Tag Archives: Art

Wood Inlay

5 Dec

SUNDAYMEMORIES

Judy Wills

Reblog

I wrote this back in 2013, but enjoyed reading it again.  I hope you do, as well

I’ve never thought I would be particularly interested in wood, types of wood, or just about anything related to wood.  I guess the first time I really became interested was when I was graduating from high school and a local furniture store gave a Hope Chest to every graduating girl in my class.  Now, I must say that the chests were VERY MINIATURE!!  More like a keepsake box.  But they were made of cedar, as a real hope chest would be, and finished beautifully.  After all these 50+ years since that time, my miniature hope chest still smells wonderfully fragrant.  That’s probably why I love the fresh smell of cedar so much.

When we were stationed in Germany in the late 1960’s, we came across some wood inlay pictures that really caught our eye.  The intricate “jigsaw puzzle” work of the artist…and the different color of the woods used…were fascinating.  We purchased just one picture, thinking that was all we could afford.  And while we cherished that picture, we couldn’t help but wish we had purchased more.

Marienplatz – Garmisch/Partinkirken 

Back to Germany we went in the early 1980’s – and we began our search for more of those wood inlay pictures, and especially by the same artist.  And we found them!  We snapped up two more.  All of the scenes are of places in Germany that were important to us and our memories.  We treasure them.  And we learned that this particular artist had cut enough puzzle pieces to make pictures for up to five years after his death! Amazing.  

Neuschwanstein Castle 
Konigsee 

But we’ve found other wood inlay that intrigue us, as well.  While visiting in the Chicago area, we stayed in a great old house that is now a Bed & Breakfast.

Roxana Bed & Breakfast 

It is situated on a lake that is reported to have been a playground for the likes of Al Capone and his cronies.  As a matter of fact, the room we stayed in was dubbed the “Al Capone Room,” and had pictures of him, one of his famous cigars, and two bullets he might have used.

Al Capone 

But what interested us the most was the dining room and sitting area.  When the new owners purchased the house, most of the rooms had wall-to-wall carpet.  When they pulled it up, thinking to replace the carpet, they found the most beautiful wood inlay floors imaginable!  So they left them uncarpeted, and open to admiration.  We most certainly admired them.  Just think of the imagination and planning that went into putting these floors down.  Beautiful!

Our favorite Mexican Restaurant in town has a gorgeous wood inlay Aztec calendar hanging at the front of the restaurant.  I’ve seen quite a few calendars before, but none this beautiful.

I’m still a carpet girl – and here in Florida, we have either carpet or tile.  But that doesn’t stop me from admiring the craftsmanship of those artists from long ago.

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

 

 

 

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Singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord 

23 Sep

My Take

DiVoran Lites

(From Streams in the Desert)

(Eph 5:19)

Singing will clear the sky of clouds. 

Work is made of joy when one goes about it singing. Songs are contagious. As everybody loves a lover, everybody enjoys folks whose gladness bursts forth in song.

Singing is one of God’s richest gifts in the world. 

A messenger boy ran up the steps of a home singing, “Brighten the corner where you are,” and the lady sweeping off her porch soon sang that melody. The woman next door took it up and sang it when, finally, it went on wings of gladness down the street. All because a plain messenger boy gave vent to the joy-bells of life. 

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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I’m Experimenting

1 Aug

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

I am frustrated that weeks go by without writing a blog post. It’s not that I don’t have ideas, they fly through my mind. But then they fly right out when I am ready to open up the computer and write.

Hence, the experiment. I am going to approach writing my blog as daily journaling. The entries may not have any connections to each other. So here I go.

Sunday

A good day overall. We had a singing group at church, Debra Perry and Jaidyn’s Call. They were excellent. The only downside was I couldn’t seem to turn my hearing aids low enough to totally enjoy their songs. I downloaded two of their songs that especially touched me, “God Sees Your Storm.” and “At the End of Every Prayer.”

If you enjoy Gospel music, you should check them out. Debra Perry and Jaidyns Call

Monday

Summer’s heat seems to be abating, granted slowly. I have ventured out onto the porch this morning for my quiet time. I’ve missed porch time.

I am reading a short book written by Charles Spurgeon about eccentric preachers. Edward Brooke lived from 1779 to 1871. “A large man, he spent the final 10 years of his life in a confused state.” I am moved and encouraged by the final note in his diary

Monday evening: Thankful for the morning’s quiet time. The rest of the day contained annoyances. Although, the homemade keto peach ice cream was a nice after dinner treat.

I ended the evening thinking about crayon envy. You would think that being a septuagenarian I would have gotten over it. And it is a weird thing to be thinking about as I never excelled at coloring. But there was this classmate and she had a brand new 64 count box of Crayola crayons every year. I had a 16 count. For the most part, I didn’t care since coloring wasn’t my thing. But I did envy that her 64 count box had a burnt sienna crayon. Even now I have no idea why I wanted that color so badly. . She was a nice child and would happily lend it to me. I still remember her name, Gail.

Tuesday

Today wasn’t a blog worthy day. The only thing worth mentioning is that technology and Facebook are stressing me out.

I create scripture graphics for church and use the Canva program.

It usually is a champ but yesterday Canva and Facebook decided to bicker. No matter how many changes I made in Canva, Facebook would reject the format. Sunday night Facebook was happy with the format, but I guess it didn’t like Monday…or Tuesday.

Canva support is puzzled but they are working with me to resolve the issue.

Thursday

Well, the experiment has been interesting to me. This week I have seen that most of the thoughts swirling through my mind either aren’t developed enough to share or aren’t appropriate for the blog. A lot of introspection going on.

Part of my experiment is adjusting to writing on an iPad. I want to be able to do this but find the different commands challenging.

I think I will experiment for a few more weeks and see how it goes.

SURPRISE! This morning Facebook allowed me to post this graphic. Feeling hopeful.

Do any of my fellow bloggers use Canva and have you had any issues?

I'm a winner

After my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I’m a general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  

My 2024 goal is continue to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media.

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2023 Road Trip-Part 19

24 Jan

A Slice of Life

Bill Lites

Day 19 – August 2:  

After breakfast this morning, I packed up my things and met Billy in the lobby of the motel to start today’s museum hunt.  We headed south out of Valdosta for 35 miles on US-129, across the border into Florida, to visit the Old Jail Museum located in Jasper, FL.  This museum, also known as the Hamilton County Historic Old Jail Museum, is situated in the original old 1893 two-story jail building that served as Hamilton County’s only jail until 1984.  This museum displays antique jail exhibits, artifacts, and photos to help visitors get an idea of how prisoners lived at the turn-of-the-century in rural Georgia.  The building was originally designed, as many jails were in the 1800s, to house not only prisoners but also with living quarters for the local Sheriff (Warden) and his family.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now we continued south another 20 miles on US-129 to visit the Live Oak Union Passenger Depot Museum located in Live Oak, FL.  This museum is situated in the old 1861 Savannah, Florida & Western Railroad (SF&W) freight depot and was restored in 1885 to serve Live Oak and the surrounding Suwannee County area’s expanding railroad business.  The museum displays antique railroad artifacts, photos, and memorabilia related to the influence the railroad had on the growth of this area in the mid-1800s.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

After leaving Live Oak, we headed southeast about 25 miles on US-90 to just west of Lake City, FL where we picked up I-75 and turned south.  We had gone about 35 miles south on I-75 when ‘nature’ called, and we pulled into the nearest Rest Stop.  After that refreshing stop (we needed some exercise), we noticed this sign for the Snake Wall, and checked it out.  It turns out that it is an inclined walkway that is described as “A unique piece of functional art (curving 325’ long) that successfully combines protection of the surrounding ecosystem and the roadway” and also provides access to the Payne Prairie Overlook.  An impressive design, and it gets your blood pumping at a good rate, all at the same time (sorry, but the info marker was weathered).

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Now it was another 45 miles south on I-75 to visit the Don Garlits Museum of Drag Racing located just south of Ocala, FL.  I had visited this museum on another road trip, but Billy hadn’t been there, and he wanted to see all the racing machines.  We spent a long time looking at the 90+ drag racing machines and another 50+ beautifully restored antique cars in the Antique Car building.  WOW!  What a collection!  We learned that they race R/C model drag racing machines at the museum once each month, and Billy and I are planning to visit that event as soon as we

can.  Sounds like a lot of fun.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

Leaving that amazing museum, we continued south on I-75 another 15 miles to visit the Florida Carriage Museum in Weirsdale, FL and the Florida Pioneer Village in Dade City, FL but they were both closed.  So, continuing another 35 miles south on I-75 we visited the Mission Base Museum & MOSI located just west of Thonotosassa, FL.  This hugh facility Is a scientific playground for all ages, with 100+ hands-on activities including the Mission Moon Base Lunar Colony, VR Simulator and a planetarium.  It was obvious from the number of kids in the lobby that school was out, at least for this bunch.

Photo Credit: Bill Lites

 

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 65 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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Artwork

28 Jul

Sunday Memories

Judy Wills

I don’t have much “taste” when it comes to artwork.  I suppose I don’t have an “eye” for quality artwork, but, as the saying goes:  I know what I like, and what I don’t like.

Consequently, Fred and I have gathered artwork for our house throughout our married life that we like and enjoy.  It might not be what a lot of people would call quality, but it suits us and we are pleased with it.

I remember once, when Fred and I and our girls went to Washington D.C. for a visit. One of the places we visited was the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, as part of the Smithsonion Museums. As we walked through the museum, I was appalled at some of the paintings we saw there.  With respect to those who appreciate that type of art – my thought was that some of those artists had to be on some kind of hallucinating drug to see life that way.  Bizarre! After spending quite a few hours there, we all decided that we would not include that museum in our touring of D.C. again.  

When Fred and I (and Karen as a baby) lived in Wiesbaden, Germany, many starving artists would come around the American housing and attempt to sell their wares.  One came to our door once.  The artist had quite a few of her paintings – all the same theme but in different color tones.  I really liked the one she had in blue tones.  But her price was way out of our budget.  We kept telling her, we were very sorry but we just couldn’t afford that painting.  She kept lowering her price.  We kept resisting.  She finally, in desperation, gave us her final price – one that we really could afford. And so we purchased the painting from her.  It still hangs in our house, and we enjoy it.

While not really “artwork” per se, there is another one we have hanging that we enjoy.  It took me many years to get framed and hung, but we like it.  We had visited the Gutenberg Museum while in Germany, and I had purchased this copy of a page of the Gutenberg Bible.  I had it framed and hung in Fred’s office at the church here in Orlando.  It now hangs in our guest bedroom.

Another type of “artwork” is a cross stitch work that a friend of ours in Virginia did for us.  I had seen her do one for a friend in our church who was moving, and asked her to do one for us, which she did.  She was very talented with this – something I can’t do – and so I think of her every time I see it, or dust the frame.  She’s gone home to be with the Lord now, so it is very special to me.

When our Aunt Jessie died, and we were going through her things to see what we each would like to have of hers, we came upon an Oriental “scroll” that was just beautiful.  Much as I thought I would like to have it, I had no idea what I would do with it, or where I would hang in on a wall.  Fortunately, my brother, Bill, said he would like it.  He took it, had it framed, and it is hanging in the entryway of their house. It is stunning.  I’m so glad he took it – it’s exactly in the right place. And it is, indeed, artwork.

Thanks to DiVoran Lites

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Pencil Sharpeners

19 Feb

My Take

DiVoran Lites

 

 

I hear they have

Electric pencil sharpeners now

Bzzz and the point is made

When I was bored in grade-school

To amuse myself

I walked up front to the pencil sharpener

With my yellow number two.

Didn’t know there was another kind

Of pencil in the world

Nowadays I love to art

I have rainbows and lollipops of color in stick form

Inktense, watercolor, wax pastels,

Crayons, and colored pencils

Too many art supplies

But that’s because

Artists are art-store junkies

All my color sticks need to be

Sharpened periodically

I have many hand sharpeners

But for a tough job such as

A colored pencil with

A broken off head

I open to the secret on the linen closet wall

And hand grind the wood away

To expose the purple underneath

For stroking highlights into books,

Especially Holy Bibles on gossamer thin

Paper with light-catching golden edges.

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Memories of New Mexico~Part 2

26 Feb

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Wills

JUDY

 

 I have some mementos of New Mexico, and I would like to share them with you. Some of the Native Americans that lived in the pueblos out and around Albuquerque, made some wonderful black pots. I’m sure that originally, they were actually used within the house for some household chore, but these little ones are just for sitting on a shelf, and to be enjoyed by all. At least I’ve always enjoyed them. However, they were quite expensive, and I was unable to purchase any.

My wonderful sister-in-law, DiVoran, had this little pot sitting on her shelf for as long as I can remember. We made a trade one time – she got some gold earrings, and I got her little black pot! It was an even-trade for both of us.

 

 

And Fred’s parents had this black pot, that I admired so much. So when they passed away, I was able to inherit the pot, and have enjoyed it ever since.

 

2

 

They both sit on a shelf, along with this adorable brass road runner that I also inherited from Fred’s parents. They had him a long time, and I admired him for all that time. He appealed to me because the road runner is the New Mexico state bird.

 

3

 

Some newer art forms from New Mexico also have appealed to me. The last time we were in Albuquerque (Fred’s brother still lives there), I purchased this little glass cactus. I thought it was really cute – and it is almost a prickly as a real cactus!

 

4

 

For some reason, Kokopelli has become a favorite Native American icon of mine.

I just think he’s cute – and he’s playing a musical instrument. From Wikipedia, I gleaned the following:

Kokopelli is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who has been venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fertility deities, Kokopelli presides over both childbirth and agriculture. He is also a trickster god and represents the spirit of music.

This little statuette sits on one of my shelves for me to enjoy. I have forgotten what this type of metal-work is called.

 

5

 

I also have another type of that art work – it is a turtle. I saw this the last time we were in Albuquerque, and it appealed to me. I think it’s cute.

 

6

 

Those of you old enough, and interested in car racing – especially the Indianapolis 500 – might remember the Unser brothers. They were New Mexico boys, and back in the 1960’s-1980’s had an auto shop in Albuquerque, designed for maintaining race cars. Al Unser won that race four times, his brother, Bobby won it three times, and Al Unser, Jr. won it twice! You might say it was in the family’s blood! There is a Unser Racing Museum in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque that is open to any and all.

 

7

Credit Google search and Rita Wechter

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Teddy and Praise Dancer

7 Dec

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

 

My pal Onisha and I sometimes get into writing letters as they were written earlier in our lives. Now they seem old-fashioned because of the way we meandered when we wrote them, but since it’s almost Christmastime, we thought you might like another glimpse at the way things were.

DiVoran:

Here are a couple of our old friends. Teddy is on your left and Praise Dancer on your right. I imagine you figured that out.

Teddy and Praise Dancer

 

Onisha: Adorable!!  Are these friends at your house?

DiVoran: Yes, they live in the scriptorium. Mother crocheted Teddy’s clothes. I’ve had him since I was five. That makes him sixty-two years old, and he’s an excellent listener.

Onisha: I wondered who crocheted Teddy’s outfit. How wonderful that you have been able to keep Teddy and his clothes all these years without loving him to pieces.

It’s wonderful to have him. Mother crocheted two outfits when she was here one year, so his clothes aren’t vintage. Mother could just look at something and crochet it, but she never figured out how to follow a pattern. Crocheting was the way my mom kept her sanity. We can all use a pastime that will do that for us. She made decorative pillow covers, granny patterned Afghans, and lap robes for the nursing home. When she was ninety, she crocheted butterflies and attached magnets so you could put them on your refrigerator. All friends and family had something she had made, but only Kewpie Doll has this little set.

Kewpie

 

Onisha: People like that have an inner eye that can see how things go together. It is a gift. What is the story behind Praise Dancer?

DiVoran: You are so kind to ask. Sure, Praise Dancer has a story.

When Julia Cameron wrote another book after “The Artist’s Way,” I rushed to buy it. One of her assignments in “The Vein of Gold,” was to, “make a creativity doll.” That’s how I got Praise Dancer. With a few items from the Craft Department she became something besides a cotton body, curly hair from a package, and a bit of tulle and paint. She and Teddy have been good friends for about twenty years. Poor Raggedy Ann used to be Teddy’s best friend but she now lives in the old doll cradle with the “Winnie the Pooh” gang. Alas, although Praise Dancer doesn’t have a heart she is still a sweet girl and she loves the Lord. I suspect she dances for Him when we are sleeping.

 

Onisha: Praise Dancer does not need a heart on the outside, it shines on her face

DiVoran: Here’s Teddy and Raggedy Ann, they were so glad to have a visit during the photo shoot.

Teddy and Rageddy Ann

 

DiVoran: Thank you for saying Praise Dancer was loving as well as beautiful.

 

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Painting Flowers

25 May

My Take

DiVoran Lites

Author, Poet and Artist

 Paint comes in wondrous hues, Reds,

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Be One Spark!

20 Apr

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Onisha

 

We had the pleasure of attending One Spark this weekend and I am here to tell you, creativity is alive and well in Jacksonville, Florida.  The whole downtown was awash with ideas, inventions and art; creators were eager to tell you their dreams as they all vied for your vote to capture a portion of the $250,000 pot of money.

Our daughter, Rebekah Lyn volunteered to take a couple of two-hour shifts at the Biblio Connection booth in the spacious Jacksonville Public Library. The “creator” Betty Poole collected books and videos from Indie authors and beautifully displayed them. She lives in Jacksonville and dreams of turning an old building into a center for authors to come together to write, brainstorm and interact with readers. She even envisions a future expansion that would include artists in other mediums. Imagine what a boon to the local Indie author community to be able to socialize while choosing a cover artist and an editor.

Businesses downtown opened their doors to the creators and we roamed the streets collecting cards from the creators to use for voting. My favorite venue was the sixth floor of the Sun Trust building.

One artist who caught my eye was Robert Adelman. His work is dark yet compelling and I could easily see his art as book covers for the horror and fantasy writers. I mentioned this avenue to him and his response was that he really wanted exposure. If you would like to check him out click here.

The other art that captured my imagination was Beyond the Facade .The artist is a photographer who enlarges photos of nature and covers the façades of abandoned buildings. He chose outdoor photographs of the local area to blend in with the cityscape.

Of course it was much more than art. There were portable solar panels, apps galore, people seeking funding for documentaries, a refrigerator barista, urban gardens and even someone seeking funding for a shrimp and grits food truck (that got my vote, the shrimp were de-licious!)

I can’t end this post without offering a huge thank you to Betty Poole of Biblio Connection. She put in a lot of time preparing for One Spark as well as manning the booth Wednesday through Sunday. Betty is not an author but loves to support the Indie author community. A lot more people know about Indie authors thanks to her passion to help. If you are an author, consider joining her at Biblio Connection as she works to build an interactive community.

Rebekah Lyn at the Biblio Connection booth

Rebekah Lyn at the Biblio Connection booth

 

 

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