First hint of snow appeared this morning. Out came the flannel jeans. Long sleeve t-shirts replaced the short sleeve tees. Life can be pretty simple!
This year I have been much more interested in the faded colors of late autumn.
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I’ll leave you with some rather playful, altered images that I have been working on. I hope you enjoy them.
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Thanks for the visit.
Ever since I first began posting this blog six years ago I have closed out each year with a selection of images from the year gone by. With an annual production of 600 to 700 fresh images posted yearly I like to take this time to look back and choose one last grouping from the year gone by.
So today I present a mix of images, not necessarily the best, not necessarily my favorites, but rather images that struck a particular chord when I reviewed the year past – ones that I thought deserved another look. Of course, then, it would be a wide mix – some fossils, some drawings and mixed media works, and other assorted subjects.
Hopefully these disparate images flow smoothly and are pleasing to the eye!
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Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season. Here’s hoping for a safe and happy new year to all.
This little sprig of moss snaking its way across a fossil cephalopod gave me the idea for this week’s post. I’ve been leaf blowing lately here in the woods, hoping to keep my fossils from disappearing from view. And, in doing so, I noticed how so much moss has already covered the surfaces of many rocks. The vibrant greens draw the eye.
The more I looked the more I appreciated the juxtaposition between the moss and the fossils themselves. Exploring that became my focus this week.
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Thanks for the visit.
I managed to spend some time this week back at my favorite quarry. I hadn’t been there in quite a while, so it was fun to dig around on familiar ground. Even though it might be familiar ground, that’s not to say that there are no surprises to be had. No new earth-shattering specimens perhaps but always a few that reach out of the rocks to create a little story of their own.
These two images of cephalopods were enough to already call it a good day. But there was more.
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The other reason for calling it a good day – the view from up top looking across at the eastern escarpment of the Catskills on a beautiful autumn day.
The remaining images are fossils from this quarry trip mixed in with the many piled up outside my studio (many of which came out of that same quarry).
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Thanks for the visit.
Today’s post seems to be an extension of last week’s subject – What’s near at hand. I hadn’t consciously intended it to be. So, perhaps that’s what my new mantra should be for now. No fossils today. Instead here are some Autumn related images of plant life past their expiration date.
A trip to the farm stand (Story Farms on Route 32 – the best in the world!) got me thinking about gourds – strange ornamental plants that make me smile every Autumn when they appear, And then I remembered that I had saved a number of them from ten years ago, never knowing when I might revisit them.
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I also saved a Summer’s worth of weekly bouquets to see how they would degrade over time. At first I saw dried up plant life drained of color – as these three images seem to show.
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But, as I looked closer, I could see color buried inside the bouquets – more than I had expected.
I had assumed that the images would deal with typical Autumn notions of decay, of “withering” and “dying.” That assumption was quickly and solidly dashed when I realized that a joyful riot of color was waiting to be exposed!
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Thanks for the visit!
When I moved my studio months ago my biggest task was bringing my fossil rocks along. After all, I had amassed thousands over the years. At first the task seemed insurmountable. But, with much determination, I slogged on. If they were important enough to collect them in the first place, I thought, then they were important enough to bring along.
At some point in the process all I could do was drop many of them into piles all around the new studio – where they have sat ever since. Now that they are rapidly being covered by the falling leaves I decided to poke around to reacquaint myself. And in doing so I came to realize that they very naturally displayed their beauty despite their random placements.
Today’s images reflect that thought. No need for special attention or proper positioning. No need to look far and wide for new locations to explore. Everything I need seems to be right outside my door!
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Even my piles of props seemed to have some fresh appeal. Nothing earthshaking here but rather a creative exercise that made the day make sense for me!
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And when I was done I set my camera down on my desk, noticing how the late afternoon sun streamed through my window. This time the source of inspiration was my plastic water bottle. Inverting the image gave me this.
Thanks for the visit.
It’s a cool breezy day here in Catskill today. The recent heat has given way to what appears to be a perfect early Autumn day. And a brief trip to the farm stand at Story Farms confirms the seasonal changes that we are in the midst of. Gourds, pumpkins, apples and late corn fill the bins. It all seems to move quickly so enjoy this season while its here. “Tempus fugit” as my old Latin teacher would exhort!
I finally managed to get out the other day and explore a new fossil site (new to me, that is). It was a small limestone quarry just outside of town. Not much to find, it turns out, but just good to be out in the field again. These are a few of my discoveries: Above is a trilobite pygidium (always fun to find around here).
Next is a type of brachiopod named Leptaena. I generally don’t find to many of these so any time I find one I think it’s a pretty good day!
Here are a few brachiopods. Upon closer view, in the center of the image, there are small circular objects – crinoid ossicles, small segments of the stem of a crinoid.
These next three images show different views of a coral, Syringopora, that snake through the limestone. It’s pretty common around here. In this case, though, the definition and delineation is particularly noteworthy.
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And here are a few more fossils (not from that quarry trip) that caught my eye starting with this impression of another coral type in sandstone.
Two brachiopods with what I believe to be the impression of a another trilobite pygidium.
And last, a group of various brachiopods sharing a very small space together
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I’ll close out today with more Sci Fi art – covers from 1950s pulp magazines. All the recent events surrounding the Cassini Mission and its descent into the Saturn atmosphere has had me mesmerized! And seeing Saturn in the sky in the above image reminded me of it all the more. Enjoy!
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Thanks for the visit!
