Purple Pony Art Blog

When in San Francisco...You Must Ride the Cable Cars!

Thu, 24 May 2012 02:54:27 GMT

It's amazing how you can know something without really knowing anything, and I sure learned a lot about San Francisco's cable cars on our trip. We had no idea that the cars needed to be manually rotated on a turntable whenever it reached a terminus.

We couldn't pass up the chance to ride a piece of history and neither could dozens of other people. I hoped we could ride the red one...but four cars went by before we could hop on. They come in blue, white, burgandy and tan as well as red. You can catch them at any point in the city, but we got on at Hyde Pier, which is close to Fisherman's Wharf and other touristy areas. It took about 45 minutes in line to get on a cable car.

San Francisco Cable Car, a photo by Calzephyr on Flickr.

It was crazy fun! The cars travel about 9 MPH and make a lot of noise. Years ago San Francisco thought about even getting rid of them. I learned about their neat history and saw the cables on action at the Cable Car Museum where admission is free. It's also pretty loud, as that's where the cables are turning endlessly for most of the day.

If there is one fact you must truly know, it's that the cars are not trolleys, because they do not use an overhead line.

It's $6 to ride the cable cars one way; get a one day pass for $14 and hop on, hop off to your heart's delight!

San Francisco Cable Car, a photo by Calzephyr on Flickr.

Life's A Beach!

Mon, 14 May 2012 03:37:00 GMT

Especially in Venice Beach. My husband and I took off on an impulsive two week long trip to several points in California. We left April 30 and just got back on Friday! It was a great time and you can bet I took my camera!

I always take way too many pictures. Stay tuned for San Francisco, Carmel, Santa Monica, pigeons, gulls, cable cars and more! Oh, and carousel horses!!

Fawnette and Fancy Reflektion

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 18:51:56 GMT

Goodness, I must have been dreaming that I posted this! This is a commission that I finished earlier this year. It was started in summer 2011, but delayed due to the postal strike. It arrived at its destination last month and the commissioner is thrilled. Fawnette and Fancy are Arabians, although the picture is not as red as it seems. It was very difficult to photograph indoors.

January 5, 2012 ::: Golden Acrylic ::: 8x10"

New Things!

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:26:04 GMT

Howdy friends! Are you on Instagram? So am I! I'm calzephyr77 there. So far I love it. I've been waiting patiently for the Android version to come out.

Speaking of Android things, a Flickr app finally came out, so hopefully I'll start posting there more. I really miss just sitting down and having time to connect with folks online.

I'm also on Pinterest - http://pinterest.com/calzephyr/

Is that it? What's the new hotness for things right now? I'm kind of sad that so many people have dropped off LJ - it's still a good platform!

Just another beautiful Alberta day

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 21:27:52 GMT

Just another beautiful Alberta day, a photo by Calzephyr on Flickr.

Just another beautiful Alberta day!

For the Birds!

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 01:05:41 GMT

School has been keeping me busy as of late, but I think the hardest part is over. Our second fibre project was to make a large scale sculpture. If you're wondering about the first project...well, it turned out so badly I don't want to post a picture of it anywhere online! Everyone that saw it on my cell phone laughed (laughed with me, naturally :-))

I was really stuck for the idea of making a sculpture. Part of the problem was the weather, part of the problem is that large scale 3D things are not my forte. I had only one idea and I made it as best as I could - I call it Armature for Attracting Avian Acquaintances. Essentially it's a giant bird play gym or bird feeder, and Muffin took quite an interest in it, especially when I tried knitting sisal. My grade was B-. Unfortunately while it is safe for outside birdies, it is not quite safe for inside birdies. I used cherry branches which are toxic to parrots.

It stands about 5' tall and is made from recycled or biodegradable items. The entire crate is wrapped in jute and sisal, with apple and cherry tree branches tied to it. I tried making a god's eye to hang in the centre, but it turned out miserably, so a bunch of dried flax stems turned it into more of a doll. With some seed bells and millet sprays on top, I hoped that there would be a flock of birds at it by the time my class came out for the critique. No such luck...but it would have been cool! Everyone seemed to like it, so that made me happy. Sometimes it's hard to tell how something will go over.

How Cool Is This?

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:41:48 GMT

I was absolutely thrilled to get my wax seal in the mail yesterday. And even more thrilled to try it out this morning! All the talk of wax seals in A Game of Thrones made me want one, so the search was on!

At a local stationary store I found initial ones, but the font used was Papyrus, which, like Comic Sans, is considered a terribly overused font. Online searching fared better and I found a place called Seasons Creations which did not want an arm and a leg for Canadian shipping.

The seal is just the cutest little thing. The instructions were easy to follow - moisten the seal on an ice cube or cold water and light the wick and hold at a 45 degree angle to get wax flowing. It was hard to guess how much wax would be too much or too little, but a spot about half the size of a penny did the trick.

I think next time I will use cold water instead of an ice cube. When it came time to stamp, the seal was stuck to it! But it was handy to put the wick out. Now I can't wait - just imagine all the ACEOs and whatnot I can send out bearing my own purple pony seal!

A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 16:36:22 GMT

Part of the fun of coming to a series late is not having to wait in agonizing anticipation for the sequels to arrive. This happened with Harry Potter and now it has happened with George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Somehow this series was totally off my radar until it gained more publicity with the HBO TV series, so it was a huge surprise to me that the first book was published in 1996. I worked at the public library then, so I'm sure it must have gone through my hands at some point!

On a whim I bought the four book eBook bundle at Christmas time and started reading when I came down with a wicked cold last month. It was a good thing too, because I could literally not stop reading. I probably would have taken a day off just to finish it. I was expecting a typical, cliched fantasy saga, so I was amazed that it is more about political intrigue, mystery and deception instead.

To be honest, I didn't think there was anything exceptional about Martin's writing style. In fact there is something flat and repetitive about it - I noticed certain word pairs used over and over again which always kinds of grates on me. His descriptions of meals are always insanely detailed. But there is still some great craft going on as he divides the saga by the view points of different characters which allows parts of the story to be revealed in a very cunning way. It lets him avoid going the route of the info dump so common in science fiction and fantasy. And the cliffhangers! Wow!

I almost feel that describing any little part of the book would give away too many spoilers. It would be hard to condense the thick tomes, but basically the peace of the Seven Kingdoms is threatened in many ways and finally comes undone as characters are executed, kidnapped or accused of crimes. In the second book, A Clash of Kings, focuses on the conflicts between the many who declare themselves king of all the realm. There were some very exciting action scenes in the sequel and now I can't wait to get started on the third one, but I really do need a break from the series! Martin is unflinching in his depictions of medieval life and after a while all the killing and maiming and destruction does become onerous. I could almost pick up a romance novel before getting around to the third one.

First Fibre Project!

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 14:27:20 GMT

Thursday was really fun. After a brief meeting, I headed to Fabricland to buy supplies for the first homework project in my fibre class.

We have to take a garment and transform it into something new. After much negotiating, my husband gave me one of his old sweaters. He looooves his sweaters and once he found out I would be cutting one up, my selection dwindled :) I'm going to be making a stuffed animal out of the sweater. Stay tuned!!

Happy New Year!

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 21:09:45 GMT

The first day of 2012 is a bright and sunny one here. Most people would probably not guess it, but Calgary is one of the sunniest places in Canada with an average of 333 sunny days a year.

We spent New Year's Eve with friends watching movies and playing games, and a birthday dinner for my mom. Yup, she narrowly missed out being a New Year's baby!

I imagine that many people are eagerly beginning new Painting/Drawing/Whatever A Day today. I tried to do this once and I don't think I got past February. I'm not sure how successful I'll be either as I go back to school next week. But I'm going to give it a good try with a book I bought a couple of years ago called The Crafter's Devotional by Barbara R. Call. It's a bumper book of 365 creative ideas that are coded in different ways such as Monday-Sunday, 1-365 and by category such as ideas, journalling and collaborating.

In fact day #1 is journalling. I do keep a paper journal, but I often prefer the online ones. I buy cute little notebooks and then usually they get misplaced around the house :-D Maybe I'm just an idea squirrel at heart. Sometimes I find half-filled journals from when I was younger and it makes me glad the Internet wasn't around back then. We don't really get a feel for how we grow and change. Don't rely on your memory either, because even after five years things can get fuzzy. I was only laid off a year ago and have trouble remembering the name of some co-workers.

The activities are pretty free-form and a variety of genres and techniques are represented, which must have been hard to do. Beads, wire, collage, stamping and mark making are just some of the things to be explored. Sometimes it's easier to just have an "assignment" to try instead of thinking up something on your own. The inclusion of personal and family history was interesting to me because I took several unsuccessful stabs at genealogy a long time ago. This book will definitely keep crafty types busy all year long!

Back to school!

Tue, 06 Sep 2011 00:35:24 GMT

My first day of class was September 1st, although technically everyone had their Monday class that day because of Labour Day. On Mondays I have weaving; on Tuesdays I have a drawing class. My weaving teacher, Mackenzie, only expected half the class to show up, but everyone showed up, so he taught us more than he expected. I found it very mentally exhausting. Measuring out 240 yards of cotton yarn was easy; trying to get it dressed on the floor loom was hard.

I came in after work on Friday to give that part a shot. I think learning to drive was easier! There is a real fear that if you do it wrong, you'll have to do it over again. And again :-D

This is my loom, which I will become well acquainted with over the next four months:

Hold Your Horses!

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:07:28 GMT

So I did have the aforementioned crafty weekend last weekend. I made my entire inventory of pony cards for the fall season. As I get set to go back to school and practice for my road test, I'm worried I'll be scrambling to make stuff! My friends took my husband out and Muffin and I worked hard!

I took some pictures so that people can understand just how labour intensive a card can be. First, there's the ponies! The original pony card was made for my friend Noela Jewelry. I translated the pattern to my Pazzles craft cutter, but even that took some work perfecting as the software is fussy. Anyway, I cut a variety of bodies, manes, and tails.

Next comes drawing the eyes. Each eye is hand drawn and coloured with a fine marker. I use a dud pony as a template. It takes about a minute to draw each eye. Then I dot each one with a white Souffle marker to make it pop. Lastly, the manes and tails are glued on and decorated with Copic markers. By the time I got to the 30th pony, I was pretty worn out!

Once the ponies are assembled, I still need to assemble the cards. I cut 8.5x11" paper in half, then fold the halves, to make quarter fold cards. I use pastel colours because I like the way they show through the paper underneath. I print out a background, run it through the adhesive cartrige of my Xyron, and then stick it onto the cardstock. I could use white cardstock and just print the image, but full-bleed on scored cardstock is tricky for my printer.

I have a few designs - clouds, a rainbow and pasture.

But wait, there's more! The first batch of cards featured glitter stamped onto them. The glitter, while very fun, was very messy! I tried to move away from that with the second batch, but I didn't have an ink that was metallic enough. For this batch, I took a chance buying Tsukineko Brilliance metallic ink. It's really shimmery! The only thing I didn't like was that I found the little containers hard to open and I dropped them a few times :\

So 60 impressions later, the ponies are ready to go on the cards! It takes about 5-6 pieces of adhesive squares to secure on to a card. All the cards are blank inside, and some ponies get stickers on their rumps! Here are some of my favourites from this batch:

So far it seems like the most popular colour is white, which really surprised me. A few people have said to me, independently, that maybe it's because white is associated with unicorns. I dunno! We'll see what colour emerges the true winner after Christmas.

Oooh, Crafty Weekend Ahead!

Sat, 13 Aug 2011 03:58:59 GMT

Working downtown is going to be bad for my wallet. It is way too tempting to shop and spend money - I needed new work clothes, so that couldn't be helped. Sometimes I don't have lunches ready like I usually do, so I dash out to the food court. Then there are the coffee runs...

And then there's places like Billy's News, which stocks an excellent selection of magazines. Now, us Canadians are modest folk, and we tend to downplay how awesome it is to live in Canada, but our connection to the Commonwealth ensures a steady supply of all things British, from Coronation Street to the royals. And right in between are magazines!

I forget why I was downtown when I popped into Billy's News - I think I was hoping to find a weaving magazine - and instead I came out with two British card making magazines, Complete Cardmaking, which contains a CD-ROM with each issue, and Cardmaking and Papercrafts, which came with a free sample of paper.

This was just all too exciting - and it was pretty fun to pop the CD-ROM into my computer and play around with the graphics on it. The next issue I bought of Cardmaking and Papercrafts had a sample of Perfect Pearls glitter paint in it, and when I popped in today and saw that there was a bonus fairy stamp set, well, how I could I not buy it?

I think it's so cool that these magazines have samples and stuff. They don't even cost that much more than an American magazine. I find I like the styles better too for some reason...there's a certain enthusiasm for crafting in British magazines that others don't have. There was a special double pack of Australian paper crafting magazines, and I scooped that up too. Ah! I can't wait to rest and relax and pour over the pages!

Calgary Folk Music Festival

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:02:39 GMT

This past weekend I volunteered for the first time at the Calgary Folk Music Festival, which has been going on for a couple of decades. It's held every year on Prince's Island Park, which is basically a big island in the middle of the Bow River. It seemed like something cheap and fun to do given my unemployment, and a small way of supporting culture in Calgary. Many people think Calgary has no culture, but it's really not true. People just don't get out to experience it, and volunteering is a great way to see behind the scenes. I was very impressed with how organized the festival is. Sometimes when I have volunteered for stuff in the past, no one knew what they were doing or who they should go to. It made everything go so smoothly! Volunteers get a t-shirt, pass to the entire festival and six meals from the volunteer hospitality tent. They were pretty good! I was on the plate recycling crew. The festival sells buckets of melamine plates to the food vendors, who charge people $2 for a plate. When you're done eating, you come see me and get a $2 coin back. When one thinks of how many plates would go to waste during the festival, this is a great idea! The plates are then taken to a nearby hotel who takes care of the washing.

Yahoo!

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:03:01 GMT

Hi friends, I'm getting ready for the Inglewood Sunfest at the end of the month, but I thought I would take a minute to share my success! I entered a miniature tapestry in the 2011 Calgary Stampede Western Lifestyles Arts and Crafts Show and brought home a first! In case my American friends are wondering, our first and second places are red and blue. It won its class, but not the section. That honour went to a beautiful, lacey piece of large loom weaving.

I will tell you more about this piece in a few days!

Acid Reflux Adventures

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 21:53:05 GMT

Where to begin with this unusual blog post for me...a week ago I woke up with a pain in my head and a sore throat. Great. Just in time for the Canada Day long weekend. I persevered, but by Monday, the pain had not subsided and I was beginning to get painful spots on the inside of my cheeks. The pain in my head was pretty random and variable, with the back of it being so tender at some points that merely putting on a hat hurt!

The most awful part was losing sleep due to the pain. It was hard to fall asleep because of it. In the mornings I woke up with a horrible, choking feeling that lasted for hours. I treated the sore throat as I would any other with tea and soothing lozenges, but I wondered if I had a swollen gland or something as it was not getting better. Swallowing was very painful.

I waited over 2 hours at a walk-in clinic on Monday evening to see a doctor that was not very good. He was the only one on duty and if I had thought to check Rate My Doctor, I would have walked out. He scores much lower than my family doctor and some of the stories were not heartening. He saw me for all of three minutes and told me to wait a few more days. He prescribed an analgesic mouthwash for the pain, Benzydamine, which did nothing for me. Apparently if you swallow the whole bottle, it will do something for you - a delerious high!

I was able to make an appointment with my family doctor yesterday. On Thursday, just on a whim, I took an Alka Seltzer and started burping like crazy. I followed it up with half a litre of 7-Up and more unladylike noises later, felt a lot better. My family doctor was able to correctly diagnose acid reflux and also took a swab to be sure. He gave me a sample of Prevacid and I expect the acid reflux to be gone in a few days. Sometimes it happens once or all the time. It annoys me that I had to suffer needlessly for three days because the walk-in doctor couldn't diagnose something so simple. If this post saves one person from the sleeplessness, pain and crabbiness I experienced, I'll be glad!

Princess, A Feral Cat

Fri, 08 Jul 2011 02:45:07 GMT

Princess, a photo by Calzephyr on Flickr.

My portfolio is often lacking in animals other than horses and birds :-D Princess is a feral cat who adopted my parents over the winter. They have taken to feeding stray cats in their neighbourhood and slowly over the months, Princess has gained their trust. Dad can pick her up now and she plays with him so happily!

She's also a mouser though, and they can't enjoy squirrels and birds in their yard anymore! She will come into the house, but would likely panic if the door was shut on her. She's a beautiful smoky calico; if she was not so suspicious of the camera I could have gotten a great full body shot!

My Newest ACEO...

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 11:56:03 GMT

My latest ACEO/ATC is for sale on Etsy. I doodled the horse on the day that someone forgot to schedule a nude model!

Pieces of Prince Edward Island

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 04:58:46 GMT

I spent a week in Princed Edward Island at the beginning of the month and I feel like I'm still there! Most of my trip to Prince Edward Island was overcast and rainy, but towards the end there were a few good sunny days and it was so fortunate that Wednesday, when I met up with a Facebook friend, that it was super sunny and warm! Like any place, PEI suffers from a touristy syndrome...Mom and I did a bus tour but it couldn't give us all the wonderful local knowledge that Kelly provided for us. She should be doing the tours :-D

The Red Shores Racetrack was not too far from our hotel and Kelly deked in there, where we met a couple of standardbred horses. Then it was off to her Mom's house where we had a lovely homemade surf and turf meal. Lobster is really not for me, but I tried it :-) After constantly eating out, it was so wonderful to eat home cooking.

After dinner it was time to hit the road and we went to Stanhope Beach. I have to admit that I saw a lot of the island, but I had no reference point for anything. We walked on the beach in the evening sun and Kelly explained all the different kinds of sea life that washed up on the shore, such as different shells and seaweed. As a prairie person, the ocean is always fascinating and enjoyable. It's hard to believe that large bodies of water exist :-D

Here's a great picture I took of the boardwalk at Stanhope - wish I was there again!

Earlier in the trip we visited Green Gables, and unfortunately it was very misty that morning. It was unreal and very haunting.

Many people think that L.M. Montgomery's heroine, Anne Shirley, is a real person. Lucy Maud actually didn't live in this house - her cousins did and she visited them frequently. There is a lot to do around the house, such as the Haunted Woods and Lover's Lane walks. The actual house is quite small and charming! Usually it is photographed from the front. I wish it hadn't been so misty when we visited, but there was a serene beauty to the heavy fog.

I took over 400 photos while in PEI and I'm still working on them! I hope to share more soon.

Another Patch of Alberta

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 12:55:35 GMT

I have so much to catch up on now that it's overwhelming. I should have the June contest ready for tomorrow on Blogger. This was one of the pieces I was madly trying to finish as it was a benefit auction donation. It's another little patch of Alberta and it differs from the other ones in that I used three strands of floss instead of six. I also used a combination of colours and that let me get some really neat colour changes. I have to admit, it was hard to let this one go. There was something extra special about it! I did not quite make it to ACEO size - it's about 2.5x3". Things got a little bunchy at the top. Maintaining an even width it pretty tricky for me right now. The piece sold for $50.

Deadlines, Deadlines!

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 21:30:10 GMT

Got this little piece all hemmed and ready for an auction next week. That's not the half of it though. The deadline is also coming up for the Stampede Arts and Crafts Show and the picture I have been working on for some time...well, I don't know where it's going, but we'll see!

A Patch of Alberta 3 by ~calzephyr on deviantART

Beginner

Sat, 14 May 2011 12:52:48 GMT

Every week, Illustration Friday tosses out a word for enthusiasts to draw, and just about every Friday my work is not among the entrants. Usually I think of an idea by Tuesday and just can't get it done in time for Thursday night. Maybe I would do better if it was Illustration Fortnight!

Last week's theme was "beginner" and the idea came very naturally - a young bird learning to fly. I didn't have a particular bird in mind when I sketched him, but he came out a sparrow!

Beginner, a photo by Calzephyr on Flickr.

Artist Trading Cards, Yay!

Fri, 06 May 2011 13:36:01 GMT

I made it out to the artist trading card night at the John Snow House, which is the resource centre for Calgary's The New Gallery. It's the former residence of a Calgary artist, John Snow, and a cozy little space to meet and greet other ATC enthusiasts.

I really enjoyed myself. I have traded with most of the other people before and loved catching up. There were also three young ladies there and it was so delightful to trade with them. ATCs are great for young people! And even grown-ups like me. I have to admit I feel very shy testing the artistic waters around town and these nights make it easier for me to get out there by having something in common.

I have two ACEOs left from that night...and these are the ones I brought home:

This is one is my favourite, I have to admit!

Belated Psyanky

Tue, 03 May 2011 14:31:30 GMT

Easter has come and gone and like most holidays, I'm late for this year but early for next year! I wanted to get this done in time to send to my grandparents for Easter. Oh well! Granny turned 89 on Sunday.

Designing any sort of new paper pattern is always tricky. It's easy to visualize it in your mind, but the actual construction can be a challenge. I remember designing a brochure once and being so pleased with the layout. But once I printed it and folded it on brochure paper, I quickly learned that brochure paper doesn't like to fold and crease as well as regular copy paper. Kind of the same thing here - cutting the diamonds proved to be somewhat inexact :-)

Super Scarecrow Sunday!

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:35:28 GMT

There is nothing like the peace and quiet of a Sunday. Last week was full of super silly stuff! I'm looking forward to this week even though the big group assignment for PPRL is due on Wednesday. The pitch part of the proposal is taking place on the next two Wednesdays. Our group's name was drawn for this week, eek!

I'm formatting the proposal part, but just taking a minute to share my prize envelope from Sunshine Shelle had arrived on Friday! Here's what I won from her Oz Day Blog Party a few weeks ago:

I love it! It's so awesome. This is my second ACEO from Shelle. The first one was a spooky ghost for last year's ACEtsy Team swap. I felt so lucky to receive it, and I feel lucky again :-) Thanks for sharing your art with your fans Shelle! This card is so amazingly detailed and photographs don't do justice to her work. They are wonder to behold (and hold :-)).