Hello!

Just a quick pop in to share a cute little surprise I got while shooting under the Tulip Poplar the other day.
I was in a bit of a hurry as weather was heading our way (as usual) and the branches were swaying to and fro. I did not anticipate one photo turning out in the lot.
When uploading these, I found this little gut peeking over the top of the petal! He must be tiny, because the flowers on the tree, while not small, are of modest size; yet our little visitor makes it look massive!
Perception is everything, is it not?

On a totally unrelated note, I am welcoming new blog followers, which I should have done ages ago. Mea culpa. Life has vaulted from calm and collected to absolutely crazy. I am hoping you understand!
So officially, welcome to El Milagro and hope you enjoy the content within. It changes.....what can I say? Short attention span? Too many interests?
Maybe.
But we usually have one constant here, and that is FUN!

Now I am off to face the day and do ONE (note that O-N-E) errand and I am back to the sewing table.
Have a great day!


Pax....

Sweet Surprises!

Yep! That says it all!!! Been a GOOD WEEK!!!

I have people to thank this week, and I need to first say I am sorry I was away from the blog and blog-land so much. I sort of feel like I lost a week~~it flew by, dragging me through the dirt with it. My plans (and I use that word loosely) all got turned upside down so I just had to wing it. I'm sure y'all have been there...
A LONG OVERDUE (bad bad me!!!) thanks first for this:

I got this from M.A. at Magpie's Mumblings longer ago than I even care to discuss. I am soooo sorry!!!  This is a sweet award for small blogs under 300 followers. At the time I received it, I think I was still in the 180-something range, then OWOH happened, then our Michael de Meng   class happened, and then, and then......well, you know how things just go crazy all at once. M.A.~~I am not even going to pretend I remember what I was supposed to list with this but to my blogging friends who have a blog with UNDER 300 FOLLOWERS, please feel free to grab this and know you are getting a dose of Blog-L♥ve from El Milagro!!!
Second sweet surprise, Laura at Shine The Divine: Creativity IS a Spiritual Practice gifted me with this: 

Sending out a big thanks to you Laura, and thank you to the folks who came by and visited! I much appreciate it! Both of these ladies have blogs that you should take time to go to and peruse at length. Totally different, both completely enjoyable!!!
Third surprise; my friend Audrey at The Magic, Miracles And Joy of an Artist completely shocked me when she made the post that the above link connects to~~you see, there was a colorwash competition in MDM's class, and *clueless* here was out in the ozone (as usual) and did not know I had won with my baby, *Crypt Corrosion*. I had won an original piece of his work, and Audrey was kind enough to write about it and wake me up to the fact!!! That is a GOOD FRIEND.....  ;-)
Soooooo, I am off again to try and dig out the studio. I have been reading a great art book I want to share with you some time next week and working on a little hand made journal, which is a post in itself...omg.......LOL! I am not cut out for bookmaking, but it is a funny story.
In the meantime,

....Here's looking at YOU kiddies!!!! Have a great weekend!

Pax....

Surprises....

Sometimes life throws you a surprise so beautiful, the only thing you can do is capture the moment and enjoy it.
I hope that all have those moments, and can embrace them close to their hearts each and every day!

Pax....

Milkweed and Friends.......(and WELCOMES AGAIN!)

I am not at all fond of Box Elder Bugs. They get in houses, are a pest, and generally a nuisance. I'm not sure what else they do, but suffice it to say, on my list of insects I actually like, they are absent.
So the other day I was up to my waist in the weeds, shooting photos and trying to keep from breaking some other body part (like an ankle or foot---I really NEED those at present!), and framing up this milkweed. Now, as an aside, I have hit that point in life where I *should* have bifocals, but wear contacts and am not sold on contacts with the bifocal in them, plus the migraine issue, plus, well, I'm cheap. So sometimes when I go out with the camera, I see only a portion of what I am shooting and don't really get a good look until everything is loaded up on the computer.
Many times I have looked at pics and thought, "I don't remember taking that......" (part of that could be age too....but I sincerely doubt that is possible.....)
So it was rather fun to pop the above photo to full screen and see, quite happily sharing their duplex, the bugs in the pod! It made me think of kids sharing a room; one on one side, one on the other and the imaginary line running down the middle that no one dares cross! LOL!!!
If I was those two, I'd be collecting fluff and nestling down into it to stay warm. The change in temps has certainly brought about a change in everything else, and soon the bugs, leaves, grass....everything but mud, will be gone.
Make hay while the sun shines! I'm off to get some indoor work done, and hopefully.......HOPE--FUL--LY, that will include the studio. (I still have a massive flat leaf parsley plant to get preserved or used....like, the size of a 13 gallon kitchen garbage bag. I kid you not.)
Again, more Welcomes to the blog! Hope the newest followers enjoy it here; if I forget to get to your blog, please remind me! My brain is obviously on vacation of late.....oy.
Wishes for good endeavors today, and a bit of sun, and lots and lots of creativity!

Pax.

What A Surprise of Nature!!!!

Let's face it, I can walk, so that means the camera is in hand. My crab apple tree has been looking dead and stripped of leaves most of the Summer. I was wondering if I had lost it. So, wandering very slowly around the flowers I look up and what do I see?
Can it be?
Am I so feverish I am imagining this???
One perfect lone apple blossom, on a stripped limb, a few leaves, a few buds.
How wonderful and amazing is that???
I thought about doing a vignette on this, or something fancy but the pic itself says it all. There is always a brighter side.......we have to have our eyes open to find it.

Pax.

Art Redux: Getting Serious

Continuing from yesterday, while most of the day got away from me and I truly ended up with little art time, there was still progress made. Decisions. About colors for the clay, about the halo, about darkening the edges and beginning to gently and slowly bring up depth in the piece.
First off, the reds chosen for the clay parts were drawn from the reds in the Madonna. The large squares are a bit rustier red and the small pieces are alizarine crimson. There is subtle difference, though after the wash of gold is added atop, it may be difficult to see. Both colors really are in the folds of the clothing.

I chose a light, bright gold for the small tiles and a darker, warmer gold for the corner pieces; there had to be some visual differentiation or it would get too shiny and there would be nothing to contemplate. Somehow it sort of reminds me of abstract pieces of a dissected rosary.....

It is a bit odd how, after adding reds and golds--even before I darkened the edges, the yellow-oranges had been toned down visually. They suddenly were not quite so *in your face*.....or Screaming Mimi bright! It was beginning to fit.

The final alteration for the day was cutting the paper halo away and replacing it with gold paint. The dark ink added to the sides of the piece picked up texture provided both by the gel medium and the stamping, which was a pleasant surprise.

Now I feel like there is a direction to the work, more ideas are coming to me as I examine it and it is quite honestly, fun!!!!

I hope your little lost projects get a chance for a second glance at daylight---who knows; there might be a masterpiece waiting to happen! So go grab that stuff you've hidden, make art and have a wonderful, creative and fulfilling day!

Pax.