A Spill of Dawn

ashes of the mystic
solid as the dark
gritty in its ending

totems and taboos
wrap the fiction
of belief

no amount of voodoo
can halt the nightmare
of these days



Watercolor by Sue Turner

Watercolor or Swim?

Unfortunately, it was too hot this weekend to watercolor outdoors. I recently bought the new Tree Toad Sampler Set from Daniel Smith and yearned to paint outside. Their watercolors are exquisite and I purchase each sampler set as soon as it's produced. The Tree Toad Set has phthalo yellow-green that stretches and moves like magic. I tried it as soon as it arrived but looked forward to being outside with the trio of new colors.

Fortunately, because of the heat I had the opportunity to help a 3-year old get beyond his fear of water. I learned a lot in the process. Reluctant to do what I suggested, he watched until he was ready, then jumped right in and showed what he learned by watching.

I'm tired, giggled out and have leftover raspberry jigglers. I doubt the boy'll return in time to finish them up as I'll sneak a single jiggler, then another, and then another until there are no more. It's been years since I've eaten them and they are as nifty now as there were then. Some things change, though. The recipe is now on the Jell-o box so I didn't have to search for instructions!

Hummer Flipbook

Bummer. The hummer flipbook didn't work.

A small video flipbook using four hummingbird photos in Digital Image Suite doesn't play on this site, although I've e-mailed the gif file and it works wonderfully.

For real time, I located a free software program that uses pre-perforated blank business cards and about 40 frames of video to make an old style flipbook. Simple, fun and quick! I carry one in my bag - it's always good for a giggle or two.

The flipbooks I remember were of printed stillshots flipped rapidly to resemble a movie ~ now we use single frames of movies. As much as things change...

Fantasy Book Cover Design

I designed this fractal for use as a book cover ~ it is available on Lulu.com in my storefront. My first novel, Running with Scissors, carried a fractal on the cover and it's been fascinating to hear comments from readers who wonder where the graphic originated.

It occurred to me that it would be a good idea to create and make available book cover designs which are original and totally different.

The above fractal reminds me of a fantasy scene and in its final print can be softened, lightened or more highly saturated. It's up to the individual to decide which he prefers.

Writing a Novel, Collaboratively

Three of us from the Post Falls Writers Group are writing a murder mystery. We began this project with no firm plot and little time to work together. One writer is not computer literate, one is semi-literate and I'm either good or bad depending on the project. The decision to write random, but pertinent, scenes when we weren't together, followed by brainstorming when we found ourselves within speaking distance was the route we followed. With forty-thousand words written we now face the daunting task of compiling them for a first edit.

Lessons learned during the Nanowrimo challenge last November are helpful but I didn't learn enough to make this an easy labor! A new software program has been difficult to learn but may prove helpful in the organization of these scattered words.

More on this project as it occurs.

In the meantime, I'm still creating fractals, brushing watercolors and writing random pieces as well as ramping up the digital photography productions.

Fractaling Daisy

Color is key to life. It hardly matters to me what shape it takes as long it's there.

Fractals are amazingly brilliant in their best form but can be faded to insignificance for those who lean toward less eye-pop.

This particular design was created in Fractal Explorer and the daisy photo was inserted. The distortion brush in Microsoft Digital Imaging was used to draw out the petals and change the shape into something readily accepted by the fractal motion.

One Week and Hummingbirds

Lucky enough to have a week's vacation in the summer prime, I returned home puffy with bug/bee bites, a twisted ankle and a tummy, quickly accustomed to daughters' gourmet cooking, growling with disappointment at my usual fare of oatmeal, apples, rice and vegies.

Much of the time, I stayed on the deck working my way closer to the wildly ecstatic hummingbirds who found fresh sugar water in a fake flower. By the end of the week, I suspected we were communicating in some fashion as they looked me in the eye while chirping.

The next few days will be spent trying to clean up what the wind dragged from the West and what didn't survive the week without water. I wonder how the house got dusty...it was closed up and alone. Light bulbs are dark and outdoor carpets blown up against the garage wall along with two inches, give or take, of pine nuts/cones and needles.

It occurs to me how little time it takes for nature to reclaim whatever one vacates, even temporarily.

And I am somewhat glad to be home.