dj pettitt - gentle whispering hues

working on a new book

Hello! I'm teaching this class again the first week in December, so you're seeing another version of the same goose on the cover. Since the workshop is in December, I couldn't resist adding some vintage silver trim on some of the pages. The workshop info is here if you would like to take a peek! I still need to add words here and there, a few tiny vintage rhinestones, and bind it all together. Oh, and paint the back cover, but I'm getting close!Beautiful sun print fern made by Elizabeth Woodford. 

 

smothered by daily beauty

The wall is silence, the grass is sleep,
Tall trees of peace their vigil keep,
And the Fairy of Dreams with moth-wings furled. Plays soft on her flute to the drowsy world.~Ida Rentoul Outhwaite Happy Autumn everyone. I haven't been creating much art lately, so my blogging has slowed. Although not creating much with paint in my studio, I've been smothered by daily beauty and Divine paint as I shoot fall color and create with my camera. Summer drew me out of my studio like never before. When I make myself work inside, I pine for nature, worry that I'll miss something beautiful, and it's nearly impossible for me to stay indoors. But as seasons change outside, they seem to be changing inside me as well. Suddenly, I'm able to let go and look forward to all of the lovely in the future instead of focusing on fading flowers and shorter days, and hanging on to every minute of now as tight as I can. It feels good to begin creating in the studio again. Here's a card I made to send my sweet Auntie. It's about 4.5" wide X 11" tall:
Wishing you all creative warmth in your studios today.

 

Summer memories

As I went out last evening to shoot the last of our vibrant, summer color, it hit me that as much as I love the crisp, moody days of autumn,  winter is coming, and it isn't an easy adjustment for me. Suddenly it seems that Tulla and I are taking our walks earlier to avoid the cold and dark, and T-shirts have been covered with vests and hoodies.I'm thankful that although cold and wet, there is much beauty to look forward to during the winter months. I don't look forward to muddy doggy and  kitty paws that need drying several times a day, but the beauty of bare tree limbs, frosty dried leaves, pods, and twigs, and sweet winter birds bring smiles of anticipation and make the adjustment a bit easier.Still, I'm going to savor every day while breathing deeply and enjoying the rich, colorful leaves dancing and floating on gentle breezes as long as I can. Wind Has Shaken Autumn Down ~ Tony Johnston

Wind has shaken autumn down,
left it sprawling on the ground,
shawling all in gold below,

waiting--for the hush of snow.

Walking through the autumn leaves
Scattered on the ground
Seeing the kaleidoscope
Of colors all around.

Listening to the trees' song
As the wind comes rustling through . . .
May autumn's lovely magic
Bring happiness to you.

 

Petroglyph Point and Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge

I had such an amazing day yesterday filled with sunshine, birds, lava beds, and incredible ancient petroglyphs. I've wanted to view the ancient art at Petroglyph Point in Northern California for a quite a while, but the only other time I've been there I didn't realize where it was, and I had spent too much time on other adventures that day to fit it in. Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge and the lava beds are only about 2.5 hours from here, so I'm going to make it a point to go more often throughout the year. I can't wait to return and explore the pictographs in the lava beds that I wasn't able to visit yesterday. I also look forward to  photographing more of the many different migratory birds in the area. A few of the birds I was able to capture yesterday include the beautiful White Egret, lots and lots of Canadian Geese, Western Grebes and hungry babies (LOVE those red eyes), many busy Gulls, a few White Crowned Sparrows,
and these mystery birds...anyone know what they are? Oh, and there were Killdeer too. Another favorite with intense red eyes. Pretty amazing place huh? It was such a perfect, relaxing day.

glorious autumn

I'm loving the glorious and sometimes inexpressible joys of autumn...or almost autumn!
Evenings here in southern Oregon have cooled, and for a bit longer, the days will continue to be perfect; most highs around 80 degrees
with golden light and a slight breeze.
The following poem by George Eliot expresses it well.
Delicious autumn!
My very soul is wedded to it,
and if I were a bird
I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns. ~George Eliot. May inexpressible joys surround you today.

 

 

Finished the book... it's ready to journal in.

Here's the finished journal (sold) that I made as a sample for my workshop this weekend. The covers are 6X9 canvas panels. The front cover includes a painted and collaged photograph:Spine with vintage buttons:
Back cover is a painted canvas panel:
I added faux crazy quilting and hand stitching on the lining of the front cover (faux because of the raw edges). On the right is a signature-wrap:
More faux crazy quilting and hand stitching on the inside back cover:
6 Signatures:
Painted and embellished pages:

book pages and recent photos

I'm making a journal to use as a sample for my workshop in Jacksonville, OR next week.
I've used this goose photo quite a few times, but I'm not tired of him yet, so I painted him again for the cover. Here are more of the pages:













I've also been getting out to take photos as often as I can.
Winter is coming and I won't be able to go as often, so I need to fill up to hold me till spring.
I explored Lower Klamath Basin in southern Oregon, and northern California a couple weeks ago and fell in love.
It's only a 2 hour drive, so I plan to go back before snowy weather arrives.
Fall is beautiful there, but the mosquitoes were almost unbearable. I have a fabulous natural bug oil from All Natural Herbs, so I was fine, but I wouldn't even attempt getting out of my car without it. I've never seen so many bugs! See all the little white dots in the photo below? Those are all mosquitoes. I moved inland and south a bit, away from the bugs, and the day was perfect.



The highlight of the day was a Bald Eagle allowing me to get a few shots before he flew. What a thrill it was to get photos of such a magnificent bird!
I've also been taking photos of peacocks, and decided to paint this one.
I'm so in love with these birds!
I photographed these two at Wildlife Safari in Winston, Oregon.
Here are a few more shots from the safari:








Hope you're enjoying whatever season it is where you live!

new painting and other fun

In November, I've been given the opportunity to have my first gallery exhibition in Ashland, Oregon! The theme is, "wings" so I'll be painting birds, angels, and butterflies. Here's the first painting for the collection.

11x14 - acrylic on canvas (sold)
This is my rendition of "Jake", my husband's pet crow as he was growing up. I wish I could have known Jake. He would pull the wiper blades off of cars and hide them, as well as steal everything that wasn't nailed down. He could also talk and knew how to call the dog. The old Lab was named Duke, and when Jake called his name, Duke would get so confused when he came obediently, and it was a bird calling him. Can you imagine? Poor old Duke...

The other day I went for a drive searching for something to photograph, and on the way, saw a sign advertising an estate sale. On a whim, I decided to check it out. So glad I did! I didn't really 'need' anything, but couldn't resist the last-day sale they were having. I got all of these lovely treasures, plus a bit more that didn't get in the photos, for $9. 

Below is a little hand crocheted bag. So adorable.

 
I didn't take too many photos because it was so hot out. Here are a few that I managed to capture before melting :-)
 

Another fun thing I wanted to mention is a 3 day book workshop that I'll be teaching in historic Jacksonville, Oregon next month. It's the last time I'll be teaching till I go to Australia in April, 2012. We put it on the schedule very late, and haven't advertised it, so there's still room if you would like to come!        Have a beautiful day!

 

summer days

WOW I can't believe how long it's been since I last posted. It's been a busy summer and I struggle to accomplish all I want/hope to do, blog posting included. I'm grateful you don't give up on me though, and that you continue coming back to see what I've been up to.


Let's see... along with Wings of Wonder in Independence, Oregon, what have you missed in the past month – Summer road trips to the beach,

magnificent Great Blue Heron in Newport, Oregon,


fun at the aquarium, watching the pelicans in Crescent City, CA (such amazing birds!)






dragonflies on local walks,
processing photos,

art with grand kids,
a bit of painting, and a fun visit with Bernie --PLEASE check out her site and consider donating to help her save the lives of so many dogs who would be killed without her help! While Bernie was here, we worked on a new venture involving licensing and signing with a company to produce my own product line. Bernie is already signed with them, and was so encouraging and helpful as I worked toward that same goal.

Below: books that we made while she was here. Bernie's on the right and mine on the left:
 So very exciting... I don't have all the details yet, but I'll spill the beans as soon as I can!
Wishing you days filled with warmth and creativity.

 

workshop photos and other fun stuff

The workshop in Jacksonville this past weekend was fabulous!

(Karen D, Cheri R, Belinda V, and Jessica L)
The classroom holds 8, and there was a cancellation, so with 7 students, I was able to spend lots of individual time with each person. A couple gals even started more than one book!
(Karen D)

With less people in class, it seemed there would be all kinds of time available, but I still didn't get photos of everyone.   There's always more to do than we have time for no matter how many are in class! (Karen D and Cheri R)
I missed some amazing work by Marbi B, Karen C, and Corinne S because they had to leave a bit early, and somehow didn't get details of Cheri's book. Hopefully when they finish, they'll send scans so I can share them with you. Corinne has photos of her book on her site though, and you can see it there!

(Jessica L)

  (Belinda V)
If you missed this workshop and would like to learn photo altering, painting, and book making techniques, I'll be teaching the same class again in September! Yesterday, I drove to Shady Cove, Oregon where I saw two huge trees covered with hundreds of neck ties! Is that just the most creative and fun project ever?  I've used one of them as my weekly caption post for the monthly drawing that I'm doing. If you leave a comment or caption for the photo on facebook, I'll add you to a drawing for something I make. Last time I made a journal for the prize. The tie trees were at an antique store, so I'm assuming they found a few hundred at an auction somewhere and cleverly decided this was a fun, wrinkle-free place to store them :-) It definitely made me smile and I had a great time photographing them.

I really miss photographing birds and was hoping to find some yesterday on my drive, but the only ones I found and was able to capture were man made.
We still have quite a few in our back yard, but with the summer foliage, it's so dark that I can't get good shots. I'm saving for this flash and this flash output booster though, and can't wait. In the meantime, I'm having bird withdrawels, and was thrilled to find info on bird blinds that you can reserve in the Klamath Basin a few hours from here.It's a bit of a process to get the permit and reservation, but I'm going to do it and hope that they aren't reserved too far in advance.
Hope you're all having a wonderfully creative day. Go out and tie some ties to a tree :-) I guarantee it will make you smile.