free! All you need is something to draw on and something to draw with, and the interest in recording what is around you.

For more information, you can look in my sidebar for a link, do a search for Sketch Crawl, or click on http://www.sketchcrawl.com/.

I registered for it and I hope that others will as well.

I hope that a group in our area will get together and "draw the Brazos Valley" and participate in the sketch day around the world. Woudn't that be a neat thing! Especially now that the Bluebonnets are popping out.

We have a lot here that would make excellent subject matter.

This is for everyone-beginners, professionals, students, children, adults, families, groups or individuals. Just go out and draw what is around you. You can post some of your sketches on their website and your own, or anywhere you want. And, maybe, a spectator might like what you do so much that they want to own it.

Let me know what you think. I'm looking forward to it and think it is such a neat idea.

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Be sure to see the Brazos Valley Art League Juried Show at the P.David Romei Art Center in College Station, if you haven't been already. Pick up entries March 28th.

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Easter Eggs
These children were all dressed up for Easter in the early 1970s.

Happy Easter

Happy Easter!!

8" x 10"

watercolor

Wishing you and yours every happiness and blessing on this very special Easter day.

Spring is here. Grass and leaves are bright green. Bluebonnets and other spring flowers are beginning to show and, soon, some areas will be blanketed with blue, pink, red, and yellow.

In my little painting, above, I have shown a narrow barn with Mesquite trees in the background. My father used to love to work out in the family's various pastures out in the country. He loved to ride his tractor and mow or to do heavy work that others said he should not do. He liked to show his strength. One pasture that he rented just north of town had a lot of Mesquite trees. But there were just too many and that meant that there wasn't much grass for the cattle to feed on. The Mesquite trees thrived, no matter what. He would cut them down and, before you knew it, they were back with more than he had to begin with. They multiplied instead of dying out. You can see a little tractor with Daddy riding among the Mesquite trees in my picture. There are also a couple of bales of hay because he had to feed the cows since there wasn't that much grass in this pasture.

We thought that the trees were pretty with their bright colors and lacey leaves, until we found out that they had thorns. I remember in a painting workshop that I took with my mother, she asked the instructor, Harry Ahysen, how to paint leaves on trees like Mesquite and Willow trees. They are certainly different from the roundness that we work with in things like Oak trees.

Also in my painting, there are two children (a boy and a girl) , sitting near the barn, playing among the Bluebonnets. Maybe they are waiting to hunt Easter Eggs hidden in the flowers.

Poochie, our dog when I was growing up, is sitting, watching a butterfly. Poochie was an excellent Easter Egg hunter! She often beat us to the eggs, and ate them! And, if we couldn't find some and the "Easter Bunny" couldn't remember where he hid them all, Poochie would find them. We came home with less eggs than Mama had decorated.

We didn't actually go to the country to hunt eggs. This was actually a spring picture. But, it sort of fits with spring and Easter and memories of childhood.

"The Easter Bunny" (Daddy) usually hid eggs for us in the park just a half block away, before Sunday School and Church at Sneed Memorial Methodist Church. Some years, they were hidden in the yard or at the school, which was on the other side of us. If the weather was bad, we got to hunt eggs, over and over, in the house. We didn't have candy eggs, big chocolate bunnies, or baskets stuffed with goodies, unless it was a coloring book or paper doll book and some crayons. We had a colored straw basket with some green Easter Grass in it. And we added the eggs that Mama had colored for us with egg dye and vinegar.

Some years, when we were small, we had a big Easter Egg hunt on the lawn of the Methodist Church, or on the school grounds, and some years, in the park. Those were fun when there were lots of kids. And stressful for little ones, and their older siblings, who had trouble finding the eggs. Of course, we had to try to make sure that Poochie didn't come. She would have found all the eggs! And Poochie was one loyal dog who would find us, especially my little sister, where ever she went.

At noon, after church, everyone gathered with their families for a big Easter dinner, with the good china, crystal and silver. Mama would usually bake the ham as her's came out the best. Sometimes we ate at Grandma Conitz's house until she couldn't do the cooking anymore. Some years, we had our dinner at Pappy's house, or Toot's (two of my great-aunts). Or some years we had the dinner at our small house.

The menu was about the same for each family dinner, except we had ham at Easter and turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas. We had red roast and red gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatos with marshmallows on top, ambrosia, creamed corn, English peas, stuffed celery sticks and carrot sticks, spiced peaches, deviled eggs, rolls and bread with coffee, water, or iced tea to drink. The salad was always either a Jello salad with fruit, or a pear or peach half or pineapple ring on a lettuce leaf with a dollop of mayonnaise. For dessert, there was pie-apple, chocolate, mince meat and, sometimes, Grandma made Boston Cream Pie. Fresh whipped cream topped the pie. We also had cake and Bakeless Cake, which had to have whipped cream on top, too.

After dinner, grownups did the dishes, sat around the table and visited, while we begged to go to the picture show or sat under the table and decorated underneath with our crayons. Sometimes we would go outside and sit around. Grownups would take a short nap while we read the funny papers and waited anxiously for our Sunday afternoon ride through the Brazos Bottom, to A&M, or to Marlin and Waco.

Some years, we had a community sunrise service in the bandstand in the park. I remember one year, at least, that the CHS band played for the service. I thought that was nice, though it was so early! I always thought that the park was underutilized for community events. To see a picture of the bandstand, you can scroll down to my Spring Break post and see a picture of the bandstand in the snow, a few years back. It really was a lovely place.

Of course, fashions played a big part in our Easter observance. Socks with lace and matching panties and a handkerchief, a new purse to twirl, a pastel colored dress, with a matching hat, white shoes and gloves, and a pastel colored coat and sweater, in case of an Easter Snap, were shopped for, months in advance. Ladies hats, matching dress, coat, sweater, white gloves and light colored shoes, a matching purse were also planned for months. My mother sewed, but, our good dresses had to come from Cox's or Goldstein Miguel in Marlin or Waco, or Jack and Jill in Marlin. We looked through catalogues and newspaper for ideas, but we spent hours and hours in the stores, trying on and finding just the right outfit.

For men, there were spring suits, but they often just brought out one they already had, took it to the tailor shop if it needed updating, had it cleaned, bought a new shirt, tie, socks, and shoes, had their hat shaped or bought a new one, and got a new handkerchief for their pocket.

I don't remember that there was anyone who didn't go to church on Easter, unless they were sick and unable to go.

And, I can't remember most of those pretty outfits that I wore!

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Sketch Crawl:Saturday March 29

For Details, see yesterday's post or

click on http://www.sketchcrawl.com

If you are in this area, and are interested, let me know.

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Brazos Valley Art League Juried Show

Pick up entries March 28th

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Good Friday

Good Friday

8.5" x 11"

sepia ink

Artists:

or

If you know an artist: in your area, you might pass this on :

I recently learned about the worldwide Sketch Crawl that is going to happen on Saturday March 29th. For more information, you can google Sketch Crawl, or you can go to http://www.sketchcrawl.com/ . It sounds like a really neat idea.

I'm trying to contact some of the artists in this area, and see if anyone is interested in making a day of it. You might like to get together with other artists in your area and see what you can come up with. Or you can just do it on your own. There is no cost involved.

They are trying to get together a special deal on some moleskin sketchbooks, if you want to do that. But it is not required.

My idea is to get a group together who would like to draw that day. Meet somewhere in the morning, then spread out and draw Bryan/College Station (Calvert? Hearne? Franklin? Robertson/Brazos counties? ) during the day. Then have everyone come back together to share. Spectators might even be interested in buying some of those sketches, or the finished work later.

You could post some of those drawings on the SketchCrawl site, your own site, or whatever you might think of.

I thought that it might be something a bit different to do.

Let me know if your are interested, or if you need more information.

And, if you want to join me, let me know.

(No, we don't have to do it as a group. And, no, we don't have to all go to one place and work together, unless we just want to.) I was thinking that there might be a bit of fun as a group, some fellowship and opportunity for a critique or sharing time, and a bit of power, as well as safety, in numbers. It's not always a good idea to be out drawing or painting alone.

We might even get a little publicity, if we get it together in time.

Anyone else interested?

You can click on Czs_Izs03@yahoo.com to get in touch with me.

I put a link to Sketch Crawl on my sidebar under Art Helpers so you can check it whenever you want.

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Good Friday

I did this drawing a while back, thinking of a look of wood carving and German Expressionism. I got my idea from a brown ink drawing that I did while in my room during my first year of college, many years ago. I used sepia ink and an old fashioned dip style drawing pen.

I hope that this is a good Easter season for you and yours. Be mindful of why we are observing this holiday.

There was a time when we searched for weeks, for the perfect Easter outfit, dress, shoes, hat, shoes, socks or stockings, a purse, undies, and even special hankies. We used to get a pastel coat to match our dresses and a sweater, in case it wasn't all that cold that year. Without all the sophisticated weather forecasting that we have now, it was really a dilemma to plan what kind of Easter frock to wear.

Some years, we didn't get the coat or sweater, just the spring frock. And, then, along would come an "Easter Snap", and people would, at the last minute, have to bring out the winter coats and sweaters, which didn't match, or rush from the car to church and back, shivering in a cold wind. We haven't needed those coats or sweaters in quite a few years.

In fact, we haven't needed a pretty dress, hat, or coat in a few years. It hasn't been that cold. (But, it looks like some areas are getting plenty of snow and bad weather this year. Not so here. Fairly warm and very sunny, in these parts.) Some churches are having outdoor services now, and encouraging people to bring blankets to sit on. People just wear jeans or even shorts, to some churches, now. Some do carry out the traditional Easter outfits and church services indoors. A lot of places also have a breakfast following early or sunrise services.

We used to go to the city to shop at Cox's or Jack and Jill for our Easter outfits.

But, at Conitz Dry Goods Store, we also sold hats, dresses, shirts, ties, shoes, ribbon, hankies, lingerie, socks, stockings, and all that people would need for their Easter outfits, and more. The fun part was not so much in helping people find what they needed, but we got to examine all the new merchandise that came in, and get first pick of the new things as we put prices on and organized the items. I could entertain myself for a whole day, looking at the new hats and dresses, and then trying on things in the three way mirror.

Another thing that I loved to do was to decorate the big show windows that faced Highway 6. It was kind of fun to be working in there, and, at the same time, check out the cars that passed through, and wave at some that looked like they might have cute boys or Aggies in them!

By this time, Mama (playing the organ) and the choir at church, were practicing for the big Easter Contata and their special music for Easter Sunday. The Easter ham was bought, along with a roast, and other goodies for a family meal.

My sister and I , and Poochie, our dog, looked forward to an early morning Easter Egg hunt in the park and again in the yard, depending on the weather. On Saturday night, the aroma of ham and pineapple filled the house, along with the smell of vinegar for egg dyeing.

This year will be different. Gas is too high to be traveling anywhere. My last older relative is in a nursing home. One grandson is working. The other is past the Easter Egg hunting as a pre-teen. But he won't turn down some ham or cupcakes and candy! We don't have the big family anymore for a big dinner. But we may have some ham anyway. I hope it is one of those good hams like my mother used to make, with pineapple, and cherries and cloves. I'm not that crazy about ham, but those are good, and my daughter likes to bake them, some years. But, since there are so few of us, we may just have some sliced, cold ham from the grocery store. Tasteless and tough, like salty, greasy cardboard. I would rather have our good old traditional red roast and red gravy.

I lost my liking for pork when I was little and my dad gave my sister and me two of the cutest little black and white pigs that looked like puppies! He built a pen for them out in the country at one of the pastures and we would sometimes go and visit them while he fed cattle or worked on fences. The pigs grew into big black and white "dogs", to us.

Then it got cold and we quit going out to the pasture. We begged to go back and see our pet pigs, but Daddy said it was too cold, or we would make too much noise and make the cows lose weight.

At the table one day, someone mentioned that they were getting tired of all the pork we were having lately. (It could have been me.) I looked at my parents, carefully, when I realized that this was true. We were having sausage, bacon, ham, pork chops, pork roast, an awful lot.

Daddy said he liked it. But I got the sinking feeling about where that pork came from and I pushed my plate back and refused to eat anymore pork.

"Daddy, where is my pig?"

"Daddy, where did this meat come from?"

I got no answer, but I knew. Our pigs were in the freezer at the meat market. We were eating those cute little things. And we never even got to know them very well!

We were at the pasture, climbing on the fence of the empty pig pen, when Daddy asked if we each wanted a calf. We could start our own herd, and save the money for college.

No way was I going to have a calf and know that it was going to be killed and I would be expected to eat it, like the pigs. I insisted that I would stick with my cats. I knew that no one was going to eat those scrawny little things!

My sister gave in and Daddy started her herd.

When time for college came, she had a herd and a bank account. I had lots of cats.

It wasn't until recent years that I could comfortably eat pork. It still isn't my favorite, but I got over thinking of those cute little black and white pigs every time I looked at a piece of ham or a pork chop.

I don't tell that story to my grandsons, though. I just take my piece of ham and act like it is the best thing I have ever eaten.

Hope that you are planning a big weekend with your family and friends.

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What a gorgeous sunset and full moon we are having!

I may have to plant something. My great-aunt always said that you were supposed to plant things on Good Friday and by a full moon.