Drawing Joe at LindaDrawingTime

      What do you blog about when you have a series of failures? Something else. However, although I still have hope for the botched quilt, I have been getting used to my new computer. I had to exchange the new one and start over. Since my last posting, I did find I could project old Super 8 movies onto a screen, film the old reels with iPhone or Flip, then digitize and edit on the computer. The results were good but not great since the old projector is deficient. I finally took two movies, rolls of The Ram (live action) and Beowulf (claymation) made by son (he just turned 50) when he was in junior high, to Costco to have the short movies put on a DVD. Theoretically, in a month, I can take the .VOB files and raw footage off the DVD to put on my computer for better results, music and more. Do we see hope, or more failures.  And I like visuals in my blog.

      In the meantime, I must not delay a posting. Thinking NYC would be fun for the holidays or sometime soon, I enjoyed reading Deborah Soloman's article in the New York Times on the paintings that the great artist Cezanne made of his wife Hortense, many of which are at the Metropolitan Museum. According to Soloman, Hortense "sat for 29 paintings by her husband and smiles in none of them." Hortense has suffered verbal abuse by critics and artists but Soloman is glad Cezanne's wife and mother of his son is having her day with drawings, watercolors and 24 paintings from over a period of 20 years. "Aha!" thought I. To get into the zeitgeist, I will show a few paintings and sketches that I have done of Joe. I seldom paint anyone smiling and certainly not myself as you may know from my website (which may go by the way with the new computer since Apple no longer supports iWeb). It was great to get back to my wild sketchbooks. Enjoy my favorite model who mostly smiles in real life. Click to enlarge the photos, I hope!

Building Boxwood Trees: a tradition

Click to see Chrissy's tree shape

   Each year Nancy has the Beaders to her home to make boxwood trees for the season. I didn't realize I would blog on this so I don't have a full set of pictures, but I have enough information for you to "take off!"

Note Debbie's joy and Nancy's gold container, oasis, tape and position of boxwood twigs

Nita is making a smaller one for her mother's table, and Linda B. a fuller one

  To build a boxwood tree, soak an oasis in the sink until the green "brick" is filled with water. Place the oasis in a container that can hold water, where the tree can be carved and all secured like wrapping a present w string only with floral tape. The edges of the tree are shaped somewhat like a bloated tree, easily done with a carving knife. Next, the collected boxwood limbs are cut with pruning shears to various lengths and inserted in the oasis. The lower branches angle down, the midway branches go more horizontally and the upper branches shape up to a point at the top of the tree.

Enlarge all photos by clicking on them

   Then the fun continues as you see that everyone's tree already has a different personality. You will add bows and ornaments, even flowers, such as those on the my Costco purchase. I was baby sitting and would not get to make one this year. The ladies saw to it that four-year-old Erika did make a miniature tree in 30 minutes and decorate it before we had to leave to pick up Hannah at school.
  
     Get some friends to join you in the making and be sure to water your tree daily.  P.S. There are little floral spikes with wire that are handy for adding ornaments and bows....