Posts

Showing posts from 2012

Merry Christmas...

Image
Greetings readers,  I hope this time of year finds you all surrounded by the comfort of those you love sprinkled with much laughter and merriment as many of us gather with friends and family for winter celebrations.  With the recent tragic events in my hemisphere, I think we all needed to return to our hearts and hearths - the center point of being grounded in all that matters most. Sharing some images of things that warmed my heart and hearth this holiday season.... <----Ginger. I think he was staying up to see if he could catch Santa while watching over one of his favorite snoozing humans... <---- Toby. Master of Ceremonies in our household... <----Christmas morning brunch - French toast with warmed berries served at a table full of family and a guest. It was so nice to have all of my kids home this year. As they get older and onto lives of their own, these gatherings are quite special.... Many blessings to you and yours as the celebrations cont

Noah Purifoy: Joshua Tree Outdoor Museum

Image
This past weekend was all about art. Photographers. Painters. Experienced. Renowned. Wannabes. Admirers. Sculptors. Opening receptions. Potters. Assemblage. Art gallery crawls. We looked at art. We talked about art. We encouraged. And praised. And pondered. And all were inspired.... Friends from San Diego came up and we spent a large part of the morning wandering and wondering around  Noah Purifoy's  installations of assemblage sculpture at his museum out here in Joshua Tree. He began his assemblage sculptures on the desert floor of Joshua Tree around 1989. I remember visiting this site sometime around then or early 1990s. Yesterday, however, after over 10 years, one can see how the elements of the desert have taken their toll on the works. Still, the statements remain - however one interprets them. Thought-provoking to say the least. Check out  Noah Purifoy 's foundation web page for background information on this intriguing artist. Then, check out my interpretation, 10 ye

Weekend to-do lists

Image
A beautiful fall day today....not even close to feeling like Christmas is less than 3 weeks away. As I try to grapple with what needs to be done in preparation for family and friends, I also find a gnarly leak in my bathroom that has now seeped under the wall into my bedroom; the window panel to the back sunroom door has popped the seal; and there are critter hair bunnies everywhere. Didn't I just sweep and vacuum, like, yesterday? Oh, and there's the never ending garage that needs a major purging - again. If I didn't have to go out there to do laundry and get critter food - I wouldn't have to see it and push aside the guilt... Phooey. I step outside into my backyard, also in dire need of sprucing up, wanting to enjoy the last snippets of daylight and look up to find.......... Fall is seeping into winter. I like this view much better than the damp tiles in my bedroom.....

Receiving...

Image
Have you ever had a day where everything seamlessly flowed? People were nice to you all day which made it easier for you to be nice - probably because you were nice to them to begin with? Someone let you know they were thinking of you - and you had been secretly hoping that they were? There's a vibe in the air you can't quite put words to but if you could - it would just be a string of hearts.... Today was like that for me. I felt realigned clear down to the most minute cell to my core. Of course, it also helped that my students completed one of my all time favorite holiday projects in record time, cleaned up their mess of a gazillion tiny snips of paper, and loved the project as much as I do ( photos of that next installment.... ). It's late. Past my week day bedtime. I should have finished up my report cards. Instead, I spent the evening designing a new wall calendar and a cover for a journal, and visiting with friends on Facebook. I love the quiet space of my kitchen

December DISCOUNT for art purchases

As an incentive to make holiday shopping a little more palatable, Mojave Light Studio is offering a 20% discount for anything purchased at our Fine Art America site during the entire month of December. This includes products ordered for our private clients. HOWEVER, the discount applies to the cost of my prints only- not materials Fine Art America uses in completing the order if one wants more than just a print. None of that goes in or out of my pocket. Oh well. At least it's something off, right? Please use coupon code:  ZGKBGD at check out. Find us at  Fine Art America, Diana Shay Diehl Check back often as we add more images. Spread the word!

Out of procrastinating comes....

'Tis the season for......report cards, holiday planning, prepping the house for guests and festivities. I am a tried and true procrastinator - which means my report cards will be completed, well, before the deadline as will, maybe, everything else. What did I do with my anything-but-sit-for-a-few-hours-and-fill-out-bubbles-on-the-computer time?  I created a web page to sell some of my favorite images! I've been searching for viable and quality ways to have my works produced in other means than my own printer as well as a place for my clients to purchase their portraits for themselves and other family and friends. Welcome to Fine Art America!   - a world wide site with some pretty incredible artworks from all over the globe. Please visit and share what you think as I continue to develop my galleries and offerings. No photo today. I need to get back to my report cards.......but not until after Toby and I take a walk on this blustery and cool late-fall day.

Absence of color...

Image
I cannot believe it is December. What happened to November? Just a simple post for today. I was playing around with a new photo processing program. Being partial to black and whites and softer tones in that vein, I rather like this redo of a summer sunflower. Without the distractions of the vibrant yellows, one may better notice the intricate patterns Mother Nature weaves into her little miracles.... Have a beautiful first of December. <------- Here is the original shot, taken with my iPhone....

A Respite from the Usual Fray

Image
A belated happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. If you can step back from the corporate commercial side of the holiday season, this time of year is filled with a combination of busy time preparing for family and friends visits and quiet time as we reflect on and appreciate all that is good in our lives. My week "off" from teaching this Thanksgiving week was just that. I chose not to get caught up in the big spending push of "Black Friday" and all that ensues. Instead, I chose to use this time for rest, spending snippets of time with my adult children, tend to a few piles of accumulated stuff at home, and take many walks in this unseasonably warm weather.  Tomorrow, the work fray continues.......... Here are a few quick snap scenes from my week:  <-------- The Automotive Museum in San Diego, California. My son wanted to visit this during our day at Balboa Park. Me? Not so much. But, since he appeased me by allowing me a few hours at the Museum of

A Walk in the Park...

Image
Balboa Park, San Diego.... I love this place. Museums of art and history and science. Views of the city and Coronado Bridge and San Diego Bay and all sorts of gardens. If you stand still and listen, you'll hear languages spoken from all over the world. There is way too much to experience in one day - or two - or a week. Today, we just wandered around for a few hours and this caught my attention. Lights ©Diana Shay Diehl

Walking the human...

Image
My dog took me for a walk late this afternoon..... He, intent on finding the elusive jackrabbit he smells on every walk. Me, intent on watching the changes in the sky........ <------------ from this.......               ........to this ------------------------------ > <------------------- to this. We found some things in our desert that we didn't like........ We've seen this exact sign in all kinds of different places on our walks. Someone has an interesting sense of humor being this sign is nowhere near a road or the trail we started off on...... Toby even posed for me by one of my favorite, stubby joshua trees. They grow thick and stocky where I live, not like some of the thinner, taller, scragglier ones in the national park.... Yep. It was a good romp. The dragging tongue says it all.......... All image ©Diana Shay Diehl

Look up

Image
This is our morning sky of late..... a quick cell phone capture from my front porch before the shower and hot tea. Take a deep breath......can you smell the creosote, sage, and pine lingering in the freshly rained air? I hope wonder, much love, and an underlying sense of peace pervades your day. ©DianaShayDiehl

Unexpected Joys...

Image
Love and healing come in all forms. I am overwhelmed by the generosity and love that finds it way upon my doorstep..... Can I ever send enough love back your way? "On a day when the wind is perfect the sail just needs to open and the world is full of beauty.  Today is such a day."  ~ Jalaludin Rumi (1207 - 1273) Gifts of healing love....... Spend some time with dogs outdoors on a free run. Then you'll know pure, unadulterated joy....

Shadows and Light

Image
This time of year, I like the way the light streams in from the west into my sunroom and kitchen. Every dust particle and critter hair illuminated by the golden glow of mojave light in the dead of fall. The rest just falls into the shadows.  "There is something about shadows because  you make your own mind up about what is lurking in them." ~Richard O'Brien (?) 2012©DianaShayDiehl

Art touring...

Image
Our community just experienced the annual  Hwy 62 Open Studio Art Tours . This happens every fall around the end of October when over 100 artists open their studio spaces for folks to wander through, be inspired, make new friends, run into old ones, and - hopefully - take home a piece or two to bless their own spaces with. Some years, I try to hit as many studios as I can. I've yet to experience all of them. Other years, I barely make it out to visit my favorite artist pals. This year was one of those years. I think I made it to less than 10 in all - not even making it fully east to some of my favorite folks. Just wasn't in the cards this go 'round... The art tours is such a special venue. It's way more than checking out art for your own inspiration or to adorn your abode with. It is a holistic experience that includes taking in the expansive beauty of our unique desert, meaningful conversations with artists and patrons alike, making new acquaintances, reconnecting

Time well spent

Image
This is such a busy time of the year in my desert - open studio art tours; cooler weather for hiking about; and prepping for the multitude of holidays and special occasions that fall brings.  Instead of partaking in local events, I escaped for the day to share some time with my two older kids this weekend. They both live on the coast of California. One literally lives on the ocean in a, some jokingly say, 'very big houseboat'.  The other lives a 3 minute drive away from his after-work-daily-surf spot. They have such busy lives - work, school, budding careers, time with friends - I was grateful that they carved some time out that afternoon to spend with me - sharing the highlights of their new world. The chores could wait. Healing waters of the ocean coupled with time spent with those you love most who also love you back.... 2012©DianaShayDiehl / La Jolla Cove

Day 6: Things that make me smile...

Image
It's the simple things in life.  Always make time to stop and enjoy the flowers... ©DianaShayDiehl

Day 1

Image
Marquise du Deffand was thought to have said: "The distance is nothing. It's only the first step that is important." (Okay, so I thought the quote was quite apropos for my day...then, I read up on the supposed author. If you like scandalous history, she might tickle that fancy....) Anyway, I spent some time today browsing through old photo archives. I like this one. I have a print of it framed. It reminds me of a trip to the other side of the world that has left a lasting impression on my heart.... You are looking at Kingfisher Bay off the coast of Queensland, Australia. You can only get to Fraser Island, also Great Sandy National Park, via ferry or private boat. Hope your day was a beautiful one. Be grateful. Fraser Island boardwalk / Kingfisher Bay, Queensland, Australia 2007©DianaShayDiehl

The Big C

Interesting phenomenon....when one is given a potential death sentence, then does one begin to think about living.  I've denied my reality long enough. Tomorrow I begin treatment. I should be sleeping but my mind is racing - part fear, part excitement that I am, according to my consultation team, now on the road to healing. The good news:      Treatment is noninvasive.      "It" is isolated and at a Stage 1-2 - for now.       I'm tired mostly but nothing really hurts.      Including surgery - which is minor considering - the 'inconvenience' of several times a week hospital/dr visits will be over by the end of this calendar year.      Treatment is holistic meaning I am encouraged to stay active, meditate, eat/drink as I should and mostly do, use acupuncture for additional healing, clear my life of all that is useless to me, and add more time for those people/things I love. (Isn't that how we should live anyway?)      I don't need to take off mon

Invisible Connections

Image
While enjoying the lowest tide of the year, I watched these 3 women walk the length of the beach to the bluffs at the end and back. They stayed close the entire walk. Heads bent in conversation, occasionally stopping in unison to examine and appreciate tidbits found at their feet or gaze out to the distant mountains. The scene emitted deep appreciation - for where they were and who they were together. It warmed my heart to be in the wave of all that. You never know when your act of connectedness, acceptance, and appreciation for what is may touch the life of another soul. I thank these women, unknown to me, for touching mine. Friendship. And what a beautiful place to share it in..... 2012©Diana Shay Diehl / Bishops Beach, Homer, AK

Mini-Milestones...

Image
5000 views today. I am honored. Not bad for a teeny little out-in-the-wide-open-beautiful-boondocks blog. Thanks for sharing the journey so far. Also today, I FINALLY put some of my prints and calendars into an art/collectibles shop here in my town. Signed the contract and all. I figured if I didn't make a more concrete move then I might never. Enough of the talk of ideas. Time to put it all into real time. The creative spirit needed a push off the tuffet. This little guy, whom I've shared his story way earlier in this blog, needs to be resurrected. I've got my last 5x5 metallic prints out for sale. He yearns to be big and bold again to continue his tale... "Coyote Pup", 10x10 image / 16 x 20 framed, Southwest Art Show 3rd Place winner ~ photography category. ©Diana Shay Diehl

Texture

Image
Just a photo today. 2012©DianaShayDiehl / Homer, AK

Snippets from the natural world...

Image
A simple post today. This is of a desert fan palm (Washingtonia filifera), a very young one just unfurling its leaflets which will make up a leaf frond or fan. You can see how tightly packed they are with the corrugated look to the leaflets. They become quite straight, stiff, and smooth once the opening process is complete - like spears spreading out from a center point. You can see 'older' leaves in the bottom right corner. The Native Americans used the fibers for weaving baskets and sandals. These palms can live from 80 - 250 years. This 'baby' will far outlive me.... ©DianaShayDiehl .....post on March 26 has this same shot as I did a piece on a wildflower shoot last spring....