Mojave Light Musing

I was happy to have recovered some files I thought were lost forever with our theft episode. Here are a few photographs from a series I did on 'rust'. I find the patina on ancient things rather fascinating...so much texture and nuances of color.  If these things could tell stories.... Two of these shots were taken in Joshua Tree National Park at the Desert Queen Ranch. The other is from my other favorite place to hang - the idyllic village of Cambria along the Central Coast of California. Coastal rust verses desert rust....

Just a quickie today. This is a yucca bloom. A Mojave yucca to be exact. Did you know there are over 40 species of yuccas all over the world? The Mojave yucca, indigenous to my desert region, have these curly fibers that peel off of the spear-like leaf. The Cahuilla, Serrano, and Chemehuevi peoples of this area used those fibers in baskets, clothing, roping, etc. The fibers are stiff and sharp. They must be soaked and repeatedly worked over in order to soften enough for weaving and braiding. If I can find my project bag of yucca fibers braided into roping, I'll show you some plant-to-product samples - from gathering to stripping fibers to processing to braiding. It was a LOT of work for just those few strands. For now, here is a photo taken along my walking trail of a Mojave yucca (aka Yucca schidigera or Spanish dagger) in full bloom. Spectacular.

I'm a happy camper. Got my workflow tools up and running. The studio space is getting a facelift. Tufts of dog hair have been sucked up with the vacuum - again. Now, if only I can get a little respect for uninterrupted 'Me' time. I can get pretty grumpy..... Things that make me smile: (or at least distract me from things that don't......) This guy didn't flinch, no matter how close I got with the camera or how much noise I made. There was a fisherman on the bank below.  No doubt it was holding out for some freebie morsels. On the other side of the causeway was a pack of ferral cats (are they called packs?). They lived in the rocks near the water. Water? Cats? Aren't they supposed to not like water so much? People left them dishes of water and food as well as blankets. The cats looked really healthy and didn't mind me around - probably hoping for some tidbits as well. This shot only shows about half of them. Since I didn't have any offerings for...

Hello dear Readers, I am still alive. Can't believe myself it's been 2 months since my last post. I'll keep the reason simple: technical difficulties. iPads are useful tools for many things but they do not replace the capabilities and ease of a "real" computer. Therefore, photo posting is a bit awkward.... These two months have been an excellent purging and sorting time. It is spring after all...a time for renewal, resurrection, hope, letting go, making room, rebirth. And I feel like I've been through all of those things in this transitional season of the year. It's all good. I really appreciate those of you who quietly wrote and inquired. I missed you, too. In a few days, I will have more photos and stories of recent adventures and discoveries as well as some cool stuff on the horizon. This spring, in my desert, the Joshua trees and yuccas are blooming, blooming, blooming! I managed to capture a few keeper shots. Mostly I just gawked and admired...

In trying to think of a title for this post, the following words come to mind but none capture fully the essence of how I am feeling after the events of this past week.... Unscrupulous behavior Desperate actions Disrespectful Sly Predatorial Bewilderment Violated Maybe all of the above..... When my son returned home from school one day last week, he texted me and said our dog was shut in my bedroom and did I not realize that when I left for work? My first thought was that he and the cats were chasing each other around during the day and one of them accidently bumped the door shut. That has never happened before of course, but it wasn't unlikely. I gave it no more thought. Neither did my son who later said, as the course of events unfolded, that everything seemed pretty usual when he got home - key in it's 'hidden' place, all doors to the house locked, everything in its usual place. After dinner, he wanted to show me a video on Youtube and went to get m...

Hello dear viewers, near and far.... Just a quick post today. I am blown away by the responses to this image. I posted this on my studio Facebook page, Mojave Light Studio , and within 24 hours it received over 1,300 views and over 200 likes! Wow. A weather front blew in rain and fog to my desert this past weekend. We lost power on Friday night from around 10pm to nearly 6am Saturday morning. Luckily, this weather front did not include sub freezing temperatures! The sounds of the house coming back to life with the power surge awakened me earlier than I would have liked on Saturday morning. However, being that I went to sleep at a decent hour the night before, I awoke refreshed and ready for the day - before the sun rose. The fog floating by my windows intrigued me. The distant mountains were playing peek-a-boo as the rising sun lightened shades of gray. My daughter, also a shutter bug enthusiast, was game to make a few mugs of hot tea and venture out to explore the foggier parts of...

The temperatures finally hit comfortable here in my corner of the desert. My daughter came up for part of the weekend and we went out to play. Expanses so wide you could feel it in your chest. The warmth of the sun heating up the boulders. Quiet so quiet your ears ring. Textures. Subtle colors. Winter stillness of the earth. It was a grand day.... Pencil Cholla / JTNP Fence Post / JTNP Shadow Dancing 2013 ©Diana Shay Diehl / JTNP

Today is my birthday. My oldest kids couldn't be home due to their work schedules but our hearts connected anyway. My youngest son and a close friend treated me to a movie followed by dinner. The movie was Life of Pi . I had not read the book and sort of had the gist of what it was about. Sort of. It made me laugh a few times but mainly it tugged at my heart - in a big way. Actually it was perfect for a birthday movie...especially one that is nearly square in the middle of the path from 50 to 60. While I have always been one to ponder the meaning of life and my role in it, never more so than these past couple of years. Life of Pi was a good reminder of many things....and the main message for me is it all depends upon our perspective. Our perspective and our attitudes are about all we can control - really. I am so blessed with a beautiful family and a multitude of friends who love me just the way I am. The rest - doesn't matter so much. Here's to 54 richly lived years. ...

Oh goodness. What a year, what a year... First of all, let me wish you, dear readers, friends and followers, a happy new year filled with good health, many doors of opportunities, and warm embraces from those you love who love you back.... After all, isn't 13 a lucky number? This date also marks the end of the first full year of  Mojave Light Musing . One year! As I review past posts, the path has certainly ended up somewhere completely different from my original intention. I'm glad I've allowed the energy to unfold in its own organic direction. Never would I have thought I'd have readers from all over the world! I am most grateful to the encouragement, responses, and sharing of your own thoughts as we journeyed, vicariously, through a very tumultuous year. How would I sum up 2012? As I sit here, cozied up by the fireplace, hot tea by my side, Mr. Toad's Wild Ride comes to mind (if you've experienced Disneyland, you'll know what I mean) . Or, doing l...

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 celebrat...

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,...

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.....

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...

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!

'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.

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 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 ...

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

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