dj pettitt - gentle whispering hues

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:

Springtime!

I thought it would be a fun challenge to try writing some haiku this morning. I'm not gifted at writing but I really enjoyed my first attempt at haiku. It's pretty easy since it's short and isn't supposed to rhyme. Not sure if it's supposed to be more than just thoughts and feelings,  but I decided to add Tulla in one anyway :-)

Hope you're all having a wonderful day!

 

 
 

painted crow photo

Before painting, this was a photo of a bunch of crows on the beach that I snapped last year.
Today was the first warm day we've had this year! And to make it extra special, there wasn't any wind. It was so incredibly nice to go outside without a coat, scarf, or boots, and feel the warmth of the sun soaking through me. This afternoon I enjoyed photographing the few flowers we have blooming as well as some happy birds. And the topper... it stayed light out until 8 PM.

Tulla and I had such a wonderful day.
Below are a few photos from the past few days, beginning with the winning Mr S of course :-) Such a busy boy he is. I laugh at how smart I thought I was when we had an arborist out to trim the trees, and I worked with him to preserve certain branches so I would have the perfect props when photographing birds.  Ha, Mr S sees things a bit differently.  He'll do anything for Mrs S, and constantly looks for the perfect twig or piece of bark to make the nursery more comfy for her. He makes many trips up the Maple and over to the Pine tree with the perfect token of his affection.

   

baby steps

Not much progress, but I did work on a few details today.

 

finished the painting

She's finished now. I softened and warmed her up, as well as worked on details.

update

I've had some setbacks with my health (nothing big, I'm just battling thyroid and adrenal fatigue, making me tired and unable to think clearly) and have decided that it's best to postpone online classes for a few months so I can get well. I feel badly, and know that so many were looking forward to it, but I just can't get it together right now. It will happen, I just need to get well first. In the mean time, I'll be opening my etsy site again, and will be offering books, prints, simple tutorials with kits, and other goodies as I'm able.

Below are some shots of a book I'm working on and will be offering for sale in the next few days. I haven't painted a face in about a year, and it felt good to begin again. It's not finished yet, but I thought I'd show you the progress so far. She'll be the cover of the book.

progress report for my online book class

I wanted to remind everyone interested in the online book class (or future online classes) to be sure you are signed up on my mailing list for updates and details. There's a link on the right. If you can't remember whether you have signed up or not, you can sign up again... you won't get duplicate newsletters.

I appreciate the enthusiasm and can't wait to get started! It looks like it will be October before I can get everything ready. I was hoping for September, but I want to make sure I have time to tend all the details as well as make sure I'm not battling technology like I did in the last class. I'll begin taking sign-ups around the end of August and will let you know exact details in a newsletter, blog posts, and on my site.

 

projects and summer fare

Lots going on here as I enjoy summer photo shoots, and working on projects for my class and vendor table at An Artful Journey.

class demo

The retreat is coming up in a few weeks, and although I wish I had more time for creating samples, I'm getting so excited to see everyone. I love this venue! One of the reasons it's such a great place is that the classrooms remain open and students can work all night if they like. I love checking in on the die-hards, and joining in on the laughter and fun of after-hours creativity. Here's a great, late night shot of Kelly and Leah, excited about Kelly finishing her book in my February class.

I'm working on some collage pieces for my vendor table at the retreat.

And for dinner last night....

My sweet husband does most of the cooking so I can get more work done, and is so patient when I see a food photo op, and dinner prep comes to an immediate halt while I run get my camera and tripod. Last night, I walked into the kitchen and he had fresh corn ready to cook, but when I saw the beautiful bubbles balancing on the corn silk, I had to move the pot to better lighting, and do a photo shoot before dinner could continue. What a patient man...

 

working on class samples

I'm getting excited about my class next month at An Artful Journey! We'll be altering and painting photos that have been printed on fabric, as well as learning other mixed media technique to incorporate into the book we'll work on throughout the retreat.

Here's an unfinished class sample that I started last night, using a photo of my niece who got married last week.

I'm driving the 6.5 hours instead of flying this time, which will be fabulous since I can stop for photo shoots, and I won't have to deal with all the hassles of flying. I'm planning on taking the coastal route back home and enjoying the drive for a few days instead of rushing home. There are so many beautiful places to photograph between here and Los Gatos, and I don't want to miss any. Well, I'm sure I can't hit them all, but I'll pack in as much as I can!

There are two spots open in my class, and it's the last time I'll be teaching other than online and internationally. I have exciting news about teaching in Australia again in April of 2012 that I will share soon!

Sweet English Sparrows near the garden

finished the little book

I made this book for one of our daughters. I thought she could add photos of the kids, as well as have them draw in it, and add special little notes, poems, and memories. I used Stonehenge paper for the pages which will work great for the kids to color or paint on. It's about 5 X 5.5 and about 4 inches deep. I left ample room between the signatures so it could hold lots of photos.

I've also been enjoying playing in Photoshop with some the apple blossom photos that I took a few weeks ago.

Need to add words and maybe a bee on this one.

And, I've spent the past several days working on a long over due face lift for my website. There's still one link that isn't working, but I will get it up as soon as I can. I added quite a few images and updated the links and info. I couldn't believe how long it had been since I updated. You can go take a look here!

Here's a peek at one of the photography pages. I had fun putting seven of these together in different color themes, and plan to add more as I have time.