Category: Photography

Posted in Fiber, Law, Photography, Quilts

30

Posted on by debthumanblog

When I was in college majoring in journalism, -30- meant the end of the article, story, commercial. That’s not exactly what the 30 at the top of this post means. February 14, 1994, I was admitted to practice law in New York State. I had graduated from law school in May 1993, took the bar exam July 1993, got the results the day before Thanksgiving, and finally got admitted to practice more than two months later.

What has happened in the last 30 years? I ran my own law practice and practiced law not knowing what I was doing. I did it anyway. I got admitted to practice in Federal District Court in 1996. In 1997, I appeared before the Supreme Court of the United States and was admitted to practice. I figured if any of my cases went up to the Supreme Court, I wanted to go with them. Later that year, I did my first felony trial and won. It was one of the cases that came out of The Trooper and Indian War where the governor declared a tax war on the Native American tribes. I moved 2000 miles across the country in 1999 to work for the New Mexico Public Defender Department and retired 16 years later. During the last 30 years, I’ve done more than 120 trials, handled at least a dozen appeals. Argued before the New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division twice. Argued before the New Mexico Supreme Court three times. I’ve represented kids and adults; misdemeanors and felonies; custody and visitation. Twice, I had cases that had the potential to be death penalty cases. On February 14, 2024, I surprised myself when I said I had been a pretty good criminal defense attorney. Past tense. Except I’m not ready to quit.

I have a Spoonflower shop here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman and I’ve got collections for Judiac, Irish Chain variations, Log Cabin variations, Panels and Whole Cloth. The panels and whole cloth are single yards of fabric with the design in the middle of the piece of fabric. Great for when you want something quilted but don’t want to make a pieced quilt. There’s also designs for yardage. Spoonflower will make linens and pillows using my designs.

Those are some of the panels/whole cloth designs. I used Text Mask along with a manipulated photo – these were done using a winter scene – and chose dingbats rather than a traditional font. Some of those dingbats are fascinating.

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

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

I’m linking with Finished Or Not Friday here: https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com

Posted in Fiber, Photography, Snow

It’s Worse Than I Thought

Posted on by debthumanblog

We had snow this morning. Once every year or so, we get snow here. I’m in southern New Mexico about 30 miles north of the Mexican border. Snow doesn’t last long; it’s usually gone by about 10:00 AM.

I woke up at 7:00, looked outside, put on shoes, a jacket, hat, left my pajamas on, and went outside to photograph the landscape. I took 111 shots, deleted 2, and edited 49. I dislike all of them. I doubt they are all bad, but none look exciting to me. I wish this malaise were gone. Normally, I find photography exciting and I find photographing snow in the desert to be particularly exciting and challenging. Snow does weird things to white balance and exposure. Snow requires a whole lot of editing to look natural and properly exposed.

Snow on red yucca seed pods.

We don’t get icicles here but sometimes there are ice drops on the ends of twigs, leaves and cactus spines.

Claret cup cactus.

What caused this malaise? The horrors of war in Israel? Maybe although I’m less emotional now than I was in October. Depression? I don’t think so. I’m well medicated and the ketamine sessions are helping me be more stable than I’ve been in a very long time. I feel as if I were running through Jello.

A requirement of my painting class is to submit work to the Juried Student Art Snow at NMSU. My art is so far out there and so different from anything that is taught, that my work is never accepted. Maybe it’s the thought of yet another rejection that’s contributing to this malaise. Maybe the snow on the yucca seed pods above is good enough. Maybe someday, I’ll figure out what really matters is do I consider my work good enough. Judges tend to be blind and judges for school art shows tend to reject anything that isn’t taught at the university.

I’ve been working on fabric designs including panels for my Spoonflower shop. 

You can find my shop here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

Looking for a Post-Valentine’s Day gift for your sweetie? My online store, Deb Thuman Art, contains one of a kind jewelry and bandanas for your furry sweetie. My store is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

Posted in Peripheral neuropathy, Photography

Banging My Head On My Desk

Posted on by debthumanblog

Our TV is 15 years old and starting to circle the drain. So, we went to Best Buy to buy a new TV. I wear hearing aids and was told that having a sound bar would help me to hear clear dialog. I didn’t understand how that was possible until the sales clerk demonstrated a sound bar. And so we bought a sound bar, TV, qualified for free delivery, and set a delivery day for this past Wednesday. The sound bar and TV arrived.

Tinker guarding the box containing the TV.

Everything was fine until we unpacked the sound bar and TV. The sound bar wouldn’t attach to the TV because the screws were too far apart. Jim called customer service and, after a lengthy hold, had to argue with a customer service rep. He took the sound bar back to Best Buy, and again had to argue that the sound bar couldn’t be attached to the TV we bought. We got a refund.

Jim then proceeded to hook up the TV. After getting everything attached, we tried to turn on the TV. It wouldn’t turn on. Jim did some online trouble shooting and tried every suggestion he could find. None worked. The TV was defective. It went back to Best Buy and we got a refund.

Jim then proceeded to hook up the TV we’ve been using for 15 years. The fun started when I had to put in a password for: Roku, Hulu, Prime, Discovery +, Paramount +, and Peacock. 

Eventually, we will go back to Best Buy and try again to buy a TV and sound bar.

A few weeks back, Craftsy had a major sale and I could buy $50 DVDs for $5. I bought 17 DVDs. I watched one about making bras. That DVD alone was worth what I paid for all the DVDs. Lots of little tricks – like using stay tape on the top of the cups and sewing stay stitching on the bottom of the cup. I learned that for those of us who are convinced only hydraulic lifts will keep our breasts from sagging, the solution is simple: double power net in the band. I learned how to adjust the cups to move the straps closer together. In short – all my fitting problems could be solved with a few simple techniques.

I’m not finding myself in a mood to sew. I have fabric to make a pair of leggings. I have fabric to make two fancy bras. I have two quilts to quilt. I need to make a few pairs of pants and dye them winter type colors because I’m almost out of pants. Yet I don’t feel like sewing.

I’ve been having pain in my hip when I walk. Finally, I’ve been forcing myself to do exercises designed to relieve the pain. The exercises work well, it’s just getting to do the exercises that I have problems with.

Jim and I are participating in a research study wherein we get paid plus we get an Alexa we can keep. If Alexa is the state of AI, then we’ve nothing to worry about. It took a few days to figure out all the things Alexa can’t do. The contraption plugs in and there are no batteries. That means if I want to take it from room to room, I have to unplug, schlep, replug. No thanks. I’ll stick with my iPod. Plus, telling Alexa to play Tom Rush gets me one Tom Rush song followed by other artists. My iPod plays what I want it to play. Alexa has a camera, and I’ve covered the lens. One frustrating thing is Alexa won’t sync with my MacBook Pro, iPad or iPhone unless I use the cloud. I refuse to use the cloud. You don’t own the cloud, so the feds don’t need your permission or a warrant to go through whatever you have stored. Anything, including the cloud, can be hacked. Good luck explaining to the Feds that the child pornography tucked between your photos didn’t come from you; it came from a hacker.

We had a storm blow in last week. This is what the impending storm looked like.

About the only thing peripheral neuropathy is good for is causing me enough pain that I wake up early and can go outside and photograph the sunrise.

Posted in Depression, Emotions, Photography

Nobody Hears Me

Posted on by debthumanblog

Frequently, I don’t understand what’s going on inside of me until it comes out of my hand. I’m on the receiving end of a hate crime, and it has infected every part of my life. I took a double dose of antidepressant today, and I’m still depressed.

And so I turned to art. I’ve been playing with text mask in photo editing.

This is what I say.

This is what people hear.

They all say “Please make it stop hurting.” I used a regular font, and a symbol font. The unintelligible one are what I think people hear. Except I don’t think they are hearing anything.

What do I do with all this? Have it printed and turn it into an art quilt? Have it printed and. turn it into a series of art quilts?

Posted in Depression, Emotions, Israel, Judiasm, Photography

A Brief Period of Uneasy Calm

Posted on by debthumanblog

I couldn’t bring myself to go to the painting studio on campus this week. I’m feeling better, calmer, and it’s transitory. I’ll be back on campus on Monday. I’m still afraid. I’m still angry. I’m afraid my painting will be ruined by the person who flung the hate crime at me. I’m afraid of being physically attacked by hamas sympathizers.

I don’t like feeling like this.

Meanwhile, someone hacked my website, http://www.DebThumanArt.com. When I checked my site, I got a page warning me that I was about to visit a page full of malware. It took several hours, but I finally got the page fixed. According to Wix, there’s no malware on my page. There is some interesting art on my page and all of it for sale.

I started playing around with a photo I took several months ago.

I was set to get into bed when I looked out the window and saw a big, orange moon setting. I grabbed my camera, went outside without wearing shoes or a jacket, and started shooting.

I’ve been playing with text. Rather than using one of the regular fonts, I started using symbol fonts. This is what you get when you write: LILIL over and over.

This one is Love written over and over.

I just finished ordering proofs of 96 fabric designs. Once the proofs arrive, I’ll be putting the designs into my Spoonflower shop https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman I finally put the 84 designs that had been sitting and waiting for me into the store.

Am Yisrael Chai!

The people of Israel live!

Posted in Abstract Art, Memories, Photography

Month end, nightmares, memories

Posted on by debthumanblog

End of the month.

It’s when our pension checks arrive and I get to move money around to assorted savings accounts.

It’s when I email the practice log to Brady’s trainer. The practice log lists all the adventures we’ve had during the month.

It’s when I put everything onto an external storage disk.

It’s when I turn a month’s worth of RAW shots into JPEG shots. RAW documents are huge and eat up space on the laptop.

It’s when I clean off the laptop desktop leaving only those files I need to have handy.

This month, it’s also when I wonder when my new laptop will arrive. The current laptop is starting to fail. Before it dies, I need to get a new laptop. This laptop has 500 GB of storage. It has 16 GB of memory. The new laptop that I ordered will have 1TB of storage and 24 GB of memory. I ordered larger memory because I’m tired of getting messages that RAM is almost all used up. I’m hoping with 1 TB of storage that I’ll only have to do end of month laptop chores every other month.

I’m not looking forward to the new laptop. It means I have to move things from one laptop to another and I don’t know how to do that. It means I will need to move music from one laptop to another, and I don’t know how to do that. I used to be able to do that by putting all the music on a usb drive and manually transferring from the usb drive to the new laptop. Except something has changed with the music and I haven’t figured out how to get the music onto a usb drive. I’m going to set up an appointment with the Apple folks at the campus bookstore to do all this fun stuff for me.

I’ve been doing some night photography. Last night, the full moon was partially covered by clouds. Because I shoot in RAW, I was able to tweak the photo in editing and the result is pretty much what I saw last night.

We’ve finally had rain, and I’ve been photographing what’s blooming.

Originally, I was going to work on realism this semester in my painting class. That didn’t work out.

I thought this was a landscape until I figured out it was art therapy. I see myself as the water under the glacier and I’m slowly coming out from a lifetime of misery.

Then, I started working on memories from when I was a little kid.

My grandmother, who couldn’t see across the room because she was too vain to wear glasses, insisted she could see sputnik.

There used to be magic in the night sky. The moon was made of green cheese. Or was hollow. Or was a giant dust bunny. As soon as Neil Armstrong’s boot touched the surface of the moon, the magic was gone. We traded magic for knowledge. I wanted to put the magic back into the moon so I painted it pink.

From there, I moved on to my childhood nightmares about nuclear war. Mine was the first generation to grow up with The Bomb. I had nightmares of burning skeletons. That morphed into repeating nightmares. One is of my teeth breaking. My mother thought teeth were a temporary nuisance and figured if she didn’t have teeth her kids didn’t need teeth. When I did finally have a tooth that crumbled, I got hysterical when the dentist told me I would need to have what was left of the tooth extracted. Losing a tooth meant my mother won and that would be a catastrophe.

I have ideas for another two paintings. One is a repeating nightmare where I cross Niagara Falls by walking from stepping stone to stepping stone terrified I will fall. Another is still forming in my head and I’m not sure I can accurately paint it.  

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

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

My online store is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

Posted in Fiber, Photography, Sewing

Banging My Head On My Desk

Posted on by debthumanblog

Anyone know why wordpress will not let me access my account on Opera? Yes, I tried. No, it will not take my email address. No, it will not take my username. No, it will not let me use a link sent to my email. I’m starting to hate wordpress.

Sew lots and lots of dog bandanas. Check.

Figure out how to photograph dog bandanas. Check.

Photograph dog bandanas. Check.

Edit photos of dog bandanas. Check.

Upload photos of dog bandanas to my store, http://www.DebThumanArt.com Check.

Write copy for dog bandana listings. Check.

Put listings into my store. Check.

Send photo of each listing to my personal Facebook page. Check.

Send photo of each listing to my Facebook business page, Deb Thuman’s New and Improved Art Page. Check.

Move photos from laptop to iPad. Check.

Figure out how to get the photos onto Instagram. Check.

Wonder why I bother with Instagram. Check.

Get photos and link to my store onto Instagram. Check.

Send photos to google photos. Check.

And that’s why I didn’t get much done today.

I spent a good part of the week tweaking a bra pattern. I’m determined to make a bra that fits and is comfortable. The first three versions weren’t right, but each was closer to being right than the preceding version. I had to dig out my copy of Bra Maker’s Manual to find out how to solve the drooping problem. I need to alter the pattern piece for the upper cup slightly. I also need to alter the back slightly so I can attach the straps closer to the middle of the back of the bra. I hope that solves the falling strap problem. Once I get all the tweaks worked out, there will be photos.

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

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

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

Posted in Fiber, Photography

How Many Designs Can Dance On The Head Of A Pin ?

Posted on by debthumanblog

Lots.

Start here. It rained overnight, and I got up just in time to photograph water drops on a white yucca bloom.

Play with orientation.

All of the fancy effects are from a mostly free editing app, PhotoScape X. It’s available for both Mac and PC. Most of the app is free, but for a one-time charge of $40, you get the whole app and it’s updated regularly.

Next, I upload the photos to Spoonflower and I start designing. When I have enough designs, I order proofs. When the proofs come back, I put the designs in my Spoonflower shop.

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

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

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

Posted in Abstract Art, Photography

Art Therapy

Posted on by debthumanblog

Whether I want to or not, I paint art therapy rather than art. I don’t do pretty. I probably can’t do pretty. I do kick you in the gut.

Lately, I’ve been painting social commentary.

My original intention was to paint a scene from a park in Tucson, Arizona from one of the many photos I took when we visited the park. Instead, I made social commentary. When I was in law school, I had to take a course in natural resources. One day, I decided I had enough and complained that no one was seeing any inherent value in land or animals. Land has no value until you bulldoze it, remove every plant, and slap tract housing or a strip mall on it. Animals have no value until you kill them and rip their skin off. If animals had value, there would be no steel leg traps. Here in the southwest, desert is land with no value. City boundaries are extended every time a developer wants to put up tract housing and plant grass. We’re on year 20 of a serious drought, and people still insist on having grass in the desert. We’ve got a desert yard and only stuff that grows naturally in the desert is planted in the yard. I think we could put a dent in the water shortage by doubling the property taxes on any real estate that has grass.

If you see a saguaro cactus east of Tucson, it was stolen. Saguaros grow for about 70 years before getting their first “arm.” Apparently, saguaros only have value when they are ripped up and planted in someone’s yard.

There is no ocean front property in Hawaii. The beaches and access to the beaches belong to the people. This is from a photo I took when we visited the north shore of Oahu. The north shore is V shaped, and this beach is in the bottom of the V. Pipeline – the most deadly place to surf on the planet – is to the east towards the top of the V. I’m not happy with the painting. I don’t like how the water looks, but when I tried to fix it, it didn’t get fixed.

I didn’t realize I had neglected to move the chain out of the way before I took the shot. The blue in the middle is a Hebrew word meaning life. This one is both personal and political. People have been trying to wipe us out for 6000 years. We’re still here. My mother tried to destroy me. I’m still here.

The original is a photo I took for a photography class last spring. I introduced the photo by saying if you don’t know what these are, you had better learn because you might need them. I need to change the introduction a bit. If you don’t know what these are, you better learn because you will need them. These are DIY instruments often made from coat hangers. The instrument on the left spreads the cervix making room for the instrument on the right which scrapes away the lining of the uterus. A few years back, I had a biopsy and discovered that I have a septate uterus. For those women having a uterus like mine, pregnancy is life threatening. There’s a 90% chance of a miscarriage if a woman has a septate uterus. Now, with doctors too terrified (or too chickenshit) to remove the remains of a partial miscarriage, women are being sent home from emergency rooms so they can bleed to death in the comfort of their own home. If they become septic and are close to dead, they will be allowed back into the hospital where they will listen to some ob/gyn try to talk them into having a hysterectomy.

I’ve been doing some photography. My photography at least is art rather than a kick in the gut. Spring in the desert comes with blooms that don’t last long.

These are shots from a red yucca growing in our front yard.

These shots are of the magic prickly pear in our front yard. During the day, the flowers are yellow – just like every other prickly pear cactus in our yard. In the morning and early evening, the flowers are peach colored. I’ve no idea why that happens.

I have two posts this week. The other post, which is here: https://debthumanblog.com/2023/05/06/this-weekend-will-again-be-painful/ is about the annual misery I go through around mother’s day.

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

Deb Thuman Art with jewelry for sale is here: http://www.DebThumanArt.com

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

Posted in Emotions, Fat, Photography

Now that I’m 70…

Posted on by debthumanblog

Now that I’m 70, I can do things I thought I couldn’t. When I turned 40, I decided I could learn anything I wanted. The entire world was open for me to explore. When I turned 60, I discovered that finite life wasn’t a far-off thing, it was real and it was immediate.

When I turned 70, telling people I’m a nude model is fun. There’s nothing embarrassing about sitting in front of a class full of art students who are dutifully drawing my flab, sags, and bags. I get paid $18 an hour to take off my clothes, sit in a chair and hold still.

When I turned 70, I felt the same as when I turned 40 although what I want to learn now is different. I am convinced I can return my body to health. I am convinced I can learn why I over eat. There’s a reason, but I’ve never figured out what it is.  I’m pretty sure it has to do with growing up in a toxic family. But I don’t have that family anymore, so now I can heal.

I’m convinced I can heal and reverse the peripheral neuropathy. Forget the crap spewed out by neurologists. Nerves regenerate. The fact that nerves regenerate slowly doesn’t negate the fact that they regenerate.

I am learning how to regain and maintain a healthy weight. Unfortunately, I don’t know how to cook. I come from a long line of throw it in the pot and hope it’s edible cooks. Now that I’m 70, I can learn how to cook.

I am learning how to paint although I’m not good at it. I’ll get better if I keep painting.

I am learning to take sewing seriously, take my time, and do it right. Before, it was a matter of how fast I could complete a project.

I am learning to accept that I don’t do pretty art. My art kicks you in the gut even if you don’t want to be kicked.

I am learning to write honestly and not hold back. If I embarrass someone who needs to be embarrassed in the process, then that’s what happens. It’s not my job to hide someone else’s flaws.

What I’m not learning is how to get past this feeling that everything I create is crap. It’s not that my work is technically flawed – that I could fix. There’s something missing in my work and I can’t figure out what it is. Colors don’t look right. Lighting doesn’t look right. Clothes don’t look right. I can’t find the problem and if I can’t find the problem, I can’t find the solution.

I tried to photograph an entire ocotillo plant. That’s not easy because the plants are a good 8′-10′ tall. By the time I get the entire plant in a photo, I get too much background. My point in taking this photo was to show the spiny branches and how they are devoid of leaves at the moment. I failed.

I tried photographing a spike of ocotillo flowers and managed to show the spines. The photo is technically correct, but it doesn’t sing to me.

The yuccas that are blooming now are the variety where the flowers hide in the leaves. It shows what I meant to show, but it doesn’t sing to me. I’ve tinkered with saturation, but that doesn’t solve the problem.

Maybe I’m trying too hard? I did get a shot of a single flower, but I can’t isolate the flower. And maybe the flower doesn’t need to be isolated. Maybe it’s enough to show the plant as it is. Used to be, that was enough for me.

I managed to show new growth on the prickly pear, but there’s nothing exciting in this photo.

It’s almost hidden that I wanted to show the buds on this prickly pear.

I’ve been playing with fabric designs, but the joy is missing.

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

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

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

Posted in Beads, Emotions, Photography, Sewing

Burnout? Or maybe not doing enough?

Posted on by debthumanblog

Some days, today being one, making art is difficult. I put beads in a row to make a necklace, and I hate every necklace I try to make. Nothing looks right. Aquamarine beads don’t look right coupled with any other variety of bead. I’ve got blue, teal, yellow and red tiger eye beads. None look right with any other variety of bead.  Swarovski crystals don’t add anything to a collection of beads. Neither do pearls. I just bought sparkly black opals. Even though I have severe bling addiction and love sparkle, I can’t come up with a design in which to use them.

I’m stuck.

I’ve got a pattern for pajama bottoms laid out, but I don’t feel like cutting it out and sewing the pieces together. I’ve got a pair of slacks almost done, but I don’t feel like doing the final chore: inserting elastic. I need a pair of white slacks and I’ve got some white linen/cotton blend. I don’t feel like laying out a pattern.

I’ve started writing a second novel, but don’t feel like writing it. Maybe it’s because of how I’ll feel while I’m writing it. I don’t write fluff. I write my guts. My guts take a lot out of me. The novel is about the hell I went through working at the Public Defender Department – a hell that nearly killed me.

I want to blame this malaise on external events. Except external events aren’t the cause of my malaise. My painting teacher said my work is self-taught folk art. Um….doesn’t taking art classes take my work out of the self-taught category? Folk art? What the fecal matter is folk art? Anna Robertson Moses created folk art. I like to think my work is more refined than Moses’ work – which isn’t taken seriously. If Anna Robertson Moses’ work were taken seriously, she wouldn’t be known as Grandma Moses.

Maybe the subject matter of my current work contributes to the malaise. I’m doing another painting about mass shooting. Painting about antisemitism during Passover and on Holocaust Remembrance Day is a strange experience. I paint while thinking about hatred, oppression, slavery. The two landscapes I’m working on aren’t enough of an emotional break. Worse, a third mass shooting painting is working itself through my mind.

I take photographs of the spring blooms in my yard, but I hate the photos. There’s no magic in them. There’s nothing in the photos which grabs my attention.

I love yucca flowers. I don’t love the photos of yucca flowers I’m taking.

I don’t think the problem is my photos. My photos are technically good, but they don’t give me joy.

Why am I not happy about the crisp detail in this photo?

Why am I not pleased with the playfulness of this composition? I can’t even imagine turning this into a fabric design – and I love designing fabric.

I’m stuck. How do I get unstuck?

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

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

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

Posted in bipolar disorder, Depression, Fiber, Photography

Has It Stopped Hurting Yet?

Posted on by debthumanblog

I’m filled with unease. Unsatisfaction. Emptiness. Depression. There’s an unspeakable lack inside. Something so basic, and something which cannot be discussed. Discussion won’t fill the emptiness. I know; I’ve tried. I don’t have any answers. At least I’m not suicidal. Yet this misery disappears as quickly as it appears. While it’s here, I think whatever art I’m working on sucks. The photos I take don’t amaze me, yet I can’t tell if they are bad shots. The necklaces I’m working on look ugly to me. There’s no magic in them.

I’m about to embark on another Magical Mystery Ketamine Tour. I have a zoom meeting on Tuesday. I’ll get sent my supply of Ketamine and I will be working on how to love myself.

I’ve finished writing the novel. Now, I need to find an agent; but to do that, I need to distill 43,000 words into one gut-grabbing sentence. Writing the novel was easier. In the meantime, I’ve started writing the second novel. I’m not looking forward to writing pages only to discard them. It’s the only way I know to write a novel.

I’ve been working on some fabric designs. I’m waiting for a good sale at Spoonflower so I can get 168+ designs proofed.

I’ve been playing around with lines and dots.

And squiggles

I love designing with metallic colors.

I think this one might work with the kaleidoscope faces for Apple Watch.

This one is just for fun. I may do some more faces.

There’s a fairy ring in the back yard. It’s not made of mushrooms and toad stools. This one is made of yucca plants. The circle of yuccas was growing wild, and we left it where it was. We’ve been here 21 years and this is the first time the fairy ring bloomed.

Fairy ring.

Blossoms hiding among the leaves.

This was a tough one to expose. Get the plant exposed properly, and the sky blows out. Get the sky exposed properly, and the plant is black.

Peek a boo.

I haven’t decided if I like this next shot. I usually avoid the traditional golden hours when the world has a golden cast. When I got up yesterday, I saw the fairy ring, and started photographing the blooms in the back yard.

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

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

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

Posted in Photography

Moon Magic

Posted on by debthumanblog

While I’m a whole lot steadier than I was before physical therapy, I’m still not ready to get out the tripod and the 150-600mm lens and shoot the moon. I’m afraid I’ll start to feel unsteady and trip over the tripod. I’m still using my 18-400mm lens for moon shots.

Next, I added magic.

I’ll use the shots for fabric designs.

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

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

Posted in Beads, Peripheral neuropathy, Photography

Painkiller

Posted on by debthumanblog

I’m having a peripheral neuropathy flareup and the only reliable painkiller is to make art. I’ve been making lots of art.

One of the claret cup cactus clumps is blooming. We have several clumps, and each one blooms at a different time. The clump that is blooming now always blooms first and always has the most blooms.

Because the vertigo is under control, I can do more night time shooting. I prefer to shoot a less than full moon because I think smiley moons are intriguing.

I’ve been making jewelry and I’m s….l…..o….w….l….y getting the pieces put into my online store, Deb Thuman Art. The problem is it’s hard to tell if the entire necklace is in the photo online. I have to put an item in my store, write up copy, and then check the store to see if the entire necklace shows in the photos. So far, I have to reshoot one necklace.

Deep blue tiger eye, creamy pearls and Swarovski crystals. Swarovski is no longer making crystal beads. I do have a stash of Swarovski crystals, but once they are gone, I can’t get any more.

Agate and quartz. What the gem looks like depends on what flies out of the volcano, where it lands, and how fast or slow the lava cools.

I couldn’t resist buying these iridescent glass leaves.

These three necklaces are in my on-line store, Deb Thuman Art http://www.DebThumanArt.com

I don’t often make jewelry for myself. I gathered all my favorite gems – smokey quartz, malachite, rhodochrosite, pearls among others and made a necklace for myself.

I have a Spoonflower store here: https://www.spoonflower.com/profiles/deb_thuman

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

Put Your Foot Down 183 here: https://fortheloveofgeese.com/put-your-foot-down-183/

An Accidental Finish here: https://alyciaquilts.blogspot.com/2023/03/an-accidental-finish-and-finished-or.html

Posted in Abstract Art, Photography

Hibernian Heritage Day

Posted on by debthumanblog

is dlíodóir atá ionam

Literally, it is a lawyer that is in me and would be the response to a question about what I do for a living. I believe language is a reflection of a culture. Gaelic is the language of a story teller.

Used to be, I thought St. Patrick’s Day was a great day if one was Irish and an excuse to get drunk if one was not. Then, when I was 34, I discovered I’m Scot-Irish. I was right; St. Patrick’s Day is a great day if one is Irish. The first St. Patrick’s Day I spent knowing I’m Irish was special. I celebrated who I am and who I always was. A friend and I ate at McGinty’s in Buffalo, NY. I had corned beef and cabbage. Once a year is about how often I can eat corned beef and cabbage. It’s not haute cuisine. I washed it down with Guinness. If I ever get to Ireland, the first thing I want to do is walk into a bar and order Guinness. I want to know if Guinness in the US tastes the same as Guinness in Ireland.

After surviving Moot Court in my second year of law school, Jim, Subrata – my moot court partner, and I celebrated at Sean Patrick’s. I should have figured out I wasn’t in an Irish restaurant when I read the house special in the menu: spaghetti. Still, I asked the waitress if they had Guinness. “No. What is that?” It should be a felony to try to pass your establishment off as Irish and not serve Guinness.

Last year, for the first time, I managed to make edible Irish soda bread. The other recipes I had tried were dense and salty. No, I don’t remember the recipe I used last year.

This is spring break, so Jim and I have the painting studio mostly to ourselves. I’ve finished up a self-portrait as viewed from the inside and I think I’ve finished a social commentary painting.

This is the self-portrait as viewed from the inside.

Social commentary.

It’s spring in the desert and the claret cup cactus is blooming.

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

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

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