eating my curds & whey

along came a spider

isn't she beautiful?

i love orb weavers

look at that amazing web!

 wrapping up a snack for later

finally in the garden

after a hot, dry then hot, wet

summer.

our neighbor has cut back some bushes

along the fence,

and look what is now getting

enough sunshine!

the morning glory vine!

 it is running along the fence

& has jumped over

to our fig tree, too

morning glories & figs

 background & foreground

lo & behold,

a plant that had gotten too leggy

has found a place to thrive

after i (unceremoniously)

dumped it under the crepe myrtle!

such a happy morning

in the yard

before we resume

the summer weather

~ ~ ~

hey, hey // bye, bye

we are at the fledgling stage

of the empty nest,

welcoming them back home

at widely-spaced intervals.

we snagged Samuel

during his birthday month,

when he attains

the auspicious age of

21

he requested chocolate-on-chocolate

(& i threw in a little extra for good measure)

gift lists are now by-request items,

but still sometimes a surprise

(plus you can never have too many vitamins & command strips)

21 Candles, no less

a-BLAZE!!!

the sanitary method

of extinguishing the flames...

Happy 21st Birthday to a FABULOUS young man!

We love him sooooooo much!

& then he left.

a week later,

it was Joseph's turn

to depart...

the all-important cushy office chair

SENIOR year at NCSSM

down from a triple last year

to a roomy double this year

his hall, First

~ ~ ~

his dorm, Hill

Have a SUPER SENIOR YEAR!

We love him sooooooo much!

& then we left.

figuratively speaking

so i took a figure drawing class this summer.

i wanted to try a different art studio

(i've taken drawing, painting, and sculpture downtown),

& liked the looks of Shelf Life:

small, not too far from my house, & someplace new!

i remember (not long ago) when it was in

the basement of Geeksboro Coffee House

(which has since moved & upgraded its name);

now Shelf Life has its own

beautiful turquoise awning

& storefront window :)

so, i dug out my old half-used

sketchpads & an assortment of soft-lead art pencils

stashed in one of my kids' old pencil pouches

& headed to class!

~ this is how it went ~

(i finally hit my stride in week 7)

night one, from photos & drawings in a book ~ GESTURE

night two, from quickposes.com ~ like a MARIONETTE

practice, week 3, from quickposes.com

night three, skeletons from google images ~ the BONES beneath

practice, week 4, making skeletons out of flesh from quickposes.com

night four, from quickposes.com ~ connecting the limbs

practice, week 5, from quickposes.com

night five, from a live model

10-minute pose

10-minute pose

20-minute pose

20-minute pose

week six, practice from quickposes.com

night six, from quickposes.com ~ SHADING (liminals)

practice, week 7, from quickposes.com

evolution of one...

evolution of another...

night seven, the penultimate (squash & stretch) from quickposes.com

week eight, practice from quickposes.com

final class, live model

here's the instructor's website

http://www.anthonypfohljr.com/

highly recommend!