Crazy Creative

My update is a bit of a mixed bag.  I accomplished a lot of what I wrote about back in early February.  I didn't end up signing up for either of the online classes I wanted to take--I realized it just wasn't a good idea.

The first, biggest, best news--my website and blog are up and running.  Check them out: MuseCraft and MuseCraft blog.  I also have a Facebook fan page if you play around over there.

After much thought, I realized I do actually want to keep this blog going.  The MuseCraft blog is for weekly art experiments, but those aren't the only creative things I have going on in my life.  I still do plenty of my own art projects, writing, photography...I'm going to use this space to keep track of those things and make sure I keep my own creative life well fed.  I can already see that it would be very easy to let MuseCraft take over my life and stop doing anything else besides the business stuff.

One fun thing I've been doing a lot of recently is food experiments, and I'm going to write about those here, too.  So far this year I've made homemade pierogi, Scotch eggs and English pub style sausage rolls, and invented a really tasty teriyaki meatloaf.  There have been other food experiments, too, but those are my favorites.  I'm going to start experimenting with bento for lunch, too, so I'll be putting some of that here, too.

So that's where I am and where I'm going.  I'm pretty excited about getting this blog really up and running.  I'm working out a schedule, and I intend to post here every week.  I'll be starting that next week, although I'm not sure yet which day that will be.  Meanwhile, here's a picture from a recent photowalk:

This is a photo of some of the food carts in downtown Portland

See you next week with more creative chatter.

January 22 Photowalk

That was so much fun!  I can't believe I kept putting it off because I was worried I wouldn't be able to do enough walking.  I didn't have to do that much walking at all, and I got nearly three dozen really good photos.

Here are some of my favorites:

The sign for Ladybug, my favorite coffee shop.  I had tea there at the end of my walk, as you can see (that shot was taken with my new camera phone).

This sits outside the cycling shop when they're open.  I'd love a ride someday!

The St. Johns Bridge--I love this bridge!

It was a wonderful day, and now that I know I can actually handle some small walks without getting pains in my feet or ankles or knees, I'm going to do this more often.  Prepare yourselves for pictures to go with the words, finally, just as my blog title promises!

Photo Contemplations

Last year, sometime in the autumn, I discovered photowalks.  I've been quite captivated but also quite intimidated.  Physically, my capacity for walking is very low, so I know I'm not up to joining a bigger photowalk.  But I've also been out of practice with my photography for years.  Oh sure, I take pictures all the time. But I haven't really practiced photography in ages, and I've never really learned my digital camera.  I mostly just fiddle with buttons and settings until I get pictures that seem to work out.  Sometimes, they don't work out as well as I'd like, and I always tell myself I need to actually learn the camera.  But it hasn't happened yet.  So, I'm not feeling confident about my photography skills.  Add all of that together and it means that for the past few months I've been daydreaming about photowalks but haven't even gone out to do a short one around my own block.

So why am I writing about nothing?  I haven't actually gone out taking photos, so really I am writing about nothing.  I'm doing it because I think that going public with my intention might just get me to do it already! As a matter of fact, I have something of a small plan in place for Doing It Already.  Tomorrow, I have to take my car to get new brakes. While the car is in the shop, I am going to go somewhere with my camera.  Where?  Not sure. I will probably take the bus down to St. Johns, have a bit of lunch, and wander with the camera.  Look here next week for a post with pictures!  And try not to faint from the excitement...