little things and lizards

Sometimes it's the little things that make the biggest difference.

As you may know, I'm enjoy kitsch, particularly when it comes to my decor.  I have a bit of a thing for lizards and frogs and turtles and birds.  And I have seasonal decorations.  In the winter time I hang glitter snowflake ornaments from the ceiling of my living room, and in the spring and the summer I have a set of monarch butterflies and some hummingbird ornaments that I use.  The hummingbirds were Christmas ornaments that I found in Target like 5-6 years ago. I thought they were so cool that I bought all the ones they had that weren't broken. I have 14 of them or so.  They're resin ornaments, so I brought them home and painted them so that they looked like real ruby-throated hummingbirds, right down to using various shades of iridescent nail polish over their plumage to make them shine... 

Anyway, back around that actual beginning of spring, I took down all the snowflakes and put up my butterflies and my hummingbirds.  And then it snowed the next day.  It's been a long winter, and that's meant a lot of time in doors.  So much so that I started changing out and moving around pictures and artwork just to entertain myself and stave off boredom and malaise.

I thought I was done until I found myself standing in Hobby Lobby buying 2 more resin lizards (like these).  So, of course, I gave them a new coat of paint.  And after they sat around my work space for a week or two - on a whim I finally got around to hanging them up on Tuesday morning.  This of course also meant that I needed a new picture for over the computer...

I am definitely not a minimalist.  But I think we all already knew that...

Hopefully the weather starts acting like spring soon. As much as I may enjoy decor and pictures and knick-knacks and stuff, I'm ready to put on my good shoes and grab the camera and throw some extra batteries in my pockets and go out wandering around enjoying some budding trees and daffodils.

Outside: autumn leaves

Well, autumn is upon us, so that means it's time to wander around outside with the camera...

 reflections

 oak leaves in autumn

oak mix

propeller

sunflowers

Yes, as the title implies: sunflowers.
On my way to and from work I drive down a lot of country roads and highways that are surrounded by farm fields.  Much of it is corn, wheat is the runner-up, and occasionally they grow alfalfa in these parts. Anyway, there is one farm that I know of that grows a crop of sunflowers every couple of years — and apparently this was one of those years. So, I charged up my camera batteries and parked at a really awkward angle on the shoulder of a busy highway — well off the shoulder, actually, hence the angle part... and, voila — sunflower photos!

It really is a beautiful sight.

Outside: dogwood blossoms

Last weekend I went into town to photograph the lilacs... and I ended up taking over 600 pictures in 2 days - most of which were dogwood blossoms, since that's what happened to be blooming at the time.

 

dogwood bokeh

 

dogwood abounds

 

dogwood fantasia

dogwood memories

You can see some of the rest of them here at sarahknight.etsy.com.

Yes, I was a dogwood junkie for 2 rather cold days last weekend.  It was like 40˚F, and while I was wearing a shirt and a coat and gloves (and pants and shoes and socks, and a wrist watch and sunglasses) — I was also very cold.  I want that unseasonably warm weather that we had in the beginning of March to return. I'm tired of being cold...

We have dogwood bushes in the yard, but they're not the same thing.  They're mostly thin red sticks with weeny little flowers on them, when and if the flowers actually bloom.  Nothing like the splendor of the flowers on dogwood trees.  So, yes, if you were briefly awoken and saw the lady with the big sunglasses and the crazy hair standing on your lawn, well, that might have been me. Don't worry, I'm not a burglar or a terrorist, I'm just a dogwood junkie.

As I said I would, I went out last week and got a copy of Jack White's "Blunderbuss." And like a school girl I have pretty much played "Love Interruption" on repeat. I'll eventually get around to listening to the rest of the album, but these things must happen slowly & organically. I still haven't quite gotten around to listening to that Bob Dylan album from 2005... but someday I will unwrap it and pop the cd in the player.  Someday.

If you're not watching "Grimm," well, I don't know what to say. That show is awesome.  The dinner scene awkwardness between Nick and Monroe was a priceless and hilarious bit of acting. You can see part of it here. The full episode of "Leave It to Beavers" can be found on hulu.

Anyway, have a good week, oh, and awesomesauce — M&Ms FINALLY put the coconut ones in a big bag!

Outside: magnolia

Magnolia, oh magnolia, you dear dear bush...

magnolia fantasia

magnolia cascade

magnolia skies

intricate magnolia

As I have mentioned before, here in Michigan when the magnolia finally blooms it then usually immediately snows. So, the bushes look fabulous for about a day, and then they are covered with snow and turn all brown and sad looking... and then all the petals fall off in a spectacular mess.

Well, we had 80˚F weather here for a week in March, so, I got my time with the magnolias.  It is a balmy 53˚F presently as I type this.  It rained during the night and the forecast predicts more rain. So, there-yah-go — we had our brief week of spring, and now it's back to weather as usual.

brief almost connected to the post musical interlude: Grateful Dead "Sugar Magnolia"

I was never a Dead-Head, per se, but "American Beauty" is an album that I happen to own. I'm one of those people who usually buys an album for one or 2 songs, and then eventually ends up listening to the entire thing, and well, I become fond of all the songs.  And "American Beauty" was one of those albums that followed that pattern. I'm pretty sure I probably bought it solely for "Sugar Magnolia." But I became quite fond of "Ripple," "Till the Morning Comes," and "Operator." But actually it was "Box of Rain" that I became completely smitten with. (Oh, and I'm pretty sure everyone has heard "Truckin" and "Friend of the Devil," unless, like, you live under a rock or were born after 1990)

Anyway, I could put "Box of Rain" on repeat for hours, I love that song. So, you know, buy the album, you'll eventually find all the good songs.

Anyway, as it is every year with the magnolias:

"Such a long long time to be gone

And a short time to be there."

—Robert Hunter

Enjoy your weekend!

lost hours...

Sometimes something seems to get done on the weekend... and other times not so much. I stopped by some field along the highway on my way home from work Friday morning because they had baled the hay. And, of course, there was some thistle in front of the hay - and an industrious bee... and then I remembered to wander out into the back yard and take a look around, and there was a damselfly... and the hummingbird perched way up high on the obsolete tv antenna.

And then I spent the rest of my night off reformatting photos for listings... and then I had to edit each of those listings. Which you can see here on SunshineSight

This guy has been hanging around the back yard a lot with his mate ; )

And then I finally took some photos of the paintings I did way back when (I mean last summer). You can see them at sarahknight on etsy. The problem was that there was no where in the house with enough light or the right kind of light to get any decent pictures (I mean short of going out and spending $300.00 on lights or something)... So I finally relented and just went out in the backyard and hammered a nail into the back of the rabbit hutch. Yes, it's, uhmn, rustic.

Although if you're familiar with etsy, you may know the sardonic joke that the 'etsy look' for photos is anything shot in a macro blur with kitschy objects that have nothing to do with your listing item on a gray / white / or otherwise neutral background that is either an old book or a piece of barn wood. The penultimate satirical commentary on this concept is this post from Regretsy. Now, if you're one of those people that doesn't ever make fun of something or enjoy snark or questionable language - then maybe don't click on that link.

Honestly, "barn wood" isn't really my style... but I kind of think if you've been here before and seen my work that you kind of know that.

Speaking of 'my work' — I have a piece in the U of M School of Art & Design Alumni Show: Things That Move.
Yes, you have to scroll forever down the page to get to it (like halfway). It's called "cherry apricot phantasmagoria" (because I come from the e.e. cummings school of thought). Anyway, it's bright red, or if you just do a "COMMAND F" and type Sarah Knight into the box, you'll find it.

• The show runs from 18 July to 6 August 2011
• Slusser Gallery hours are: Mon—Fri 9am to 5pm, Sat noon to 7pm
• 2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
  Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2069
• parking is behind the building which can be accessed from Fuller Road
  

for the birds

I spent the weekend working on a spur-of-the-moment project (I mean, you know I thought about it for like 2 whole days before embarking on it, technically)... so, hopefully I'll be done with it soon, and then I can get back to the butterfly mobiles.

It's been hot out, apparently so hot that we had our first power outage of the summer. Yes, you know because I had just arrived home from running errands - it was like 80˚F - and I went to put the cold groceries in the fridge and was surprised that it was dark in there. And then I looked around at the rest of the kitchen and noticed the clock on the microwave was blank, etc. Fortunately it came back on within 2 hours...

Anyway, there's a male cardinal out in the yard pining for some company. We had 2 of them out there the other day chasing each other around and otherwise jockeying for territory... at least cardinals have a pretty song (as opposed to robins which always just sound like they're yelling).

what they sound like: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C9LNexIoCW0

This is one of my cardinal illustrations: cardinal couple
It was part of the project that I have been working on this weekend.
Here's a little preview:



Yes, it involves my bird illustrations (which you can see at sarahkdesigns)
or
if you're more curious...

There's a cool giveaway at danielleorama's blog, that bunny is adorable :D

Now I think I'm going to sit here in front of the oscillating fan and catch up on Haven (season 1) - which I have been watching via dvd. It's an awesome show.

Hopefully you had a lovely weekend : )

just because

Evidently it's Wednesday... I forget that sometimes because I work midnights and sometimes the days just kind of blend together.

Apparently it's 79˚F, and the skies are sort of overcast and yet sunny — so there's that atmospheric light. It's humid, but it isn't ridiculous. It's warm, but it isn't sweltering. It's just nice...

And I've been sitting here, working at the computer this morning, indoors... until I finished what I was working on — which, as it turns out was the new background for my blog — which you may have noticed if you've been here before. There used to be a lot of #867cbb around here. But then I was meandering around my blogger profile or the blogs that I follow or something — and I opened this blog: http://bittersweet-enmi.blogspot.com/
And, yes, I was envious — in that I wanted a background and something maybe a little less generic — because her blog just looks cool.

So, yes, it's summer and it's nice outside and I've been sitting here at my computer tinkering and copying and pasting from my files like as if the design layout of my blog was the only thing that mattered... and actually, I didn't change the layout — I just changed the colors, made a new header and assembled 100 square samples of my work together into one large grid to make a new background — since I finally figured out that blogger will let me upload my own picture for the background.

So, thank you, Emmy Wahlback, for the inspiration.
And now, I suppose it's time to get back to cutting out butterflies... or maybe I'll go outside again.

Enjoy your summer, and the wondrous things that exist just outside the back door.

Outside: irises (part 2)

So, this is the second installment of the irises. The first two photos are "honky tonk blues," the third pic is a "batik," and the fourth - well, I think it's an "above the clouds."

As for those light purple colored irises that smell like grape - those are Iris pallida 'Variegata'
We have some growing on the side of our house, I always just kind of thought they smelled like grape — although probably because we never had grape soda. There's a fairly famous beverage company in Michigan: Faygo. Anyway Faygo Rock & Rye was a family staple, because otherwise it was Coke or Pepsi. Rock & Rye is one of those pop flavors like Dr. Pepper - I'll be damned if I can explain what exactly it tastes like, and I suspect it has nothing to do with the alcoholic beverage of the same name. But then, what exactly does Coke taste like — you know, besides Coke?

Anyway, the pallida variegata grow by the side of the house. But unfortunately, they grow to be about 3-4 feet tall. And the stems are so loaded with blossoms that they literally fall over. I have to go out and prop them up with pruned tree branches every year. They're pretty though, and I love the way they smell.

On a completely unrelated note, my 'Artfire collection' was the collection of the day for 10 June 2011 - check it out here. Very cool : )

The bluebirds had 5 babies this year. I neglected to mention this while they were in the nest, because last year's first attempt at a nest ended in tragedy — due to English house sparrows who went into the nest and killed all 4 babies. I hate english house sparrows. When I can: I kill these birds. I live in Michigan — they are an alien invasive species.
European House sparrows are an invasive species in North America

Anyhow, the bluebirds had five babies. They fledged, without incident. I actually saw the last fledge out of the nest. It was adorable, mostly because it was literally just standing there on the back porch looking up at me. Anyway, that was like 2 weeks ago. Last night I happened to look out in the back yard and wonder what the strange little birds were sitting on the old rabbit hutch. I got the binoculars, and low and behold — they were the baby bluebirds. Well, I guess now they're technically "juveniles." Juvenile bluebirds are pretty much gray on the head, back, and wings, their belly is white with spots of gray, and they are identifiable by their blue tails. (see this photo from a google image search) What a bunch of cuties. This is actually their Dad. And this is their Mom.

You can find my many homages to eastern bluebirds here and here.

As I type this I am waiting for paint to dry. I've had this idea floating around in my imagination about combining photos and watercolors and probably salt and then the other day I saw this technique with alcohol. So, yeah, photos had to be selected, and then formatted... and there was some gnashing of the teeth at my printer which apparently does not understand the meaning of the term "borderless." But anyway, I'm waiting for the paint and salt and alcohol to dry now...

Surely, if I ever have an autobiography, there will be a chapter entitled "Waiting for Paint to Dry." And it will somehow be a very long book with many pictures...

Have a lovely weekend!

Outside: magnolia

Spring has been a little strange this year. According to the calendar it began on 20 March 2011... well, it sure hasn't felt like it. It felt more like winter-lite. At least it did until this week, when the temperature seems to have risen. So, the magnolia had an interesting season of blooms. I mean about 3 weeks ago there was a day where the buds were covered in snow for 24 hours...

And now the blooming season is drawing to a close, so the petals are dropping... I suppose it's like confetti.

Sidewalk Tourism: cherry plum blossoms

The weather is getting warmer which means it's sidewalk tourism time. So, this is someone else's tree. After consulting Google I think this is a plum cherry tree. But I could be wrong about that. It's not my tree — I just drive by it in the spring and think "man, that is a pretty tree."

merry cherry


cherry wonder


cherry affection


(not yet titled)


cherry impression

I think I stood there for about 20 minutes photographing this tree, it was just that damned cool. I so have tree envy. You can find some of them in my Artfire shop: SunshineSight

Anyway, Mother's Day is on Sunday — so everyone have a Happy Mother's Day!

Outside: magnolia

As many of you know — we had some severe weather here in the United States this past week, including tornadoes in the Southern States. Well, I live in Michigan, so we just had rain, rain, more rain, and finally one giant thunderstorm that overflowed every river, stream, lake, and farm field or low area. I was at work listening to the rain pound on the metal roof when it happened... and then drove home on those country highways punctuating farm fields that looked like they were full of chocolate milk. Weather is not to be taken lightly.

Anyway, it finally stopped raining — just in time for the art walk. It was nice to finally participate in that event without rain.

In the mean time, the magnolias around these parts have been ready to bloom. That always seems to happen right when we're having inclement weather. Magnolias just have the weirdest timing. They're such pretty bushes, but it always seems to be gloomy out when they bloom, so, there was some photoshopping that took place with these photos... to make them seem less somber.

They are actually all other people's magnolias, since ours has yet to open. Hopefully it doesn't snow tomorrow or something equally wacky like that.