Time for Some Color

Senior

Olivia and I took advantage of today's "blizzard" which here means the 6" to 12" that tuned out to be an inch...barely.  So disappointing.  Anyway, we went to Longwood Gardens to shoot some possible Senior Picture shots.  This is my favorite.  I learned a bit about aspect ratio and how important it is to pay attention to it when you are shooting photos meant to be printed at 8"x10".  Sigh. 

Sunrise on the Smokies

Almost the Top

 

Three views of the final rise of the Chimney Tops Trail in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  None of us climbed to the pinnacle which was a bit intimidating on a windy day.  Or maybe any day for such as myself...not a rock climber.  This was one of the most strenuous hikes I've personally made but totally worth it.  The final photo is me taken by Beth who's in the first photo.

Fox in the Snow

Light Snow

Spiral

I'm pretty sure when I finished sewing my 13th spiral during my Arrowmont residency I swore I would never sew another spiral.  But then I got home and I remembered how I'd always wanted to do this thing I could never figure out how to do.  And after completing the blue wallpaper piece at Arrowmont I now know exactly how to do that thing.  So of course I have to do it. 

Winter Spaces

Micro Forest

Towards the end of my Chimney Tops Trail hike I stumbled (literally stumbled because by this point my legs were shaking) upon this little micro forest.  Not knowing if I'd be able to stand up after (but being close enough to the end of the trail to risk it) I sat down on the ground to get these shots.

Ice

I've just discovered that these are known as frost flowers. An amazing phenomenon.

Arrowmont 2015 Pentaculum

I don't have a title for this piece yet.  This is what I spent my week long residency at Arrowmont's 2015 Pentaculum making.  It was a fantastic week of work and socializing with other amazing artists.  Erin Castellan put together a very diverse group of women working with fiber-centric techniques.  Many, like myself, were painters or other non-fiber's artists by training.  Several were artists who I've been following online but hadn't met.  I'm looking forward to getting back into my Philly studio and see what happens next.

Chimney Tops Trail

These are from my 4 mile Chimney Tops Trail hike.  2 miles straight up a mountain and 2 miles down.  Ouch.  We started out just as the sun was rising and didn't see another person until after we turned around for the hike down.  It was a beautiful morning and a beautiful hike.  It was also completely exhausting.  My legs were trembling the last 1 1/2 miles down.  Way better than a stair climber.

Laurel Falls

And also Laurel Falls had a waterfall. 

Winter Textures

Arrowmont

Tomorrow is my last day at Arrowmont where I've been for the past week participating in the 2015 Pentaculum, an artist residency for Fibers, Drawing, Clay, Metals, and something else I'm forgetting. Anyway I decided to spend the week tackling this large spool of industrial strength wallpaper from the bank. Today I sewed the last of 13 spirals. Tomorrow I'll try to get them all sewn to each other before the 4 pm clean up time.  Then on Saturday I'll be heading home and I'll have more photos to share.

Mountain Color

I went on another fantastic hike today.  2 miles straight up the mountain.  Very beautiful and very tiring.  I'll have photos to share when I get home.  In the mean time here are more from the Laurel Falls hike.  So many great colors!

Rocks

Up Close

Back Online

After two months away from hiking and taking pictures I'm back online.  I'm spending the week at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, TN.  Today I took advantage of the nearby Great Smoky Mountains and had a lovely walk up to Laurel Falls.  It's unseasonably warm with a mix of sun and clouds and an all around beautiful day in January.  I spent the first five hours of my day in the studio working on something new with a lot of other interesting artists.  And this is just the first day.  It's going to be a great week.