Ness City Bank

I love architecture, especially architectural detail. We had read about Ness County Bank Building, a/k/a “The Skyscraper of the Plains”. Since we were just a few miles away this weekend, we decided to look at it. It is beautiful and looks as pristine as a 120-year-old building can be.

Since we were there on Sunday, the building was closed to the public. Someone was hosting a graduation reception there, which this lady was apparently attending.

The carvings are incredible. These are acanthus leaves on the front entrance. Note the gorgeous rounded corner detail just above the main entrance column.

The beautiful front door reflects the entrance and some of the Ness City business district. The balloon is inside.

All those years of use have rubbed the front door latch to a beautiful finish.

This carving is on the front of the stairway to the main entrance.

This carving is on the landing.

Merrill Trust Company’s logo is above the south — or Chamber of Commerce — entrance.

This supports a column at the Chamber entrance.

This is the back door handle.

This is detail from the Chamber entrance’s archway.

This is the corner of the building above the Chamber entrance. I highly commend this community for rescuing and preserving their great treasure.

"Meaner than Billy the Kid"

Hubby and I went on a trip in August 2007 that I had won in 2006. We stayed in Vail and Keystone, Colo., and we spent one evening of that trip at 4 Eagle Ranch above Wolcott, Colo. I finished that scrapbook Friday night. I’m not behind at all! HA!

As part of our visit to 4 Eagle, we received four coupons for old-fashioned looking pictures. Of course, we had to dress up as Pa and Ma Barker. Hubby asked for the Jim Beam bottle as a prop. Photographer had never thought of using that, so the liquid in that bottle is actually JB whiskey. Proprietors said they would save that bottle after it was emptied for photo props.

Hubby says I look “meaner than Billy the Kid” in this picture! You be the judge.
When I was working on the 4 Eagle pages in my book, I used Western embellishments that I had gotten for another project. One of those embellishment packets had a rope (well, OK, a string) with a loop tied on one end. I just could not resist tying this rope around Billy’s neck.

Since I am a confirmed recycler, I did my best not to buy lots of embellishments. Instead, I cannibalized many magazines and brochures we had picked up on our trip. Cutting information and embellishments from them saved me much money. I cut everything on this page from magazines — except the postcard. Recycling publications makes me feel so virtuous! I save money, make my page look good and diminish (a little bit) what goes into the landfill.

Mostly, I’m glad to have this project finished!

Billy the Kid’s picture comes from ChronicleoftheOldWest.com

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What a view!

Friend Wendy and I drove around the country on Saturday, a beautifully overcast day with intermittent sprinkles. Our weather has been rainy for the past few days, which is a great blessing in our semiarid climate. In consequence, wheat fields are a carpet of green, a wonderful change from their state after our very dry winter.

This particular abandoned homestead stood on top of a hill that dominated the landscape. The hill fell off quickly to the south, giving the occupants a beautiful view of the surrounding countryside. I always wonder why people have left their homes. What was their story? Were they chased away by one of the successive farm crises that made working the land untenable for greater numbers of people? Or was there simply no one who wanted to take up the land when the previous generation could no longer farm it? I’ll probably never know the answer.

No matter the cause for this homestead’s abandonment, the view is still spectacular.

So many options

My camera has returned from the shop at last. I felt such relief when I picked up my camera again! I don’t want to go through D40 withdrawal again.

I’ve been in such misery for the last six weeks or so that I could hardly function. I dragged myself through my daily routine with ever-increasing difficulty. I felt as if I were going through life in a fog. I made so many mistakes. Details eluded me.

Even if I had had my camera, I’m not sure how good my work would have been.

The shoulder still hurts, but it’s a different sort of pain. I no longer feel in a fog. Yes, I tire easily, but I can THINK again! Today I’ve had more focus, more purpose in what I’m doing than I’ve had for some time. What a relief!

I’ve been researching online photo sales options today. That’s overwhelming. The options are so numerous that my mind boggles. I am hoping to begin uploading stock photos as well as better market the site I already have.

At the same time, I want to find some kind of display space for the actual pictures now that my show has closed.

I’ll still continue to dabble in other crafts, but I’d like to integrate them with my pictures as well.

This should be an interesting journey. I’m hoping you’ll take it with me.

About to get my camera back

I’ve been without my precious Nikon since mid-March. I had to pester the warranty company for a month before I received the paperwork to send in my broken camera. I sent in just the camera body since the problem was only with the body, not the lens.

(I tried uploading a picture of a D40, but Blogger is in an uncooperative mood today!)

When I thought the camera was about to be fixed and sent to me, I found out that I needed to ship the lens to them. I’ve been forgetting necessary details in this fog of pain I’m in all the time. When I shipped off the lens, I stupidly didn’t put my label on it nor the job number nor write down the serial number before I shipped it. Thankfully, my friend Martha, who ships items all the time for her puppet business, had persuaded me to pay extra to the post office for a tracking number.

I called the repair place. The first lady I talked to was incredulous. “You did WHAT?”

She forwarded me to someone else, who was much nicer. This lady took my tracking number and said all would be well. I was grateful to her. This was right before my surgery and worrying about my camera wasn’t what I needed to be doing.

I called camera repair company again yesterday. They gave me a UPS tracking number. I should have my camera again Wednesday. I can hardly wait. Blogging without a digital camera is just too difficult. Working with a film camera when I’m used to the instant feedback of a digital isn’t nearly as much fun. I’m definitely spoiled.

I like being spoiled. My shutter finger is itching already … and I’m not even certain my left arm can reach high enough to hold the camera in front of my face. Oh, well. Just holding it in my hands again will be such sweet relief.

Once it comes, I hope to be posting a lot more than I have been doing in the last months.

RedBrickRoad.com

I have been quite remiss in sharing my photo website with you. All the pictures from my show are available for order on RedBrickRoad.com.

Self-promotion is not the easiest thing for me to do, but it is necessary, especially in the overcrowded online world. So, please go check out my online photo gallery.

All orders are greatly appreciated!

You know you live on the High Plains when...

The first thing you think upon seeing this view is, “Man, what a perfect wind tunnel! I’ll bet the wind howls through that break in the hills all winter long! Where’s their windbreak?”

When we visited 4 Eagle Ranch in late August 2007, the wind was not howling. In fact, the evening was very pleasant, a wonderful escape from the burning heat of the plains. Only the lightest breeze caressed us.

But I’m sure winter would be a different story. Or even this time of year when we are all plagued by early spring gales.

I’m sick of these gales. Breeze is great. Howling wind isn’t.

PS: Happy Birthday, Deborah Lynn. Prayers are going up for your hubby’s successful recovery.

Dragonflies are free

	Last summer, this dragonfly landed on the wind screen beside our back door. It stayed just long enough for me to snap three pictures, two of which are shown here. I am fascinated by the detail God lavishes on His creatures. This little dragonfly is beautifully designed. I love the honeycomb wings, engineering at its finest.
	I wonder why the dragonfly’s eye has a white spot in this picture. Is it reflecting me and my camera? I wonder what the dragonfly thought of the huge human leaning over it with a machine attached to her face. It must not have appreciated a camera being pointed at it, because it flew away just after I shot this picture. I hope I see more of these insects soon.

All good things must come to an end

Yesterday, friend Wendy and I took down my pictures and removed them from the art gallery. Gallery’s walls looked so bare!

I sold four pictures and an unframed print at the gallery, then picked up another sale on Facebook. Friend John is buying Forsaken Ivories (shown at left) for his wife’s birthday.

I also donated one picture to a foundation that honors a friend’s daughter. It will be auctioned off to provide college scholarship funds. First scholarship will be given to a member of her class, the Class of 2017.

Our church recently completed the renovation of a downtown store into our meeting place. Budget is too tight for art, so some of my pictures will decorate the walls. I’m looking for somewhere else to show them, but haven’t found that place yet.

I asked if I could show again in 2011 and received a favorable response. Looking forward to it.

Color theory

When I took this picture, I knew it was destined to be shown.

But this picture had issues, power lines and power poles. Ugly things. I had intended to eliminate most of the sky to dump the power lines. I showed it to Art Teacher Jeff. Jeff said I shouldn’t crop it so severely, that the power lines actually helped the picture. That was unusual! I did need to remove one of the power poles, though. That took some doing. Removing pole wasn’t that bad, but lining up the power lines to the remaining pole took a long time. Jeff showed me some tricks in Photoshop, otherwise, I doubt I could have accomplished it.

When we got the matboards, we chose orange for this picture’s mat. While Jeff was cutting other mats for me, I looked at the picture and frame on the mat. That orange was garish, a horrible combination. I tried yellow, but that wasn’t a good color, either. Much of the background washed out. I shuffled through my matboards, but nothing I tried seemed to work.

He looked at what I was doing. I showed him the various colors I had tried. “Try the purple. It’s yellow’s complementary color.“ I put the photo on the purple paper. Wow!

Details and decisions

I thought that the grind of framing would be the worst part of preparing for my show. It is, but I keep finding more nagging details to take care of.

I entered all my inputs into a spreadsheet for Hubby. He’ll be figuring the total cost of goods sold so we can price these photos at last.

I’ve written my press release and had it proofed. I plan to send it out tomorrow.

Hubby bought an electronic picture frame and I’m loading 30 more pictures onto it. Gallery manager loved the idea. This picture of Louisiana cypress trees is one of those. I’ll have to add a number to each picture and produce a pricing sheet. I’d like to see which standard photo sizes work best for each one and recommend what would look best.

Do I hand sign these photos or just add a digital copy of my signature?

Tomorrow I’m attending a free web design class. I could use the help. I have homework to do before I arrive, planning what I want to do. I’m not sure what I want, except a photo gallery and shopping cart.

I had a productive visit with framing shop owner today. She’d like to display some of my work and offer it for prints. Best way to show them off is to produce a book, which isn’t cheap. A sale would pay for it, though.

My head is spinning.

Coming down the home stretch

I have just a few more items to take care of before I’ll be completely finished with framing. Thank God!

I framed Hanging Lake last night. I normally loathe the mat colors I used. That green and orange remind me of my least favorite vegetables (other than cabbage). I cannot stand cooked carrots and peas. Those mats are those colors. Ugh. But I was amazed how they made the picture pop. Wow. As soon as I saw what those colors did for this picture, I ditched my original plan. Plans only last until they meet reality.

I thought I might be able to finish framing, until I placed the glass in the keyboard photo. It was too short. Drat! I had been quite concerned about how I’d frame this picture. Plan A failed and I was very dubious about Plan B. Then I remembered a window frame I’d fished out of a house last fall. I tried it and it was perfect. I’ll take that frame, mat, photo and backer board to glass company after school today. They can put it together for me. Handling that big 40X29-inch sheet of glass scares me. I’d rather let the professionals handle it. All I want to do is cover the back with paper and add the wire.

I framed the red door last night as well, then nailed it to an old barn door. The nails were too long, so I’ll have to cut them off. I got out my new Dremel tool kit, but discovered that I didn’t have the cutting accessory. I’ll have to buy that this afternoon. Thankfully, I’m subbing for the teacher who has planning period right after lunch. I had to glue a piece of that door back together overnight. Once I trim the nails and add the hanging wire to the back, that package will be finished.

I lost the vertical picture of Hanging Lake last night when the lacquer spray stained it. I wish I would have bought glass for that picture frame. I don’t like lacquer; it’s too risky. I’ve now ruined a mat and a photo with lacquer. Disgusting. I won’t bother replacing the photo. I’m sure no one will miss it. The gallery will be pretty full with my photos as it is. I am deeply grateful to Jeff, the high school art teacher, for his help matting my pictures.

Signing day

Framing pictures requires many steps, most of which I’ve done over and over. But one is very new to me and I find it hard to remember. Previously, I framed my pictures for display in our house or for gifts to friends and family. I don’t generally sign these; I just note on the back that I had taken it and the occasion for the gift.

Since this batch of pictures is for show and sell, I’m signing them. I feel rather strange each time I put pen to picture, but that action also makes this whole idea of being an artist a bit more real to me.

I’m still pinching myself, though. Sometimes dreams really do come true.

Getting supplies

Patty shows Steve the pictures I will be showing.

Hubby and I went to the Front Range Monday and Tuesday to buy framing supplies for my show. Matboard and foam core and frames! Oh my! I felt rather overwhelmed. We spread out our stuff all over the store’s counter, pretty much taking it over. People walked around the counter looking at the pictures. They paid me numerous compliments. How I wish I would have brought business cards, but I had never thought of that. I was blown away. Stores were having sales on many of the items we needed and we found coupons for others. I had asked for God’s provision and He is granting it.

I check a frame Patty gave me for stray glazier’s points.

I had hoped to avoid cutting mats. I have never cut mats before, but I know it’s not a job to undertake lightly. I hope to cut mine in the high school’s art room. They have a professional-grade cutter. Matting with an Xacto knife does not bring good results. Feb. 27, my deadline for getting these to the art gallery, doesn’t seem far enough away for all the work I have to do. Dad will be here Sunday to help me for a few days. Without my team, I’d be sunk. But, by God’s grace, we’ll get ’er done!

A rare sight

Usually, my workbench is covered with projects in various stages of completion. But since my show outweighs all other projects, I completely cleaned off my workbench last night. I threw out some projects that I realize I’ll never do and put more things in designated places. Since I am interested in a wide variety of projects, keeping track of all those various pieces is difficult. I may never see this workbench this clean again.

This chest of drawers I saved from destruction years ago looks more like usual, a project in progress sitting on it. This door I’m gluing came off an old pie safe. I have two of them. I intend to frame an old church in one and the steeple from that same church in the other. I can hardly wait for these pictures to show up! Once they do, workbench and chest will return to their usual cluttered state. And I will be in Heaven. Or as close to Heaven as I can get on earth.

I've been framed

Frames, frames everywhere

Frames are stacking up in my basement. I’ve placed my biggest order of pictures ever. Since I have to do this show on the most minimal budget, I’m recycling frames of pictures we no longer use and have purchased quite a few at the thrift store for rock-bottom prices. I will throw away the picture and reuse the frame and whatever glass, mat and backer board come with it.

I have also collected old barn boards and hope to frame photos with them — if they don’t split and splinter. For one picture, a picnic bench, I intend to chop up a broken “early dorm room” couch that’s been clogging up our storage area for years.

I could not do this without help. Donna, Kathy, Marilyn and Martha helped me choose the final pictures and gave me ideas for matching frames with picture and mat. Patty will help me choose the mats once all the prints have arrived. To cut frames, Kathy has loaned me her miter saw and Dad will bring his router. I’ve never touched a router and don’t want to practice on this project. I don’t have time — or the boards — for that.

You’ll be hearing a lot about my progress in the next few weeks. My nose will be firmly to the grindstone. I hope I still have a nose left when I reach Feb. 27, my deadline to take pictures to the gallery.

Hay field under moon

I love to look at the moon. It’s beautiful. But usually the sunset outshines moonrise. Not this night. Sunset was beautiful, but there was something about the moon in those clouds over the hay field. To me, it has the feeling of a painting.

I tried it in black and white, but unlike the pictures in yesterday’s post, the color seems to be the better picture. Tell me what you think.

Wheat stubble at sunset

Last night, I went looking for some boards to frame pictures for my upcoming show at the local arts center. I nearly didn’t take my camera, but, at the last second, grabbed it. I’m so glad I did. The light was beautiful. And I got my boards, too.

I have always wondered how I could photograph the beauty of the light playing on fields. I don’t have a wide-angle lens. But last night was so beautiful that I had to try. I felt as if God had painted a beautiful light show just for me and I wanted to capture the beauty.

This morning I started playing with this image in Photoshop. I thought it might be a good black-and-white photo. As I slid around the sliders in the black-and-white adjustment panel, the clouds became more ominous as if a storm were approaching. Our storms usually come from the west or southwest. I was facing east for this picture. Any storm that comes uphill from the east is usually a severe one, so the ominousness fits. Amazing what Photoshop can do.

Lighting the night

But, much as I enjoy the neighbors’ lights, I enjoy this house even more. I love that star on their chimney and all those decked-out trees.

I’m just grateful I don’t have to go to all that work. But these lights pale compared to some people’s light shows. Most of us don’t have the cash to pay for thousands of lights and the sound/sequencing equipment necessary to do Griswold lights bumped up numerous notches. So we just enjoy looking at them on YouTube:

Our neighbors’ Christmas lights put ours in the shade. I so enjoy looking out the window at theirs, especially since we won’t have to pay the light bill. Neighbors decorate for most holidays, but they pull out the stops for Christmas.

Piano Man

We stopped at an old schoolhouse Saturday. This building was solid, made from poured cement. Interior looked pretty sad, but the exterior, other than broken windows, was still in good shape. Jacqui crawled halfway into a basement window to see what was down there. I nearly had heart failure. What if she fell in? Then what would we do? Cell service was poor to nonexistent.

“I see a piano,” she said.

A piano?

“Yes, a broken piano.”

That was interesting.

I have safety rules for junking. Rule No. 1: DO NOT walk down stairs. Who knows what might be in the basement/cellar/crawl space. I might find some dead creature or live ones that I’d prefer not to encounter. And who knows what condition those steps are in? I have no desire to take a bad fall.

But our nightly lows have fallen well below freezing. Snakes and skunks should be hibernating. She shined the flashlight around the room and saw nothing other than broken chairs and plaster. And the rest of building was in amazingly-good condition. Perhaps steps would be safe?

Staircase was partially covered by a wooden door, which looked intact. Steps were covered with fallen plaster, but maybe they were passable. When I pushed up the door, I saw a dead creature on top of it, mostly noticing a set of bared teeth. Jacqui followed me. I told her to push the door tightly against the rail unless she wanted to see the set of teeth.

Piano was in horrible condition. Keyboard was entirely gone. Hammers were broken. Front of piano had disappeared. But it still maintained a certain dignity. Someone had pride in its construction, even the places that would normally be invisible.

Apparently, the local people had used this basement for entertainment. Piano sat on a little platform. Remnants of theater seating were scattered around the rest of room.

I started singing, “…Son, can you play me a memory; I’m not really sure how it goes. But it’s sad and it’s sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man’s clothes … Sing us a song; you’re the Piano Man. Sing us a song tonight! ‘Cause we’re all in the mood for a melody and you’ve got us feeling all right.…”

Singing in that forlorn basement was bittersweet. Acoustics were great, but seeing the remnants of what had been a vibrant community was very sad.