This Is Where I Live

This is where I live. I have fountains and palm trees and ancient live oaks dripping with Spanish moss and warm night breezes even in March. I'm very fortunate. I'm very blessed.

Flower Market

"Flower Market" - Enhanced Digital Photo
Image available for sale at Society 6

Time Travel

I find it fun to travel back in time and find photos that are interesting to enhance. The original for this enhanced photo was taken at Longwood Gardens in December of 2011. It was a very special day. 

"Christmas Lights" - Enhanced Digital Photograph

My Guardian Angel

"My Guardian Angel" - Enhanced Digital Photo

Sometimes I'm sure I make my guardian angel weep and shake her head with the stress of it all.

Playing With Photos

I am currently enjoying Thanksgiving weekend in a wonderful little cottage on Tybee Island. Everything about the cottage inspires me and I've digitally enhanced some photos that I've taken while here. I'm having a hard time deciding which of these two versions I like better. Maybe you can help me decide. 

Fun Stuff

These photos would be considered "outtakes" from my Art In The City photo album. These are more personal and just for fun subjects that I shot during my recent NYC visit.

Art Of The City Part 3

A recent trip to New York City once again lifted my spirits and left me feeling inspired. Here without explanation and in no particular order and without rhyme or reason are a few photos from the many I took this time. To see more photos, visit my Facebook page's photo album entitled Art Of The City.

Millefiori

The following image arose from a dire need to be creative this evening. I like the results. The original photo was of a piece of rust on an iron wheel (see below). I love what one can create through Photoshop.

"Millefiori" - Enhanced Digital Photo

Unnamed Digital Photo

Happy Accident

I got lucky with this one. While this graceful doe was just across the lagoon from our backyard, it was still difficult to see her in my view finder and even harder still when I zoomed in. I was also completely unaware that her reflection was visible in the water.

Million Bells

"Million Bells" - enhanced digital photography

House In Old Key West

"House In Old Key West" - enhanced digital photo

Although I haven't been to Key West in eight years, photos live on forever. Last time I was there I snapped a lot of the typical clapboard houses that are so much a part of my memory of the Key West I knew from the 60's and 70's.

This is the "before" photo.

Inside The Magnolia

"Inside The Magnolia" - Enhanced Digital Photo

This is the subject photo for the manipulated one above:

"Magnolia Pistil"

I hope you don't think that I'm saying that one is better than the other; they're just a different look at the same subject matter.

Health Insurance & Easter Candy

"Malted Milk Easter Eggs" - enhanced digital photo

Now I suppose you're wondering what one has to do with the other. Well, they both make me very happy.

Seriously, I've been battling the system trying my hardest to obtain a health insurance policy which I can afford since the beginning of the year. I would think that I had the system beat only to have it turn around and beat me. Finally, yesterday, the struggle was over and I received confirmation of the coverage that I wanted and some proof of insurance with which to file a claim.

This morning, I made my twice monthly trip to Walgreens to get one of my prescriptions filled. I love Walgreens because they have been working with me every step of the way. While I didn't have any health insurance, they enrolled me in their prescription plan so that I was only paying about 60% of what my scrips cost.

Both the pharmacist and I held our breath while she entered the numbers from my plan into the system and voila! I had a successful claim! I saved enough on my prescription to purchase a half gallon of milk, my favorite Easter candy and a very reasonably priced big bottle of cabernet sauvignon and still have $25 left over out of my scrip budget. 

Woohoo! Life is good! At least, for today. :D

Lady Banks Roses

This is a prime example of extraordinary beauty in ordinary places. This beautiful Lady Banks Rose bush grows unattended next to a fence at the end of the parking lot where I park for work. Savannah was built on a bluff. River Street, where I work, is at the bottom of the bluff and Bay Street, where I park, is at the top. I make my way from my car to the shop via a maze of stairs, alleys and narrow passageways. The Lady Banks Rose sprays over the fence and forms an arch over the fire escape type stairway that I descend to reach Lower Factors Walk on my way to work. Such a lovely canopy!

Another Magical Moment

"Hour Of Solitude" - Poem by Bobbi Rullan; Photo by Kristeena Crabb

It's no secret that I love the way magic happens when artists inspire each other. One example was a little over two years ago when artist/writer, Katrina Small, saw a photograph which I'd posted on Facebook and was inspired to write a poem about it. Here's the blog post which describes that inspired event, "And Then There Was Magic."

Well, just this weekend, Bobbi Rullan, the fearless leader of the Photoholics Not-So-Anonymous group to which I belong, rediscovered a poem which she had written in the 60's. It made her think of a photo of mine and so she superimposed the poem on the photo and once again, magic happened. I cannot imagine a poem more fitting for what I was feeling when I took the photo. The two go together so well.

I love belonging to this great big universal community of artists where creativity and compassion abound. And I just love, love magical moments! :D

Procrastination

The good thing about an artist is that they see the world in such an interesting way. The bad thing about an artist is that they see the world in such an interesting way. This ability to see "more" often leads to time lost. The shoe rack which I so proudly installed in my closet 10 months ago has come undone under the weight of my footgear. In disgust, I tossed the resulting mess into the middle of the floor and then couldn't help but photograph it. 

Then, I just had to turn the photograph into interesting artistic images. And, of course, I had to tell the rest of the world about it.

As a result, time has passed, but the shoes are still in a big pile in the middle of the floor of my bedroom. But don't you just love the way the reflective materials in some of my walking shoes captured and returned the flash? I guess this is just another way to stop and smell the roses. (No, I didn't actually "smell" the shoes.)

Maybe tomorrow I'll have the problem fixed. 

Garden Gate

Back to the Savannah Series. This particular collage incorporates photography as well as zentangle technique. It's all coming together!

"Garden Gate" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage

Photos Taken In Savannah

The following are photos from one of my most recent "hikes" around the city. I hope you enjoy!