Category / composite

by Janet

The Dilly Dally

I thought I’d have a little fun with the letter “D.” One reason I chose Dilly Dally is because I enjoy the sound of it. More than the sound of lollygagging. Another reason I chose it is because – as I’ve mentioned here before – I live with my mother.

Well, she is 86 years old and in good shape for her age, but if there’s one thing that makes her seem old to me… it’s the fact that she dilly dallies. Ok, maybe she’s just slow. But if you ask me… she just likes to take her time.

So, lately I’ve been trying to change my mindset about this. With everything my mother has ever done for me, for my sister, for her grandkids and now her great grandkids… the woman deserves to dilly dally. I started thinking that maybe I should dilly dally a little too. I mean, what’s the rush?!?

I looked around at all of the definitions and explanations of “Dilly Dally,” and pretty much everything I read says that it’s a waste of time. But… how can anyone else know what a waste of our own time really is? Is it a waste of time to stroll rather than to speedwalk? What about hiking? I’ve gone hiking before and I literally had to RUN to keep up with the others.

Why do people hike so fast? To get it over with? I just don’t understand that. I hike to view the scenery, to take photographs, to watch the birds and any other wildlife that might be around, and to breath in the fresh clean air. And there they are… these fast hikers… practically running to get to the top.

When I think of it this way, I see that dilly dallying might be in my genes and perhaps I do it myself- to a certain degree. And if I’m going to dilly dally when I am 86, like my mom, why not get a head start and do it now? So, this coming week I’m going to be more mindful of my speed. I’m going to slow down and dilly dally more – just to see how it goes.

Anyway, I thought it would be fun to do an illustration of someone dilly dallying so I created a woman smelling flowers in Illustrator:

And then I placed her in a garden photograph that I found and added all sorts of paint effects to blend it all together:

I guess you could say that I spent the evening dilly dallying. Ha! I think that’s about all for now. I’ll see you around soon for the letter “E.”

Until then,
Peace & Love!

Adopt the pace of nature: Her secret is patience.

Ralph Waldo Emerson
by Janet

Big Bertha…

I thought I’d share a little of my excitement about my latest hobby… sewing!

Denim, to be exact.

I’m quite the beginner, and last year I started out with a batch of patchwork pillowcases made out of squares cut from old jeans. They’re kind of amusing. This year, I’m taking the bull by the horns and doing purses and various other bags – all from denim. Continue reading →

by Janet

Melancholy

Emotion Art

Awhile back I worked on emotion images, and I made this tonight not planning on doing it for the collection, but I realized when I was finished that it looked melancholy to me… something that could describe what causes my sense of humor to spiral – trying to find that excitement that seems to be missing.

This is another combo/composite piece – or whatever you want to call it. I did the illustration of the girl’s face, and then brought it into Photoshop to add a crinkled paper background and a rose that I photographed many moons ago (IRL it is yellow). Then, as always, I defaulted to an oil paint effect to bring it all together.

I thought it was interesting to use black and white, which might explain why melancholy came to mind. The definition of melancholy that I liked was: a feeling of pensive sadness, typically with no obvious cause. I think that the absence of color depicts that feeling well.

It’s like life hasn’t changed, nothing bad or unusual has happened, but something that you just can’t put your finger on is missing.

Anyway, goodnight for now…
-Janet