Collateral Damage

Most folks think the term "collateral damage" is only used in the movies or during war.  It is not true.  I see collateral damage far too often on my wild little mountain.  It is mostly due to human depredation.

During hunting season I get every suburban and urban weekend warrior from the northern Virginia and DC area converging on all of the properties surrounding my little mountain.  I live between two large wildlife management areas, which is code for a free for all hunting craze beginning Thanksgiving week.

The locals hunt too but, for the most part, they are following rules, boundaries, and providing for family and neighbors winter food resources as well as culling the herds.  It is the non local weekend warriors that annoy me.  They invade my posted property lines -which is threatening to me and my dopey dawg as we toddle around on our daily hikes across my mountain.  I am required to dress myself and my dog as a pumpkin in order to avoid being mistaken for prey - the "drunk hunter" loophole.
What I find equally irritating is the waste.  In the past 10 years of living here, I have found several wounded animals that I have had to put down. Then there are the complete carcasses (minus a rack or a bear paw) discarded in my stream or on my property.  It is one thing to kill an animal, but to waste the life of that animal  for nothing more than a trophy rack or claw is unforgivable.  One is not a great hunter if you cannot finish kill by dressing out the animal and using as much as possible for the good of your family or your community.

This is a sad collateral damage story.  These twins were born here on my mountain.  Mom did not survive hunting season this year.

 Spot nearly lost her life too. You can see the entrance and exit would on her shoulder.  For the record, there is no "fawn season" in this area.  Spot is healing and the twins are relatively safe as long as they do not wander off my mountain and into the sites of the periodic poachers or an oncoming vehicle.

What does this have to do with art?  Well, as an artist, I "see" things in a different way than most. My gift can be a curse when one is a synesthete.  I feel everything I see both physically and emotionally.  So in that respect I am the collateral damage of the shooting of Spot.

Bucket List Item

Ever since I was 15 years old, I have wanted to go to the land of Misty and Stormy of Chincoteague.  For those that don't know, these were titles of books that I read as an adolescent. I was completely enamored with the stories of these little horses carving out a life on a wild barrier island. 
 It was all so close to me in the south western Maryland shore of the Chesapeake but it was always just beyond my physical reach.  

The Chesapeake Bay is a pretty big barrier.  Ticking off a bucket list item was the original plan but upon arrival on Assateague for the first time in May of  2015, I fell in love with the charm and beauty of this wild place. 

During my most recent visit in the fall, I participated in plein air workshops and discovered this new passionate pursuit.  


 Next spring, I will be spending 3 days in the back country painting the wild denizens of this beautiful barrier island.  I can hardly wait to return to see all of the wonderful and wild creatures that are beginning to seem like amusing old friends. 

Networking

Well, it has been a while since my last post and I am sorry about that...It is summer and computer problems tend to take a backseat to sun, fun, & sailing.  Anyway, if there is one piece of advice that I would offer any aspiring artist, aside from taking time for some sun, fun, and sailing,  it would be to start networking with the local artisans.

 Get involved with your local arts councils.  In fact, get involved with the arts councils for the surrounding counties or regions as well. There is no better resource for meeting inspirational artists or discovering venues or participating in artisan events in your area, all of which gets your work seen by the public.  Most arts organizations are a low cost and highly valuable resource for any artisan.  Get involved! It is worth it.  Often, the arts councils will have resources for their members such as venues and events for displaying and/or selling your work, juried shows which may include awards and cash prizes and newsletters that let you know about local and regional opportunities.


If there is an artisan co-op in your area, you should get involved with that as well.  A co-op is a perfect venue for both local traffic as well as opportunity for tourist exposure.  Tourism is an excellent way to get your art seen beyond the local city limits.  Another benefit of the artisan co-op is that you will be working with a wider variety of artisans, crafters, farmers, and musicians.  It often becomes a center for learning and entertainment, thus drawing in a wider audience which is a valuable resource for any artist, regardless of their medium.

Nowadays, it should go without saying; get yourself a website.  The most economical and useful site that I have found is Etsy.  Etsy is a web company for artisan, crafts, and vintage items.  All arts and crafts are required to be hand made.  They will set you up to make sales online and the cost is truly minimal.  It costs a 20 cents to create a listing that lasts for 3 months.  Yes, that is right - 20 cents.  I usually keep around 25 listings which costs me around $5 every 3 months but there are no limits.  The trick to using Etsy though is to create a new listing every week which keeps your shop in the spotlight of the search engine for new stuff.  Also you can get involved with teams or groups of fellow "Etsyans" in your area or style of arts.

Most artists cherish their time in the studio and are accustomed to working alone for long hours in obsessive detail and fervor.  I would remind the artist, as I occasionally have to remind myself,  that no one can do it alone.  Cast a wide net and it will work for you.  An artist needs an audience to appreciate their work.  An audience needs the artist to touch their soul.  Taking the time to network is the only way an artist and an audience can find one another.

Creating & Marketing Your Unique Artistic Style

The struggle that almost every artisan faces in this business is creating a style that is unique and then marketing that aspect.  I am not the greatest salesperson but I do recognize the value of a good market strategy. There are hundreds of jewelry makers, gourd makers, artists & craftsmen out there.  My market strategy is simple.  There is no one out there, that I have found, that does those things they way I do or can do it better than me.

For example, There are folks that buy beads & parts at craft stores make jewelry and vendors that get jewelry and sell it for a company like a franchise.  I, on the other hand, order my parts online in bulk and make my own pendants and earrings by cutting, shaping & melting the raw materials in my kiln.  I also find local semiprecious gemstones for making into jewelry. My designs are truly hand made and unique one of a kind pieces.

 My artwork is also uniquely my style.  I like to do portraits of people or animals or both.  What makes mine unique is that I usually do them in pencil - not paint and I sometimes add pops of color with colored pencil.  I have done some in full color that end up looking more like a watercolor.  When I choose a subject, I can see it completed in my head before it is finished so I have already decided how much color, if any will be involved.

When an artist begins to develop their own style, it is like taking a creative journey.  While it is a simple process sometimes it can be difficult to master.  The key (as in anything) is practice, practice, and more practice.




 Once you have developed your skill set and understand the rules of the medium you can then become experimental with the skills or bend rules to foster the creation of your style.  The process takes time.  The beauty is seeing your personal progression and it is very rewarding for most artists.  It is like life itself...It is all about the journey.

Sailing Yak

Most artsy crafty folks like me look at an item and think: "Gee, I could do that much cheaper than buying a kit online."  Many times, dare I say, most times that is true.  However, there is the odd occasion when I come to realize that it may just be worth it to pay the piper (so to speak) and avoid a ton of hassle.  But the truth is that I love this ridiculous creation because it is one of a kind-like me.

I love sailing.  I love getting out on the water and letting the wind carry me away and wrangling the wind to bring me back.  It is my way of embracing the rhythm of nature and appreciating a living, breathing moment.  When I left the Chesapeake and lower Potomac where I sailed often, moving to the mountains, I really missed those moments on the water.

 Now, even though I live nearly 200 miles away, I still am near the Potomac and other small bodies of water that are inspirational in much of my highland art and wildlife photography.

In the mountains, folks have kayaks.
Learning to navigate the shallow fast flowing rivers is very different from the lazy sailing that I knew.

Even the intensity of sail racing (a somewhat oxymoronic term unless applied to Olympic sail races) was daunting in  comparison.

When I first got my kayak I went to the low water crossing on the North River to learn to maneuver this crazy kayak vessel.  There was a place in the river where I could paddle really hard and go nowhere - not unlike one of those fancy "Endless Pools" they use to train Olympians.


Anyway, I learned to manage my boat and make it do everything I wanted except the one thing that I craved - sailing.

I knew that this river thing was not really MY thing.  First, I like to go alone.  People are noisy and scare the wildlife that I am compelled (as an artist) to photograph.  Also, the river requires an in/out point and they are generally miles apart, which is not conducive traveling alone.  What a pain to co-ordinate!  Also, the rivers often have very scary areas of rapids that can threaten the safety of my camera equipment but more importantly may damage my calm!    Nooooo!!!!!

So, I bought a sail.  I was dubious about the sailing kayak thing but I really wanted this to work so I toddled off to the lake with my new sail and kayak.  It was fun.  I achieved about 15 or 20 seconds of sailing nirvana when I managed to get the boat headed in the right direction with the wind aft but then almost immediately started crabbing (moving sideways) and lost my wind.  It was clear to me that with only a pseudo spinnaker and no keel or rudder control, this sailing yak thing was a bust.

I did some research and designed a 'kick-up rudder" for my yak.  I knew I needed a kick-up rudder because if I hit a rock or log in the shallow water, my rudder must be able to spring up over the obstacle and kick back into place without ripping off the back of my boat.


 I knew that if needed, in higher wind that I can use my paddle as a keel for added stability and hopefully solving the "crabbing" problem, allowing me to sail off wind on port and starboard tacks.

Well, my neighbor (a brilliant wood worker) made the actual rudder for me.  It is mahogany and a beautiful piece.

My hubby (a brilliant electrical engineer) re-worked my design into a lightweight aluminum contraption that is a delight to behold.

 I added the final bit where I can lift the rudder for easy access in and out of the water (without damaging my beautiful wood).


My dopey dawg (Chloe) provided my steering unit (the  blue Monster Ball dog toy).

My rigging is as simple as I could manage with a series of pulleys and the "Monster Ball" that I am using to anchor my rudder center and steer port or starboard.

I have the next few months now to learn the nuances of sailing a yak on highland lakes.  It is likely someone will get a photo of the crazy creature in the lake attempting to sail a kayak.  It will probably make the papers even!  I can only imagine the headline: "WV-Wild & Wonderful and Weird Too!"

So, here is the scoop.  I love my sailing yak but I will not take it to my college reunion in southern MD for several reasons.  The main one being that they have "real" sailboats there and would laugh at my little contraption.  But they have no idea of the challenges a sailor faces in the mountains and they will never get it unless they try to sail there.


I have no shame for my beautiful and perfectly functional little sailing Yak that I have named Shutter Sprite.

After the Vacation

Many folks take a summer vacation and invariably upon return discover that they also took a little break from healthy habits.  I am no exception.  I took a short little camping trip with about 30 women that all like to cook "comfort food" then immediately spent a week with my sister from Texas who is also a big fan of southern cooking.  In that period of time the only exercise I managed to get was moving my campsite three times in as many days to avoid rising flood waters.

We had to double up on campsites.  Fortunately, I travel light in my roving American TARDIS.  Yes, it is bigger on the inside and all of that did fit in the truck!
Anyway, I gained 10 pounds over the last 2 weeks.  Ugh!  I feel like a slug!  So, I have started working out again and logging my food intake.  I am doing 30-40 minutes of cardio (either the stationary bike or treadmill) and I have already started the 30 day ab challenge,  It actually does not start until June 1 but I was having trouble getting through the first set of 15 sit-ups!  I figured that a few days of practice was needed.  Oh my! I am so sore and tired! I was already about 40 pounds overweight before the vacation that sent me over the porky edge.

So, here I am with my happy salads and blueberries. My diet will not have any comfort foods or good ol' southern cooking.  I am on the "whole food and mostly locally grown diet.  I firmly believe that we (humans) need to eat food that resembles what humans ate before pre-packaged, highly addictive preservative riddled, genetically modified food substances were developed.

So, if it has more than five ingredients, I will make it myself.  If I can buy it at the local farm market, I can eat it.  Unless it is a fruit or vegetable, if it is trucked into the area, I can't have it.  I can have one meal per day that will contain locally raised meat but most of my food will be veg-based. That is my diet.

I will likely be blogging about this subject again as I work through the next few weeks.  I think the 30 day ab challenge should be interesting since I have never tried anything like that before.

MayApple Story

Most folks that know me know that I enjoy morning walks in the woods with my old dopey dawg, Chloe.  Spring is a particularly great time for this.  There is just so much to see on the mountain and it is a magical time.  I enjoy letting my imagination run wild.








When the dogwoods and the wild begonias are blossoming on my mountain, the MayApple valley comes alive with the faery folk, woodland sprites, and  every kind of magical & wee folk from all over the world.   Spring is the time of the gathering in MayApple Valley.








There is so much to do and eat in the valley for the faery folk...It is the time to look for morel mushrooms and fairy potatoes which grow in abundance in MayApple Valley.  And don't forget the MayApples too!









The wee folk always take time to enjoy a little romp with the dopey dawg!








We love all the faery folk in the forest, however, some woodland sprites are shy and are reluctant to come out with all of the commotion and when so many different creatures abound.



Others creatures act as sentinels for everyone in the gathering.









I think the locals enjoy the company of all of the wee creatures visiting their home.  Some come back every year because this spring gathering is a great learning experience for all.

So, if you find yourself in a MayApple Valley, choose a MayApple umbrella for your brief  home away from home.  Settle in for a while and enjoy a wonderful show.  You might just see a delightful faery dance performance upon the new spring leaves.  Feel free to appreciate the moment.