To See the Light

sparrow

2012-01-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

Here's the small guy with sun shining sun on his back! We were out at the Wildlife Santuary in Keensberg, CO, so there were many other subjects to take pictures of - but it was like he posed for me.

Sparrow

2012-01-30T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sparrow wings and breast. This guy was sitting near me on a post in the bright sunlight, that brought out the richness of the colors on his back. Sunlight does wonders for color! I like the gray breast that forms a heart shape in the mandala.

Duck with a curl

2012-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

Here's where the blue in the previous mandala came from, the tail end of a mallard.

blue feathers

2012-01-28T08:20:00.000-08:00

This square tile has blue feathers from a mallard duck. Within the world of feathers there are rough ones, smooth ones, colored ones, dark and light ones and you can see the texture. I want to feel it, too (but can't so just use your imagination!)

real feather

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-08:00

the feather the previous pie slice was taken from.

a feather

2012-01-26T06:58:00.000-08:00

This is all feather and a drop of water. I liked the downy filaments and the patterns that they make when they overlap.

The actural bird

2012-01-25T12:24:00.000-08:00

Here is the whole hawk lunching on another unfortunate bird. This happened in my front yard here in Aurora.

red tailed hawk

2012-01-24T10:33:00.000-08:00

This hawk came to lunch in my front yard. There are all kinds of patterns in feathers (and the birds themselves) - the lines of the shafts, of the individual feathers themselves, etc. So I thought I would explore feathers in the next couple of postings.

Ivy Geranium Mandala

2012-01-19T06:42:00.000-08:00

This star shape mandala appealed to me, am not sure why. It has a flower which I love, but I think it is the star shape that makes it stand out.

fall leaves

2012-01-10T08:16:00.000-08:00

Journaling about my garden, allows me to look back to other years and see what I planted, what worked and what didn't work. I also use it to press flowers and leaves! and then I can turn the pressed flowers into mandala! It is all connected.

moss cross

2012-01-09T21:00:00.000-08:00

Moss Cross and Twigs. Was introduced to definitions of 'the 5 universal shapes'; Circle, Cross, Triangle, Spiral and Square via a blog post comment on a friends site, she is into squares. I'm into circles of which I have many and as above a cross shape which I have also explored. According to the book the Circle symbolizes wholeness, the experience of unity; the Cross symbolizes relationships, integration; the Triangle symbolizes dreams, visions and goals (all the mandala are made up of Triangular ((pie pieces)); the Spiral symbolizes growth and evolution and the Square symbolizes stability, solidity, and security. This according to Angeles Arrien (1992) I have ordered her book to find out more.

Happy New Year

2012-01-06T11:37:00.000-08:00

Well it is time to take Christmas down, feel like I'm dragging my feet. It will be cold again this weekend so I have no excuse. Even have to deal with the gingerbread sleigh, snowmen and deer that I made. Picture above is part of the sleigh. It is always a challenge to make and glue together the gingerbread creations from scratch, this year the royal frosting 'glue' was a bit runny so I had to wait several hours between construction sessions. Oh, well, it's fun to do and now un-do.

snowflake blue

2011-12-22T08:27:00.000-08:00

A Solar powered outdoor snowflake turns various colors as it goes thru it's cycles.
It was challenging trying to time the picture to when the color changed because the light fades in and out.

Pizzelle

2011-12-17T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is a wafer thin Italian Christmas cookie, which is round in itself, but of course I have to make it round in a different way. They are a wonderful anise cookie with neat patterns and I make them each year on a pizzelle iron I got from my mother-in-law. Enjoy the patterns and I will enjoy the cookies!

more red white and blue

2011-12-15T14:50:00.000-08:00

One of the many figure heads in the Mariner's Museum in Newport News, Virginia

red white and blue

2011-12-14T19:21:00.000-08:00

This Mandala is a pie piece from a picture of a flag draped figure head in one of the maritime museums we visited in Virginia.

Pansy in the snow

2011-12-09T20:25:00.000-08:00

We have had some very cold days and snow but it is warming up this weekend. A pansy was blooming in the snow and dead leaves. Finding it was a nice surprise.

Merry Christmas

2011-11-30T12:22:00.000-08:00

Wishing all a Merry Christmas early, before the craziness of the holidays settle upon us.
We are even supposed to have snow tomorrow!

Sayings

2011-11-30T12:11:00.000-08:00

I have always liked Mary Ann Radmacher's words - and have put her quotations in more than one Mandala. The above quote is a summation of the year, of life in general. It is in a ring of chiming bell flowers that I took in Crested Butte this past summer, when I was doing what I love - taking pictures!

Red Leaf Star

2011-11-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

I scanned some colorful fall leaves and played around with the shapes. I really liked the way the veins showed up and made patterns of their own.

mushroom

2011-11-15T21:25:00.000-08:00

Surfing around the Mandalas on my laptop I found this one made from a photo of mushrooms. To me it looked a little bit like a doily - some of you might not know what that is. A doily knitted, crocheted or made of paper allows the surface of an underlying object to show through. In addition to their decorative function doilies can protect furniture from the scratches or dirt. When I was growing up, my Mom used to put them on the arms of chairs in the living room or between items in the china cabinet.

fall colors in a flower

2011-11-09T07:54:00.000-08:00

This flowering vine had wonderful fall colors - it bloomed right before the first frost.

leaves falling on snow

2011-11-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

There is symmetry in the leaf and in the Mandala - we have had another big snow and the leaves are still not all off the trees. So after the snow a lot were coming down. They were melting into the surface of the snow which created a bit of a shadow at the tip of the leaf.

dusting the trees off

2011-10-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Picture the mandala from yesterday was taken from.

snow

2011-10-28T08:53:00.001-07:00

We had 7-8 inches of snow Wednesday - my Grandson came over to brush the trees off with the broom. We wore our hoods so the snow wouldn't fall down our collars! Then we had a snowball fight! Fun was had by all.

Bow Sprite

2011-10-26T06:59:00.000-07:00

Bow Sprite We got to go to a wonderful Maritime museum in Newport News, VA. they had a room full of bow sprites and hugh model ships. Very interesting.

other colors of fall a beauty berry

2011-10-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Hear on the east coast it is time for Beauty Berries - they are this wonderful shade of purple. Found this bush on the path to the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg.

changing seasons

2011-10-08T07:40:00.001-07:00

A blur of aspen gold. The seasons are changing - the aspen turned and now the snow is falling in the high country and in places on the front range. I've seen a white flake or two coming down outside but not sticking to the ground.

ballon reflection

2011-09-25T06:37:00.000-07:00

The blue of the Colorado ski adds to the bright colors of this Morning shot and I like the double and triple squares that form in the middle. Even the blue-green triangle balloon forms the edges of a square - if you allow your mind to finish the corners. The Ballons were doing a splash and dash manuver over a pond, thus the center is the reflection in the pond.

more of the emerging plants

2011-09-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

From the picture in the last post. I liked the tightly formed leaves as the plant emerges from the ground. The repetition adds to the overall pattern. The color and shapes from the earlier Mandala are different - from different parts of the same photo

back to the new amongst the old post

2011-09-16T09:07:00.001-07:00

This is the original picture of succulents emerging
The earlier post was mostly of the dead and dried foliage to the left , the next post will be of a Mandala that has more of the green in it - they are totally different yet from the same picture!

hibiscus

2011-09-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

Hibiscus are lovely flowers on their own - the colors of this one were beautiful an I liked how they faded to white on the edge.

Affirmation in the wild flax flowers

2011-09-09T08:45:00.000-07:00

This affirmation struck a cord with me and it fit in one of my recent Mandalas. The wild flax picture was taken on a trip to Crested Butte Wildflower Festival in Colorado.

new amongst the old

2011-09-08T14:57:00.001-07:00

Succulents coming up in the debris from last year's growing season. I liked the light and dark patterns created by this picture. I'll upload a different version of the same photo in a couple days, that has much more green.

Just for Fun

2011-09-06T10:01:00.001-07:00

Alien among us! My grandson got a balloon character made for him after dinner one night - it was an alien! Thought he looked kind of cute! He made for some interesting design elements, too.

words

2011-08-29T07:43:00.000-07:00

Every so often a saying I like gets put into one of my Mandala. This image started out life as the morning light refractions in a common domed paperweight. I bent the light some more by putting it into mandala form. The quote says "Unlike a painter, a photographer starts with something finished and works backward." Anonymous

gray scale columbine

2011-08-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

This photo had interesting shadows and highlights so making it black and white seemed a good idea. Do you agree?

evening sunset

2011-08-13T15:10:00.000-07:00

Evening clouds have been colorful this past week, and temperatures have been a bit cooler.

butterfly wings

2011-08-01T20:46:00.000-07:00

There were lots of butterflies in the mountains this past weekend, with all the wildflowers they have lots to eat. I liked all the patterns within patterns that are on the wings.

flowers

2011-07-19T13:41:00.000-07:00

Flowers blue and gold, will have some wildflowers in the next couple offerings as I attended the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival. The mountains were beautiful and the flowers were everywhere.

mini garden

2011-07-08T07:06:00.001-07:00

This is a mini garden for my friend who just passed away. She was also a gardener, this garden is to remind me of her with two chairs for friends to sit and visit.

Plumaria

2011-06-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

In any ABC Store in Hawaii you can buy a piece of plumaria plant and bring it home to root.
This is the one I got in Nov 2010 and it has leaves! It is amazing to me that it is growing at all, but grow it is!

wedding cake

2011-06-23T07:41:00.000-07:00

I liked the light reflecting in the beads on top of the wedding cake. Still am processing pictures from Mexico. Had a fun time.

resting sea lion

2011-06-18T10:48:00.000-07:00

We got back from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico where my son and new wife got married. We went by the land's end rocks on the sunset cruise the night before the wedding, we saw wildlife on the rocks to include this sea lion. I think he got there before the tide went out. he looks very contented.

Tail Lights

2011-05-27T05:30:00.000-07:00

This is the picture the previous Mandala came from. A night shot of tail lights going across 15th street looking down Larimer Square.

Tail Lights

2011-05-26T18:33:00.000-07:00

A month ago I took a night photo class, one of the things we were to do was get a good picture of blurred taillights. We went to Larimer Square in downtown Denver which has little lights strung all the way across the block. In this Mandala they create a spider web effect. The crossed structures in the middle are the blurred taillights of cars driving down the street - since it's a one way street no headlights were coming back at us. All the night shots required a tripod. It was fun!

New Leaf

2011-05-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

My houseplants have been very patient waiting for Spring to settle down so they all can go outside and enjoy the summer, but the weather has been so unsettled and it's still snowing in the mountains. Above is a new leaf of a Rex Begonia just catching the early morning sunlight inside the house. We haven't had any early morning light of late because it is raining and raining! Can't complain we need the moisture. Would like the sun to shine again though.

Spring Sunrise

2011-05-08T07:13:00.001-07:00

Spring in Colorado comes in only a few days - it's been chilly and now for two days we will be in the 80's. Whew! It's still a privilege to live here. It's planting time today. I've been carrying seedlings in and out as weather permits, it looks like it will stay above freezing at night now!!

spring

2011-04-21T07:50:00.000-07:00

When the apple and pear trees bloom Spring has to be near! we actually had some rain here this morning! Above are pear blossoms. Grass is greening up and the dandelions are blooming, too.

sea shells

2011-04-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Sea shells are fun to pick up, look at, listen to (if you get one big enough),

and just enjoy the variety of their shapes. There are fossil shells in the stone with the dark matrix. A jingle shell, coral, the arm of a starfish and the tail of a seahorse.

April sunrise

2011-04-04T07:31:00.000-07:00

Had to drive to airport early and the sunrise lit up the whole sky. It was beautiful.

colorful bark

2011-03-29T19:37:00.000-07:00

Bark of a sycamore tree color enhanced a bit, neat colors.

just for fun

2011-03-26T08:56:00.000-07:00

After traveling through petroglyph country in Utah last fall, I picked up a painted rock at Edge of the Cedars State Park gift shop. The glyph makes it's own design and flows into the shadow of the feather in the mandala. Glyphs were their pictures - with our digital photos we have an endless supply of images.

Wearing of the Green

2011-03-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

Plants wear the Green all the time - this is a Boston Fern in the early morning light. Just to remind us that it is not officially spring yet we had a dusting of snow overnight, enough that I had to scrap the window before driving anywhere this morning.

cactus

2011-03-13T19:49:00.000-07:00

Subtle purple green shades make up this cactus mandala. There are some really nice cactus in Arizona.

pottery

2011-03-07T07:23:00.000-08:00

On my trip to the Southwest this past fall we stopped at Wupatki National Monument to see the ruins and in the visitor's center they had some of the pottery found at the site. Above is a triangular slice of a water jar. The center formed a round kiva shape and the way the stripes were cut made it look like ladders into the center. Almost maze like, patterns within patterns.

prickly pear cactus

2011-02-26T19:02:00.000-08:00

Always have loved the lovely red color of the tunas on a prickly pear cactus.

Begonia

2011-02-20T12:10:00.000-08:00

Sunlight coming thru the leaves of my begonia. It bloomed a couple times this winter one blossom at a time. The leaves are it's draw - the sun highlighted the red outline.

Orchid

2011-02-12T09:19:00.000-08:00

Blooming flowers are an indication of Spring, that spring is near. We are just coming off a couple weeks of cold, cold weather and my orchid bloomed!! It actually has 2 bloom stalks so I get to enjoy it for longer than usual! I'm very grateful for plants that bloom in the winter.

Feburary already

2011-02-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

Spent Sunday morning in the humid heat of the Butterfly Pavilion - it was a welcome change from the snow that was outside. Besides the butterflies there are lots of blooming plants, to include this croton with a white fuzzy bloom. Enjoyed the morning in the warmth as we are headed for yet another storm and arctic cold!

winter scene

2011-01-31T09:56:00.000-08:00

Now that the holidays are over, the stock show is over and the X games over, the lights on the Denver City and County Building will be turned off. While they were on they were vibrant. It's always nice to have a City focal point.

winter kale

2011-01-20T17:57:00.000-08:00

was hoping to get out of the deep freeze on trip to Texas but it was cold and dreary there, too. Came home in a snow squall, however, we had wonderful Colorado sunshine today even if it was cold.

Deep Freeze

2011-01-13T07:30:00.000-08:00

we have had some really cold temperatures here in Colorado lately. So the good snow we got last week had stayed around. Above is from a bush in the front of my house that had 4 to 5 inch piles of snow on the branches. The branches made interesting bumpy patterns when turned into a kaleidoscope.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-05T09:33:00.001-08:00

Rocks, rocks and more rocks is what we saw on our trip to the Southwest, this view is looking through Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park. The light colored stone is part of the arch and the rest is the view beyond. There is a deep canyon on the plain and table top mesas in the distance. I had seen a sunrise shot through the Mesa Arch - I was not to get that picture but the view was beautiful, worth the hike.

Nature

2010-12-28T10:39:00.001-08:00

"In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" . . Aristotle

Hope you have enjoyed my nature offerings through the year.

more Christmas lights

2010-12-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

The celebration of lights to bring back the sun - another Solstice is past. A special one with a complete eclipse of the moon. Stayed up to watch it. It really got dark when the moon was covered by the earth's shadow. Above are trees from the Blossoms
of Light at the Denver Botanic Gardens

more from Southwest trip

2010-12-20T07:15:00.001-08:00

A different iew of Delicate Arch.

Christmas greetings

2010-12-12T09:40:00.001-08:00

Thought I would add this mandala to the blog it's only about 12 days before Christmas. The picture has blue lights strung on trees at the Denver Botanic Gardens Blossoms of Light display. It looks like a field of stars to me. Hope you enjoy it too.

December already!!

2010-12-07T21:08:00.000-08:00

I got to play in November now December has crashed down on me. I called this picture 'After the Crash" because these are the eddies and patterns formed after a wave hit the rocks. We were in Hawaii in November, on a trip around Oahu we watched the waves from a vantage point above the ocean.

saying by Ashley Smith

2010-11-30T09:13:00.001-08:00

I love quotes and sometimes they fit into my work. I'm a naturalist at heart so this is a good fit. Also the stamens almost make it look like a flower bubble around the edge of the words. Enjoy the little things in life!

from sunset to sunrise

2010-11-19T06:56:00.001-08:00

There was a gorgeous sunrise this morning in Colorado. Orange was being reflected into the room even before you could see the actual sky. Wow!

another trip

2010-11-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

New trip - sunset! Much warmer than home!

more red rocks

2010-11-09T07:45:00.000-08:00

When we got to Monument Valley it was overcast, but as it was getting closer to sunset the clouds broke up and we had some wonderful late afternoon sun on the rocks. Above is one of the 'mittens' times 4. Saw lots of different rocks on this trip.

Happy Halloween!

2010-11-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

A day late in my greetings! - Had some kids come to the door but not too many.

crows

2010-10-30T11:45:00.000-07:00

I'm fascinated by crows and ravens saw a bunch of the later on my trip thru Utah. Never did get a very good picture of a group of them, even still they are fun to watch. There were a bunch of crows coming thru my neighborhood the other day so I went to get the camera and got a couple of pictures before they left the scene, the one above had a backdrop of fallen leaves. Happy day before Halloween!

slot canyon

2010-10-25T09:24:00.000-07:00

Couldn't resist making one of the Antelope Canyon shots into a mandala. It almost looks like stalactites and stalagmites but with birghter colors.

colors

2010-10-19T20:33:00.000-07:00

This past summer I went to watch hot air balloons in Steamboat. Colors are fun to play with no matter their source, even reflections of colors.

Oct 13th

2010-10-13T08:33:00.000-07:00

Antelope Canyon outside Page, Arizona has the most interesting rock formations. It is a slot canyon worn down by water over many many years. The light is amazing! If you can go there go!

Fall Color

2010-10-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

It was an overcast day on our way home from the Southwest. The aspen were headed down from their peak but still very pretty! It's a pleasure to live in Colorado!

Painted Desert

2010-10-07T20:53:00.000-07:00

A trip to Arizona and Blue Mesa in the Petrified Forest - it is really blue!! An unexpected color for the landscape.

hay bales

2010-09-22T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hay bales and the yellow brown earth. It must be fall!

red and green

2010-09-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Leaves are starting to turn. Thought it was interesting that this dandelion was half red and half green. All the twigs on the ground made almost a Church rose window pattern.

rainbow

2010-09-15T11:35:00.000-07:00

At the cabin I have a crystal that rotates in the morning via solar power. It animates the whole dining/living area with rainbows. I caught a patch of color on a log above. They are just fun to watch.

Purple Morning Glory

2010-09-02T07:39:00.000-07:00

It is a glorious fall like day - September has arrived! There are still morning glories opening a new and tomatoes turning red. This morning glory was climbing over a jade plant. I like the square pattern that forms when you have 8 pie pieces making up the circle. I plan to enjoy the fall weather.

Cereus Flower

2010-08-26T08:37:00.000-07:00

While I was playing with this image it reminded me of jewelry - I wanted to put jewels in the four directions on the circle. If you look closely the center is a dark blue - I could put lapis in the center -it is a semiprecious stone that is usually rich azure blue. The gold are the stamens of the flower. It really is a night blooming cereus getting ready to close, the full sun was on it for a while this morning illuminating it's delicate petals.

building reflections

2010-08-24T08:21:00.000-07:00

Was driving downtown the other day and decided to take some pictures looking up. Reflections are neat - you never know what the distortion in the glass is going to look like.

Butterflies

2010-08-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

Butterfly wings are full of color and patterns, above from one of the blue Morpho of Peru.

Shows for the end of Summer

2010-08-09T11:22:00.000-07:00

I have 3 mandalas in the Artist Member Group show at the Depot in Steamboat Springs, CO. It was a rainy weekend - its monsoon season. I helped set up, and stayed long enough at the opening to enjoy some of the home made food the other artists brought.

Glowing Edges

2010-08-04T06:42:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's August already, we are on the downhill side of Summer! I took pictures at the Botanic Gardens - with lots of flowers to choose from. Above is a clematis but it's hard to tell because I used the feature called glowing edges to create the picture. Sharp edges are what makes a photo, so this is just a different treatment of the edge, which turned out kind of fun. Enjoy.

posterised columbine

2010-07-18T20:25:00.000-07:00

The columbines are out in force in the Colorado Mountains. Thought I would try something different - I liked the effect and will try it again with other pictures.

log and shadow

2010-07-14T20:06:00.000-07:00

The shadow cast by the wind ornament made interesting patterns on the log ends.

4th of July fireworks

2010-07-09T07:02:00.000-07:00

Three cheers for fireworks! - I always want the display to go on forever. But of course it stops and you have to go home. I'm grateful, I got to watch with my kids and grand kids this year.

minimal

2010-06-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

I love leaf vein patterns and added a touch of color by including a bud of a blue geranium.

liquefy

2010-06-26T19:41:00.000-07:00

I decided to play around with the liquefy function in Photoshop. The original picture is several buds of an amaryllis. It was fun!

blue water iris

2010-06-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Here in Colorado we are on the roller coaster weather wise, from warm to hot to cold today and lots of rain. The rain is good - Colorado always needs a drink, just not the hail that sometimes accompanies it. The land iris have come and gone and now the water iris put on their show. It's too bad they don't last longer into the summer season. That's why I take pictures!

It's June already!

2010-06-05T18:07:00.001-07:00

The yellow water iris have started blooming, they have interesting rust colored lines on the petal fall which make up the pattern in the middle. I keep experimenting with new camera and old to see if I can tell the difference between them. I'm not sure I can.

Iris

2010-05-25T15:56:00.001-07:00

Playing around with a new camera I got part of the flower in focus and part not. But I liked the results and the wonderful wrinkled texture in the violet color.

water droplet

2010-05-20T17:48:00.001-07:00

Colorado is getting ready to warm up! We are supposed to be in the 80's this weekend! A plant with some of the water from May - droplets and color.

Glowing Tulip

2010-05-11T20:40:00.000-07:00

Another flower from my Salt Lake Trip. The tulips were gorgeous and the sun was falling just right on the layers of this tulip.

Red bud tree

2010-04-25T19:14:00.001-07:00

red bud tree flowers in front of a store window and shadows on the concrete.