photo hunt blogroll

lunch on Main Street

today was my grammar-proofreading class and it was fine, definately no time to screw around and doodle but I did have a simple lunch sitting in the courtyard area of the museum and generally enjoying downtown...I have a special love for Main St., my grandmother and I spent so much time shopping there, just me and her, taking hours going from store to store, the Christmas parades were magical...Belks would put these giant choir boys over their main entrance and it was just the coolest thing...the architectural detail of so many of the buildings is beautiful , it's possible for me to see something new everytime I'm there....the City has been taking heat for a major revitalization to the area running way behind schedule, but after seeing a finished spot today I believe it will have been worth every minute...and for some reason I'm in this weird mood to take pictures so I can share my lunch on Main Street :)

Greek Festival and stuff....

I spent alot more time working on the cowgirl this weekend than I thought I would so that seriously cut into my online time...I'm a little behind...she is almost done though, the boots turned out pretty well and they're actually painted and glued to her legs...I need to do last minute touch ups and glaze and am thinking of adding a lasso but am a little unsure of the logistics...sorry no pictures even though she wasn't too popular if I remember...she's devastated ;)

the Greek Festival was wonderful...by far the most city-ish event of its kind that we've been to, LOL
...we semi-picnic'd on the front lawn with a chicken dinner that J ate the chicken out of and I had the greek salad, spanakopeta and manestra...we walked around saw some funky russian hand-painted dolls and toys







...watched some folks to dance to a greek band



walked around some more


bought some baklava to take home

and some loukoumades to snack on

...and eventually headed home once the crowd really started to pack in

nice to have a date nite...makes me look forward to the fair even more....I have a class tomorrow (grammar and proofreading) that I don't mind taking but I'd just as soon not...I will definately be taking my sketchbook and pencils....hopefully I can blend and absorb just enough to be useful later while I amuse myself doodling in the present.

What kind of food???

You Are French Food

Snobby yet ubiquitous. People act like they understand you more than they actually do.

What Kind of Food Are You?

Flickr

I uploaded some pictures to flickr today....my drive to work, LOL....anybody got any good flickr advice?....I think it's cool but from an application standpoint what should it be doing.....what should I want it to do?

Illustration Friday - Escape

I was going for a Houdini kinda thing here....you know escape... magician....but time got away from me and the background is not what I intended....maybe I'll rework it at some point...

B 25 Bomber recovered from our lake

Gee - look what's in Lake Murray...The B-25C bomber crash-landed in the lake during a training mission on April 4, 1943. The crew escaped safely, and the plane sank to a depth of 150 feet. It was recovered yesterday....I always heard stories growing up about what was flooded when the dam was built...never realized there were aircraft down there...these are some pics someone emailed me this morning...

Things I learned over the weekend

1 - There is a 2nd adjusting bolt on the bottom of the tension pulley for the compressor belt on the Sentra

2 - My head doesn't fit under the Sentra without taking the under-carriage off even though it looks like it should

3 - Dawn dish detergent does not remove car grease that is deeply embedded in your skin but oven degreaser and a brush will

4 - My hamstrings have shrunk 6 inches

5 - The Emmy's are boring even with Ellen hosting

Walking Stick Saturday

We really didn't do anything we intended to but go to the grocery store today...I did get some major painting done on the walking stick and really need to finish it tomorrow so I can concentrate on the cowgirl, LOL...only a week or so to go now - entries are due on the 29th I think...I have to say the more I paint on Galadriel the more I think I have to do...but she needs to be done tomorrow and I think that is do-able.....texture is important to me - and I think she's close to what I want...one of the things I am envious of when I look at the cool artblogs and sketchblogs and other creative stuff out there is the distinct sense of style those folks have - I would like to think that what I'm trying to do is create depth and reality to things that shouldn't have those characteristics....it's all about suspending belief (or disbelief) just for a second ;)

just because this is funny

Hell Pizza Delivery

Yesterday's meeting

so these were a few of the folks at the meeting I was at yesterday evening....

Bus Stop Guy

I saw this guy waiting on a bus this morning....for some reason he caught my eye.

7's for Karen

7 Things I Plan to do Before I Die:
* live in a house with a dishwasher
* get more tattoos
* live in Asheville
* own a motorcycle
* ride my bike to work
* have a screened in porch with a big wooden swing on it
* build a really cool kite

7 Things I Can Do
* match paint colors
* keep other people organized
* garden
* use a scroll saw
* carry on a conversation
* a pretty good Henry Kissinger impersonation
* put things back together correctly after taking them apart

7 Things I Can't Do
* sew
* sit where I can't see a door
* heights
* listen to Pat Robertson
* keep my cuticles well maintained
* find someone to cut my hair properly
* get excited about the Gamecocks

7 Things That Attract Me to the Opposite Sex
(I'll take this literally, LOL)
* bald heads
* strong arms
* tattoos
* hands
* cleanly shaved faces
* laugh
* voice

7 Things I Say Most Often
* whatever
* stop it Scout
* okay
* move Tucker
* I'm going to kill the dogs
* it's your mother
* yes I set the alarm

7 Celebrity Crushes
* Angelina Jolie
* Johnny Depp
* Angelica Houston
* Susan Sarandon
* Demi Moore
* Carmen Diaz
* Reese Witherspoon

7 People Who I Want to Do This Meme

good question - no good answer :)

Project Updates - Sunday Evening

Balloon Finished
In flight ;)
Cowgirl with boots (rough cut)
Clock Panels
Cowgirl backside

Saturday

Gourd is finished:)...pictures tomorrow... at about 11:30 last nite I realized I didn't do the other fair entry so I got up and did those at the last minute - literally.....I'm pushing J to get the clock finished since I entered it for her ;) - it's the one she made for me a few years ago, she's never been happy with the hinges and with all the other painting lately, she took it apart and decided to add some color, it's beautiful....I should put some pics up of it too, oops....and the last thing I'm entering is a cowgirl I started for J about 2 years ago (LOL...TW, take your time with D's bd gift - it's the thought that counts)...the biggest thing not done was her boots, I cut the basic shape today and started working them down to appear bootish, I hope to finish cutting them tomorrow and level the bottom of the walking stick....about 2 1/2 weeks until we take stuff...

otherwise - a good thrift store day, we had chili tonite (have I mentioned J is not so thrilled about the inconvenience of me not eating any meat again ;)), the library didn't have either of the books I wanted unfortunately but they'll be there eventually, I wound up having to cut one of the wolves nails when we stopped to drop off bananas and tomatoes at J's moms and now I hear J's bath draining which means I should get ready to shower so we can watch "Sin City".

Walking Stick

a while back, I started this walking stick....it's a piece of cedar from one of the trees in our yard in Atlanta....I've resurrected it, decided to add paint and make it a fair entry also...her name is Galadriel and after the painting is done, I'm planning on adding a copper headpiece....I was scared of the paint but am really excited about the dimension it added....

not really an illustration Friday

but, it's the mural we did at an elementary school last fall...J put a free site together at some point during the last week...this was one of the neatest things we've ever done, we got to work together, we got to work on a big scale and the kids seemed to get a big kick out of it...they have a koi pond and perennial garden in the courtyard and we decided to use that as the inspiration for the mural...they also had a pet rabbit that lived in the courtyard - Romeo - that would hang out at the glass doors sometimes when we painted..."roots" was the theme for IF this week and if nothing else, kids are just that...

Burnside

Gourd Update

Well...I finally got the panels to an acceptable point and I did the basket and drilled holes, the only thing left is to glaze, finish off the interior - which I see from the photo is visible and can't be left unfinished, permanently hang stuff and touch up little stuff....now to finish the walking stick...got my registration cards for both pieces last week....good distraction right now :)

Katrina Relief Columbia SC

I was truly inspired by the blog set up by Fatblogger on relief efforts in Houston - Houston Helps. So, I decided to set something up for Columbia as well...we're not going to see nearly the people but maybe it can be a small attempt at easing relocation for incoming folks...

Katrina Relief Columbia SC

Tags: katrina relief, columbia sc

Zoo

J and I went to the zoo last nite to listen to bluegrass and hang out in the garden for a bit...while we were sitting on a bench I realized we had company behind us...I believe it was an Argiope, not sure of the species and if I'm wrong on the ID by all means correct me....I also uploaded some other pictures of the garden into my Flickr feed....we had a good time, it was a little muggy but being outside is always a treat especially surrounded by so many plants.....no snake sightings this trip (first time ever) but I'm sure they were lurking in packs just waiting to fly out or drop from the trees...damn my snake issues ;)

Illustration Friday for Em

I have been completely distracted this week and not really feeling the whole dream theme...but I had a dream a while back that had to be brought on by my buddy Em's post last month describing one of her neighbor's as a dementor (soul sucking guards of Azkaban in the Harry Potter series)...Em later told another story about this same neighbor borrowing toilet paper....in my dream the dementor was returning the tp...so here is a quick sketch for Em, I left my other book with the original sketch in it at home this morning...so this will have to do...