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I haven’t posted because I’ve been away on vacation, visiting the Four Corners area — Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.  I’ve taken an obscene amount of photos, and haven’t been able to (okay, haven’t wanted to) access the Internet other than using my iphone to upload images to friends and family.  In other words, I’ve been totally avoiding work (which I hope doesn’t come back to bite me!).

We’ve a few more days here as we head from New Mexico back to Arizona.  Here are a few images …

Me at Monument Valley at sunset

Monument Valley at Sunrise. I took this from our hotel room balcony.

Driving up the Moki Dugway. I took this from the car window as Rich was driving.

I’ve done a variety of work for The Parkinson Alliance since early 2001.  In fact, it was the catalyst to GloDerWorks being born, although that’s another story.  Back in March I was asked to create the artwork for a fundraising campaign in recognition of April being national Parkinson’s month.  The campaign was held at a small chain of high-end local supermarkets, McCaffrey’s.

This is the poster I came up with, which was created in a couple different sizes, with this size being on the front door of the supermarket.   On the poster are the two circles representing a $1 or $5 donation that shoppers could make to the Alliance.

The smaller posters were at each check out area with stacks of circles.  When someone donated, their name was added to the circle and the circle displayed at the store.  I finally got over to McCaffery’s to see what it looked like, and I was extremely suprised at how cool everything looked and how popular it was.

The circles was hanging all around the store.  At the customer service area, where flowers were sold …

They went around the meat counter …

Around the frozen foods, the front windows, the deli area.

They even hung from the lights in the store.  It was fantastic!  While the successful campaign has now concluded from the store, The Parkinson Alliance always takes donations.  The unique thing about the organization is the 100% of donations from individuals are match by The Tuchman Foundation.  This means that 100% of your donation goes directly to Parkinson’s research. Not many organizations can make this claim.   Additionally, they are the umbrella organization for several other Parkinson’s organizations.   If you’re looking for an incredibly dedicated non-profit to donate to, please check out The Parkinson Alliance.

Next post … back to artwork and quilt-related news.

Last Saturday marked the 16th annual Parkinson’s Unity Walk held in NYC’s Central Park.  Organized by Kingston, NJ’s The Parkinson Alliance, it is the largest single-day grassroots awareness and fund raising event for the Parkinson’s disease community.  It’s been my pleasure to be involved with the Walk since early 2001.

The  program began at the Bandshell.This year’s speakers included Carol Walton, (Executive Director of PUW), Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (representing NY 14th district), Martin Tuckman (CEO), May May Ali (daughter of famed boxer), and Davis Phinney (a former professional road bicycle racer and Olympic medalist who founded the David Phinney Foundation), and speakers from Solvay Pharmaceuticals, the premier Sponsor.  The event was MC’d once again by the beautiful Michelle Charlesworth (she looks like a beauty queen), TV news reporter and anchorwoman at ABC’s Eyewitness News.  While the program was uplifting, it was also sad in that this past year the Walk’s founder, Margot Zobel, passed away.

Me with Michelle

Carol Walton

The Honorable Carolyn Maloney, Martin Tuchman, and Davis Phinney

Davis leading the crowd

My sister took this picture showing me at work backstage as the speakers gather.

The “Find a Cure Blvd” was filled with a variety of booths with representatives from sponsors, seven major Parkinson’s organizations, a kid’s area, area for team pictures (taken by my business partner, Derry), refreshment, and more.  Many sponsors generously give away a variety of informative literature and goodies such as bags, t-shirts, pens, treats, and one sponsor even gave away yoga mats!

After the program concluded, the gentle 2-mile circular Walk began.  The weather was absolutely perfect, and there were thousands of walkers.

My sister, one of the volunteer photographers, took the picture of me below.

My 8th year as official photographer of the Walk

The evening prior to the Walk, Derry and I also photographed the “kick-off” party held at the Boat House in Central Park.

A gorgeous venue

What a great way to kick off the Walk!

The event is incredibly inspiring.  Important is that 100% of all of the donations raised by walkers and contributors continues to be designated for Parkinson’s research.  For more information, visit the Parkinson’s Unity Walk.

I knew my new printer would be arriving any day, so I expected a call from the freight company to confirm I’d be here to sign for the delivery. I didn’t expect, however, her to ask me whether I had a loading dock. Uh oh.  After I told her it was going to my home, I learned I’d need to pay an addition fee for a drop lift and an additional fee to bring it in. But, once here, it didn’t fit through my front door.  It instead went into the garage (I’m still working out that second fee).  It’s not that the printer is huge, it prints the same width as my 7600, but it’s well packed and its physical size is some 13 inches wider.

Next up was Rich dealing with the directions.

The side of the box  had a large”Open here” sticker.

Peeling back the label revealed a cut out in the cardboard designed to pull open.

Inside was a ziplock bag with the users manual and media book filled with printed samples of Epson’s range of papers.

The box on top is the stand, which needs some assembly.  And Rich is pondering how he will get into the house.

And there it is!  Wow, I cannot believe I got this thing.  The manual suggests two people, but recommends four, to move the printer.  Rich, however, saw the stand had wheels on it.  Those wheels made his day.  “Piece of cake,” he says.  We’ll see!

And speaking of the manual …

it came in a leather book! And on the page showing a line drawing of four people carrying the printer, I’m adding a line drawing under it showing one person with a long pony tail moving it.

This is the box of “starter” inks — 11 of them – including vivid magenta and light magenta, orange, green; light, light-light, and black, yellow, light cyan and cyan; plus a matte black. Whew!  They are 110 ml, which is the same size used in the 7600 (the size of an 8-track tape – for those of you who remember them).  However,  there are three different sizes cartridge available for this machine.  150 ml, 350 ml, and, the holy crap size, 700 ml. This printer uses Epson’s newest generation of  Ultrachrome pigmented inks called HDR, or high definition. The printer and new ink has been getting incredible reviews.  Even so, I find myself second-guessing if I really need this printer (buyer’s guilt?).

Here’s my old 7600.  It’s going to a talented artist who I am sure is going to use it as a tool to further her fantastic artwork.  Once she gets the printer, the new one takes it place here.  Then I start it up and hope for the best.

Back to MacWorld from February.  One of the highlights was attending the Photoshop 20th anniversary presentation.  It was hosted by David Biedny, who is an author, expert, and top educator (he’s on the right).   The event included Jerry Harris, who was the co-author of PixelPaint and responsible for the “brushing engine” in Photoshop 7 (he’s in the center).  Also joining was Russell Brown, who is senior creative director of Adobe and always a fabulous, albeit zany, instructor.  It was informative seeing the evolution of the program and lots of laughs.

Photoshop 1.o.  Wow!  It’s so young.  Who would think it would evolve into what it is today.  I cannot fathom where it will be in another 20 years.

Back at the show.  And there He is, larger than life, showing off the next great thing.  And, wow, is it!

Nothing makes an Englishman happier than football (soccer to us in the US) and more proud than seeing England showing on the ad.

Some shots from around the area.

Next up we went to the deYoung Museum at the Golden Gate Park to primarily see the “Amish Abstractions” show, an exhibit of 48 quilts from the collection of Faith and Stephen Brown.

Photography was not allowed inside the exhibit, but the guard was okay with this one.  The quilts ranged in all sizes and were made during the period of the 1880s through the 1940s.  Living in central NJ, I visited Amish country in Pennsylvania many times.  Thus, the quilts were all very familiar.  However, seeing them in a museum setting was quite inspiring.  I can only imagine what the makers of the quilts would have thought having their work being display at an art museum.  Very cool.  The show runs through June 6th, and more information about it is here.

You are allowed to photograph other works in the museum.  This piece stopped me in my tracks.   It’s called “Hovor II” by El Anatsui and was made in 2004.  It is made with woven aluminum bottle cops and copper wire.  It’s amazing to look at and the color seems to change with every direction.

A close up.

Outside of the museum, there is a wall filled with names of various museum benefactors.  I loved how the sunlight and reflections were playing with the surface.

After leaving the museum, we hailed a cab to take us to the Marin County side of the Golden Gate.  The sun was starting to set, and I had always wanted to take some pictures from that high up area.  The cab driver drove us up, and I took the above photo through his front window.

We made it, and the lighting was great.  We both took a lot of photos.

It was a popular spot for photographers, and tripods were lined up in many areas.

One person was being photographed doing various yoga poses while standing on a stump.  I couldn’t resist snapping off a couple pictures.

I did a digital painting of the above image that I hope ends up in an art quilt.  If nothing else, I’ll print it on watercolor paper.

Of course the big thing when you’re driven up to take pictures is realizing that there are no taxis to bring you back down, so we made the hike …

and walked under the bridge to get to the other side.

Resting before the trek back.

It was a very pretty sunset.

This image includes some layer blends to give it a bit more drama.  Generally there are many people walking on the bridge.  This evening there were only a few.

Eventually we made it to the other side of this magical area.

I’ve been very behind in blog writing.  Chalk it up to a combination of work, trying to finish a quilt in time to make a deadline, the end of December frantic clean, and long reflections on the past year and decade.

Work: well, it’s work.  It’s always good that work continues to come in, especially in these times when people are struggling.  I am aware that I’m fortunate in that regard.  I’m also aware that things can change on a dime.  The quilt:  I finished it, and that entry is in the mail.  The cleaning:  Well, that’s me operating under the delusion that me cleaning the house will bring some order as I enter into the new year (as if).  Then we come to reflections.  As I mentioned a few posts down, I’ve been going through my journals, falling into that flood of memories mode.

And, to keep things light, while working in the family room one evening, I got up to get something to drink.  When I returned, our dog Buddy decided to take my place.   It reminded me of that old saying, “When you’re on the Internet, no one knows you’re a dog.”

Here’s Buddy!

How could I resist.

Yes, I got carried away.  He’s such a cutie!

"Petite Woman 2" by Susan Schrott

Susan Schrott made me this gorgeous quilt as a birthday gift!  It came as a total surprise, and I am overwhelmed by her generosity.  Wow!  The photo doesn’t do it justice.

Susan tells me that she made it using a photo transfer of a drawing she did, putting it onto fabric she painted and bordered with Swarovski crystals.  She also made the yellow fabric about a year ago by leaving painted cotton fabric to dry in the sun after she scattered it with leaves.  It’s free motion machine quilted with cotton and metallic threads.   Susan has more information on how she made the quilt on her blog.  You can read more about it here.  :)

"the little book" by Laura Cater-Woods

Laura Cater-Woods makes these fantastic “little books” that she sells on her website here, and she surprised me with one!  It’s a soothing book that has an original cover and includes quotes, photos, and other stuff to inspire you.  There are index tabs within the book so you can rearrange the items or add to them.  Peaking out from under the book is the face of the hand-painted card Laura included with the book.

The very first quote I read was: “Self indulgence in the service of art: highly recommended.  Feed your Muse!”  Sounds like a plan to me!

I thank you both for your generosity.

To me, nothing says “Christmas is coming and the holiday season is here” more than Santa appearing at the end of the the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade held in NYC.   Every year I  watch at least some of the parade, and I always try to catch Santa at the end of the parade.   This year was no different.

Let me back up.  Earlier Rich said, “There’s a turkey on the neighbor’s roof!”   I looked out, saw it, but I was sure it was some kind of a joke.  Then I saw the wings flap.  Quickly, Rich said “Shoot it, shoot it.”  And I did what I generally do:  I grabbed the camera to take a picture, taking it through a window using a zoom.

There was a Nikon commercial some time back, I believe for the D70, where a rhino runs through a neighborhood.  You hear a voice saying shoot it, shoot it.  Then a man comes out with his Nikon and gets the shot of the rhino.  It was to illustrate that the camera had  none of the focus lag that plagues some digital cameras (especially the cameras from back then).  Ever since then, it’s shoot it, shoot it, when something is photo worthy.

Back to the turkey.  I was so excited there was a turkey on the neighbor’s roof.  We went outside to get a better look and take a few more pictures.  I was happily talking about where the turkey came from, figuring someone from a nearby turkey farm set him free.  As I was yapping, Rich said, “It’s not a turkey.  It’s a turkey vulture.”  A what? “A turkey vulture, and there are more.”  Oh geesh.

He pointed out two more on our other neighbor’s roof.

Then three in another tree.  Then, it seemed no matter what direction we looked, there were more.  That was it for me. It was way too Hitchcock’s The Birds for my taste.  Rich started laughing. “Shoot them, shoot them.”  I told him he could shoot them.  I was outta there.

Back inside, the parade was still on the TV.  As I was in another room, I shouted out, “Is Santa coming yet?”  Rich said, “He’s coming.  Quick.  Get in here.  Shoot him, shoot him.”  I started laughing and thought, why not.   I grabbed the camera and photographed Santa on the TV.   That’s right.  That’s Santa on the TV.  We had a good laugh over it, and it was way more fun then those vultures!

November 6th was our last evening in the Keys.  While having dinner, we watched the sun set.  The following morning we drove back to Ft. Lauderdale, flew to Philly, and drove back home in NJ. It was a lovely vacation, but it’s now time to move into some new work.  I have many new quilt-related ideas in my head.  I also used some of my gift cards to buy a lot of new art supplies (not like I need more).  Now, hopefully, all of that inspiration will flow into some new art.

The Keys have the only living coral reef formations in the continental US.  I was surprised to learn that it is also one of the most popular areas to scuba dive in the world. (Years ago I had the opportunity to get a scuba diving certification while in the Outer Barrier Reef in Australia – cool, huh!).  Rather than diving, I was hoping we would go snorkeling.

We headed off to John Pennykamp Coral Reef State Park located in Key Largo.  Pennekamp Park is the first undersea park in the US, and with the Keys National Marine Sanctuary it makes up some 178 nautical square miles of coral reefs, mangrove swaps, and seagrass beds.

And while Hurricane Ida had not yet turned into a tropical storm that would dump massive amounts of rain in the area, it was making its presence felt in the ocean.  The waters were too choppy and all snorkeling trips were canceled.  We decided on a glass-bottom boat tour.  We were told, however, that anti-seasickness pills were recommended because of the rough waters.  Rich didn’t want any.  But I bought a pack, telling Rich that we could each take one as it would be better than getting sick.   After he took his, Rich immediately wanted to spit it out, not liking it at all.  Even though I’ve never had a problem in a boat, I took mine.

The start of people heading upstairs to start the journey.

The mangrove swamps, so we were told.  We were also told the journey would be about 40 minutes to get to the reef area.

The ride was invigorating and fun.  Once we were out in the ocean, the waters were very rough.

The boat started getting tossed about.

We were told to go down a level since the waves would soon be crashing over the top of the boat.  Really?  Would it get that rough?

That’s me holding on, and that’s one of my last smiles of the day.

The water starting to crash and break into the boat.

Most people stayed on the mid-level of the boat, but Rich and I decided to get downstairs earlier.  I sat, head down, watching the water zoom by and change from a bright green to a very bright turquoise.

When the boat stopped, the captain warned that the boat would be dramatically tossing about.  He told people they could sit around the edges.  I wasn’t feeling too good and decided not to sit.  One of the crew people started handing out peppermints, saying it helps with seasickness.  Then the caption said, if you are feeling queasy (check), sweaty (check), lightheaded (check), get to the top of the boat and look out towards the horizon.  Rich turned, realized I wasn’t sitting and said, “Are you alright?”  Nope.  And I was outta there.  I was the first person to go to the top level.  I sat, breathing and trying not to get sick.

That’s Rich on the lower right.  And that’s the last time I saw him before going upstairs.  As I sat there, one person after the next came upstairs.  Then I heard people getting sick. The crew person was great, but  ewww!   I sat there talking to myself – breath, breath, breath.  I could hear the caption talking about a sand shark under the boat, then jellyfish, then various schools of fish, then another shark.  I just continued to focus on my breathing.  More people came upstairs.  More people got sick.  Egads … la la la .. don’t listen … and breath, breath, breath.

Rich came upstairs and a crew person asked if he was okay.  He brightly said he was fine, he was checking on me.  I told him to go back downstairs and enjoy the fish.  The tour went on and on, the captain kept describing the various fish and sharks.  I could care less.  I wanted the boat to get moving.  It was an hour and a half, a very long hour and a half, before the tour was finally over and we got moving.

I was lucky.  The moment the boat started moving, I got better.  Others weren’t so lucky.  Rich was absolutely fine. In fact, he said he loved the swaying. He found it relaxing. Relaxing? He said when the tour was over  he looked up and said, “Where did everyone go?”  The captain said, upstairs.  Everyone is sick!

Back in Tavernier, we next headed to The Florida Keys Wild Bird Center in Key Largo.  The center rehabilitates wild birds that have been injured.  It also attracts a lot of birds that are healthy — especially during bird feeding time.   The Center relies on donations.  Sadly there is talk of closing the Center, which has been in operation for over 25 years, because of lack of donations.  If you’d like to help the Center, donations can be sent to the Florida Keys Wild Bird Center, 93600 Overseas Highway, Key Largo, FL 33037 or to the Special Birds Only Account at First State Bank, 41 Jolly Roger Dr., Key Largo, FL 33037.  If you can offer other help, please call 305- 852-3186.

I took this photo through a fence so it’s a bit blurry.

While subtle, the image on the right is a digitally altered version of the image on the left.

The image on the right is also digitally altered.  I have some fabric that I painted in similar colors.  Hmmm … I just may have the two meet.