Month: March 2020

Posted in Beads, bipolar disorder, Fiber, Jewelry, Photography

Art = Sanity

Posted on by debthumanblog

My anxiety is close to out of control. I’ve had anxiety pain for a week. Yes, I’ve had the pain checked out – three times over the years. Three doctors said there’s nothing physically wrong with me. Klonopin isn’t calming the anxiety. I’m scared. I’m tired of being at home. The university admits some of those who tested positive for covid-19 in the county where I live are students. HIPPA mandates the person’s name and sex can’t be given out. But what classes these people were in can, and absolutely should be given out. People shed this virus for up to 14 days before they become symptomatic. They infect others who infect others who infect others and so on until we’re all sick. My age and a health condition put me at high risk. I need to know if I’ve been exposed. 

Yes, I washed my hands – soap and water – when I used the restroom at school. Here’s how this works. Hold onto handrail to get downstairs to the restroom. Open restroom door. Open stall door. Close stall door. Do what I came to do. Touch handle to flush toilet. Open stall door. Touch tap to turn on water. Touch soap dispenser. Touch tap again to turn off water. Touch paper towel dispenser to get paper towel to dry my hands. Touch the restroom door to get out of restroom. Hold handrail to get upstairs so I can leave the building.

I made Jim and I masks although I don’t think they will protect us from a virus. They might protect us from something else. Spring in southern New Mexico features intense wind. Pollen, spores, dust, small children left unattended, and desert detritus blow around and eventually enter our noses. We both have allergies that get irritated in the spring and I hope these masks can help. 

Bipolar disorder magnifies everything. I’m scared and I have severe anxiety. Klonopin doesn’t help. The insomnia is back. I listen to relaxation music. I meditate. I do yoga. What seems to help the most is art. I’ve been working on fabric design. You can see my latest fabric designs here https://www.spoonflower.com/collections/379032-playing-around-3-27-20-by-deb_thuman   My Spoonflower store is here https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman I’ve ordered proofs of another 30 designs. The proofs should arrive in a few days. I’ll put the best of the lot into the store.

I’m learning how to do focus merging. My macro lens is a great lens, but it’s tough to get a large depth of field. Consequently, my jewelry photos have a couple beads in focus and the rest is blurry. I got out the tripod, attached the Canon 90D, laid out jewelry, and took several photos of each piece of jewelry. Focus on the first bead, take the shot. Focus on the next bead, take the shot. Repeat until all of the piece has been shot in focus. I use Affinity for editing and it has a nice focus merging function. I’ll need to take a few more shots of each and I’ll be ready to list them in my store http://www.DebThumanArt.com


I’ve also been working on making boring shots more interesting by using creative editing.

I’m linking with Nina Marie http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

Posted in Photography

The Process or How To Stay Sane While in Isolation

Posted on by debthumanblog

While we’re waiting for this damned virus to die, I’ve been going out into the yard and photographing spring unfolding in the desert then playing with editing photos of patterns.

I broke down and bought the rest of PhotoScape X. It’s an editing program for both Mac and Windows. There’s a whole lot in the free part of the program and that’s what I’ve been using for a few years. Today, I spent the $40 USD to unlock the entire program. Below is the progression from start to finish.

The original photo. I look for patterns that I can play with. This is a huge agave that grows in my back yard.

Some of the overlays in the program. I look for wild colors and getting as many colors as possible into the photo.

The kaleidoscope function gives me some wild shapes.

I reverted to the photo just before the kaleidoscope, and used twirl. I repeated twirl a few times to move the colors around.

This is what happened when I used Tiny Planet and mirror after a few twirls.

Next, I played with light leaks.

I played with bokeh.

Then, I made a second kaleidoscope.

Eventually, I’ll take these photos, upload them to Spoonflower and make fabric designs. You can see my fabric designs here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

You can see my other art in my store, Deb Thuman Art here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

Posted in Beads, Fiber, Jewelry, Peripheral neuropathy, Photography

Life In The Time of Coronavirus

Posted on by debthumanblog

My age puts me at high risk for death by coronavirus. I haven’t gone anywhere since March 14. The university shut down at close of classes on March 13. That gives us an extra week of spring break. Not that we can go anywhere for spring break. I had planned to go to Truth or Consequences for a day and do some shooting. Fear has kept me home. When the university “reopens” on March 30, all classes will be online. Students who left the dorms for spring break will not be allowed back on campus. Commuter students aren’t allowed back, either. Jim has to go in to work every day. We don’t know why. There won’t be another play this semester. There are no sets to build. He’s been cleaning and organizing the scene shop.

At the moment, the New Mexico Department of Health is telling us that there are 65 cases of coronavirus in the state. That number is dangerously misleading. For two weeks, testing was only done in the northern part of the state. Dona Ana County where I live has more than 100,000 residents. Las Cruces, the state’s third largest city, is about 40 miles north of the US/Mexican border. Apparently we don’t count. Testing wasn’t done until March 20, and the testing site ran out of kits in less than two hours. The Department of Health sent another, more generous supply of kits for Saturday. 350 kits. We’re told we can’t be tested unless we’re symptomatic and that results won’t be ready for 7-10 days. Why bother with testing? By the time the results arrive, the person is either dead or better. How many people around me are carriers? Isolate the carriers and stop this virus.

I’ve made Jim and I masks. I’d photograph them, but Jim has them. This is good. Provided he’s actually wearing one. Spring in New Mexico comes with WIND. Lots and lots and lots of WIND. Pollen, spores, dust, desert crap blow around and enter our noses. Both of us are having allergy attacks. I’m thinking that perhaps the mask will keep out pollen, dust and desert crap while I’m outside.

My excursions now are walking around my yard photographing the progress of the claret cup cactus blooms.

Oddly, each clump of claret cup cactus seems to have its own blooming schedule although all the clumps are in full sun.

I’m still working on playing with photos and using them for fabric designs.

I get a lot of mileage out of a boring shot.

My Spoonflower shop, with photos of fabric designs that are for sale, is here https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

I’ve been making jewelry as an antidote to peripheral neuropathy pain.

I still need to learn how to use focus stacking in my Canon 90D. One of the reasons I wanted this camera is to do focus staking in the camera rather than trying to figure out how to do it in editing. The problem is I’m having a neuropathy flare up and I’m not sleeping at night. Last night, I woke up in pain at 2:00. By the time the pain subsided enough that I could go back to bed and get some sleep, it was 4:30. I woke up promptly at noon. Mornings are generally wind free. Afternoons we have WIND. I’d prefer to do photography outside when there’s little or no WIND.

Once I learn how to do focus stacking, I can list the jewelry I’ve been making in my store, Deb Thuman Art http://www.DebThumanArt.com

I’m linking with Nina Marie http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

Posted in Fiber, Photography

Evolution of a Design

Posted on by debthumanblog

I’ve been taking photographs, manipulating them, and turning them into fabric designs.

This is the original photo of a leaf on an agave in my back yard. The leaf is dying which is why it has an assortment of colors. It’s not a particularly interesting photo.

I use PhotoscapeX, a free photo editing app for Mac. There’s a kaleidoscope function. After playing around a bit, I found a kaleidoscope pattern I liked.

I went back to the original photo and started playing with light effects.

Next, I used overlays to emphasize colors.

Back to the kaleidoscope and played around until I found a pattern I liked.

Finally, I used a wave to create a wild pattern.

You can see the collection of fabric designs here https://www.spoonflower.com/collections/376499-agave-leaf-by-deb_thuman

I’m linking with Nina Marie http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

My store, Deb Thuman Art is here http://www.DebThumanArt.com

My Spoonflower store is here https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

Posted in Baking, Beads, Fiber, Pain, Peripheral neuropathy, Photography

My Brain Is Full

Posted on by debthumanblog

It’s International Woman’s Day. We’ve come a long way since Catherine Greene had to have Eli Whitney put his name on the patent for the cotton gin she invented. A long way since Watson & Crick ripped off Linus Pauling’s research, and took credit and the Nobel prize for Rosalynd Franklin’s work with x-ray crystallography which showed DNA is a double helix. A long way since I was told, time after time after time, “We hired a woman once. She didn’t work out so we don’t hire women anymore.” A long way since I had to terrorize the banker who demanded I use Jim’s last name to apply for a credit card. I told him my next stop was the NY State Department of Human Rights to file a formal complaint. He decided to let me have a credit card in my name. A long way since I had to file a formal complaint against an employer because I was paid less than the man who had the same job. Mine was the first law school class at SUNY Buffalo that was 50% women. It only took 101 years to reach that mark. Someday, we’ll have equality.

I made two more pairs of yoga pants. I can buy 10 yard of cotton lycra from Dharma Trading for $10 more than a pair of ready-to-wear yoga pants. I can make 5 pair of yoga pants from 10 yard of fabric. I dyed one pair yellow and the other an intense purple. I failed to mix the purple dye sufficiently and my pants have red spots. It’s a design element. Design: what happens when the dye batch turns out different from what’s expected. 

Here in southern New Mexico, it normally rains during July-September. The rest of the year is sunny and dry. We’ve been having rain lately. Today, it’s cold, damp, raining, and we have fog. Perfect photography weather. I had read all the geology homework my brain could hold. Perfect time for photography.

There’s a mountain behind those raindrops. Look carefully and you’ll see a foggy outline.

I played a bit with composition in this shot. I haven’t decided if I like it.

A more successful shot from earlier in the week.

I’m having another peripheral neuropathy flare-up. I spent nearly three hours last night making necklaces before the pain went away. When we have a sunny day again, I’ll learn how to do focus stacking so I can get all of the necklace in focus. With the Canon 90D, I can do focus stacking in the camera.

I’m having fun playing around with my photos and coming up with fabric designs.

I made croissants today. The recipe I have makes about 12 croissants which is way too many for two people. The last time I made croissants, I cut the dough in half after the final turn and froze one half. I thawed and baked that half today. Turns out, croissant dough freezes quite well.

I’m linking with Nina Marie http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

My Spoonflower Store is here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

My on-line store, Deb Thuman Art is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

Posted in Photography

Macro Adventures

Posted on by debthumanblog

I’m still learning to use the Canon 90D. This is going to take a while, and I’m going to have fun learning. 

Tinker posed. I wish I had set the white balance first, but he rarely poses. Usually, he hides as soon as I grab my camera. 

I put the macro lens on the camera and took it for a spin around the back yard. When I was using the Canon T3i, I always shot RAW. I needed the extra data for a sharp photo. With the 90D, I can shoot in JPEG. I’m amazed at how sharp the photos are. Saves a whole lot of space on the laptop. 

I did a bit of portrait work.

Curlicues on a yucca.

Field of spring. I’ll have iris blooms in a couple weeks.

Things do rust in the desert. It just takes a lot longer for rust. We have single digit humidity in the winter.

Just for fun.

I’m linking with Nina Marie http://ninamariesayre.blogspot.com

Stop by my store, Deb Thuman Art, http://www.DebThumanArt.com

My Spoonflower shop is here  https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

Posted in Pain, Peripheral neuropathy

Lately It’s Occurred to Me…..

Posted on by debthumanblog

I’ve said for years that medical marijuana is nonsense. So many of my drug addicted clients paid a quack $100-$200, said s/he had an owie, and got a medical marijuana card. Locally, there’s a place where, for $125, you can be diagnosed – in 10 minutes – with PTSD and get a medical marijuana card. All you have to do is memorize a few of the symptoms listed in the DSM-V. 

Having a medical marijuana card still leaves a basket full of legal problems. Marijuana is a Schedule I drug meaning it has a high probability for abuse and little or no medical benefit. Before you tell me marijuana is wonderful, safe, shouldn’t be illegal, is never addicting and you smoke it every night so you can get to sleep, walk in my legal briefs for a day. One client, who wasn’t supposed to be able to get pregnant, gave birth 13 weeks early. Her baby had severe medical problems due to being so premature. The baby was also born addicted to crack. The child protective worker told me to talk my client into signing a do not resuscitate order for the baby who was in and would never leave the NICU. In a moment of amazing self control, I refrained from asking the child protective worker why I shouldn’t throw the child protective worker out the window. We were only on the fourth floor. Maybe she would have lived. The only thing I could do for my client was to delay the proceedings long enough that the baby died so there was no point in continuing the child abuse case. Another client, a child, had problems that would never be solved. Her parents used prior to, and still used at the time of the hearing, cocaine. The damage done to the child while in utero cannot be undone. At least not with the medical capabilities we now have. 

Although the DEA isn’t going after users of medical marijuana today, that can change. Having a medical marijuana card doesn’t protect you from being fired for illegal drug use. There’s federal case law on that. The rational is that marijuana is illegal under federal law therefore employers can legally fire an employee who tests positive for THC. 

There is no full faith and credit for a medical marijuana card. Full faith and credit means every state recognizes the court order or legality of something. If you get married in one state, every other state will acknowledge your marriage.  If you have a child custody order, the terms of that order are enforceable in every state. Your medical marijuana card is only valid in the state in which it was issued. You can’t take your medical marijuana across state lines and expect your card and stash to be recognized. If you get caught, you will face drug charges. 

I’m about to do something I don’t believe in. I’m desperate. Peripheral neuropathy is painful. When I have a flare up, nothing stops the pain. Not gabapentin. Not a TENS unit. Not synthetic opioids. Not CBD oil. Not acupuncture. I take my gabapentin, make a CBD oil capsule and swallow it, and wear my TENS unit to bed. I wake up in pain 2-3 hours later. Then I wander around the house for another hour waiting for the pain to subside before going back to bed and getting a couple hours’ sleep before the alarm rings. I cannot live like this. 

I have an appointment with my doctor in a week and a half. I have copies of three nerve conduction studies done by three doctors over a period of five years showing I have nerve damage and the damage is getting progressively worse. New Mexico will give a medical marijuana card for a number of reasons, including peripheral neuropathy if I can show proof of the nerve damage and have a doctor sign off on the special form to obtain a medical marijuana card. I will ask my doctor to sign the form. If she is reluctant to do that, I will go to the local quack, hand over $100 and copies of the nerve conduction studies. The quack will sign the form. The form and copies of the nerve conduction series get mailed to Santa Fe and in a month, I will get a card allowing me to buy marijuana from licensed dispensaries. I will buy gummy bears. The next time I get a flare up, I’ll chew on a gummy bear, listen to Grateful Dead music, and hope I’m wrong about medical marijuana being nonsense.

What a long, strange trip it’s going to be.