Elizabeth Hagen will be offering her hand tinted, color and black and white photograps at this year's art sale. This is Elizabeth's third year with us. We introduced you to her last year in this blog. Since that time, she has expanded her horizons a bit. Kerry and I were drawn to Elizabeth's black and white photos which she brings to life with her hand painting skills. She revitalizes a skill from the days when photos were only black and white, and the only color had to be added by hand. Using photos from her worldwide travels and her local finds, she captures the essence of the landscapes and history in film. Since last year's art sale, she has expanded her repertoire to include numerous color and black and white photos of botanics, local sights and hot air balloons. 
Her black and white photos are printed on canvas or matte and hand painted with oil paints, adding color and texture. She uses other photos on note cards, thus offering her work in a wide variety of formats and prices.
Elizabeth's background as an economics major with experience in the mortgage banking industry is a far cry from her artistic calling now. As she says, "Good thing I got out when I did!" She says she was always interested in black and white photography but when she took a hand tinting class 15 years ago it, "renewed my passion and inspired me to try something different with my photos."
Elizabeth says this about her artistic process, " I may decide to paint a particular photo to bring out particular characteristics of the image. For example, one of my favorite photos is of the buildings in Venice with water and gondolas in the forefront. As Venice was built on water, the buildings have been through incredible wear and yet they are beautifully built and have wonderful detail. I use the black and white photo to give the old feel of Venice and add layers of color to the buildings to bring out the detail of the worn walls. "
You can find more of Elizabeth's work at our art studio next Friday and Saturday at our annual art sale or on her website.
We hope you enjoy her work as much as we do!
So, a week or two ago we were tagged by the creative and talented Brandy. The rules of the game are: 1. Link back to the person that tagged you. 2. Post these rules on your blog. 3. Share six unimportant things about yourself. 4. Tag six people at the end of your entry.
Here are the six unimportant things about me...(in no particular order)
It's fun to play the game, but since we tagged people a month ago, we will pass on tagging this time. Play along if you'd like. What's your favorite color? How do you encorporate it into your life?
Another from the "People are Strange" lot. My question, why was this even made into a post card? Right click the image to save it to your computer. And of course, leave your own caption for the photo.
Another gem from the "People are Strange" series. Right click the image to save it to your computer. Leave us a comment with your own interpretation of the photo.
Meet Elsa and Alma Fanning, "The Great Fanning Sisters!" They are awaiting the start of their synchronized fanning tour. Be sure to catch it when it comes to your town. They will be all the rage in towns like Frankenmuth, Michigan; Sugar Land, Texas; Joshua Tree, California; and Brooklet, Georgia. Their show will include singing, dancing, and of course, synchronized fanning.
Do you remember losing your favorite mitten in elementary school? Maybe it was your lunchbox or your boots. There was always that place where the "lost and found" items would pile up and you could dig through and find what you were looking for.
Where do we go now? We are all grown up, and our playground is much larger than it used to be. We just returned from our family vacation to Kauai and realized that one of our cameras didn't make the trip back with us. After several calls to the rental car company and to the hotel, we have had no luck. What a shame to lose a camera! Fortunately, we had another, this was the older camera we were letting the girls use to record their vacation memories. How do you find a camera that could be lost on an island?
Hopefully my calls will yield some result. Each member of our family thinks that it was left in the rental car. Perhaps the people who took the car we used, after we did, will find it and be kind enough to return it. Until then, I will post it on a blog called I Found Your Camera. I heard about this website several months ago, and thought nothing of it. Maybe someone will be able to help us out. And if you happened to be in Kauai last week and found our camera, please email me.
What about losing other things? While we were gone we received a call from a service called FindToto.com. This was a new one to me. It is a nationwide web service to help find missing, stolen or lost pet. It kind of works like an "Amber Alert" and your neighbors can receive an automated phone call alerting them to look for your missing pet. In fact, in recent weeks, in our small town, there were two pets (one cat, one dog, different owners) reported lost through this service and found after the calls were put out.
So I guess we do still have access to "Lost and Found." Virtual Lost and Found websites can be found for colleges and churches and even across Europe. What a good idea!
To continue the "People are Strange" Series...
(Right click the image to save it to your computer.)
Never to be married, Agnes and her four sisters, Ethyl, Eunice, Henrietta, and Olga, were known about town as the Crazy Cat Hat Ladies.
In my mom's massive collection of vintage postcards are a number of antique photo cards. These cards are real black and white photos, made into postcards and mailed. Rarely are the people's names on the cards. Sometimes the people are strange.
For today's Friday Freebie, I have two lovely couples to share with you. Feel free to leave a comment with your caption for these interesting folks. (This is a fun game to play, Amy calls it Fantasy Family.) If you like these ones, who knows, maybe we'll put up some more.
Couple #1
Couple #2
Hi-
It's me, Blue. I am back at the big old blue house. Do you remember me from before? I wrote blogs here and here. My people went away again and left me with Rachel. It's not so bad.
Let me tell you about my time. We spent all day Monday in the studio. Rachel said she had lots of work. I wanted to walk, but Rachel said all the orders came in since Kerry went on vacation, something about Murphy's Law, whatever that is.
I had an important job. I guard the door. My job is to make sure no squirrels come in. First, I look left.
Then, I look right. Then I might even get up and chase one of those wily squirrels. That's the fun part. 
Well, enough writing, this is hard work. Now it's time to take a nap before those little girls come home and want to play. Talk with you later. ... a picture can say "I love you" over and over again.
March comes "in like a lion, out like a lamb," or so the saying goes. Our March seems to have a case of multiple personalities. We hit a high of 72 degrees on Saturday, March 1. The kids were happy to be outside, riding their bikes and running around the park.
Sunday, March 2, I awoke to blizzard like conditions. Our snow storm left this on my juniper bush...
The snow came fast and furious. Thankfully it stopped during the morning and only left three or four inches for us to deal with. The high was only about 32 for the day.
With a 40 degree drop in temperature in 24 hours, it's a wonder that we aren't all catching colds. (I know they say you can't get a cold from the weather, but such a drastic change in the weather has to take it's toll on our bodies.) Hopefully it didn't take it's toll on my tulips which are peeking out of the snow in this picture.
Our little teaser of spring, even summer-like, weather has left me pining away for warmer weather. I can't wait for the season to change. I want to see what comes up in my garden, plant new flowers and spend time out doors. But the wind and chill keeps me inside.
As Kerry mentioned, the weather leaves us to our at-home tasks and art endeavors. So I sit, at home, making things to use this summer.
This is my version of Kerry's patchwork bag. I can't wait to take this one to the park for a picnic, or to the beach with my book inside. Doesn't it just scream "SUMMER!"
I love the bright turquoise and orange mixed together. It is definitely a summer combination. The colors remind me of the ocean, the sunset, and tropical fruit. Okay, enough dreaming!
So back to the March in like a lion thing, it really has nothing to do with the weather. While writing this, I learned it's really about the constellations, and how Leo (the lion) is in the night sky with regards to how Aries (the Ram or lamb) is positioned at the beginning and end of the month. I never knew.
March is a month with many faces. It is American Red Cross Month and Women's History Month. If you are religious you can celebrate the days of St. David, St. Joseph and don't forget St. Patrick. And of course, this year, there's Easter in March. And for those non-religious, you can celebrate National Reading Day and Pi Day. (Pi, like in math, not pie, like in yum-yum), and don't forget St. Patrick's Day! And then there's the Ides of March and the Equinox--the arrival of Spring. I can't wait for the weather to change. I hope old Henry here isn't correct, and that the warm weather comes as quickly as the first day of spring will come.
The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.
-- Henry VanDyke
Hi, it's me, Blue.
I am staying at Rachel's house again. I am not sure where my people went, but they left me here. They did the same thing last summer. Don't tell Rachel, but I wanted to fill you in on my day. She might not like it if she knew I drooled all over her computer.
She took me outstide and tried to take pictures of me. She always has that silly camera. I don't like to sit still. I just wanted to sniff around the yard.
Her yard smells different than mine does. The house next door has two little dogs that bark a lot. I wonder what is going on over there.
It snowed. Instead of staying still for pictures, I decided to hide in the snow. I don't think she could see me, I hide so well. Playing in the snow makes me feel like a puppy!
I keep checking in the studio. But Kerry is not there. I wonder where she went.
It's okay, though, there are two girls here. They like to play with me a lot. They give me treats and brush my fur. I must be the prettiest dog in the world. Also, I take a lot of naps when I am
here. I like to sleep. hmmm. I guess it is time for a nap right now. I need to rest before the girls come home from school. They tire me out, but I can't wait to play!
I think this is the best day ever!
--Blue (the dog)
These snowy hats were left after Wednesday night's snow storm. They say we were getting up to three inches an hour. Good thing it didn't snow for very long.
From our walk last week, ice pieces at the edge of Waneka Lake.
On the other side of the lake, trees in the ice.If winter comes, can spring be far behind?-Percy Bysshe Shelley
Oh -- I feel like I have been absent. I have been an absent blogger, certainly. But, today, I return!
As Kerry told you in the last post, we both strive to live artful lives. What is an artful life? There are so many aspects I can think of; hanging fabulous, original art on the walls of your home; wearing unique clothing items; carrying a fun purse or tote bag; making art (for art's sake); owning a pair of crazy shoes (and wearing them); making and sharing beautiful food; choosing or making home accessories that reflect a sense of artful style. I am sure there are many more ways to let art filter into everyday life.
Taking pictures around my house, to look for the sense of artful life, I found myself in the bathroom. What, the bathroom?!? you may ask. Yes, even a bathroom can reflect a sense of art and style. I have used my guest bathroom as a display for various black & white objects and pictures that I already owned. It is amazing what an impact things can have when grouped together. I framed a number of old black & white photos and art pieces in black frames and hung them together. Some of the photos are family shots, some of them are vintage finds. The sketch is one my great uncle did. I love the overall effect.
I looked for a tissue box that would complement the vintage theme. I had no success. Why buy one, when I could make one? Using a wooden tissue box from Michael's Craft store, and vintage images from Dover Publishing, Somerset, and others, I created this box. I love it! It really completes the look I was trying to achieve. The candle is one I made, also. I used black and white tissue paper on a tall white, prefilled candle.
I, too, will continue to look for ways to let art be a focus in my life. As I find those ways, I will share those worthy of photos. In what ways to you live an artful life? Let us know how you express your creativity.
